The Legend of Zelda series is my favorite video game series of all time. However, as with any series that I adore, I try not to be a bumbling idiot blinded by the words "LEGENDU OF ZERDA" (or any other game title) whenever a company announces a new game or port. Despite this, I still have bought almost every port of every American-released Zelda-related title. I have even imported the Japanese version of Four Sword Adventure just to play Tetra Trackers, and I am planning on importing Tingle's Rosy Coloured Ruppeeland eventually. Out of all the ports and remakes, Collector's Edition for Gamecube was one that I received right when it was available (via a Nintendo Power Renewal Gift) back in 2004. Even though it came out 7 years ago, I never rebeat any of the games on it until today... That game being The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
Majora's Mask seems to be a special case amongst fans of the series that I have encountered. People tell me that they either: A) Did not play it because they hate time management in video games, B) Played it, but it was awful (this is mostly connected with "OCARINA OF TIME IS WAY BETTER"), C) It was really good OR D) OMG IT IS THE BEST GAME EVER!!!
As for if I fall into any categories on the above mentioned list: Yes and No. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is #4 on my Top 10 Video Games of All Time list. However, there is another Zelda game that is listed higher than it; and No, it is not Ocarina of Time... That one is #9 on my list.
I decided to replay The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask because my boyfriend fell into category A in the above list, and I wanted to prove that the Time Management in the game was not that bad. Without a way for me to hook up my N64, I figured I would pull out Collector's Edition for the Gamecube. What surprised me was how many differences there were between the two versions.
Technically, the save file I finally beat was not my first attempt to run through Majora's Mask on Collector's Edition. I was never able to finish my original attempt. The game would randomly delete my data at odd intervals. In my original save, the farthest I got was beating Twinmold in Stone Tower. What stopped me from going straight to the Final Boss fight is that when I saved my game at the Owl Statue, turned off my Gamecube, and returned to the game later, the save said I had not finished Stone Tower... or Ikana Castle. I would have chalked this up to fowl on my memory card, except if it had messed up, then my 2,000+ blocks of other data would have been corrupted as well and it was not.
When going through on my newest try, I realized that the game would only temporarily save at Owl Statues and then permanently save when you played the Song of Time.
Earlier in the game, right before activating the Owl Statue for Woodfall, my game ended up freezing and I had to do all of the Deku Palace again. I encountered this same problem on my second try (the now beaten file) when leaving the Tourist Hut in the Southern Swamp, and my game froze again.
Majora's Mask on Collector's Edition also had an issue with horrible lagging, but as my friend pointed out, MM on CE ran at a lower frame rate than the original game due to it basically being a ROM played on a built-in Emulator on the GCN disc. Our speculation lead us to believe that games with the N64 Expansion Pak are harder to emulate since Ocarina of Time on the Collector's Edition disc was fine.
On my now beaten file, I obtained every mask in the game so I could achieve the Fierce Deity Mask once again. To anyone who does not know of this item, it is only allowed to be used during Boss Fights and it allows you to play the game on what I call "God Mode". However, from what I found out, obtaining the Fierce Deity in Collector's Edition would come at a price.
That price would be because of the lagging, and would cause a not-so-strong Fierce Deity. I still managed to beat the game just fine, but I actually got hit quite a lot during the Final Boss fight and that never happened to me on the N64 version. Also, due to the lag, my Magical Sword attack barely connected with the boss.
If you were to ask me which version of the game you should get, I would tell you "If you can get a N64, then get the N64 version. However, if you only have a Gamecube or a Wii, then get the Collector's Edition, because like I said, the game is still beatable despite it's nuisances."
If you are curious as why I adore Majora's Mask so much, then you'll have to wait. I'll talk about that on another day.
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