Games / Game Reviews

Review: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D

By Sean Booker
February 13, 2015 - 00:18

Much like Wind Waker HD and Ocarina of Time 3D before it, Nintendo continues to put out strong and worthwhile remakes of its Zelda franchise with Majora’s Mask 3D. Despite a few technical hiccups the original game is enhanced by the updates and looks better than ever. Tedious and irritating components from before have been smoothed out and the new user interface makes item and quest management much easier. This remake brings new life to the game and is great for fans old or new.

The visuals are obviously the biggest change here. The game looks quite similar to Ocarina of Time 3D and the advancement is equally as pleasing. Everything is far more detailed and vibrant. The 3D effect is also really nice for most of the game but I kept noticing split images forming during many of the game’s cutscenes. During the actual gameplay portions I always had it turned on. In addition I noticed that the framerate would constantly drop when a large about of action was happening on screen. This often resulted during large boss fights with many components moving about. It wasn’t all the time but did happen enough to disappoint.

The user interface is also nicely reworked to match the 3DS’s hardware. The second screen functions as a map as well as additional inputs. You can store multiple masks in the corners of the touch screen for easy access. This becomes quite handy since you’re often switching back and forth between the different abilities they present.

One major addition is the inclusion of a quest log. The key to Majora’s Mask is it’s wealth of side quests. There are so many that it can become confusing which activities you have going on, especially when some rely on different times in the day. The Start button will bring up the new quest log to show what jobs you have active, where you are in the line and which ones you have completed. As well, many of the side quests are time specific and the log book nicely lays out what you know about this. Some jobs will have sections of the day highlighted implying when you can continue. This inclusion definitely helps you keep track of everything this game has to offer and really enhances one of the major components to the game.

There are some inherently old features that have maintained their irritation. The main one is the Z-targeting camera controls due to a lack of a second analog stick; clunky back then and even more so now. Often your perspective won't allow for enough control to smoothly traverse everything you wish to. The 3DS system does allow for you to physically move the unit around for additional control but who ever wants to do that? However, the game does support the Circle Pad Pro to help alleviate this. In addition, this game is launching alongside the New 3DS(XL) which does have a second analog stick which would greatly help. A small and scarce issue but this unfortunately means playing this game on a standard 3DS with no peripheral add-on is the least appealing.

If you have a fondness for Majora’s Mask then the 3D remake is easily something you will appreciate. There have been smart improvements to lingering issues and the updated graphics make it look great. A lot of the dust has been blown off this old title to make it feel fresh and modern. This easily allows it to be a good recommendation for anyone wanting to jump back in or try out for the first time.

Rating: 8 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12