The "Darkest" Zelda: Does Majora's Mask Hold Up?

Often called the "Darkest" Zelda, Majora's Mask had big shoes to fill following the success Ocarina of Time. Many people love this game due to it's deviation from the typical Zelda formula and its uniquely weird design, but Does Majora's Mask Hold Up?
Creating this episode came with some interesting challenges, especially in the midst of shifting the format of DIHU, so I hope it turned out good and I hope you enjoy!
00:00 - Intro
01:33 - Dawn of the First Day
06:35 - Woodfall
10:41 - Time Mechanics
12:17 - Snowhead
16:58 - Epona
19:37 - Taking Accountability
20:57 - Great Bay
26:10 - Ikana
29:48 - Stone Tower
31:07 - Majora
35:24 - Thoughts & Side Quests
39:10 - Does It Hold Up?
#zelda #majorasmask #review

[@flaaphy]

Thank you for watching! After reading some of the comments it seems like there’s a few things I missed or got wrong. Luckily, these things don’t affect my view on the game too much. I appreciate everyone educating me, especially those who are kind about it, and I hope this doesn’t affect the viewing experience. Let’s bump that score up by 0.5 for good measure!

[@bloodfang0908]

A good way to look at Majora's Mask is a standalone DLC for Ocarina of Time. It's made harder because it's supposed to be a step up from the original, a challenge to those who have already completed Ocarina. I get some of the gripes, but it's what they could do within their time limit and that limit arguably made a better game

[@ToneOClock]

I haven't finished the video yet but I'd just like to point out that bringing up crashing as an issue doesn't really make sense as on real hardware the game is pretty much impossible to crash. Any crashes you experienced were most likely due to the emulator

[@RaxiazRedux]

Lulu lost her voice from the trauma of having the eggs stolen. Not because she laid them. That's what I gathered.

[@aaronlindsey2219]

They also mention in the game that the Great Bay temple has a mystical effect on mother Zoras, specifically, and that if the temple is in disarray, that the mother will likewise be affected. Lulu is still distraught/depressed despite the eggs being returned and getting her voice back

[@isgamer-8732]

​@@aaronlindsey2219 Yep

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

@@aaronlindsey2219 I thought it was because the Zora descendant who is been protecting the temple will have trouble befall them. Not because they are a mother.

[@jamesclark2490]

I have never heard from anyone who disliked Goht, he’s generally a fan favorite.

[@hhh124_1]

Ngl I prefer odwalla

[@PreachingCrayons]

Goht and fish are pooppoop

[@AveryMMartin]

Goht is objectively good, Snowpeak is fantastic. Great Bay Temple is phenomenal but Gyorg does actually suck

[@mlpfanboy1701]

I also never heard anyone find odwalla hard. Nor have i heard of anyone hating snowhead and loving great bay temple.

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

Really? A fan favorite?

[@neur0leptic782]

lol @ the actual seething over Goht-this might be the first time I can use the phrase 'skill issue' without the slightest bit of irony

[@flaaphy]

I’m not even gonna lie, the seething bit was just to emphasize how much I didn’t like its design. I beat Goht fairly quickly, BUT I WILL admit defeat in saying that Gyorg took me an embarrassing amount of attempts :((

[@sitton76]

30:37 You should be able to re-flip it by doing that, from the footage it looks like you just missed the hitbox for the crest. You actually need to do this to collect some stray fairy's that you spawned chests for while it is upside down. 31:21 You actually only need the Moon's Tear to get up the clock tower for the first cycle, when you are in your normal form you can simply climb up from the side, which you are too short to do in the Deku form.

[@Jonathan-Anderson]

PRO TIP: Next time you play hide and seek with the bombers to get the code, you dont have to play with them again as Link ...because you already have the code. Give it a try, and Jim will leave you with some hilarious dialog.

[@djinnspalace2119]

bro isnt thinking in 4 dimensions

[@darthgamer9861]

does he still give you the notebook?

[@Jonathan-Anderson]

@@darthgamer9861 yes he does

[@mlpfanboy1701]

Jim becomes impressed that you know the code

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

I didn't know you could get the notebook this way.

[@nintendork9207]

WOW i just finished watching the OoT one, decided to check out the channel and to my surprise this is here! The timing, immaculate! May your crops thrive, your skin be forever glowing, and your love of video games remain undying!!

[@thatdoomslayer]

Same bro

[@isaacwiseick]

My interpretation of the theme: Healing from Trauma. I think this is why you were confused about the happy and elements presented in the game, to properly speak about healing it needs to address both, just like in real life. I won't speak on why this is the theme, that would take too long for me rn, but that's what I've decided on in the years of knowing and loving this game. I actually feel it in my heart that I want to make my own video essay on this topic, but I haven't found the courage to do so. Maybe I will one day :)

[@ykMMD]

Loved your input, gotta agree on almost everything. Except Goht!! I don't know why, this boss was so much fun

[@GenmaTheSamurai]

I guess my personal interpretation of this game's themes is more of a spin on the hero aspect of the series. In most games in the series you are some kid on an adventure in a relatively safe world (That do have their dark aspects don't get me wrong.) But with Majora it's a world where everything has gone wrong. The world is ending, Kafei and Anju's lives have been ruined, there are plagues in the surrounding regions, the butler's kid died, and the Goron's hero fell into a ravine and died a horrific death. This is a world that is not only going to end, but is actively miserable. And you mentioned conflicting tones, but I actually think Majora is about "Hope in the midst of despair." YOU are the one thing that can change this, make everyone's lives better, and fix everything. The main tragic element is that eventually resetting time will undo it, but you maintain the knowledge of how to fix it if you want to. Now, while not intended, one of my favorite things I try and do when I replay this game is top everything off with a cycle where I try and do everything. It's stressful, a lot to do, but DANG it feels rewarding. But I guess it can be assumed defeating Majora probably fixes most of the problems in the credits so eh lol. Back to the kids though, I feel they were more to give a vague insight into either Majora or the Skull kid. Kind of a counter-mentallity to Link who probably never had to think of things that way. And I guess to reinforce the idea about "Hope in the midst of despair" is that it's likely what kept the devs going in what was the worst crunch they ever experienced making this game. Many of the carpenters were their thoughts exactly, projected onto the characters. Admittedly, they should never have been put into that crunch in the first place, but I feel it did lead the developers to bleed their souls into this project. (The moon was literally inspired by a North Korean missile that nearly hit Japan while they were making this, and they also attended a wedding around the time.) It's definitely one of the more artistic Zeldas. And last thing, I have NEVER seen a single person complain about the mask jingle in that scene LOL that seemed like a weird complaint imo, but I get what you mean. That never took me out of the moment tho.

[@draghettis6524]

And this is why I love the Fierce Diety Mask and, especially, that it trivializes the Majora fight. Termina is a world where everything was broken. Link can only fix it little by little, and cannot do everything in a single cycle, his progress eternally undone, what was fixed becoming broken again, because there is just not enough time. But one thing remains. The masks. Obtained at the end of the questlines, they represent the gratitude of the people towards Link ( I use gratitude in the way Skyward Sword used it, a fundamental force of good that opposes the malice of Demise and, more generally, all that is evil ). They may have been forgotten by everyone but Link, but the feelings of those moments, and the masks that represent them, are real. And the Fierce Deity Mask, only being obtainable once you saved everyone in Termina and beyond, is all this gratitude crystallised into one single mask. The hopes and dreams of an entire world, channeled through one lone boy who only ever did what was right, fighting against the root of all evil that it faced in recent times. How could they not win ? How could Majora be anything else than squashed like a bug, against this overwhelming power ? How could this being, a Hero fighting on the behalf of an entire world's future, powered by all that is good, be anything lesser than a deity ? This is why Fierce Deity Link is so far above Majora. For he is not alone, but has everyone behind him, pushing for his victory even if they don't know it.

[@Rigbyz]

Everytime i find yet another nearly hour long video about Majoras mask, i just end up devoering it imediately lol

[@ruminator3570]

Is it fair to say that where ocarina of Time represents the hero's journey Majora's mask represents the consequences of having gone through it? The consequences that no one seems to take into consideration.

[@flaaphy]

I’ve seen a few others have this interpretation of the game, even here in the comments, and I think it makes sense. There’s even subtleties that support it; you’re heavily encouraged to help others / be the hero, but no matter how hard you try you can’t stop the thief from robbing the bomb shop lady if you want to help Anju and Kafei. To me that’s the games way of saying “you can’t save everyone”.

[@azeplays3563]

23:08 but the zora mask has boomerangs...

[@flaaphy]

I’m not gonna lie I read Mikau’s grave, tried it out once, returned to the game in a different session and completely forgot about it. You’re right though, absolute blunder on my part

[@azeplays3563]

@@flaaphy haha, I guess that's another notch in the replayability column. Great vid btw, watched the oot one as well. I do disagree with your conclusion at the end, but it was also your first playthrough and I feel like mm is a game that really grows on you. As someone who absolutely loved oot, I hated mm on my first playthrough, barely made it through the first dungeon. But upon revisiting it multiple times it now sits along oot as my favorite pieces of media ever. Now obviously you have your own opinions so its possible they may not change like this, but just thought I'd throw that out there. Keep up the good work (looking forward to wind waker)!

[@aaronlindsey2219]

Hahahaha I think he overlooked a lot of the good things in this game. His OOT video has a lot more passion for the game and therefore a lot of research into how the game design helps the game. I do, however value his perspective as a newbie playing the game. First time play through experience really is a stat to be measured for sure

[@flaaphy]

@@aaronlindsey2219 yeah I definitely overlooked some things. I was a little torn between playing the game multiple times to try and make it more like the OoT video or keeping it strictly the “new player experience”. I chose the new player mainly because a few people had complained that the OoT video didn’t focus on my opinion enough, and I feel like a lot of MM reviews look at it from a biased perspective. Thank you for your feedback, it actually means a lot! I’ll try to focus more on design elements in future episodes. I still want to keep the joking and opinion forward nature of this episode moving forward though

[@azeplays3563]

@@flaaphy i think the new player perspective definitely has merit. Like I said, I feel like MM is a game that grows on you, so maybe a few years down the line you'll revisit it with a different perspective/conclusion. If not, thats cool too. Just throwing that out there

[@RTheu2109]

This wasn't the first zelda i played but it was the first one i finished, and the npcs, sidequests and cutscenes really stuck with me so i'm a bit biased towards MM due to nostalgia but even after playing all the other ones i still hold MM as my favorite just because as you said, it's different. I played the other Zelda games so much that whenever i replay them i have a "fixed" path to follow, there's not much you can do until the "tutorial phase" ends, and while it's the same in MM, when you step in clocktown the first time, even as a Deku scrub there's so many things you can do. It's almost like if you take every important aspects of a zelda game, almost all zelda games feels like is "on rails" while MM is a bit more of a "sandbox" game, to me at least. not to mention that 99% of the npcs in MM has a little secret if you search around, like, did you know that the boatshop guy in the swamp is actually Tingle's dad. Or that the zora band plays little remixes of classic zelda songs in their rooms. Anju and Kafei sidequest goes beyod the two of them, Anju's mother hates Kafei, for thinking that he ran away, like her husband did to her, she even argues with Anju. And Kafei's mother, Madame Aroma, almost gave up hope by the end of the third day until you deliver the letter to her. You can even feel the fear and dread of the moon rising in the way some characters speak throughout the 3 days. There's just so much charm and detail put in the npcs in this game that just lacks in other titles. They just feel unique. Like there's the OOT Anju's that's just the "cucco lady" and then there's MM Anju that has a whole subplot around her, MM makes them so much more memorable and alive.

[@lordteensie6156]

I like the interpretation that the game represents the 5 stages of grief. 1 denial: the people of clock town are largely in denial of their impending doom, many ignore it or pretend nothing is wrong 2 anger: the deku king is furious at the loss of his daughter and lashes out at the monkey who did nothing wrong 3 bargaining: darmani pleads with you for help, asking you to bring him to life or soothe his pain 4 depression: the loss of her eggs drives lulu into a depression that literally robs her of her voice, unable to muster the energy to do anything besides stand on the pier and stare into the water 5 acceptance: the dead of ikana canyon brought back by majora wreak chaos until they're brought back to themselves and accept their death The acceptance one doesn't match as cleanly and I think there are some videos that explain it better, but to me that fits together well enough.

[@mavrickindigo]

I dont belive crashing was a concern on the original game. The devs would probabaly have never forseen re-releases and emulation so crash prevention probably didnt come up back in the day Simply put, the game didnt crash on n64

[@flaaphy]

Just looked into it! It appears that the game does have the capability of crashing on N64, but from reading others experience, it seems like it’s less of an issue on the original console. I guess moral of the story is that the best way to experience the game is purchasing the original hardware lol!

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

@@flaaphy It crashed in the GameCube version. I think disabling the rumble feature can help reduce it.

[@Ikronix007]

@38:00 mins I have to say thats the purpose of that mask. That's the reward for collecting all of the mask. All of the hard work to reset every cycle when you couldn't do it the first time. This game makes you reset so many times and for the effort you put into completing all the side quests and 100% Is def worth it for a mask that allows you shoot beams out of a double helix blade. IMO I disagree with some of your concerns with the game and its moral of the story, However, your format is as good as it was in OoT. Gerudo Fortress being one of my disagreements because it's not that hard, especially when you learn about the Stone Mask that makes you literally invisible to the enemies range of sight. I believe you missed the tutorial for the Zora Mask when Young Link makes Mikau's grave. It tells you how to use the boomerangs that are part of the Zoras Mask's kit which in part allows you to easily hit the switches. The Ramani Ranch Side Quest is def a fun one since you get to do some target practice before the whole invasion happens. The point of the clock mechanic is meant to make you panic, it gives the player instant Anxiety which is one of MM best narratives. Anyways I could go on n on but, just want to say that looking at it from your perspective can def make MM frustrating to play or not understand. Love the content please keep up the good work.

[@swagonthemacbook]

hey dude great video! really enjoyed wtching this b2b w the oot video. excited to see whats next!

[@flaaphy]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed!

[@Ash-Bun]

To be fair, while MM is one of my favorites, it's only top 5 for me. #1 for me will always be Twilight Princess. While I disagree with some of your takes, I understand that opinions are that, mine included. Either way, good video!

[@Spurdboy]

This game has such a good vibe to it

[@heliumspectra]

exceptional work!!! wondering how this doesn't have more views

[@flaaphy]

Thanks, appreciate it!

[@wishingstar8701]

16:20 - c'mon man, goht is fun to play, he challenges your abilities, don't go dissing on it, rolling to hit the boss is fun. 20:30 - Dude, I beat this game when I was in the fourth grade... no offence man but all ya gotta do is take a look around and eventually you'll spot entrances you have yet to go through. Have fun man, nobody is asking you to speed run we want you to have fun with it, observe and examine with your eyes, that's how you beat games, nobody expects you to pull off pro moves at the start of the game :P

[@AveryMMartin]

Love the video but sometimes the criticism/complaints feel less like ‘these are legitimate logistical errors and narrative flaws,’ and more like ‘I was bad at this part, so this part is bad,’ which to be honest is very entertaining, and the takes are interesting, and I’m almost positive it’s, at least, half satirical, however the whole pirates fortress low arrow low magic thing - that’s just not being prepared. The goht complaint also does not at all click with me. The racetrack after builds on your increasing ability to control the goron roll, and goht is a test of how fine tuned you’ve developed using the mask. You can also damage him in other ways, besides. Also the stone tower flip switch issue? You just missed. I’m sorry. That’s not a design thing, you just had an odd and inconvenient angle.

[@jyke321]

When you describing reasons for why someone would put this game as their favorite, I definitely fall in line with the latter. My first Zelda was OoT and although I had made attempts at Majora's Mask, I ended up giving up on it around when I was 11 years old. By the time I tried it again as a 13 year-old, in large part due to the 3ds release (I had it on wii vc), I had already gone through pretty much every other zelda game out at the time. I had long cleared ocarina, which I had first played as a 8 year old, beat skyward sword, twilight princess, windwaker which I had gotten probably a year after majora's mask, the oracle series and link between worlds. I had the manga for majora's mask as well which helped me a lot with understanding certain story elements like the deceased deku, and helped me still like the game despite getting stuck on it. I did get around to beating it though, which is when I first decided I liked it more than Ocarina. Eventually I replayed the game through the 3ds version, and struggled with finding some things that had their locations changed, but this game just is special to me. The darker aspects are neat with how in your face they are, but the weirdness is what draws me in personally. Their is so much personality, and although several themes are at the fore front, I feel like that makes the world more human. We all have something we want to get out there, and this game highlights different struggles from different perspectives. I'm also just a big fan of the gameplay overhaul. Maybe the reason I like this game is similar to why I prefer ToTK to BoTW since I played the sequels after the original and viewed them as overall improvements, but it's hard to pinpoint why you fell in love with a game for the first time. As far as struggles with game goes, I used a lot of ZeldaDungeon as a kid, so I'm not sure how much of it I struggled with in my first play through, but I remember finding Romani fairly easily. Epona was one of my favorite characters in OoT, so being able to be with her again was exciting. I also prefer both Romani and Cremia to Malon, they are nice characters. Also the giants mask may seem kinda pointless since you only use it in that one fight, but I think it makes it more fun just being a giant.

[@Ikronix007]

This game has a lot of themes to offer which aren't all recognizable as a kid but, that's what makes it so great it wasn't about a simple story of being the hero of time. It was much more than that. Time is a huge theme that causes anxiety but, it can also be the power of relief, time in MM was used both as Good and Bad. Time allowed you to save those close to you when you needed to but, it also caused trauma and depression. You know every one but, no one know you. Its a theme like that, that makes this game special and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

[@MessedUpSystem]

I think this is the first time I hear someone say the Goht fight is anything other than fun af xD Edit: I think your game was bugged in Stone Tower, I don't recall don't being able to unflip the dungeon, you even HAVE to do it in order to get all stray fairies o.O

[@aaronlindsey2219]

I just now finished your OOT review. Thank you for this amazing project. I’m excited to watch this review too! I acknowledge your sacrifice despite your living situation and all I can say is thank you for bringing a fresh perspective to the series and for allowing me to relive the experience. I learned a lot of significant things from the OOT video and I can’t wait to do so with the Majoras mask video thank you

[@MythicByrd]

Loved this review. And I'm ever so grateful you apologized for your rude comments on the OOT video :P I'd love to see you cover Wind waker and Twilight Princess (the best one). And as for non-zelda games: I think Dark souls, Metal gear solid, and Dragon age would all be awesome picks for this series! Looking forward to what you do next!

[@flaaphy]

Thank you so much! WW and TP are already planned! As for Dark Souls and Metal Gear I would love to do both series especially since I feel like those episodes would be interesting to work on (little intimidated by MGS lore though lol). I’ve never played dragon age and don’t know much about it but it’s always a possibility!

[@Snapthornn]

Its honestly my favorite game, I started with Majora's Mask and I love it with my entire being. My favorite part which is speculated by many people is that Link is dead in this game .

[@zachtwilightwindwaker596]

He is not.

[@kellypatrick5667]

In my opinion, MM needs some guides and a plan of what you want to accomplish in that cycle to really enjoy.

[@jefffarmer3957]

Cool stuff brotha!

[@dr3nch_g0d52]

Majors mask is the scariest game I’ve ever played

[@IvyLees]

Great video! The point of the game is to separate out the act of helping someone and the result of helping someone. You don't actually help anyone in the game. Kafei is still walking around as a kid, the guy is still turning into a gibdo, etc etc. So do your actions still have meaning? The game says yes. It asks you to be a hero even after nihilism is the given truth.

[@matthart3129]

Here before this blows up! Great video keep it up man

[@flaaphy]

Thanks so much, I appreciate it!

[@TBoneTony]

Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask are my fav Zelda games. I grew up with the N64 Gen of Nintendo games during my teen years, so these games are the most nostalgic for me. I have played Zelda games from before N64 era and after N64 such as the GameCube and Wii Zelda games. Even going as far and still following the series into the Wii U and Switch eras. But looking back on the entire series including the handhelds, I often think looking at the 3DS remakes of both Ocarina and Majora, these N64 games hold up really well and perhaps was blessed to play Legend of Zelda during it's early 3D era.

[@Brockbuiltmore]

to be fair, they fixed ALOT of stuff about MM in the 3DS version. particularly the waiting around part with the song of time. in the 3DS version, you can get the Stone Mask at the fortress when you give the soldier you can see with the Lens a Red Potion, making the Gerudo Fortress ALOT more painless.

[@simonvries8571]

Another banger of a video man! Can’t wait for a Twilight Princess video 😍

[@danvelez5838]

Great video man.i like the way you express things.could you review wind waker??😊 thank you.

[@flaaphy]

Glad you enjoyed! Wind Waker episode is 100% coming, I just want to give it a little time so I’m not pigeonholing myself as “Zelda review guy”. More importantly I have some special plans for the episode that require nicer weather ;)

[@danvelez5838]

@@flaaphy yeah,that makes sense.random thought.i always thought it was funny how hipsters can't SEE that there're hipsters....hipsters dismorphia lmao.anywho,keep up the good work .

[@YoWazPoppin]

Ok dude the Smash'N'Splash 5 reference has me sold. Top 5 Favorite KZbinrs. Actual W reference, & amazing video

[@flaaphy]

OMG YES SOMEONE GOT IT LETS GOOOOOOOO

[@YoWazPoppin]

@@flaaphy I'm a smash bros TO born and raised from WI S'N'S 5 was my first major/tournament that got me into smashy bros

[@bloodfang0908]

Subbed. We need to support more retro gaming channels, especially Zelda-centric content!

[@Phillylove100]

I didn’t see you mention this but…did you ever use/ hear of the inverted song of time?

[@flaaphy]

Yes of course! I love my boy Pierre

[@Phillylove100]

@@flaaphy Okay! Lol. If you didn’t know that song to slow down time it would’ve made your game so much more frustrating

[@thedefinitive6296]

This actually was my first Zelda game and if I hadn't bought the official guide, I don't think I ever would have figured out certain things. Still, I had a lot of fun playing this game. Not perfect, but a fun ride for sure.

[@hhh124_1]

fun fact MM was the first video game I EVER BEAT!

[@diegolamanya345]

uh, new video! loved the ocarina of time one

[@flaaphy]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@samuelcarlson1102]

really good intro excited to watch the rest absolutely locked in for the 40 minutes

[@draghettis6524]

I actually find the Fierce Deity Mask trivializing Majora something that fits nicely into the game's themes. What are masks ? I believe they are the physical expression of a person's gratitude, in the sense that Skyward Sword gave it, that of a fundamental force of good that is diametrically opposed to the malice used by Demise and the Ganon(dorf)s ( and also Majora, obviously ) To obtain the Fierce Deity Mask, Link must gather all the masks of Termina. In a world where everything was broken and where Link can only fix a few things at a time, things will quickly come undone, the only things he keeps are the memories of the feelings those he saved expressed, and the masks, physical proofs of these feelings. And so, the Fierce Deity Mask is what you obtain after you save everyone. It is the gratitude of an entire world, their hopes and dreams all funneled into this one object. I believe this is the only transformation mask that doesn't cause sorrow, but instead more positive feelings, when Link wears it, because it is the only transformation mask made out of purely good emotions, instead of regrets. And so you fight Majora, the root of most evil you had to face, and most problems you had to solve. But you don't do it as the lone boy, the forgotten Hero of two lands. You do it as the vessel for an entire world's will to survive, fighting for a better tomorrow. How could a being fighting with the strength of a world be anything lesser than a deity ? How could the Mask of Majora, a single entity, offer any amount of resistance against an entire world ? It is only natural that it gets crushed like the bug it is.

[@draghettis6524]

While the 3DS version of Gyorg is, imo, superior. People like to bash on the eyes, but by splitting it into the first phase that is more focused on the human form and the surface, and a second one taking place entirely underwater.

[@onezero350]

now, i'm a simple man, i see youtuber make majoras mask content, i subscribe :)

[@aaronlindsey2219]

They have a stone in the first room of the stone tower that lets you flip the tower back to normal. I guess you just didn’t find it

[@cheyennedavis1822]

Surely I'm not the first person to point this out but I have to ask: did you ever figure out how to use magic with the Zora mask? Because it changes the Gyorg fight entirely

[@johnmoren3078]

I have been playing Majora's Mask for 24 years. Ever since its release I'm even currently playing it now and it has never once crashed on me

[@masonschwalm2010]

16:41 I Love Snowhead In The The Springtime.

[@d3structi]

I would LOVE to see your take on a comparison between MM64 and MM3D.

[@flaaphy]

Will put this one down

[@deseanhart8539]

my fav zelda game of all time. ngl tho the “oath to order” song & cutscene creeped me out so bad as a child. whole game had weird anxious vibes but i love it

[@Redmage913]

I’m sorry you had occasional crashes - I’m a little surprised, as I’ve been lucky up until this point, and that’s on N64, GC, Wii, Mupen64plus, or Project64. It would glitch and error out bad on the PSP N64 emulator, but that was never finished so understandable.

[@mrtesticlease4638]

majora's mask shouldnt randomly crash like that unless its being emulated really badly. if you played via collector's edition on gamecube, random crashes will happen. same applies to emulators.

[@Vandita3344]

I love this game to the max! Nice retrospective, makes me wanna play the game for the 100th time. @33:16 Ehm extually... It's Michael Jackson's Moonwalk.

[@mlpfanboy1701]

9:45 you are quite litterally the first person i ever heard call that boss hard. Most people beat him easily, in fact depending on how far into the game you are when you first face him you have to try hard to not one cycle him.

[@shadowchinchi]

If you were actually good at Goron rolling and paying attention to the movements Goht isnt annoying and is fun. Also see speedrunners shoot him with arrows as he stands still and only shoots lightning if far enough ahead.

[@flaaphy]

I don’t think I’m particularly bad at Goron rolling, I won the race my first try. Even if I did suck, It’s the actual design of Gohts fight that I didn’t like and that wouldn’t change no matter how good I got. I had to fight him multiple times and I did use arrows during one of the attempts, but since you can literally just roll after him in a circle I don’t really see the point in doing it any other way (outside of a speedrun at least). Further more requiring a player to be really good at something in order to enjoy a part of the game is an awful idea, and it’s clear that this wasn’t what Nintendo was going for as Goht was unquestionably one of the easiest parts of the game for me. Bottom line, I just don’t enjoy the fight, and I think they could’ve made it way more interesting even by just changing the arena to a different shape. I respect the opinion of liking Goht, a lot of comments seemed to have that take, I just personally don’t understand or agree

[@ruminator3570]

If everybody isn't happy you didn't do the right thing. Absolutist take.

[@mlpfanboy1701]

22:59 how did you react when you learned getting the stone mask made it infinitely easier?

[@thatdoomslayer]

My fav Zelda fr

[@mlpfanboy1701]

13:49 false there is also a hot spring closer to him, its beneath that hole with a glacier over it.

[@JitteryJackanape]

First playthrough or not, the wasting of time is still on your shoulders. If you dont have items cut grass and find some. If you arent sure what to do talk to people. Resetting time is not the end of the world, ironic. Lol but i totally get first time frustration though. There are parts of the game im not fond of too, the well quest is annoying and i hate it every time. I would tell you to try this game again and 100% it. I would also recommend the 3ds version to at least try because there ways to help you with passage of time. Some people say its not as good, i dont think that really matters regarding your point. I dont know if you are aware of it but the song of time can be played in reverse to slow down time or two notes in a row to advance time by 6 hours. In the 3ds version they let you choose what hour specifically. Its a godsend. I loved majoras mask my first time playing it and still do. Its atmosphere, tone, design and characters are incredibly fleshed out for their time. The bombers notebook and the way it tracks nearly every npc in the game is impressive. I love that every character in this game has a set path they stick to for their 3 day cycle should you do nothing to help them. It adds a lot to the idea of Link and his purpose in the game. Healing. Link himself is healing from the emotional turmoil of oot. And i think thats a brilliant story to tell with a hero who was a child that was forced to become an adult to save the world left with those harsh memories and not having a place in the world after the fact. This is a nearly flawless sequel to OoT. Link helps himself through helping others. Thats the point. Its why the story is smaller and intimate. He's having to adjust to his new life post saving the world. Its a traumatic heartbreaking experience yet he not only endures but makes the land he finds a better place for nearly everyone he comes across. Yet, he isnt able to do so for himself. Thats deep. I love it. The hero of time became a healer. Thats so powerful.

[@tacticalwookiee7476]

Majora's Mask to me was the better game. I love OoT but I can talk for hours and hours about my love of Majora's Mask lol

[@Neku628]

So, he took the straight and narrow, hard road?

[@GenmaTheSamurai]

This is personally my favorite game of all time, and it's not because of Internet hype. I'm someone who has played every single Zelda, so this game's 3 day cycle, quest focus, and intricate dungeons keep this game fun to revisit over and over. This is a series that is aggressively easy a lot of the time, so having a game where time management is a factor makes up for it immensely. The bosses being nothing like normal Zelda is also something I loved. Goht is a lot of fun for me. And while YES, woodfall is a sharp jump in dungeon difficulty from the Deku Tree, I think it is still very well designed. To a degree that yes, it would be HARDER for a newcomer, half of it's concepts were introduced in the build up to the dungeon. (Flowers, hopping, etc). The Deku Tree was literally one of the first things you do. But anyway my nit-picks aside lmao this was a good video. Majora is difficult, especially going COMPLETELY blind. It's one I often used a guide for. But I do think it is well designed, just as worst might take a lot of notes and paying attention. (I believe the manual had a notes section.) Good vid.

[@flaaphy]

I'm sure my opinions on it will change as time goes on and I revisit the game, definitely a ton of replay value! It's always been funny to me because I feel like a ton of the internet hype is centered around theories and stuff like that, and you can't really say anything bad about the game to those individuals. Meanwhile actual fans of the game, like you (and even personal friends) seem to be extremely level headed and kind. Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@GenmaTheSamurai]

Yeah, hey I'm glad you enjoyed yourself at least haha. Left a different comment about my story thoughts but everyone is different ofc. Glad you didn't take my counterpoints too personally lol. You did a good job. :)

[@Ikronix007]

@@flaaphy Again great format.

[@chrislevack405]

Bigger mic next time for sure.

[@WinspearUltima]

I’m sorry but majoras mask is a 10/10

[@weshmaster400]

Remember me when you hit 1 mil... 🤫

[@weshmaster400]

Also should've read mikau's grave to see zora link's controls😬

[@Ikronix007]

@@weshmaster400 If he only knew that the Fins were boomerang

[@jonathanlee2995]

Love this game so much better than twilight princess

[@stillamitchinmybook6320]

Oot best game of all time

[@brutusmagnuson315]

Yeah, mostly I thin- wait a minute, this has less than 400 views?

[@TagartTalking]

I don't disagree with any of the opinions you have, but the way you get fake-mad and start yelling around the Goat boss section just makes the video unwatchable. I have no doubt you have strong feelings about the design, and I agree with you, but the way you expressed it was much too over played. Tone it down a good bit and you're golden. 😎👍

[@flaaphy]

Thanks for providing genuine feedback in a kind way, you have no idea how much I appreciate that. I watched back the section you're talking about with this in mind, and you're right I think it's little too harsh / played up and creates this weird tonal shift that doesn't carry out or fit with the rest of the video. I'll keep this in mind for next time. Thanks again!

[@realhxq]

comment for the algorithm

[@BobtheExile]

15:40 Thank you for pronouncing that right! I see SO many youtubers cover this game and pronounce this name as "gott" and it just drives me insane because it's a literal goat and there's there's literally the letters "oh" in there, that would make it pronounced like the animal, I don't even know how to get "Gott" from that!

[@Zanoab]

This is a great analysis. Majora’s Mask is definitely rough to newcomers but I rank it highly because it has real problems that people can connect with. Unfortunately because it is a game for everybody, they have to mask many problems so you need to simplify the problems a bit to find relatable stories.

[@TBoneTony]

Hey, when I was a kid I never knew that you could run fast in Super Mario Bros by holding B button down and run all through World 1 - 1. Didn't find that out until I was around 10 or so and that was after I started playing Donkey Kong Country 2 and then all of a sudden it all came to me how easy I could have made that classic Mario game feel to me.

[@-SunGod-]

Ocarina of Time is way better

[@rockerteen8300]

Are you ok? you're sperging out and thinking it's funny, it's not.

[@flaaphy]

Oops-a-daisy

[@chrislevack405]

Tell me one thing... how can you answer if something "holds up" if you JUST PLAYED IT FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR?! Dumb, dude. Just... cringe.

[@flaaphy]

because the video is my opinion on whether or not the game "holds up" after 24 years of being released. I don't really think that requires me to have played the game previously, if anything it makes the review less biased.

[@chrislevack405]

@@flaaphy holding up means... beating the test of time. You had zero time with this game, man. Come on, dude.

[@flaaphy]

Okay, I want to understand so I can hopefully make better videos in the future…How long do think someone needs to spend with a game in order to make a retrospective review that isn’t “cringe”?

[@chrislevack405]

@flaaphy play it more than once over a span of time that respects the concept of "holding up to the test of time" like you implied in your title. I get that "first time playing MM!" doesn't Stat well with the algorithm, but implying you are a judge of how a ~25 yr old game holds up after just recently playing it for the first time is asinine.

[@flaaphy]

@@chrislevack405 the title has nothing to do with the algorithm, “Does It Hold Up?” is just the name of the series. Maybe it wasn’t made clear in the video, but the score given was my own opinion on the game, and the question of “Does It Hold Up?” was discussed in the following section where I said that I think fans of the Zelda franchise would enjoy the game, but it’s higher difficulty means it’s not for everyone. Maybe you disagree, but I see that as pretty open ended and I don’t think I overstepped in any way. If it’s worth anything, I watch other reviews while working on the scripts, and were the opinion shared solely based on how much I enjoyed the game I probably wouldn’t have recommended it to fans of the series