This feels like a (small) win for Zelda fans who really don’t care for the 3DS version
[Update: Nintendo confirmed a Friday, February 25 release date for The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service.]
The Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service is rounding out its N64 game library month by month, and soon, we’re getting another classic Zelda adventure to sit alongside Ocarina of Time. That’s right, Majora’s Mask is up next — Switch Online subscribers with the pricier expansion tier will be able to revisit Termina’s familiar faces in February. What a weird, cool, fresh game that was (and still is).
Save Termina before it’s met with a terrible fate!
The Legend of #Zelda: Majora's Mask comes to #NintendoSwitch for #NintendoSwitchOnline + Expansion Pack members in February! #Nintendo64 pic.twitter.com/WN2Q0Wqc8Q
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) January 21, 2022
(The “Expansion Pak required” notice on the original N64 box art is too rich.)
For those of us who were willing to pay extra for the Expansion Pass (even if we had plenty of reservations about Nintendo’s approach to retro game libraries on the Switch), the Nintendo 64 games are at least good, if not great. They’re slow to roll out, to an almost silly degree, but they’re some of the console’s best. Just today, we got Banjo-Kazooie.
In the case of Majora’s Mask specifically, even if the emulation won’t be up to everyone’s standards, I’m expecting it to be a creepy yet satisfying trip on my Switch in 2022. There’s certainly a cohort of Zelda fans who greatly prefer the original incarnation of this time-loop adventure over the prettier but sometimes questionably designed 3DS version.
I infamously (well, to my childhood friends at the time, and no one else…) rented Majora’s Mask back in the day, was very confused and disturbed, and barely made a dent. I’ve dabbled here and there, especially as some of the more stressful elements and themes have been explored elsewhere, but I still haven’t gone back to exhaustively play through it. All the same, Majora’s Mask is one of those games that leaves a lasting impression.
After relaxing with Ocarina of Time on Switch, I’m ready to set things straight in Majora’s Mask. (I think.) Or else I’ll just screw around in Clock Town. Save states will help.
