There are very few games I love as much as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and its Switch 2 remake has only reminded me of that. I’ve played the original N64 game countless times, and playing through the remake has more than proven that, as I’ve instinctively flown through it thanks to muscle memory. But here’s something that might sound a little strange coming from me. I actually think Majora’s Mask is a better game than Ocarina of Time, and if Nintendo decides to give it the same treatment, I’m convinced it could be better than the new Ocarina of Time as well. Not because the remake got anything particularly wrong, either, but because Majora’s Mask has so much more to gain, in my opinion, from being modernized for today’s generation.
It’s easy to assume that Majora’s Mask would benefit from the same improvements simply because it was originally built using much of Ocarina of Time‘s technology. That’s certainly part of it, but I think there’s a much better argument to be made here, especially when you consider what Majora’s Mask was actually trying to do back in 2000. Its three-day cycle was certainly the highlight of the whole experience, and it did enough on its own to separate Majora’s Mask from its direct predecessor. The thing is that some of the biggest improvements in the Ocarina of Time remake would go much further in a game where the world is impacted by time even more than a game that is quite literally named after it.
Majora’s Mask Would Benefit Even More From Ocarina of Time’s Biggest Improvements
For starters, one of the changes made to Ocarina of Time in the remake is that time now continues passing in towns, whereas it largely stopped in those areas in the original. As a massive fan of games with more realistic NPC routines and a believable world cycle, this is actually one of my favorite things about the new-and-improved Ocarina of Time. But imagine what that same attention to detail could do for Majora’s Mask, where NPCs already follow routines that change across three days and where the nightmarish moon gets closer to destroying the world with every passing hour. In Clock Town, for example, you can see people responding differently as the final night approaches. With modern character animations and more believable reactions, that could be downright uncomfortable to witness, and I mean that in the best possible way.
Guess the games from the emojis.
And then there are Majora’s Mask‘s side quests, which I genuinely think are some of the best the entire Zelda series has ever had. Take Anju and Kafei’s quest, for example, which isn’t particularly memorable because of some extraordinary reward at the end, but because you’re trying to bring two people back together while the world is literally hours away from ending. Ocarina of Time has some great characters, of course, but Majora’s Mask takes the time to make the people you help feel like they have their own problems, even if they aren’t as big as the world-shattering one hanging overhead. Giving these characters voices could make those moments hit even harder, although I’d want Nintendo to be careful about preserving the silence that already makes some of them so effective.
But it isn’t just the storytelling that I think gives Majora’s Mask an advantage. Ocarina of Time‘s new movement controls make Link more enjoyable to play, but Majora’s Mask gives him several completely different ways to move around through its transformation masks. Goron Link can roll across the ground at high speeds, while Zora Link can swim underwater in a way regular Link never could. Nintendo could do quite a bit with those transformations using the remake’s more responsive controls, especially if switching between masks no longer interrupted gameplay as often. And after Majora’s Mask 3D made fast Zora swimming consume magic, a new remake would even give Nintendo an opportunity to reconsider changes that didn’t necessarily improve the original.
Majora’s Mask has so much more to gain, in my opinion, from being modernized for today’s generation.
Of course, the biggest hurdle for anyone playing Majora’s Mask for the first time is probably going to be that three-day cycle, as more recent games like The Blood of Dawnwalker have shown. Having to keep track of appointments and finish certain objectives before time runs out can be a lot, particularly when resetting the clock also resets much of the progress you’ve made in the world. Majora’s Mask 3D already made things easier with its expanded Bombers’ Notebook and the ability to skip ahead to a particular hour, but there’s room to make those features even more convenient on Switch 2. I’d love better ways to keep track of the schedules I’ve discovered, for example, without having the game simply tell me where to go next. The pressure created by the time limit should absolutely stay, though, without a doubt.
Majora’s Mask Is Already Better Than Ocarina of Time in Some Ways
Something else I think would give a Majora’s Mask remake an advantage is its atmosphere, which has always been considerably more unsettling than Ocarina of Time‘s. I’ve already talked about how much I love the darker side of Ocarina of Time in a previous article, but Majora’s Mask takes that darkness to the extreme in the best way. Even its soundtrack contributes to that feeling, especially in Clock Town, where the music becomes increasingly frantic as the moon gets closer. Imagine hearing that with the same orchestral treatment Ocarina of Time received, while watching the people around you become increasingly concerned about their impending doom. There’s something deeply disturbing about the whole premise that I think modern technology could bring out even more effectively.
The only thing that would really concern me about another Majora’s Mask remake is the possibility of Nintendo making it too comfortable. After playing the Ocarina of Time remake and working my way through the Bottom of the Well mini-dungeon, I was a tad disappointed at just how much atmosphere had been sucked out of what I and many others consider to be one of the most disturbing parts of the original game. But part of the reason I think Majora’s Mask is the better game is that it’s willing to make players feel uneasy and rarely holds back, and I don’t want that watered down in a remake just to make it easier for newcomers. Nintendo hasn’t announced a new remake, of course, so all of this is wishful thinking for now, but I genuinely believe Majora’s Mask has even more to offer with modern technology than Ocarina of Time did. And considering how much I love Ocarina of Time‘s remake, that should tell you just how highly I think of its sequel.
- Released
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November 5, 2026
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
