I see some confusion on GAF about how the three-day cycle works in Majora's Mask. I also see that Nintendo is not doing a good job explaining how to play the game. Their videos talk about how "you only have three days to save the world"... but this is misleading.
The three-day cycle is not a limit, so much as a STRUCTURE. I say this because you can replay the same three days an infinite number of times. There is no real fail state. And every time you rewind the clock, you carry over the items you found... the masks you collected... the songs you learned... and the warp points you activated.
So the game is really about starting a fresh cycle... slowing down time with the Inverted Song of Time (literally the Song of Time, played backwards)... and then deciding: "What will I try to accomplish during this three-day cycle?"
It's about giving yourself a three-day cycle to accomplish -one- thing, and then rewinding the clock to accomplish -another- thing. It's NOT about trying to cram in as many things as possible.
So for example:
1) It's the start of a new cycle. "Dawn of the First Day -- 72 Hours Remain." I immediately play the Inverted Song of Time. This doubles the amount of time I have during the three-day cycle. So I now have three real-life hours to accomplish something. Also, time stops if I watch a cutscene, talk to an NPC, read an item description or pause the game... so there's really no pressure.
2) Now I decide what to do. I decide I want to reach the next dungeon. So I venture off to a new area, and I work my through it until I arrive at the entrance to the dungeon. I activate the owl statue there, which serves as a warp point.
3) I then play the Song of Time and return to the first day, starting a new three-day cycle. I play the Inverted Song of Time, slowing down time again. Then I play the Song of Soaring to warp to the entrance of the new dungeon I discovered on the last cycle. I now have three real-life hours to complete that dungeon.
Let's say three real-life hours is not enough. Well, maybe it was still enough to get the ITEM. That item will carry over when I travel back to the first day. So if the three-day cycle is not enough to beat the dungeon in one go, I can just rewind time after I get the dungeon item, and then use that dungeon item to bypass half of the dungeon on the next cycle.
In effect, I would then have three real-life hours to complete just half of a dungeon. Which I think most Zelda fans will find quite doable. In practice, I often had multiple days left after achieving what I wanted in any given 72-hour cycle. Only a couple quests require the full three days.
The benefits of this system are HUGE.
The NPCs run on schedules -- walking around town, meeting each other, going about their lives. They feel like -real- people with -real- issues. And different events happen at different times, whether you're there to see them or not. If you're not at Romani Ranch in the early hours of the morning on the Night of the First Day, an alien invasion will steal the cows and lobotomize the girl Romani, and cause her older sister Cremia to fall into a deep depression. If you're able to intervene, however, you can stop the invasion and open up an all-new quest-line, helping Cremia defend her milk carriage from bandits. And this in turn will give you access to an all-new location, with additional quest-lines.
But while you're helping them, life goes on in the rest of the world... and you may be missing other events.
The three-day cycle allowed Nintendo to script all of these different routines and events. And the three-day cycle allows -you- to see them all in full. All you have to do is figure when and where something happens, and then dedicate a new cycle to it. And what you earn for completing each quest will stay with you when you go back in time, so it's all worthwhile.
The end result is a living, breathing world that feels like a real place. And thanks to the three-day cycle, you can replay all of the dungeons, bosses, and side-quests to your heart's content, without starting a new file. Which is why for me and many others, Majora's Mask is our favorite Zelda.
UPDATE #1: Note that you also keep items you find outside of dungeons. So for example, when you find the Lens of Truth in the mountains to the north, it will still be in your inventory when you travel back to Day 1.
UPDATE #2: Note that the Inverted Song of Time, and the Song of Double Time, can be used before you're taught them by the scarecrow in West Clock Town. And remember: 72 game hours, with the Inverted Song of Time, equals three real-life hours. Lots of time to get something done before starting a new cycle.
The three-day cycle is not a limit, so much as a STRUCTURE. I say this because you can replay the same three days an infinite number of times. There is no real fail state. And every time you rewind the clock, you carry over the items you found... the masks you collected... the songs you learned... and the warp points you activated.
So the game is really about starting a fresh cycle... slowing down time with the Inverted Song of Time (literally the Song of Time, played backwards)... and then deciding: "What will I try to accomplish during this three-day cycle?"
It's about giving yourself a three-day cycle to accomplish -one- thing, and then rewinding the clock to accomplish -another- thing. It's NOT about trying to cram in as many things as possible.
So for example:
1) It's the start of a new cycle. "Dawn of the First Day -- 72 Hours Remain." I immediately play the Inverted Song of Time. This doubles the amount of time I have during the three-day cycle. So I now have three real-life hours to accomplish something. Also, time stops if I watch a cutscene, talk to an NPC, read an item description or pause the game... so there's really no pressure.
2) Now I decide what to do. I decide I want to reach the next dungeon. So I venture off to a new area, and I work my through it until I arrive at the entrance to the dungeon. I activate the owl statue there, which serves as a warp point.
3) I then play the Song of Time and return to the first day, starting a new three-day cycle. I play the Inverted Song of Time, slowing down time again. Then I play the Song of Soaring to warp to the entrance of the new dungeon I discovered on the last cycle. I now have three real-life hours to complete that dungeon.
Let's say three real-life hours is not enough. Well, maybe it was still enough to get the ITEM. That item will carry over when I travel back to the first day. So if the three-day cycle is not enough to beat the dungeon in one go, I can just rewind time after I get the dungeon item, and then use that dungeon item to bypass half of the dungeon on the next cycle.
In effect, I would then have three real-life hours to complete just half of a dungeon. Which I think most Zelda fans will find quite doable. In practice, I often had multiple days left after achieving what I wanted in any given 72-hour cycle. Only a couple quests require the full three days.
The benefits of this system are HUGE.
The NPCs run on schedules -- walking around town, meeting each other, going about their lives. They feel like -real- people with -real- issues. And different events happen at different times, whether you're there to see them or not. If you're not at Romani Ranch in the early hours of the morning on the Night of the First Day, an alien invasion will steal the cows and lobotomize the girl Romani, and cause her older sister Cremia to fall into a deep depression. If you're able to intervene, however, you can stop the invasion and open up an all-new quest-line, helping Cremia defend her milk carriage from bandits. And this in turn will give you access to an all-new location, with additional quest-lines.
But while you're helping them, life goes on in the rest of the world... and you may be missing other events.
The three-day cycle allowed Nintendo to script all of these different routines and events. And the three-day cycle allows -you- to see them all in full. All you have to do is figure when and where something happens, and then dedicate a new cycle to it. And what you earn for completing each quest will stay with you when you go back in time, so it's all worthwhile.
The end result is a living, breathing world that feels like a real place. And thanks to the three-day cycle, you can replay all of the dungeons, bosses, and side-quests to your heart's content, without starting a new file. Which is why for me and many others, Majora's Mask is our favorite Zelda.
UPDATE #1: Note that you also keep items you find outside of dungeons. So for example, when you find the Lens of Truth in the mountains to the north, it will still be in your inventory when you travel back to Day 1.
UPDATE #2: Note that the Inverted Song of Time, and the Song of Double Time, can be used before you're taught them by the scarecrow in West Clock Town. And remember: 72 game hours, with the Inverted Song of Time, equals three real-life hours. Lots of time to get something done before starting a new cycle.
