Revisiting Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, on the 3DS

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is a unique game in the Legend of Zelda series. It is a dark game overall with more mature themes than most others. This is also one of the rare direct sequels in the series. It offers a lot of unique elements with the 4 (or 5) forms that Link can take throughout, the repetition of the 3 day cycle and the lead up to the final battle. In the new version for the 3DS, some things are expanded on, there is a new activity and the remapped controls. On top of all this, at least in the US, it saw its re-release on Feburary 13th, 2015. How can you not enjoy that it was a Friday?

The story of Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is well known. Link is off searching for a lost friend following the events of Ocarina of Time. He is attacked and mugged by the SKull Kid wearing Majora's Mask. Link recovers and then gives chase after the Skullkid. This leads to Link being pulled into the land of Termina. Link learns that the Masked Skullkid has transformed the Moon into a faced thing moving in toward the land to destroy it all. Link has 3 days to save the world of Termina from its fate. He must travel throughout the land to release 4 trapped spirits before he can confront the Skullkid on the Moon.

Controls saw something of a big change. This game is one of the few that is compatible with the Circle Pad Pro. Not only do you have 2 mapped buttons you can use (X and Y) but 2 touch buttons as well. On a fun little side you, you can also equip a few Elemental arrows at once. That alone can make life a lot easier when you are dealing with some of the challenges in the dungeons. On top of that while in first person mode, you have the new gyroscopic controls. This makes some of the mini-games a lot easier as you can move and aim faster. While working you can use the Circle Pad, this does a wonderful thing. This improves the somewhat clunky camera controls from the N64 era and the default camera on the 3DS. This can also be used in First Person mode to look around.

The game overall saw a number of changes. The order of some of the power-ups from the Great Fairies have been changed. This makes some previously extremely challenging parts of the game just challenging. It is a great aid as it makes the overall more accessible without taking away from the overall experience. The Bomber's Notebook, your guide to what events you have completed has also seen a change. It tracks events you've begun, heard rumors about and completed. It has alarms that can be set to aid you in getting to the starting point of various events easier. Even better is that it also lists what reward you got for completing that chain of events. You get after the first 3-day cycle from the Happy Mask Salesman instead of Jim. There are a few other changes like that.

A bigger change that is wonderful is the Ocarina usage. Not only is it a button the touch screen but it has an option to show you the various melodies that are available to you. Say what you will, this helps so much when you need to start firing off a lot of different songs quickly. The Clock displayed at the bottom of the top screen got a redesign as well. It gives an exact time throughout the day opposed to you needing to read it and figure it out.

Two major changes that needs to be noted is about the Owl Statues and Boss Fights. Those who have more recently played through the N64 version will know that previously the Song of Time was used save your progress while the Owl Statues made temporary saves. Now, the Owl Statues (and the new Feather Statues) are used to create permanent saves. It makes the Song of Soaring a lot more useful and its much easier to save in case you are attempting one of the more challenging side quests and don't want to lose all your progress. With the boss battles, they have been given a better defined weak point. Goht, Odolwa, Twinmold and Gyorg all have an eye (or eyes in  Twinmold's case) that can be targeted when they are stunned or is used to stun them.
Two boss fight ins particular have been drastically changed. The Gyorg fight has gained an underwater portion to the battle. You must fight against in the water in your Zora form. The Twinmold fight has been revised as well. Not only do you need to strike the Eyes to stun them, but in your Giant Form you will be picking them up and throwing them as well. You will find that the Giant form has very different attacks and is no longer you just slashing away at your target. You get the Giant's Mask at the Mid-point of this fight opposed to having it from the outset like in the N64 version. It still drains magic for its use but it feels like a more notable change instead of just a massive upscaling of Link.

In the expanded content you will find a few new things. The first is a a more expanded ended for the Gorman Brothers who were trying to ruin Romani Ranch. The Brothers also give a redesigned Garo Mask. Clock Town has been cleaned up some with more symmetry found throughout. You will also find a number of Stray Fairies have moved inside the temples. There was a swap between the Great Fairies so you get the Magic Boost much sooner and the sword spin later. You can also obtain a seventh bottle in this game. You will also find 2 new areas: Fishing Holes. These can be a huge and alluring time sink. The different fish in both locations require different things to be done for them to be caught. Plus, these are the only NONE boss chambers where the Fierce Deity Mask can be worn. There are several others as well but they are much smaller and can easily be overlooked. In all cases, they add to the experience of a fan-favorite Zelda game.

The themes and the story of the game have been left alone. Termina is still a great place to explore and there remains a lot to do throughout the game. The touch ups to the graphics are a wonderful to have be added. On top of that having the game on a portable gaming console was a great choice. Especially one with the suspend feature. The boss fights feel fresh again and some have gained a new approach or two to defeat them. 

This a game that has been long overdue for a remake or more re-releases. Previously it had been released digitally through the Nintendo e-shop as well as part of the Legend of Zelda Collector's Edition that came with some Pre-Orders of Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. Overall, the game offers a lot of helpful changes. If you never played Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask and want to, this a great way to do just that. It offers an experience equal to what the game offered on the N64 but no gold game cartridge was offered. The world is just as massive and the experience is well worth the effort.