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The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

This one is always interesting to talk about because depending on the time, either this or Wind Waker would take the spot as my 2nd favorite Legend of Zelda game right under Breath of the Wild, which still sports the helm of my favorite Legend of Zelda game of all time. I would say these definitely take the top 3 spots, and even sometimes I'll switch this out with Ocarina of Time.

Majora's Mask is in a league of it's own as far as I'm concerned, even though it looks a lot similar to Ocarina of Time. Given that they were released on the same console doesn't really make that an enormous surprise. However, if we're talking similarities as far as gameplay and world building, I would relate Ocarina of time closer with Wind Waker. Majora's Mask though takes it's own leaps and in my opinion, is rewarded for it. It takes a much darker tone akin to games like Twilight Princess and often times even moves into the more creepy aspects of life and the world collectively. It's an experience all it's own to go through and it leaves you wanting more each time you play. Storywise, the game of course is excellent but that should be no surprise given that this was release on the N64 which had a good number of great experiences altogether. This just further cements that fact.

When I was younger, the most daunting thing about Majora's Mask that sort of still hold true today is the 3 day mechanic. It's part of the reason why I finally played through this game later in life because I think I was just too young to understand how the game worked mechanically which put me off of it. But, that allowed me to play through Ocarina of Time instead which wasn't a bad trade off. Both are worth playing for their own special reasons and both still hold up pretty good today despite the graphics looking a bit dull. It still works for Majora's Mask though because it meshes well with the darker theme as a whole. Not sure I would think the same if the game looked shiny and brand new.

The thing that I also really like about Majora's Mask which was evident in many other games, is the fact that the developers don't mess around. If they wanted you to know that this game is going to pull at your heart strings, they would tell you outright. Majora's Mask starts you off in a dark forest and you subsequently lose your horse and are basically left to die. Instead though, you're morphed into a deku scrub and have you traverse through the first bit as a character you never played. Thus introducing you to do the mask mechanic which this game does exceedingly well. There were masks in Ocarina of Time, but Majora's Mask takes it to a whole new level which transformations for Gorons, Zoras, Deku Scrubs, etc.

By not only creating an alternative way to go about the game, it just adds more substance to an already great game which makes it greater in my opinion. I don't know what the game would have been like without the addition of masks, but the game basically revolves around them and their unique mechanics so I guess the game would be entirely different. Interesting to think about nonetheless though I like Majora's Mask the way it is. Hell, the whole idea of masks is in the name itself.

As far as difficulty goes, for me, Majora's Mask is definitely on the more difficult side for a variety of reasons. One of course being the 3 day mechanic but also adding in the fact that you have to learn new mechanics with new characters as well as beating the game in its entirety, which is it's own reward. From boss fights to dungeons, this game certainly takes the cake. Hell, anything Legend of Zelda has been at least decent, but Majora's Mask is definitely up there with the greats.

Like I said, I rate this one very highly to the fact that it is in my top 3 along with Breath of the Wild and Wind Waker. That wasn't always the case as I always defaulted to Ocarina of Time. But over the years I have warmed up more to Majora's Mask for how much depth they managed to get into this game to create a unique experience all it's own.