The Legend of Zelda has given the world many gems over the years and everyone has their favorite. Whether you love the classic feeling of walking out your front door and embarking on an epic quest that comes with A Link to the Past or the beautiful cel-shaded cartoon humor that comes from The Wind Waker. If you're a fan of the series, you no doubt have a preference of which one sits at the top. And the series is so grand and wonderful that each entry could be argued as such, inspiring moments of awe swirling in your mind long♉ after completion.
But there is a debate that has been raging within the Zelda fandom for years now. Which game is better: Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask? This is perhaps due to the fact that both of them were staples of the N64 library. Or that Majora's Mask is a direct follow up to Ocarina of Time, which doesn't happen too often in the 🥃franchise. Or it could be because they share the same character models, giving both games the same appearance while the inside c⛦ontents are vastly different.
Majora's Mask was nowhere near as popular as its predecessor when it was released back in 2000. But the following behind it has been growing over the years. And they have been decreeing that Ocarina of Time is not, in fact, the pinnacle of Zelda's greatness. The evidence speaks for itself. Here are 20 ways Majora's Mask is better than Ocarina of Time, but 10 ways in which it isn't.
30 Better: The Masks 💝 ꦇ
There’s obviously nothing wrong with running around as Link, swinging your sword and solving puzzles. But in comparing the two games, the inclusion of masks gives Majora the upper hand when it comes to gameplay.
While there are many masks in the game that just serve as side quest items to unlock d👍ifferent things, there are a few that can change Link’s form. The Deku, Goron, and Zora masks all make Link control differently and have their own stre♒ngths and weaknesses. This makes for a lot more variety in how you explore areas and fight enemies.
29 Better: The Music ꦛ 🔯
While Ocarina does have some fantastic music, some of the best tracks like Zelda’s Lullaby and the Kakariko Village theme were carried over from A Link to the Past. And yes, Majora does feature some songs from Ocarina. But there are many original tracks ⛄that 🎃are some of the most powerful pieces of music the series has.
The haunting Song of Healing and the bustling Clock Town music (which changes from day to day) are strong standouts. There’s also the surprisingly catchy theme for Stone Tower and the theme for Woodfall Temple, which features sporadic, high-pitched chanting that still unnerv🀅es me.
28 ꩲ Worse: Less Revolutionary
Not only did Ocarina of Time do pretty much everything right, it was also the first game to acc🌱omplish what it did. It showed how to approach the action-adventure genre within a 3D space flawlessly, prompting others to follow suit. Without its ground-breaking targeting system, fighting enemies would have been very different.
In comparison, many things that make Majora’s Mask so wonderful are because Ocarina was such a triumph.
Ocarina’s success sent ripples throughout t🐬he gaming world, 𒁃not just from a 3D perspective but from a storytelling one as well.
27 ಌ Better: Supporting Ch🎐aracters
One of the most powerful contributing factors that makes the story of Majora’s Mask so special are the supporting 𝔉characters. Most of them have their own flaws, fears, and desꦕires.
You didn’t just want to stop the Skull Kid from destroying Clock Town; you wanted to make sure every single citizen was happy.
That was how layered all of them were, from the tortured romance of Anju and Kafei to the unbreakable sisterly bond of Romani and Cremia to the town Mayor. Many in Ocarina were simply there to fill 𒐪space or point towards a goa🐭l.
26 Better: More Complex Story ▨ ไ
The supporting characters aren’t the only aspect that makes the story of Majora’s Mask so noteworthy. The overall themes like loneliness and loss make it much more intricate and profound than Ocarina.
Both games follow Link trying to save a world from certain doom, but Ocarina’s plot is a much more standard “good vs. bad” story.
Seeing how the actions of the Skull Kid have negatively affected the citizens in the town, as well as the surrounding areas, gives the game more depth and shows how every act of the villain h𒐪as unique consequences depending on where you are.
25 ⛄ ෴ Worse: The Scale
Ocarina of Time epitomizes the feeling of taking on an epic quest in a giant world and did so better than many games that would be released long after it. The story may be simpler, but it lends itself better to that of a grand adventure. In fact, it mak💞es you feel downright heroic.
There aren’t many heroic moments to be had in Majora’s Mask. Sure, you may accomplish a lot in one area. But then you’ll have to restart the three-day cycle, meaning that you collected what you needed bᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚut the people you helped were thrust ba🤡ck into despair.
24 Bette𓆉r: The Overworld
The overworld is something we may take for granted now. Traveling through one can either be distractingly fun by offering secre🌳ts and hidden treasure, or it can be dull, testing our 🐈patience until we reach the next area.
At the time of release, Ocarina’s Hyrule Field may have seemed grand and exciting, but it’s actually rather empty outside of a few enemies.
Termina Field, however, is still fun to explore 18 years later. It’s divided into four section♛s, each which are representative of the environments in the larger areas you travel to. There are also many more secrets to find.
23 Better: The Side Quests ജ
Most of what you can do in Ocarina of Time is built into the main p𝔉lot. There are two side quests, though they don’t really ad✅d much to the story itself.
About half of what you can do in Majora’s Mask is part of one side quest or another. This helps build up the surrounding environment and characters. Not only are there a lot more, but they’re all very unique in how you approach them. You aren’t just trading things a🌳round to 𝓡get better items. You’re fighting aliens or you’re racing Gorons or you’re healing wounded hearts.
22 ꦗWorse: Te🅰mple Design
The temples are where Ocarina of Time has a more significant upper hand. Not only are there more of them, but they also have a better design both aesthe🐟tically and structurally.
The Shadow Temple is suitably eerie and depressing, the Spirit Temple blends strengths of Young and Adult Link, and the tantalizing Forest Temple has you track down the four poe sisters.
Temples in Majora’s Mask can be confusing due to their tendency to shift where you can go, like the Great Bay Templꦿe, or entire layouts like the Ston൩e Tower.
21 Better: Mini-Games 🎐
This isn’t to say that the mini-games from Ocarina of Time are bad, but there are far less to be found and less variety seen in each game. In comparison, the ones in Majora are much more worthy of your Rupees.
There are two shooting galleries, where you can shoot at Octoroks or Deku Scrubs, making for ♏a more satisfying experience than Ocarina’s Rupee shooting gallery. Some, like Honey and Darling’s Shop, will change from day to day while others, like the Treasure Chest Shop, will change depending on which of Link’s forms you use.