Majora’s Mask 3D is out now for the Nintendo 3DS and the New Nintendo 3DS, and it’s fantastic, the best version of one of the best Legend of Zelda games (and my personal favorite). It is, as you almost certainly know, a game that originally graced the Nintendo 64 way back in 2000, and it is the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, almost certainly the most acclaimed video game of the early 3D era, and still a top contender for superlative accolades. Question is: Do you need to play it before enjoying Majora’s Mask? Answer is: Eh, no, not really. But you will get more out of Majora’s if you play Ocarina first.
Majora’s Mask and Ocarina of Time: Two Sides Of A Coin
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Ocarina of Time is one of the best games Nintendo has ever made—really, that anyone has ever made. You should play it for that reason alone. But honestly, at this point, there are lots of best games ever made. And I am a member of that smallish group who thinks that Majora’s Mask is the better game, primarily for artistic reasons. But barely anyone would disagree that they’re both great games, and they’re at least within striking distance of each other. You will have an incredible time playing either (and they both hold up very well in their respective 3D remakes).
As you probably know, Majora’s Mask uses a lot of the art from Ocarina. I don’t mean the same characters or locations appear—the same art assets are reused for different characters. A villain in one game is an ally in another. A scarecrow who helped you remember music in one game helps you dance the day away in the other. There is no real continuity between the two. And the narrative continuity is limited to the beginning: Knowing that you’ve maybe met this Skull Kid before, once, briefly, on your previous journey.
The value you gain from having played Ocarina before Majora’s isn’t born out of the plot or characters. It is really about the feel of the game: Seeing reflections of characters you once knew contributes to the dreamlike feel of the game—these are people Link once knew. But these are always fleeting moments, quickly subsumed in the (excellent) gameplay. It is an extra touch to the game, not its essence.
Playing Majora’s without having played Ocarina isn’t like diving into Mass Effect 3 without playing the first two. It’s more like jumping into Ass. Creed IV: Black Flag without the predecessors, or, maybe, Fallout: New Vegas without Fallout 3 (N.B. Both Zeldas are better than any of those games, in my opinion!). Sure, you miss some of the nuance and the lore and the background. But you aren’t exactly thrown off into the deep end.
Play Ocarina of Time 3D if you can before Majora’s Mask—assuming you can find it. But don’t worry too much if you can’t. You will be just as blown away by Majora’s Mask either way.
