i really felt Majora's mask confusing i didn't understand it all.

the very fact that there was a mechanic in the game that forced you to keep track of time lest you lose some/ all of your save data pissed me the hell off...but at least they tried something different. I preferred the oracle of ages/seasons mechanics if we're talking about different, but that's my opinion.

Loved Majora's mask, perhaps one of the most interesting and incredible games of all time imho. It is just inches behind Ocarina for my favorite ever, buty its inventivness, incredible npc's and npc interaction, as well as terrific story and sidequests just made it amazing.

I'm sure there's a lot of nostalgia at play here, but the experience of playing Majora's Mask might be my favorite Zelda experience. Ocarina of Time was my introduction to the series (I was about 12 at the time), and this was the first sequel in the franchise that I had to look forward to. Although I found the 3 day cycle a bit tedious, I absolutely loved how the Majora's Mask universe was this twisted version (ala Alice in Wonderland) of the Hyrule we experienced in Ocarina of Time. Bottom line: I loved it, and I thought it was an interesting inversion of the time mechanic from Ocarina of Time. I agree that I haven't really seen Nintendo utilize anything like it in what I've played, but I think it's a concept that needs further exploration.

Every Zelda game has a special spot in my heart, but I missed the Majora's Mask boat, I could never find it to buy for my N64. And I think emulation isn't fun for some consoles.

I've seen a bit though and maybe played 25 minutes of it and from that and what I hear from friends and what I heard previously from reviewers, it's one of the most unique games of that generation. It reinvented the Zelda playstyle and hell, most game playstyles in a way no other game did. Even if it frustrates you or if you don't understand the game when playing, you have to give respect for the creators for making a truely wonderful and interesting game experience. The lack of understanding is what entices me the most, not all games should be able to be picked up and easily beaten. Really.

Ahem.

Also, you never "lose" save data in Majora's Mask. If the Moon crashes into Termina, the Happy Mask Salesman uses his eternal creepiness to pull you back in time three days. That's all.

Sadly I have yet to play it : (

Majora's Mask is one of the few Zeldas that actually broke the mold. I found its world more engrossing than most shit we see in today's games, just because every character has a name and a story to them.

Plus, that game was totally fucked up (in the best way possible).

@RIMoonlight
I could never fairly say one way or the other since there are those games that irk you right unt the end and you just "get it." But I'm the type of guy where it takes me months or even a year to beat a title like the Zelda games so with that mechanic I just lost all hope.

After about 4 months my friend told me I wasn't even 1/3 through the game and I wasn't so impressed that I was about to spend X amount of years (exageration) to beat it.

I thought it was clever, but I can't stand timers in games. Kind of a love-hate thing.

Finishing Majora's Mask was like pulling teeth. It's the only Zelda game that I've only played through once.

@Xzyliac

The exact same thing happened to me.

Majora's Mask was the first Zelda game I played. It was a rental. Bad intro to the series for most, but I had fun anyway. Every three day cycle trying to figure out how to get the moon to not obliterate me was entertaining.

I only went back to MM a couple years later, after beating OoT. Still haven't beat it, but I'm busy beating WW. Again.

I'm not sure if I would say Majora's Mask was the best Zelda, but it's no where near the worst. There is a lot of beauty contained in this title, even if the nature of it's story is a bit repetitive.

Majora's Mask made the whole world come alive, made every character you met matter to the grand scheme of things within the world. It was also around that time that we were seeing more emergent worlds rise to the surface of gaming. I remember playing Shenmue within the same timeframe as Majora's Mask, which possibly made me enjoy MM all he more.

Not too long after, Morrowind was another game to do it. Bethesda fails at coding and quality assurance, but I'll at least give them a nod for what they tried to do.

They did something even most open world games today still don't do - each character had a life and a schedule they adhered to. That's never happened in GTA, every NPC you see on the street is just some randomly generated nobody. I guess that's why I don't feel bad about running them down in my car.

But in MM, Shenmue and Morrowind, those people have names and routines. Shenmue even had Biographies and names for the stray animals on the bonus disc, damn. But that sort of anal level of detail was what added charm to these games.

I think that games could use more games like that. Animal Crossing would be another of them, as well as Persona 3 and 4, but that's about all I can think of.

Too bad in Morrowind we often just offed the first insignificant citizen we came upon and took up residence in their homes. At least I did.

The three day cycle was really hard to get into--I had to start and restart the game close to 10 times before I finally got the groove of things--but holy gods it is worth it. The world is so saturated with details that every cycle gives you a different experience, a different point of view, a different choice to make, a different perspective on past events.

The three day mechanic is the best thing that has ever happened to video games (in terms of narrative potential) and it is absolutely a turning point.

I can appreciate that to a certain extent. I never played Majora's Mask, but I do believe that games have lost that depth, the little touches. I'm thinking back to games like Ultima 7 (or U6, UWI&2), Fallout 1&2, Baldur's Gate 2, and Planescape: Torment, or even Betrayal at Krondor. These games gave you a world that was alive and interactive, or at least detailed. I like being able to click on environmental items and either interact with them, like the ovens, instruments, looms of Ultima, to the descriptive text on items in BG2, F1&2, and P:T. It's one of the things that turns me off from MMO's...the lack of immersion.

Dragon Age really gets me on that front...the game is great, but it feels a lot like an MMO. I also find the little details to be distracting and pulls you out of the world...the static water puddles that look like pools of ice, the blood spattered discussions with townfolk, so on. These may be superficial, but at the same time, they are subtle touches that have the potential to really pull me into the world.

Now, what we have is length for the sake of length. Bethesda is notorious for this.

Majora's Mask is my favorite because there is SO MUCH YOU COULD DO!
When I beat this game I nearly did EVERYTHING in one day in the game.
Not only that you can battle the Bosses...AGAIN!
This is definitely one of the Best Zelda games to date!
Though...I have yet to see something like this in any other Nintendo game...

Dude, MM is my favorite Zelda, & one of my favorite games ever. You really did develop an attachement to the characters in that game. I remember the first time i called a giant to stop the moon, it was only one giant, & he tried to stop that thing with all his might, but failed. For some reason, that really hit me as a kid.

Majora's Mask is my favorite Zelda game. There were some many little things that made the game enjoyable. Like if you went to the Inn before 1PM(I think) on the first day you could steal a room from a Goron of the same name,or Helping the farm girl fight off the "aliens" or even getting hugged for help the sisters deliver milk.

First one = OoC.
I mean MM beggining kinda of suck.- Getting dragged to another dimension.

There were other MM secrets, like one big boss going "OMGosh! so Cute" if you used said mask, or making some mobs march behind you.

Majoras Mask is awesome

Eh, I kinda hated the time mechanic myself. I don't like rushing through RPGs because I have a habit of missing things.
In this case I'd go through 2 or 3 cycles before figuring out what the hell to do. Eventually I just gave up, as that ruined me getting into the game at all.

"Deep, compact play" huh? That sounds like it's open to interpretation. What I get from it is, it shouldn't matter if you put in 30 minutes or 30 hours, you should get the same rich experience playing the game.

The thing about Majora's Mask is, the time mechanic may be a pain the ass, but it makes every minute of gameplay count. At no point do you have time to do something you'd consider wasteful, (unless you hate the side quests just to get from Dungeon A to Dungeon B) because you only have 3 days to save the world.

Another game I can think of where every minute mattered was Super Mario Galaxy. Now, there wasn't the same kind of pressure in that game. But every level was a joy to complete. The physics, the level design, and the presentation all came together just right. No matter what you chose to do in that game, you were in for a treat.

I'm not feeling that same thing in a lot of the newer Zeldas though. I wonder why I should even have to be doing some tasks. TP felt rather shallow compared to earlier installments. The move to 5-piece Heart Containers felt like a decision to arbitrarily pad the game's length. (It may give you more to do outside of dungeons, but it doesn't make the heart of the game any more satisfying. ) I'm all fine and dandy with stealth, but when you do the same dungeon 5 times in Phantom Hourglass, it gets old fast. If Nintendo wanted to make that game meatier, they should've thrown in another new dungeon, not all those trips to the same one. And who actually enjoyed getting the Triforce pieces in Wind Waker?

Not that these games aren't enjoyable as a whole. I particularly enjoyed the scene where you unseal the Master Sword in WW. But there are low points.