The Grand Debate: Ocarina of Time vs. Majora's Mask

[FoxRox75]

I'm bringing back the most classic, intriguing clash between any two Zelda games: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask for the Nintendo 64. Both games have been very well-received and are considered to be among the best in The Legend of Zelda series. I love them both, and they're definitely some of favorites as well. Ocarina of Time hit shelves in 1998, and Majora's Mask came out in 2000. There's many different levels to compare them on in terms of their quality.

Here are some of my personal opinions:
Best Gameplay - Tie (OOT established amazing gameplay, but the masks in MM were also very fun)
Best Story - MM (I prefer the darker, more unique plot and themes the sequel had to offer)
Best Soundtrack - OOT (I also enjoy MM's soundtrack, but overall prefer the balance of OOT's)
Best Villain - OOT (Majora is a wickedly awesome villain; Ganondorf simply edges him out for me since he is actually human and serves better as the main antagonist for Link)
Best Replayability - OOT (I find OOT easier to replay considering its easy difficulty level)
Best Dungeons - OOT (Simply better in OOT since there are more, which means better selection too; not to say MM's dungeons were bad)
Best Sidequests - MM (MM takes the cake for better mini-games, side plots, and collectibles in my opinion)
Best Characters - MM (The characters felt more developed and interesting in MM, even though OOT was also memorable for characters)

My overall favorite is Ocarina of Time, by a little. I just prefer a more basic approach to my favorite video game series, but I still love Majora's Mask for being different yet equally entertaining. Both are true masterpieces in the gaming realm, and it's often debated as to which game is better. What is your favorite of the two? Explanations would be appreciated (and please no fighting - purely opinion-based topic).

 

[stache19]

The only comment I have is that MM to me is more re-playable just by technical design. You can literally replay any dungeon/boss fight as many times as you want. That always made it really fun to just decide to re-explore a dungeon or the landscape around it. It also made me a lot more encouraged to search for all the hidden temple fairies.

MM is definitely my favorite between the two.

 

[madskillzO25]

I agree with Stache in that MM has a higher replay value than OOT, but when deciding which game is my favorite, I must go with the later. OOT to me is just an overall better game by default because of the story and that it came out at the right time. It transcended the series and told the traditional legend the greatest.

MM is a very close second though. If not for OOT's traditonal story, MM would be my best. MM is an amazing game outside the Zelda story line. It's story is remarkable in its own way and the ability to transform into different characters helps keep the game play fresh. The story is dark and the characters voice their emotions perfectly. Everything coincides to the T, whether it be unexplained stories such as the Deku Butler's Son to the long and challenging quest of uniting Anju and Kefai despite their ultimate demise at midnight. It's touching and it truly evokes an emotional sense in the gamer that no game has ever done before. MM gets my vote here.

Eh, I guess I can't pick one or the other. But no, OOT is my favorite ... probably by a centimeter.

 

[Synthetic_Craze]

Going by your template there, I'd say...

Best Gameplay - MM (the mechanics made available by the transformation masks provided a lot of depth)
Best Story - MM (I love OoT's traditional story that hasn't really been done better since, but MM's was very unique and cool)
Best Soundtrack - MM (Clock Town, Termina Field, Stone Tower Temple > anything in OoT except the title screen music)
Best Villain - OoT (Majora was a very vague villain with a lot of potential, but to me fell short of Ganon's greatness as a villain especially as a final boss form)
Best Replayability - MM (Being that there's just a lot more to do than the main quest in this game than OoT's, I feel I'd want to replay it more than I would OoT at this point)
Best Dungeons - OoT (honestly almost gave this to MM as well because of Stone Tower, but OoT does have more and I liked most of them better than MM's other three. it was MM's outlying areas that led up to the dungeons that were better)
Best Sidequests - MM (almost every mask had a unique and developed side quest/story, and I fucking loved the beaver resort at Great Bay )
Best Characters - MM (I gotta piss, not going to think about a reason while having to piss. you all know why anyway)

Anyway, for all those reasons and a few more, I definitely go with MM. But OoT is still my second favorite game of all time.

 

[leftylucky]

I almost feel like Majoras Mask could have been a trippy epilogue after beating Ocarina or even an experience you could have fallen into in the middle of playing OOT. For example, chasing the skull kid throught the forest in Ocarina only to throw yourself into Termina in the process. But, that would have introduced some problems with traveling back and forth between Termina and Hyrule if you haven't already completed the Ocarina quest. I guess that could have been fixed by letting Link enter into a trance in Hyrule to break through into Termina and then wake up from the trance to re-enter Hyrule. Anyway, the point is that MM has many qualities that are very creative and enjoyable, but still feel ancillary to the crux of what makes a Zelda game. In other words, Majoras Mask was like a breeding ground for new gameplay ideas but the ideas never left the testing facility of Termina. Ocarina is a straight up Zelda game. Majoras Mask is a brilliant experiment whose themes were never inculcated into the broader idea of what Zelda is or what it's becoming.

 

[twilight_wolf]

MM has remained my all-time favorite game since I first borrowed my friend's copy in elementary school. A few other games almost knocked it down, like Okami and Shadow of the Colossus, but my first-time experience with MM hasn't been surpassed by anything else.

OOT was my first Zelda game and it took me about a year to complete it, I think I was about 7 or 8. Before OOT I played nothing but platformers and kart racers. It was my first adventure game, so it holds a special fuzzy place in my gamer heart just like it does for everybody else. I remember playing the game every day and never growing bored with it, even if I was just doing mundane little things like cutting signs or playing the shooting minigames. Getting lost in Hyrule was a defining experience for me, and fighting through all of the scary dungeons showed me how dark a game could be. MM came along and I had a bit more skill, a bit more adeptness at the genre. But the game was even darker and more difficult. The 3 day mechanic, the transforming masks, the abundance of side-quests and overall more melancholy atmosphere turned MM into a completely different experience.

OOT is the better game, but to me MM had more shock factor. It was a scarier game that made you panic, and the characters felt organic for its time. OOT may have a better arcing story, but MM feels like a collection of short stories that are all very quirky and sad. OOT has the longer and meatier quest, but for those that like to dillydally MM gives you a dense world of side-quests that are unrivaled by any other game in the series. And it remains the most difficult 3D Zelda so far, which is what hardcore fans want in Zelda games now. MM has a lot going for it and I don't think it will ever be surpassed in my eyes. If they can come up with crazy new ideas for the next Zelda game akin to the 3 day mechanic and transformations in MM, then it will likely contend. But until then, MM is the most unique Zelda and my favorite game of all time.

 

[mascarpino]

Here are some of my opinions:

Gameplay: MM (it has everything OoT had except with masks, too)
Story: MM (Nothing beats MM's story, just face it)
Music: OoT(now this one has to go to OoT. I LOVED MM's music, but overall, some of the best Zelda music came from OoT)
Antagonist/Villain: MM (The skull kid is so creepy and cool. Ganon is always the same typical big bad guy beast man)
Replay-Value: Tie (This is a hard choice. I love OoT and I can replay it a billion times, but MM has all that, too.)
Dungeons: OoT (OoT's dungeons were mor understandable and not really frustrating. I'd say this one goes to OoT. Even though MM's dungeons were beast)
SideQuests: MM (MM is known for it's amazing side quests, and it totally deserves that.)
Characters: MM (MM had much better character development. It even made you sad many times, to feel sorry for the characters because you are drawn towards them)


I overall personally liked Majora's Mask better.

 

[lizalfos]

Gotta go with MM. MM is the only Zelda in which it actually feels like your actions impact the world. When you finish a dungeon and see the area around it come back to life, when you defeat Majora and see the people celebrate not being crushed by the moon, or even just when you choose whether or not to stop Sakon from robbing the bomb shop lady and depending on your actions you're able to get the bomb mask and a bomb bag upgrade, or you can continue the Anju/Kafei quest.

 

[madskillzO25]

Even though I already voted, I still want to do a little break down for fun.


Best Gameplay - MM has the best gameplay of the two. MM featured the ability to transform into three different characters. Each character had its own weapons and move sets that made it distinct from each other, adding to the replay value of the game. I think MM actually has the best gameplay out of all the Zelda games, including TP and SS merely for that reason.

Best Story - For a Zelda game, OOT has the best story, almost by default. But this doesn't negate that MM's story was amazing as well. When you compare the two, you realize both stories are similar. Link must save the world. Some may say MM's story is better because of how it was presented. The characters made you feel personal with them making you more drawn into the terminal end of their land. It was told better than OOT. But because this is Zelda, OOT wins this category by default.

Best Soundtrack - OOT by the skin of my teeth. MM had a beautiful soundtrack, especially when orchastrated ; however OOT's music is classic. Each dungeon had its own theme and when you think about it, I'm not sure if any other Zelda game (besides MM) had full blown songs surrounding their dungeons. MM and OOT have amazing soundtracks, but keeping in mind the many tunes Link learns on his Ocarina (in both games) the music from OOT just tops any game.

Best Villain - OOT's Ganondorf / Ganon takes it. It was the first game to feature the human form of the evil king, followed by the beast form conducted by the Triforce of Power. The final hour of playing OOT in Ganon's Castle is just a remarkable period in gaming history. Majora is a tribal, creepy son of a bitch as well, but nothing tops the epic, ring of fire battle with the prince of darkness.

Best Replayability - MM is very replayable because of all the side quests and the ability to defeat each boss multiple times. Being able to transform into a Deku, Goron and Zora help add to the replay value, as well as the Fierce Deity form in boss arenas. The Bomber's Notebook sees that you play many extra hours to help many villagers you encounter. There is much more to do in MM than any other game in the series.

Best Dungeons - OOT, IMO, had the best dungeons. Although Ikana Canyon is my favorite out of the entire series, OOT's dungeons were more consistent. Obviously because there was more of them. The Spirit Temple and Shadow Temple were just creepy and done to perfection. The Forest Temple was also a personal favorite.

Best Sidequests - MM because of the many people you meet. Each having a clock work schedule that Link must strategize to aid to. The bomber's notebook is a list filled with side quests. The many heart pieces and masks alone are all side quests that top ANY other game. It seems that every category MM beats OOT in, it also beats every other game.

Best Characters - MM's characters were more developed than OOT's. They all had their own stories and dilemmas that included the gamer because they were issues you had to tend to. They weren't characters that you talk to, get a few tips and hints, and move on. They all played a role in the many different stories that made up the game.

Looking at it again, it comes down to a tie. So no... I can't technically pick the better game. They both are very strong games. If I HAVE to pick one, I'd go with OOT just by default. It is the traditional story, afterall. It did start a trend for pretty much every game after it. I mean, it's the greatest game of all time. MM, for a sequel and a "side quest" game is a centimeter behind it, still being the best game outside the Zelda series. So if not a tie, OOT gets my vote.

 

[Dr.Striker]

This is more of a personal question you're asking. Because of what i've said always, when it comes to Majora's Mask. Especially when you compare Ocarina to it.

My personal choice? Between the two, Ocarina. Easily.

Why? It came first, it had a much greater impact on people in GENERAL. It was the first 3D Zelda, and the excitement, passion, and effort the developers felt and put into the game while it was being created is easily shown through the game itself. It was the dawn of 3D gaming. Just think about it, from their perspective? Mind-blowing.

Anyway. That being said. After watching the commercial for the game as a 6 year-old in 1998, i was completely amazed. Then again, who wouldn't be? If that wasn't enough, i was further amazed once me and my brother put Ocarina of Time into our Nintendo 64 for the first time... And saw that opening title screen. With that incredibly charismatic Zelda charisma that only follows the Legend of Zelda games. The music... the animation. It was just simply jaw-dropping at the time. Technicality will always become obsolete over time, that's a given. But the sheer beauty of Ocarina, will always remain. It's just one of those games that stays with you your whole life, honestly... It's that powerful. It's an example of a game that proves video games can be a form of art.

Previously, i mentioned this purely being a personal opinion of the users here. And it's just that. That's completely fine. Majora, Ocarina. It doesn't matter, at the end of the day, which game you choose. They're both legendary, they're both amazing.

I'm just choosing Ocarina because it did something by default, given the development circumstances. Simply put. It amazed. That video game really did shock people... I remember it vividly now. How just about every little twit i talked to, knew Ocarina of Time. And was playing it when it came out. Upon its release, and YEARS after. It really is a gaming legend.

Majora's Mask on the other hand. Is a game i really, REALLY didn't like due to the three day cycle. More to the point, i didn't LIKE the day cycle. So much so, that i never bothered finishing it... But i WILL go back to it, for sure. I'll finish Majora's Mask. Majora's Mask is still an extremely good game. The day cycle, for me, was its achilees heel.

Natural progression. It's basically a self-explainatory video game design ideology i stay true to, and support. And it's what Majora's Mask followed.

It took everything Ocarina had... and cranked it up to 11. More characters. More advancements in technicality. Touching upon ACTUAL sidequests. Introducing us to a new, foreign land that is amazing in its own right. Giving players new beautiful assets to look at, to discover, and to conquer. Even the in-game locations were more amped-up than every.

Majora simply raised the bar in every department.


So there you have it. I choose Ocarina over Majora. BUT, they're both games i respect and acknowledge, due to what they've accomplished.

Although few games will have the same impact on me as Ocarina.

 

[theamazinghoodie]

If it's purely between the two N64 versions, then Majora. At this point, the N64 controls are such an annoyance to me that I haven't played either of these games anywhere near as much as I should. If Majora's Mask could get a 3DS remake like Ocarina, or a Wii U remake like WW...then I'd probably play it forever.

Anyways, out of the two, ignoring my gripes with how poorly the game's controls have aged, Majora's Mask is my favorite of the two, for several of reasons. First being the atmosphere: The only game that I have played which have managed to create a more compelling atmosphere than Majora's Mask is Metroid Prime, and the way the game uses this atmosphere to its advantage is incredible. It's a dark, depressing atmosphere that makes its way into every part of the game. The simple feeling of running into a problem, working hard to solve it, while knowing the entire time that it won't make a shred of difference to the people you are helping because of the need to reset the 3 day cycle is incredibly unnerving. It's a sense of "something terrible has happened, and the good you're doing will never be able to fully undo what's happened," that I think I would compare to Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.

In AJ, Phoenix Wright, the main character of the series, has been disbarred for seven years and has been forced to shut himself off from all of his old friends due to a trap involving forged evidence designed to ruin his name. While working on the last case, there's a depressing tone throughout. While you are working to restore Phoenix's name and prove that he wasn't the one behind the forged evidence, there's a sense throughout that no matter how much good you do, you won't be able to erase what the last seven years have done to Phoenix, or any of the other people hurt by the repercussions of the forged evidence (a surprisingly large amount). It's that exact same case here. Nothing you do can fully erase what's happened, you can only fix some of the things that went wrong. Majora's Mask takes this sense a step further at the cost of losing the personal value that AJ carried with Phoenix by making your fix only temporary. It will be erased after 3 days (or whenever you need to reset the clock). That's incredibly powerful, and a much better way to create a dark and depressing atmosphere than most games that try to convey emotion now use.

The second reason is the use of imagery in this game. It's so utterly bizarre without having to resort to incredibly graphic imagery. Most games that attempt to, for lack of a better word, make the player feel disturbed, do so by throwing out some incredibly graphic image or horrific sight. Majora's Mask, on the other hand, doesn't need any of that. It just makes the player feel incredibly out of place. It never lets them get comfortable with the environment. The moon in the sky is a perfect example of that. It's a constant source of tension and serves to unnerve the player whenever they look up. The Happy Mask Salesman, the Skull Kid, the citizens who refuse to believe in the moon...it's all just incredibly disturbing without needing to be overly graphic. I think the end of the game is the best example of this. After Link heads into the moon, the player expects an incredibly dark, imposing atmosphere like Ganondorf's castle in Ocarina. But instead, it's a peaceful, grassy field, with children running around in it. That area is just so out of place that it's far more unnerving than any sort of scary environment that could have been put there.

The last reason is the way all of the elements in the game work together in perfect harmony. Majora's Mask creates a dark and depressing atmosphere, which only works as well as it does because of the 3-Day cycle. Were it not for this cycle, Link could actually patch things up a bit, and leave the region knowing that he didn't have to worry about it. With the clock, that sense of helplessness returns. The game also manages to inspire feelings for its characters, mostly through its sad undertone, which is also only accomplishable by the 3-Day cycle. The Lover's Mask sidequest wouldn't have conveyed half of the emotion it did were it not for the falling of the moon. The unnverving atmosphere of the game has its affect on the moon as well, with it's creepy design and the bizarre figure of the Skull Kid, the one calling the moon. It all works very well together and creates an incredibly atmospheric game.

The music is the best in the entire series, in my opinion, and only furthers what is an incredible experience already. It's dark, it's sad, and it's happy at certain times as well, but only with a halfway sense of happiness. I think the best track in the entire game is the Final Hours one. It's sad, foreboding, inspiring...it's a track that's stuck with me for a while.

 

[SouthpawLink]

I am very impressed by the posts of those who've voted for Majora's Mask. Coincidentally, some of the same reasons given for preferring it over Ocarina of Time are precisely the reasons why I prefer the latter game.

The transformation masks, the detailed schedules of NPCs and NPC-heavy side quests in general, the darker atmosphere and the three-day time limit itself are all incredibly innovative and/or well-executed, but they also prove to prevent Majora's Mask from being the best N64 Legend of Zelda game.

The Legend of Zelda is, or at least should be, about freely exploring an open overworld, and not being worried about meeting a specific character in a specific place at a specific time. It is about figuring out what you should do or where you should go next (MM actually does this very well), but also having the freedom to decide to complete another major task first (MM cemented linear main quest lines: Bow > Fire Arrow > Powder Keg > Epona > Garo Mask/Ice Arrow); Ocarina of Time, in contrast, allows players to complete the future Hyrule dungeons in several orders, and this for me is what gives it greater replay value (and what makes it a purer Zelda game, sharing as it does a prominent feature of Zelda 1). On that note, Zelda started out whereby it was relatively easy to enter each title's various dungeons. Sure, Zelda II had you finding missing items to learn spells and A Link to the Past required retrieving the Book of Mudora before entering the Desert Palace, but the precursor quests were never too taxing. Link's Awakening started (i.e. acquiring dungeon entrance keys) and Majora's Mask cemented the series' use of involved precursor quests before entering a game's individual dungeons. From collecting Zora eggs to giving needy Gibdos various items, entering Majora's Mask's dungeons became quests in themselves, and that, in my opinion, took away from the simplicity and fast pace found in the earlier Zelda games. Again in contrast, Ocarina of Time has relatively fast and simple precursor quests, which makes the game much easier to replay over and over again, and which is more in line with the series' original template (i.e. going from dungeon to dungeon quickly).

While there is a fair amount of exploration to be had in Majora's Mask, there is also a great deal of NPC-related side quests, and I think (without checking, sorry) that the NPC-related quests outnumber or outweigh the pure environmental exploration factor (looking for caves just because, not because you're trying to help out some NPC in order to obtain the item from them). I simply prefer exploring the environments for secrets, rather than acquiring upgrades or items as a result of helping out the NPCs; I prefer doing things on my own and not being an errand boy. So, it is for this reason that I prefer Ocarina of Time over Majora's Mask with regards to the series' exploration aspect (which stands alongside combat and puzzle-solving as the three major series' game play elements).

Majora's Mask's transformation masks were innovative, as I said, and served the function of multiple items (shooting/floating, hammer/dashing, force field/swimming), but simply put, I prefer playing as Link throughout a Zelda game; being consistent, I also generally dislike Wolf Link from Twilight Princess, and use him only when it's absolutely necessary to do so. Moreover, I've never really liked Deku Link and all of the platforming involved with using him. And very quickly, I know the three day time limit can be manipulated, but the clock is always there and it ties into following NPCs around to do their side quests (of which I'm not fond). Psychologically, the in-game clock takes away from the sense of freedom that to me is a defining aspect of the series. Practically (in-game), it may not do this, but it's hard not to be reminded of it as it's always there on the screen, staring back at me. Ocarina of Time is the more traditional of the two games with respect to these two aspects, and so better represents The Legend of Zelda in this matter.

I've already extolled a couple of Ocarina of Time's advantages (non-linear main quest, short precursor quests, focus on environmental exploration), so I'll only quickly mention it's inclusion of the land of Hyrule, the princess of whom the series is named after, and the series' main antagonist, three setting/story elements which have been with the series since the beginning and which have greatly defined it (even if they're not included in every game). Ocarina of Time, therefore, goes far in defining the series thematically, as it also includes the Triforce and the Master Sword. So, as a Legend of Zelda game, it's almost better than Majora's Mask by default, even if many specific game play aspects (e.g., dungeon design) can be said to be superior in the latter title. In conclusion, I can understand and respect an argument which touts Majora's Mask as the better N64 game, but for a number of reasons, Ocarina of Time is almost necessarily the better N64 Legend of Zelda game.

 

[theamazinghoodie]

I disagree entirely, and by that definition, it would be impossible for just about any game to innovate at all, since they have to stick to the straightforward "Legend of Zelda" formula in order to qualify as a Legend of Zelda game. A Zelda game, from my point of view, is about exploration, slowly becoming more powerful as your progress through the game, and eventually dealing with whatever is posing the threat to the world. The game gives you all of the tools to do this, with the ability to manipulate time being the main one.

There are far more NPC related side quests, but again, this merely plays to Majora's Mask's strengths of creating a dark atmosphere. For example, the bizarre quest involving saving the farm's cows from the aliens. Yeah, it essentially boils down to a game of "shoot the aliens before they reach the cows," but it's much more emotionally impacting because you know that eventually, you'll have to reset the time, and when you do, the aliens will come back and steal the cows again. I'm willing to give up a little bit of exploration for the sake of the emotion that that game's dynamics allowed for.

I'm a little confused about your claim towards Majora's Mask's sidequests to begin with, though. The reason MM had so many NPC related sidequests was because it had so many more sidequests than OoT to begin with. Nearly all of the sidequests in OoT are NPC related, there are just far fewer of them. And the non NPC related exploration in OoT isn't all that great to begin with. The environments are way too open and barren of content. For the most part, the only thing you'll find is those holes in the ground that have chests containing twenty rupees, or the occasional golden skulltela.

Neither MM nor OoT have overworlds that are particularly interesting to explore on their own. MM realized this and allowed for a lot more NPC interaction to make up for the mistake that OoT made. MM didn't lose any of the solo exploration factor, but just added in more sidequests. If a game has, say, X amount of freedom and 5 NPC sidequests, and its sequel has X amount of freedom and 25 NPC sidequests, which would you prefer?

I probably would agree with the masks were this game anything but MM. MM is going for a creepy, dark atmosphere, and what better way to make that sense unescapable than to force the main character to transform into other species? It simply serves to further the already dark atmosphere and the sense of weirdness that surrounds MM.

I will agree that the clock does take away from the sense of freedom, but in this case, I'm willing to sacrifice that freedom for the environment that the game creates. I don't think there are many games that would benefit from something like this, but Majora's Mask designs all of its in game elements around its atmosphere, and it's much the better for it, at least in my opinion.

The last paragraph is one that, quite frankly, I think is the summation of every single problem the Zelda series has run into recently. Declaring a game "the better Zelda game" because it re-uses the same antagonist, environments, and structures is just silly. Majora's Mask chose to innovate a bit in terms of creating a new world and characters to interact with. The Zelda series is defined by a common theme of gameplay elements, not by an antagonist or a setting that was used commonly.

 

[madskillzO25]

I agree with theamazinghoodie.... When you look at both OOT and MM overworlds, ask yourself what the difference is. You explore both and you find little to nothing useful in both. The idea behind MM's main attribute is the interaction with characters and always having something to do. Sure, you aren't as free as you were in OoT, but what exactly were you doing with that freedom anyway? MM actually filled a void that needed to be filled IMO.


I feel the time limit system in MM was used mainly for the story, because for a time limit, it compliments the gamer in multiple ways. It allows you to slow time and to travel through time to convenience you. It doesn't actually dampen your room for exploration, the only thing i can think of is that it resets your ruppees and ammo - however if you simply deposit all your money in the bank, you can withdraw it as soon as you play the song of time.

If you are in the middle of trying to beat a dungeon and the time is running low, maybe its your fault for not managing your time properly. It is a method of inserting a difficult asset about the game, as in pay the price for not being careful. Why start a dungeon when you aren't sure about how much time you have? It shows that when they made this game in development, they weren't trying to baby the gamer, they tried to make it a little more hard for them. I mean, it's fair, because with proper time management, all of this could be avoided.

 

[Nin10Gamer]

Sure, you aren't as free as you were in OoT, but what exactly were you doing with that freedom anyway? MM actually filled a void that needed to be filled IMO.

It's about emphasizing that freedom and allowing the player to take advantage of it. That's what one of the best features of Zelda is. The freedom to explore with very little to dictate how that's done. Ocarina of Time creates this sort of atmosphere thanks to all that space in Hyrule Field. Even if there should be a little more in that vast field, don't forget that this field doesn't encompass the whole of Hyrule itself.

If you are in the middle of trying to beat a dungeon and the time is running low, maybe its your fault for not managing your time properly. It is a method of inserting a difficult asset about the game, as in pay the price for not being careful. Why start a dungeon when you aren't sure about how much time you have? It shows that when they made this game in development, they weren't trying to baby the gamer, they tried to make it a little more hard for them. I mean, it's fair, because with proper time management, all of this could be avoided.

And this leads into one of the issues that Majora's Mask faces- the save system. Majora's Mask's save system is pretty flawed, given the only way you can truly save is by playing the Song of Time (which sends you back to day 1). The owl statues attempt to be a solution to this, but this is nullified the moment you resume a file that has an Owl Statue save (because if you turn off your system, you go back to day 1 with all progress reset to the last time you played the Song of Time).

For a Zelda game, that's incredibly unforgiving and something that should be avoided if possible.

 

[Dr.Striker]

Sure, you aren't as free as you were in OoT, but what exactly were you doing with that freedom anyway? MM actually filled a void that needed to be filled IMO.

It's about emphasizing that freedom and allowing the player to take advantage of it. That's what one of the best features of Zelda is. The freedom to explore with very little to dictate how that's done. Ocarina of Time creates this sort of atmosphere thanks to all that space in Hyrule Field. Even if there should be a little more in that vast field, don't forget that this field doesn't encompass the whole of Hyrule itself.

If you are in the middle of trying to beat a dungeon and the time is running low, maybe its your fault for not managing your time properly. It is a method of inserting a difficult asset about the game, as in pay the price for not being careful. Why start a dungeon when you aren't sure about how much time you have? It shows that when they made this game in development, they weren't trying to baby the gamer, they tried to make it a little more hard for them. I mean, it's fair, because with proper time management, all of this could be avoided.

And this leads into one of the issues that Majora's Mask faces- the save system. Majora's Mask's save system is pretty flawed, given the only way you can truly save is by playing the Song of Time (which sends you back to day 1). The owl statues attempt to be a solution to this, but this is nullified the moment you resume a file that has an Owl Statue save (because if you turn off your system, you go back to day 1 with all progress reset to the last time you played the Song of Time).

For a Zelda game, that's incredibly unforgiving and something that should be avoided if possible.

Yes and YES.

Actually... now that you've reminded me of how Majora's Mask's save system works - nevermind the three day timer, i now remember why i hated playing the game. It has absolutely nothing to do with being a challenge (hell, the backwards song of time eliminates that), it's the fact that it's SO, DAMN tedious! So TIRING. Going back and forth and back and forth and... FFS.

Yeah. Thanks for reminding me.

God, that was annoying. It makes you question whether or not the developers even looked at how it would be from a gamer's perspective. Good grief... it's tiring as all hell.

Yeah, the save system wasn't flawed, Nin... it was whoopty. That, in combination with the three day death clock, made the entire experience rather whoopty... Jesus...

*Takes back what he said about playing MM again to the end*

 

[theamazinghoodie]

Sure, you aren't as free as you were in OoT, but what exactly were you doing with that freedom anyway? MM actually filled a void that needed to be filled IMO.

It's about emphasizing that freedom and allowing the player to take advantage of it. That's what one of the best features of Zelda is. The freedom to explore with very little to dictate how that's done. Ocarina of Time creates this sort of atmosphere thanks to all that space in Hyrule Field. Even if there should be a little more in that vast field, don't forget that this field doesn't encompass the whole of Hyrule itself.

If you are in the middle of trying to beat a dungeon and the time is running low, maybe its your fault for not managing your time properly. It is a method of inserting a difficult asset about the game, as in pay the price for not being careful. Why start a dungeon when you aren't sure about how much time you have? It shows that when they made this game in development, they weren't trying to baby the gamer, they tried to make it a little more hard for them. I mean, it's fair, because with proper time management, all of this could be avoided.

And this leads into one of the issues that Majora's Mask faces- the save system. Majora's Mask's save system is pretty flawed, given the only way you can truly save is by playing the Song of Time (which sends you back to day 1). The owl statues attempt to be a solution to this, but this is nullified the moment you resume a file that has an Owl Statue save (because if you turn off your system, you go back to day 1 with all progress reset to the last time you played the Song of Time).

For a Zelda game, that's incredibly unforgiving and something that should be avoided if possible.

Yes and YES.

Actually... now that you've reminded me of how Majora's Mask's save system works - nevermind the three day timer, i now remember why i hated playing the game. It has absolutely nothing to do with being a challenge (hell, the backwards song of time eliminates that), it's the fact that it's SO, DAMN tedious! So TIRING. Going back and forth and back and forth and... FFS.

Yeah. Thanks for reminding me.

God, that was annoying. It makes you question whether or not the developers even looked at how it would be from a gamer's perspective. Good grief... it's tiring as all hell.

Yeah, the save system wasn't flawed, Nin... it was whoopty. That, in combination with the three day death clock, made the entire experience rather whoopty... Jesus...

*Takes back what he said about playing MM again to the end*

First off, freedom doesn't mean a thing if you can't do something with it. OoT has a big open field that you're encouraged to explore. Freaking great. For what it's worth, the game might have let you explore an endless McDonalds ball pit for all of the things you can find. OoT, and plenty of other games, including most notably Skyrim and Darksiders 2, have run into this problem: The scope of the game is far larger than the actual content. You can make your area to explore as big as you want, but it doesn't add a thing to the experience unless you actually put something there for the player to find.

I'll take a moment to harp on an adventure/exploration game that isn't Okami for the moment and reference Batman: Arkham City. The environment there was pretty big, nowhere near as big as Skyrim's, but large nonetheless. But it was enjoyable to explore because the game actually put stuff there to make it worth your while, such as Riddler trophies or various side quests. Arkham City encouraged the player to explore with its incentives, and made its exploration enjoyable. OoT didn't, and it's joy for optional exploring is essentially nonexistant. MM acknowledged that and decided to fill that space with something more enjoyable. Better to have something that you find marginally enjoyable instead of nothing at all.

As for the saves, I've really never had a problem with that, and not to sound rude, but you could probably use a few lessons in time management if you found that to be a major problem. The warp statues scattered throughout make it the easiest Zelda game to traverse, and the forced saving at the beginning of Day 1 is meant to be a punishment for mis-managing your time. The game gives you time and forces you to plan ahead and allocate it as necessary. It's never unfair; when you run out of time, it's always your fault. I think it works wonderfully, and adds to that sense of dread that surrounds the falling of the moon and the entire game in general.

 

[WandertotheLight]

Best Gameplay - OOT (Personally, I didn't really enjoy the three day system. What I didn't like was waiting for events to happen, finite amount of time before resetting and how farcical all my help became after resets.)
Best Story - OOT (Classic and lasted longer.)
Best Soundtrack - OOT (More diverse set of songs.)
Best Villain - OOT (Ganondorf is just classic.)
Best Replayability - OOT (Considering MM resets your progress, the real question is "did we ever really finish playing?")
Best Dungeons - MM (The puzzles and mechanics are just more clever, even though there are fewer than OOT.)
Best Sidequests - MM (MM is all about sidequests.)
Best Characters - OOT (Larger and more diverse cast.)

Overall, OOT.

 

[theamazinghoodie]

Best Gameplay - OOT (Personally, I didn't really enjoy the three day system. What I didn't like was waiting for events to happen, finite amount of time before resetting and how farcical all my help became after resets.)
Best Story - OOT (Classic and lasted longer.)
Best Soundtrack - OOT (More diverse set of songs.)
Best Villain - OOT (Ganondorf is just classic.)
Best Replayability - OOT (Considering MM resets your progress, the real question is "did we ever really finish playing?")
Best Dungeons - MM (The puzzles and mechanics are just more clever, even though there are fewer than OOT.)
Best Sidequests - MM (MM is all about sidequests.)
Best Characters - OOT (Larger and more diverse cast.)

Overall, OOT.

Most of this is opinion, so I won't debate it, although I have some difficulty understanding why copying a villain/basic storyline from previous games is revered so highly.

I flat out disagree with the last one, though. Majora's Mask had far more characters than Ocarina did, and the characters from that game are so all over the place on the personality spectrum that I'm not sure how you can make an argument for OoT's cast being the more diverse of the pair.

 

[WandertotheLight]

Best Gameplay - OOT (Personally, I didn't really enjoy the three day system. What I didn't like was waiting for events to happen, finite amount of time before resetting and how farcical all my help became after resets.)
Best Story - OOT (Classic and lasted longer.)
Best Soundtrack - OOT (More diverse set of songs.)
Best Villain - OOT (Ganondorf is just classic.)
Best Replayability - OOT (Considering MM resets your progress, the real question is "did we ever really finish playing?")
Best Dungeons - MM (The puzzles and mechanics are just more clever, even though there are fewer than OOT.)
Best Sidequests - MM (MM is all about sidequests.)
Best Characters - OOT (Larger and more diverse cast.)

Overall, OOT.

Most of this is opinion, so I won't debate it, although I have some difficulty understanding why copying a villain/basic storyline from previous games is revered so highly.

I flat out disagree with the last one, though. Majora's Mask had far more characters than Ocarina did, and the characters from that game are so all over the place on the personality spectrum that I'm not sure how you can make an argument for OoT's cast being the more diverse of the pair.

I like it because it's basic. Ganondorf sets himself as the traditional villain, power hungry ruler to be defeated by the courageous hero. It's not something I'd like to have everyday, and Majora's plot to drop the moon onto a town is pretty overwhelming, but I can always go back to vanilla.

Okay, I did get the numbers wrong. By my count, OOT had 108 characters while MM had 121 characters. And diversity actually leans towards MM as well because I neglected the garos, beavers, monkeys, sea horses, and keatons. I think the more appropriate way of saying it is more diverse functions per parts. OOT's characters vary more in the roles they take in the story and what they give you, some even take on one role and then take on another 7 years later. MM's characters mostly serve three functions: a way to get a mask, a way to use the mask, or context for the previous two.

 

[Dr.Striker]

I agree with theamazinghoodie.... When you look at both OOT and MM overworlds, ask yourself what the difference is. You explore both and you find little to nothing useful in both. The idea behind MM's main attribute is the interaction with characters and always having something to do. Sure, you aren't as free as you were in OoT, but what exactly were you doing with that freedom anyway? MM actually filled a void that needed to be filled IMO.


I feel the time limit system in MM was used mainly for the story, because for a time limit, it compliments the gamer in multiple ways. It allows you to slow time and to travel through time to convenience you. It doesn't actually dampen your room for exploration, the only thing i can think of is that it resets your ruppees and ammo - however if you simply deposit all your money in the bank, you can withdraw it as soon as you play the song of time.

If you are in the middle of trying to beat a dungeon and the time is running low, maybe its your fault for not managing your time properly. It is a method of inserting a difficult asset about the game, as in pay the price for not being careful. Why start a dungeon when you aren't sure about how much time you have? It shows that when they made this game in development, they weren't trying to baby the gamer, they tried to make it a little more hard for them. I mean, it's fair, because with proper time management, all of this could be avoided.

But you have to remember. You can't really penalize either. ESPECIALLY Ocarina, for apparently having nothing in its main open exterior cell. You have to respect the game for what it did at that time. It's just legendary.

And you also have to look at Majora's Mask and see how it DID take MANY steps towards being a fully-realized game world. Something comperable to Elder Scrolls' game world. Majora took a huge step with its characters; their sidequests, and in-game assets.

It's kind of like looking at GTAIII and penalizing it for not having planes and helicopters... and all the other things you'll find in Vice City.

Majoras Mask is the Vice City to Ocarina; being GTA III.

And that's a very good thing.

Nintendo must move forward with Zelda with the blueprinted ideas they've carried out in Majora's Mask. It's only natural. And only makes sense. There's so much potential in taking a detailed day cycling system, and making it even more complex. They could do so many things for the game.

 

[madskillzO25]

I agree with theamazinghoodie.... When you look at both OOT and MM overworlds, ask yourself what the difference is. You explore both and you find little to nothing useful in both. The idea behind MM's main attribute is the interaction with characters and always having something to do. Sure, you aren't as free as you were in OoT, but what exactly were you doing with that freedom anyway? MM actually filled a void that needed to be filled IMO.


I feel the time limit system in MM was used mainly for the story, because for a time limit, it compliments the gamer in multiple ways. It allows you to slow time and to travel through time to convenience you. It doesn't actually dampen your room for exploration, the only thing i can think of is that it resets your ruppees and ammo - however if you simply deposit all your money in the bank, you can withdraw it as soon as you play the song of time.

If you are in the middle of trying to beat a dungeon and the time is running low, maybe its your fault for not managing your time properly. It is a method of inserting a difficult asset about the game, as in pay the price for not being careful. Why start a dungeon when you aren't sure about how much time you have? It shows that when they made this game in development, they weren't trying to baby the gamer, they tried to make it a little more hard for them. I mean, it's fair, because with proper time management, all of this could be avoided.

But you have to remember. You can't really penalize either. ESPECIALLY Ocarina, for apparently having nothing in its main open exterior cell. You have to respect the game for what it did at that time. It's just legendary.

And you also have to look at Majora's Mask and see how it DID take MANY steps towards being a fully-realized game world. Something comperable to Elder Scrolls' game world. Majora took a huge step with its characters; their sidequests, and in-game assets.

It's kind of like looking at GTAIII and penalizing it for not having planes and helicopters... and all the other things you'll find in Vice City.

Majoras Mask is the Vice City to Ocarina; being GTA III.

And that's a very good thing.

Nintendo must move forward with Zelda with the blueprinted ideas they've carried out in Majora's Mask. It's only natural. And only makes sense. There's so much potential in taking a detailed day cycling system, and making it even more complex. They could do so many things for the game.

Vice City came out after GTA3 but the time frame was a longer than MM was to OoT. I know what you mean though, but just remember MM was actually in production the same time OoT was. Most beta items, such as chests, were stripped from the final version of OoT and used in MM instead. But besides that, I want the record to show I am in no way degrading OoT for the flaw of limited exploration. The game was the FIRST to enter 3D for crying out loud, it did everything it could have done perfectly. At the same time, people cannot use that to degrade MM when MM had MORE to do than OoT.

 

[Dr.Striker]

I know what you mean though, but just remember MM was actually in production the same time OoT was.

Heh. Funny how you mention that. Just further proves how excited they were to work on these games. They were probably like "SCREW THE PAY! I WANNA CREATE!"

One game after another. I love it. They couldn't get enough 3D game development. If they could, they'd get it intravenously fed into their bloodstream.


Yep, pure passion. We don't see that often today.

 

[Falcor007]

Best Gameplay - MM takes it with the transformation masks. And while it's a minor thing, flipping while platforming is awesome.
Best Story - MM, especially if we're including stories from NPC's in addition to the main story.
Best Soundtrack - Tie. The N64 Zeldas have the best music of the series.
Best Villain - Majora/Skull Kid. I've always been intrigued more by crazy, world-threatening villains than evil tyrants.
Best Replayability - Tie. I've played both numerous times so both have high replayability for me.
Best Dungeons - OoT. MM's Stone Tower might be my favorite Zelda Dungeon but OoT simply has more with enough quality backing them to take the win.
Best Sidequests - This should be a universal choice for MM.
Best Characters - MM. No Navi. Kaepora Gaebora talks significantly less. And MM gives many side characters a story and problems for Link to help with.

So yeah, MM stands ahead of OoT by a good bit in my mind. As heretic as it might be to say this, OoT has become one of my least favorite Zeldas over the last few years, especially when I look at how much of ALttP I see in it. Then I look at MM, a game which had an incredibly low production time, and see how good it is and just wonder why we don't always rush the development team.

 

[stache19]

Forgive me being anal here, but Majora's Mask is actually more impressive because it wasn't in production during OoT, not in the way you suggest at least. They had some tentative plans for a modified version of OoT (Ura Zelda), a sort of additional version of Master Quest. Majora's Mask came to fruition in the middle of those plans, and its development didn't really start until 1999.

 

[gencid]

Best Gameplay - OOT. 72 hrs days with no permanent saves wasn't everybody's cup of tea. The last 25% portion of MM however was amongst the best in Zelda franchise history.
Best Story - MM. OOT was simply a retelling of the back story in ALTTP, so nothing too mind blowing there. However the way the story was presented in MM was simply outstanding (through a side quest).
Best Soundtrack - OOT. I liked the return of the Zelda theme on MM, but OOT's daylight theme is permanently stuck in my brain as is the Song of Storms and many other notable OOT pieces.
Best Villain - OOT has a small edge, since skull kid didn't really appear to be that threatening and the small portion of Majora's Wrath appearance is not enough to build the main villain's character like OOT did.
Best Replayability - MM. OOT is done and done, but MM always keeps me coming back for more.
Best Dungeons - OOT may win by sheer numbers, though MM's dungeons were some of the best in Zelda franchise history. Stone Tower could be my favorite 3D Zelda dungeon of all time.
Best Sidequests - MM with a K.O. victory.
Best Characters - MM without a doubt. I don't think I have seen better developed NPC characters in a Nintendo game than what I've seen in Majora's Mask.

If you go by these criteria, it seems like they're both even at 4-4. I give a small edge to OOT due to its impact at the time of the original release, but MM is by far the Zelda game that I like to revisit the most.

 

[Falcor007]

Forgive me being anal here, but Majora's Mask is actually more impressive because it wasn't in production during OoT, not in the way you suggest at least. They had some tentative plans for a modified version of OoT (Ura Zelda), a sort of additional version of Master Quest. Majora's Mask came to fruition in the middle of those plans, and its development didn't really start until 1999.

My point was MM impressed me more despite having significantly less production time compared to OoT.


Also, GTFO my user colors @genci.

 

[gencid]

Also, GTFO my user colors [URL='http://www.ign.com/boards/members/genci.47189/']@genci[/URL].

Majora's Mask colors are appropriate for my icon. I didn't know purple was trademarked. But since you scare me, I might *keyword: might* change them.

 

[madskillzO25]

Also, GTFO my user colors [URL='http://www.ign.com/boards/members/genci.47189/']@genci[/URL].

Majora's Mask colors are appropriate for my icon. I didn't know purple was trademarked. But since you scare me, I might *keyword: might* change them.

I would like to mark up my username in purple and green to match my icon, but I am not an Insider.

 

[lasttriforcepiece]

Best Gameplay - Tie (Pretty much the same plus/minus a few slight differences)
Best Story - OOT, (it was the first n64 game and it drew me into the Zelda story like no game had before)
Best Soundtrack - OOT (no need to elaborate, its classic Zelda tunes)
Best Villain - OOT (As good as the skull-kid was, Ganondorf was a much more intimidating figure to me personally when considering the first time I played both games)
Best Replayability - OOT (again and again and again)
Best Dungeons - OOT (I could write several paragraphs here, but all I need to say is that every single dungeon in OOT was incredible, I can remember the first time I beat the deku tree when I was a kid and no dungeon in MM ever gave me the same feeling as slaying Gohma for the first time)
Best Sidequests - MM
Best Characters - OOT (MM had a more diverse range of characters, but it didn't have the Kokiri which are my personal favourite in the Zelda series)

 

[madskillzO25]

Best Gameplay - Tie (Pretty much the same plus/minus a few slight differences)
Best Story - OOT, (it was the first n64 game and it drew me into the Zelda story like no game had before)
Best Soundtrack - OOT (no need to elaborate, its classic Zelda tunes)
Best Villain - OOT (As good as the skull-kid was, Ganondorf was a much more intimidating figure to me personally when considering the first time I played both games)
Best Replayability - OOT (again and again and again)
Best Dungeons - OOT (I could write several paragraphs here, but all I need to say is that every single dungeon in OOT was incredible, I can remember the first time I beat the deku tree when I was a kid and no dungeon in MM ever gave me the same feeling as slaying Gohma for the first time)
Best Sidequests - MM
Best Characters - OOT (MM had a more diverse range of characters, but it didn't have the Kokiri which are my personal favourite in the Zelda series)

Very bias. Game play and replay value should go to Mm by default. Mm has three exrra move sets and weapons that oot did not have.

 

[lasttriforcepiece]

I am slightly bias to OOT but its all personal preference so its not really a big deal anyway.

Game play is a tie because in my opinion without OOT, MM wouldn't have had the gameplay it has.
MM came after OOT so by definition it should have extra additions in move-sets and weaponary. Side-by-side though the gameplay of both games is equally well executed.
OOT had child/adult link, MM had deku/goron/zora link and normal link and they are both great for the games they are.

Replay value for me goes to OOT because I've replayed it about 10000 times more than I've replayed MM, but that's just my personal preference. OR bias if you prefer

 

[Mr-Chris]

When I was younger I didn't really get into MM, I despised the 3 day cycle then. However I should defineitly give the game another chance today seeing as I'm a more competent gamer now then I was when I was 7 or so. I am waiting for a remake though which will probably turn up on the 3DS after Wii U Zelda or something.
So for now I'd have to say OOT, but that is subject to change.

 

[Dr.Striker]

When I was younger I didn't really get into MM, I despised the 3 day cycle then. However I should defineitly give the game another chance today seeing as I'm a more competent gamer now then I was when I was 7 or so. I am waiting for a remake though which will probably turn up on the 3DS after Wii U Zelda or something.
So for now I'd have to say OOT, but that is subject to change.

Hehe... same as me.

I'm hoping for A compilation. A double-game disc. Ocarina and Majora's Mask HD.

Giggity...

 

[Mr-Chris]

When I was younger I didn't really get into MM, I despised the 3 day cycle then. However I should defineitly give the game another chance today seeing as I'm a more competent gamer now then I was when I was 7 or so. I am waiting for a remake though which will probably turn up on the 3DS after Wii U Zelda or something.
So for now I'd have to say OOT, but that is subject to change.

Hehe... same as me.

I'm hoping for A compilation. A double-game disc. Ocarina and Majora's Mask HD.

Giggity...

That would be nice, though I just assumed it would be on the 3DS since they already remade OOT on there.

 

[theamazinghoodie]

I can understand not liking the 3 Day cycle, but I think the people that call it a terrible decision on Nintendo's part are being more than a little foolish. It fit very well with the dark theme of Majora's Mask, both as a story mechanic and as a gameplay mechanic.

That kind of game isn't everyone's style, sure, but that's what the game was being developed for, and it went very well with the direction of the game. Calling that a terrible decision is essentially the equivalent of calling Dark Souls' difficulty a bad decision. It goes with the direction of the game.

 

[madskillzO25]

I am slightly bias to OOT but its all personal preference so its not really a big deal anyway.

Game play is a tie because in my opinion without OOT, MM wouldn't have had the gameplay it has.
MM came after OOT so by definition it should have extra additions in move-sets and weaponary. Side-by-side though the gameplay of both games is equally well executed.
OOT had child/adult link, MM had deku/goron/zora link and normal link and they are both great for the games they are.

Replay value for me goes to OOT because I've replayed it about 10000 times more than I've replayed MM, but that's just my personal preference. OR bias if you prefer

adult link and young link swung swords, used shields and rolled - same move set, different body. cannot say that for mm.....

 

[lasttriforcepiece]

Game-play is not JUST a measure of how many weapons or transformations you have access to, its also how well the game executes these features and how it improves the players experience of the game as a whole. MM and OOT both do this equally well for the games that they are, in my opinion at least.

Zora/Deku/Goron Link only had 2-3 moves for each, and you couldn't use links normal weapons while transformed into them, its not an entirely new skill-set or arsenal of weapons. The spike-roll from Goron Link was pretty fun though I must admit

 

[linkkillshalo]

tied- Ocarina is fun and HIGHLY influencial and majora is more fun but not as inflencial.

 

[theamazinghoodie]

tied- Ocarina is fun and HIGHLY influencial and majora is more fun but not as inflencial.

I don't think influence is a fair category to judge a game on...but perhaps that's just me.

 

[7Ryan1]

Sums up some of my reasons why:

http://www.nintendojo.com/features/editorials/why-majoras-mask-is-better-than-ocarina-of-time

 

[NintendoLea18]

Ocarina of Time : Nostalgia, great story and amazing music.
Majoras Mask : Eeriness , emotional involvement and great fun to control different species.

It has to be OoT , but by a whisker.

 

[CrusherMania1592]

Best Gameplay - OOT (Personally, I didn't really enjoy the three day system. What I didn't like was waiting for events to happen, finite amount of time before resetting and how farcical all my help became after resets.)
Best Story - OOT (Classic and lasted longer.)
Best Soundtrack - OOT (More diverse set of songs.)
Best Villain - OOT (Ganondorf is just classic.)
Best Replayability - OOT (Considering MM resets your progress, the real question is "did we ever really finish playing?")
Best Dungeons - MM (The puzzles and mechanics are just more clever, even though there are fewer than OOT.)
Best Sidequests - MM (MM is all about sidequests.)
Best Characters - OOT (Larger and more diverse cast.)

Overall, OOT.

Sorry, but I'd have to agree with this. While I'm not big on MM, I'm pretty much agree with all of these for the obvious reasons.

 

[Volvagia_slayer]

For me:

Atmosphere - MM
Bosses - OoT
Combat - MM
Difficulty - MM
Dungeons - OoT
Economy - MM
Exploration - MM
Items - OoT
Item Originality - MM
Lore - OoT
Main Gimmick - MM
Minigames - OoT
Music - OoT
NPCs - MM
Overworld - MM
Partner - OoT
Sidequests - MM
Story - OoT

So MM takes it for me by a bit.

 

[Lost_In_Translation]

For me:

Atmosphere - OOT
Bosses - OOT
Combat - MM
Difficulty - MM
Dungeons - OOT
Economy - MM
Exploration - MM
Items - OOT
Item Originality - OOT
Lore - OOT
Main Gimmick - OOT
Minigames - OOT
Music - OOT
NPCs - OOT
Overworld - MM
Partner - OOT
Sidequests - MM
Story - OOT

Neither are personal favorites, but in the end, OOT wins.

 

[SouthpawLink]

For me (adapted from Volvagia_slayer):

Atmosphere - OoT: I find MM's Termina to be too depressing (especially the music in the various races' homelands).
Bosses - OoT
Combat - OoT: fighting classic enemies as adult Link is simply iconic.
Difficulty - MM
Dungeons - MM: Best collective level design of the whole series, in my opinion.
Economy - MM
Exploration - OoT: There were enough bombable walls (as well as invisible ones) and hidden grottoes to keep me satisfied.
Items - OoT
Item Originality - MM
Lore - OoT
Main Gimmick - MM
Minigames - OoT
Music - OoT (MM almost wins this category with its inclusion of the classic overworld theme alone...)
NPCs - MM
Overworld - OoT: Being fairly more open-ended gives Hyrule my vote over Termina.
Partner - OoT
Sidequests - MM
Story - OoT

I see I still need to respond to @theamazinghoodie

 

[ida-know]

From my perspective:

Gameplay: MM (it has everything OoT had, plus young Link could use more equipment than he was able to in OoT. The bunny hood and transformation masks make Link more versatile, plus they even found a way to include Link's sword beam which was absent from OoT's gameplay)

Story: MM (In addition to being just another "Save the Princess" story - Anyone who has played LttP knew exactly what to expect from Oot's story. Majora forewent the clichés of previous Zelda games and brought a fresh new story to the franchise)

Music: MM (The iconic Zelda overworld theme is something you expect to hear in every Zelda game, but OoT did not use it at all. Majora included all of the same music found in Oot AND brought back the original Zelda overworld theme AND included a few other classic Zelda tunes as easter eggs.

Antagonist/Villain: OoT (Despite Link's efforts, Ganon couldn't truly be stopped. The best they could manage was to stun him long enough to seal him in a different realm. In comparison, not only was stopping Majora feasible, Majora himself gives you an item that makes killing him redonkulously easy.

Replay-Value: MM (No contest, Majora has 20X the amount of side quests, 10X the amount of minigames, 5X the amount mask collecting, 2X the amount of Skulltullas... Plus you can replay any Boss Battle as many times as you want)

Dungeons: MM (OoT's has more dungeons but they are all fairly barren of enemies to battle, which makes them less of a challenge for the player and more of a chore. MM dungeons are fewer in number, but are better designed with more enemies to battle. Plus you can replay the Boss Battles, and when you complete a dungeon, you see how it effects the overworld and the game's story)

SideQuests: MM (Nothing needs to be said here, MM is famous for the side quests)

Characters: MM (OoT and MM share the same cast of characters - However in Majora the roles they play are completely different. The characters interact with each other and react to the world around them. This gives the MM cast far greater character development than what we saw with Oot)

Majora simply took everything that was great about OoT and improved upon it.

 

[lizalfos]

Why not, I'll join in the fun:

Atmosphere - MM
Bosses - OoT
Combat - MM
Difficulty - MM
Dungeons - MM
Economy - MM
Exploration - MM
Items - OoT
Item Originality - MM
Lore - tie
Main Gimmick - MM
Minigames - They're mostly the same, but the beaver race gives it to MM
Music - OoT
NPCs - MM
Overworld - MM
Partner - MM
Sidequests - MM
Story - MM

 

[madskillzO25]

What do you guys mean when you say "economy" ?

 

[legendofmidna]

It's funny how people say Ocarina had more to explore; when I think about both games I feel like I explored more in MM because there was more to find even in less space. The world was packed with masks, some more useful and some less so, but they were there and man was it an incentive for me to spend a couple 3-day cycles mask hunting before I even got into Snowhead.
Majora's Mask wins by a lot IMO. There's just so much more to find and to do.
Also, because I enjoy intentionally completing only part of the Anju and Kafei sideque. I got a sick kick out of watching Anju wait and knowing Kafei wasn't gonna show.