10 Things We WANT From A Majora's Mask Remake

10 Things We Want From a Majora’s Mask Remake

The “Ocarina of Time” remake is on the way. While we eagerly await it, and have already made a video about what we hope to see, we also can’t help but look towards the possible future. Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at everything we want from a potential “Majora’s Mask” remake.

Quality of Life to Keep

“Majora’s Mask 3D” has a bit of a mixed reception in the “Zelda” community. But there are some quality of life updates that should definitely be carried over to a potential remake. Updates to the Bomber’s Notebook, which keeps track of NPC schedules for various side quests, are a must. Others like more forgiving save points and the Song of Double Time letting you select the exact hour to move forward, rather than half a day, are also great. What we don’t want are giant eyeball weak spots on all the bosses, or the sluggish swim speed of the Zora when, in the original, you got to glide around like a super dolphin.

Expanded NPC Schedules

One of the most defining aspects of “Majora’s Mask” are the interwoven schedules of its NPCs. Link’s actions affect where they’ll be across the three day loop, and what they’ll be doing. However, the more minor an NPC is, the more time they still end up sitting in one location. It would be really interesting to see if Nintendo could expand further on the behavior of Termina’s citizens. Perhaps to connect them to other plotlines in minor ways, or to simply give them more scenes, adding to the already strong characterization and world building. This would also give them more to do and the extra bit of content would be a nice surprise for longtime fans.

A New Clock Town

Clock Town is the central hub of Termina, and is one of the more charming ones the series has ever featured, in part thanks to the aforementioned NPCs. Still, as a central hub, it’s a bit on the small side. It’s mostly a place made of businesses, be they shops, mini-games, or government offices. A remake offers great potential to build on this environment, to make it feel more like an actual town that people live in. In particular, North Clock Town is pretty empty, while South Clock Town is almost entirely dedicated to the construction of the Carnival of Time’s tower. Regardless of where it’s expanded on, it would be great to see Clock Town made into a bigger community.

New Masks

An obvious place for Nintendo to add something new, if they choose to do so, is Link’s collection of masks. It seems unlikely new transformation masks would be added, as the three in the base game are tied to the nations surrounding Clock Town. But what we could see happening is including more minor masks. This would be nice for a variety of reasons. They could either give Link some useful gameplay features, like the Bunny Hood or Stone Mask, or be used to earn different rewards. Either way, having new masks to track down would be a good way to expand on the side quests of “Majora’s Mask,” which is one of its strongest points anyway.

New Uses for Older Masks

If we’re not going to get new masks, the next best thing would be for the older masks to get new uses. As engaging as the mask system is, there are still a fair amount of them that only end up getting used for one thing, like earning a Piece of Heart or unlocking a different mask. Then, they’re immediately placed back in the inventory, never to be removed until the finale when you trade it in to get the Fierce Deity Mask. Nintendo could give them more uses in new side quests, or give them minor, but useful gameplay features that help on Link’s adventure. Either way, it would be nice if they spent less time simply taking up space.

More Dungeons

Despite being loaded with content, there are only four main dungeons in “Majora’s Mask.” That’s a pretty small number in comparison to most other classic “Zelda” titles, and so it’s a clear choice for new content. It doesn’t seem likely that, in a potential remake, Nintendo would add an area to feature a new one of the same size, given how important it is that there are only four areas in the directions outside Clock Town. However, there are also several mini-dungeons, like the Pirate Fortress and Ikana Castle. Something like that, just to beef up the story challenges, might be easier to include without changing the base story too much.

A Penultimate Boss

With the power of Majora’s Mask at his fingertips, the Skull Kid causes a lot of mayhem, during and long before the game takes place. If he can change Link’s form at will and force the moon to come crashing down, you know he’s got a lot of power. But at the climax, when the Four Giants stop the moon from falling, he’s simply knocked out before being tossed aside by the sentient mask. In terms of new content that wouldn’t alter the story, a boss fight against the Skull Kid is an easy ask. Not only would it add more spectacle surrounding the game’s finale, but we imagine Skull Kid’s trickster tactics would make for a fun fight.

A Proper Final Dungeon

If there’s one place where it feels Nintendo could include a more full-length dungeon, it’s the inside of the moon. While each of the four children provide obstacle courses, they’re still fairly short in comparison. And doing them required the player to collect every mask in the game. We’re not saying to take these away; the Fierce Deity Mask should be earned after collecting all the others. But it would be nice if there was still a proper dungeon here, perhaps before reaching the children. Something that acts as a true final challenge leading up to the final boss, that matches the scale of climactic levels found in other “Zelda” games.

A Postgame

Finally seeing the Dawn of a New Day at the end of the game is extremely satisfying, with the NPCs Link helped receiving their happy endings. But as always, we want more. It would be really cool if Link got to stick around for a fourth day, to see the celebration. More importantly, it would be fascinating to check back in on the outcomes of the side quests you either did or did not complete. And it would be interesting to see how this postgame varied depending on how much side content players completed. That would scratch a nice story itch, but it could also provide an opportunity to include any post-game challenges or dungeons.

Keep Its Spirit

No matter what new features, stories, or mechanics we may want to see in a “Majora’s Mask” remake, the most vital detail to get right is its spirit. It has a reputation for being the weirdest and darkest, but also most heartfelt entry in the series. One of the reasons it has resonated with more and more players over the years is because of its distinct, emotionally mature tone. Some fans may worry that this might be lost in a remake, whether because changes made don’t mesh well with the original story, or the updated visuals fail to match the somber tone the way the harsh, angular polygons on the N64 did. Whether it be visually or tonally, “Majora’s Mask” is a rare existential tale in the series, one whose distinct personality we hope isn’t lost if Nintendo chooses to revisit it.

Would you be interested in a “Majora’s Mask” remake? What’s something you would hope to see? Share your thoughts in the comments, and we’ll see you next time!