Everything about the Atmosphere: A Review of Majora's Mask 3D

What’s one word to describe why I love Majora’s Mask so much?  Atmosphere.  Just about anyone will tell you this is the darkest game in the Zelda series.  Heck, this is a game about trying to stop a red-eyed moon from crashing into the earth by wearing masks that make the hero scream in pain every time he dons them.  But that’s not what makes the atmosphere in this game so memorable.  No, the atmosphere in this game twinkles thanks to its incredibly unique cast of characters.

Majora’s Mask is a game about helping people.  Sure, the moon is due to crash into the world in three days, but Link—being the stand-up guy that he is—makes time in his busy schedule to reunite a long-lost couple, lay to rest spirits of the wandering dead (including a war hero and a rock god), and reverse the curse laid on a family turned into spiders.  And all this altruism is recorded in the handy-dandy Bomber’s Notebook.  Fans of the original game will be pleased to see that the Bomber’s Notebook is much more intuitive this time around, featuring alerts to ensure you don’t miss the events needed to help Termina’s denizens in distress. 

But getting back to the atmosphere, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the soundtrack.  From the heart-wrenching “Song of Healing” (which plays when you lay the aforementioned wandering spirits to rest), to the otherworldly “Stone Tower Temple Theme” (with different versions depending on whether the temple is right-side-up or upside-down), the music in this game is simply incredible.  I’ve been playing Majora’s Mask for fifteen years now, and I still never get tired of listening to these tunes.

So, is there anything I don’t like about this game, you ask?  Well, the need to go back in time repeatedly can occasionally be frustrating, especially when you’re just about to finish a temple.  Your time-traveling ventures have been fine-tuned a bit in this version, however—in the N64 version, playing the “Song of Double Time” forced you to skip ahead six in-game hours.  Now, you can choose the exact hour you want to travel to on any one of the three days.  And of course, you can still slow down time with the “Inverted Song of Time.”  That said, time traveling still disrupts the flow of your adventure, though I’d argue that the sense of urgency it creates is worth it.

Majora’s Mask is one of those games you either love or you hate.  If you’re like me and loved the original N64 game, you probably picked up the 3DS version without a second thought.  After all, even without the shiny new graphics and gameplay tweaks, the idea of getting to play such a stellar game on the plane is worth the price tag alone.  I only wish I could go back in time to 2000 and play it again with fresh eyes.