Why Majora’s Mask Is Better Than Ocarina of Time

The Legend of Zelda series went through a huge change during the Nintendo 64 era. Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask are the two Zelda games that set the standard on what 3D Zelda currently is. With that being said, many Zelda fans debate on which game is better. If I were throwing in my two cents, I’d say Majora’s Mask is the more superior game. So I’ll be going over my thoughts on why I prefer Majora’s Mask over Ocarina of Time.

If you haven’t already, check out our ranking list on 3D Zelda games.

Story

Princess Zelda after the seven-year time skip.

The story in Ocarina of Time is pretty straightforward. Young Link must complete all the temples to stop Ganondorf from taking over Hyrule. Once you’ve completed the temples, you report back to Zelda in Hyrule castle only to find out Ganon has turned the tables. Young Link then must go into a seven-year slumber until he can go and get the six medallions to defeat Ganon. Going into the journey of Ocarina of Time wasn’t bad, but the first half of the game felt empty. Outside of the twist midway through the game, this story wasn’t anything special to me. It’s not bad, but there was so much more that could’ve made it better. After the seven-year time skip, you see how the Hyrule castle grounds are in ruins. However, when you go into Hyrule field, it looks more so the same it was seven years ago. The same can be said for other areas around Hyrule. It doesn’t seem like Ganon has actually taken over.

Compare that to Majora’s Mask, where some punk Skull Kid with a creepy mask steals your horse, ocarina, and humanity by turning you into a Deku Scrub. Then you enter Clock Town, and hovering over it is a giant moon with a creepy face. You’re then up against the clock as you have three days to prevent the moon from falling. Not only that, but you need to stop the Skull Kid and get back the mask he stole from the Happy Mask Salesman. The opening to Majora’s Mask is one of my favorite introductions to a Zelda game. The game quickly reveals what’s on the line while introducing the main characters of the story. The clock on the bottom of the screen was a nice touch as well. It always kept reminded me what’s at stake.

Side Quests

Link and Romani meeting each other.

The side quests in Ocarina of Time aren’t bad. Quests like Gold Skulltula mission encourages exploration throughout the game, and you’ll get good rewards from it. However, the mini-stories in these side quests are very lackluster. What I look for in a side quest is not only upgrades but a good mini-story. Ocarina of Time rarely had any side quest with a good story attached to it.

Majora’s Mask had many good side quests that left me with both sadness and enjoyment. The most popular side quest in this game is the Anju and Kafei quest. It’s the longest one in the game, but the story in it is both dark and lovable in so many parts. Playing this side quest is worth it for this cute mini-story alone. There are also many other good side quests like the Romani Ranch and Ikana Graveyard mini-stories. Majora’s Mask offers good rewards for these quests, but it also provides good little stories.

Gameplay, Items, and Dungeons

Deku Link and a creepy silhouette of Skull Kid.

The gameplay in these games felt fine; there was rarely any difference on how Link moves in both games. The items are where things get weird for me. Ocarina of Time has an odd way of letting you use what items you can use as a kid or an adult. I’m not a fan of this concept because it feels like I’m limited in what I want to do during my quest. I get why Young Link can’t use certain items like the Hylian shield, but there’s no in-game reason given to me why I can’t use these items in-between Young and Adult Link. I thought this was a little annoying.

Majora’s Mask introduced many masks players could use to aid in their quest. The transformation masks are the most important masks as they help you in certain dungeons and give some interesting backstories. These masks also give you great abilities, and each one functioned well. Few of the items in this game are similar to Ocarina of Time, and they functioned well.

I may get heat for this, but I think the Dungeons in Ocarina of Time were boring. None of the dungeons gave me a sense of excitement, and they all felt empty. On top of that, the bosses in this game were just as bad. Outside of the final boss, all the bosses didn’t give me much of a challenge. 

The dungeons in Majora’s Mask weren’t perfect, but they were miles better. Even though there’s only four in the game, each one provided challenges that kept me interested. The bosses in each one were fun to fight against. My favorite boss was Goht from Snowhead Temple. It was so fun rolling around as a Goron and trying to hit Goht in a doughnut shape battlefield.

Conclusion

Overall, I think Majora’s Mask is more enjoyable compared to Ocarina of Time. The story, characters, items, and dungeons were way better than what Ocarina of Time provided. I didn’t have much of a good time playing Ocarina of Time. However, don’t let my thoughts on Ocarina of Time discourage what you might love about it. Majora’s Mask, in my opinion, is the better game out of the two.