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Now that the dust has settled, what are your final thoughts on the 3DS Zelda remakes?

OoT 3D is the definitive version of the arguable GOAT game to me, safe to say I'm a big fan of how they handled it.
Nice clean visual upgrade that retains that nostalgic N64 style (also read as hilariously grotesque NPC designs I love dearly), ups the frame rate, still has some of the handhelds stronger 3D effects if you're into that thing, retains all the old audio because those text box/menu chimes are wonderful and makes sure not to skimp on the master quest.

Majora's Mask is a touch more iffy, if only in my mind for some of the boss battles alterations and Zora Link's gimped swimming being a bit of a downer. Otherwise I love how dark yet colourful it is on the 3DS, they really brought the bizarre feeling of Termina to greater life with some bold visuals.
It's also nice that it's more accommodating for new players and those who find themselves at odds with the time mechanics since purists will likely stick with the original anyway so this here works as a nice option for those who struggled to enjoy it before.

My favourite pair of Zelda titles were handled quite well I'd say.
 
Haven't played either, but a saw the intro of OoT and it made me appreciate he lighting in the M64 version more. It used to really look like early morning lighting, which is impressive.
 

TDLink

Member
They're both the definitive versions of their respective games.

Haters of the new swim controls in MM boggle my mind. You banged into walls all the damn time in the Great Bay Temple in the original and it was awful. They actually fixed that and made that temple manageable. You still can do the dolphin swimming in the Bay.
 

Kain

Member
They are way better than the originals, and that's what remakes are for after all, so they are exceptional games in my book.

I prefer ALBW in 3DS, though, that game is just pure love.
 

Neff

Member
The only thing I miss from either is the N64 versions of the young Link model, which were really cool.

Otherwise, both ports are a massive improvement in every way and I can't think of a single reason to go back to either aside from the comfort of playing on a TV.
 
They're both the definitive versions of their respective games.

Haters of the new swim controls in MM boggle my mind. You banged into walls all the damn time in the Great Bay Temple in the original and it was awful. They actually fixed that and made that temple manageable. You still can do the dolphin swimming in the Bay.

I'd have liked a toggle between the new style and the old, the new speed works for going through the temple but is pretty slow for the vast open ocean sections and the seasnake trench.
Unfortunately the magic approach isn't much of an elegant solution seeing that there's not much to top up within the water and you'll be wanting to have the double magic bar to get any decent amount of time out of it.

In any case the Beaver race managed to be awkward as heck since to achieve the speed you need you also have to have blaring electricity filling up the screen as you try to navigate through the rings.
 
I also don't get the hate for MM3D's swim controls; you can be more precise than you could before. If there's a fuck up there, it's that they didn't place more magic jars in Great Bay to compensate for Zora Link using magic. At the same time, this issue is very easily remedied by just having a little foresight and buying Chateau Romani from the bar. I half-wonder if they didn't hope the player would do that in the first place (since there's hardly any other reason to purchase 200-rupee super milk).
 
phenomenal editions of the original games and the skyboxes in the games are breathtaking to me haha. The 3DS is a super handheld for anyone that likes zelda.
 

Mr-Joker

Banned
That they are the best Zelda games on the 3DS.

But, on the other hand, it suffers from a lot of handholding. If OG Majora's Mask had a difficulty level of 9 (without guides), 3DS Majora's Mask is a 4 at most. If something isn't being explained by the "clues" they added in this version, the game will surely give you hints until you get it, of course this is noted on the new casual friendly Bomber's Notebook.

So, an overall nice experience, if a little bit too dumbed down from the original.

Majora's Mask needed the hand holding as the game is not easy to get into, especially when the game assumed that you have already played Ocarina of Time.

Lowering the difficulty at the start of the game and making the bomber notebook even more useful, was needed for the game to get a second chance at the spotlight, which seemed to have worked.

I'm sorry, I have an OG 3DS so i meant the L-targeting, that is really clunky in MM3D

I played both on the original 3DS and I don't remember Majora's Mask L-targeting being clunky.
 

Anura

Member
I loved the OoT remake but personally the MM one fell flat for me. The 2 main issues I have is that the bombers notebook constantly updates you and breaks pacing and that scrub link no longer gets any speed from his rolls making the water jumping take longer than it should. I also have several nit picks and minor complaints about other changes but those don't bother me as much.
 

Crayolan

Member
Ocarina of Time 3D is a great upgrade to the original. It would be the definitive version but it ruins one very important thing--the lighting during the final boss fight. Having the field being dark and barely visible aside from the occasional lightning flash made Ganon seem huge and imposing during the fight and created a really intense atmosphere. In the 3D version, the final fight is really bright for some reason and all of that is ruined. Ganon feels like just another boss instead of the intimidating beast he should be.

The final fight is one of my favorite bosses ever so seeing it ruined in the 3DS version is a pretty big blow against it IMO. In every other regard, it's superior.

Majora's Mask 3D is a pretty decent port, and an acceptable way to play the game, but I feel you can't really get the Majora's Mask experience unless you play the N64 version. The main issue for me is being able to hard save anywhere; not having that luxury added a lot to the stressful nature of the game and made the player really feel the pressure Link and the people of Termina were going through.

However there are some other changes which make the game flat out worse: the nerfed Zora swimming, the new Ice Arrows, and the new bosses. The changes to the first two are just unnecessary and obnoxious. I don't ever want to play Great Bay on the 3DS version again.

As for the bosses, they've gone from quick and fun fights to long, tedious "wait for me to do this really specific thing before you can attack, oh and also I have a fuckton of health" fights. Aside from the Goht fight where the changes were pretty minor, all the boss fights are terrible now. Grezzo also didn't seem to realize there was a reason for the bosses being relatively quick affairs; you're on a goddamn time limit. The game was not designed around a single boss taking you 12+ hours of in-game time slowed down on your first run. Dungeons can already take a pretty large chunk of a cycle your first time through, bosses didn't need to further emphasize this issue.

Basically, if someone feels a little intimidated by the time system of the game or has no way to play the N64 version I'd say the 3D version is fine to play, because it keeps most everything else aside from the above in tact. To anyone else, I'd recommend the N64 version which I feel is still the definitive version.
 

Klotera

Member
I'm actually playing through OoT 3D now. I've started the N64 version multiple times on Wii VC, but never finished it.

The dual screen setup and inventory management is a huge improvement to the game. I like how you get two "buttons" on the right side of the lower screen to map items to.

I also just like some of the other minor aesthetician changes to the UI.

Graphically, it runs great and the 3D works well.

I intend to finish it this time. I'm determined. I have MM 3D waiting after that (as well as WWHD on my Wii U).
 

-shadow-

Member
They're great remakes and in case of OOT I think it's the definitive edition of the game. Majora's Mask has many, many things going for it, especially the new colours and absolutely amazing mood that brings. But some of the changes to the bossfights really grind my gears. The one with the Giant Mask was great, but the whole joy of rolling non stop was completely taken away, and the fish with the mines on way to long.

Also OOT needs to be patched for camera controls like Majora's Mask have. That's the only thing missing in the game to make it really the best version.
 

DSix

Banned
They're both decent but not perfect, they botched the original lighting from the N64 versions which was much more atmospheric. And sometimes Link's animation is just... weird (mostly noticeable on the roll).

Also it would be much better on a TV with a real pad in hand. A re-release of those on NX could be nice.
 
I think there great.Playing Zelda remakes on a handheld is not a bad thing in any shape or form...unless there badly ported,which they arent
 
It was an absolute delight getting to replay OOT with improved graphics and optional 3D. I love remakes/remasters and think they are important for the preservation of classic games.

3DS Majora's Mask has a lot of improvements over the N64 version.

Steady framerate.
Improved graphics.
Controller nicely adapted to the 3DS.
Bottom screen item management. Which might be the best feature ever.

But, on the other hand, it suffers from a lot of handholding. If OG Majora's Mask had a difficulty level of 9 (without guides), 3DS Majora's Mask is a 4 at most. If something isn't being explained by the "clues" they added in this version, the game will surely give you hints until you get it, of course this is noted on the new casual friendly Bomber's Notebook.

So, an overall nice experience, if a little bit too dumbed down from the original.
I wasn't planning on getting MM3D until reading this post. As a 32 year-old with a wife and child, I just wasn't feeling a replay of MM because my time is limited and I didn't want to have to use a guide on the internet to efficiently play through this game again.

I was in high school when the original came out, and had plenty of time to figure things out on my own, but it's not an accomplishment I feel I need to do all over again.
 
Tried OOT3D since it's possibly the most loved game of all time. Didn't hook me much. Never played the original, but it looked pretty good.

I'll try MM3D sometime, I only have a 3DS and GBA so I have no other way to play MM, which is about the only LoZ for me that has an interesting premise.
 
I've played the originals on N64, but I've not owned them myself. So I got to play through them in their entirety for the first time on 3DS. I actually finished MM-3D just a week ago.

They're fantastic. I love the second-screen experience, the audio and the visuals. The gameplay is refined and the framerate is so smooth in comparison.

You do lose some of the sense of scale by playing on a handheld, which has especially an effect on some scenes in Ocarina of Time. And although the 3D is nice, I rarely used it myself. I play on an old XL, so the effect isn't stable enough for long usage. Particularly as I frequently used motion sensors for camera control.

The games hold up remarkably well, and I think these are the definitive versions. Easily.

I'd love to see them ported to the NX at some point, just so these great versions aren't lost in favor of VC N64 rereleases.
 

KevinCow

Banned
OoT is a great remake of a great game. Definitive version IMO.

MM is a great remake of a boring game. I'm sure it's great if that's the kind of thing you're into, but I couldn't force myself past the second dungeon.
 

Ogodei

Member
MM3D definitely made the game a lot more approachable in a lot of ways. Adding a point to the Circus Leader's Mask was also welcome, and gyro aiming was tight.
 
They're both great.

OoT3D was pretty much a QoL rendition, and didn't really need much since it lacks any major issues.

MM3D felt more like "lets finish what we started" given the short development cycle. This one is more of a toss up since some changes are great, and some are a bit odd. Convenience factor is pretty nice
 
I haven't played OoT 3D but I liked MM3D a lot. Zora swimming aside, it was a huge improvement over the original in a bunch of ways. Fantastic visuals, Bomber's Notebook isn't awful this time, and a lot of bosses became much better (though Goht is a bit questionable). I especially have to give kudos to the devs for being able to turn Twinmold, originally one of the series' worst bosses, into one of the best bosses.
 
OoT 3D is awful. They completely ruined the atmosphere of the original with the ridiculous oversaturation and brightness.

I never played MM 3D so I can't comment. I did hear that they ruined the swimming controls for Zora Link, which would automatically make it the inferior version for me.
 
They're great remakes and in case of OOT I think it's the definitive edition of the game. Majora's Mask has many, many things going for it, especially the new colours and absolutely amazing mood that brings. But some of the changes to the bossfights really grind my gears. The one with the Giant Mask was great, but the whole joy of rolling non stop was completely taken away, and the fish with the mines on way to long.

Also OOT needs to be patched for camera controls like Majora's Mask have. That's the only thing missing in the game to make it really the best version.

As I've not played much of MM on N64, I was not aware they'd changed the bossfights.

I found the first to be far to easy, the Bull was a bit annoying the first time but really easy to repeat. I didn't even use the boomerang on the fish I just Zora'd him. He wasn't much fun anyway. The blue worm was fun, but the red one took way too long.
 

Sami+

Member
I only played OoT but honestly I don't like the remake that much. The control improvements and stable framerate is nice but that's about it- I don't like the art style much and I think both games deserved better than the 3DS.
 

Nerrel

Member
OoT3D is a great remake and is easily the better version of the game. It has a few slight faults here and there, but it's improved enough that I'll never replay the original again.

The same can't be said for Majora's Mask 3D. I almost hate MM3D for letting me down after waiting so long... it feels like a game made for people who weren't fans of the original. I understand that Nintendo wanted to broaden the game's appeal, but they did it at the expense of hardcore fans. Major things I loved about the game (Zora swimming, song of time save system) were carelessly discarded, and dozens of little things- like the Deku scrub's momentum, the notebook intrusions- were changed for the worse with absolutely no reason at all. They also severely nerfed the difficulty- and yes, they did nerf it. Captain Keeta and Odolwa are jokes now. They also missed opportunities to fix things that actually did need fixing, like the inventory system- why wasn't most of the D-pad used for anything at all? Couldn't the transformation masks have easily been put there? Also, not doing anything about the Ikana gorge/elegy of emptiness segment was pretty baffling, considering the streamlining everywhere else.


In the end, it didn't seem worth it. I still see tons of people complaining about the game saying they hate the time system in the same way as ever. A lot of the remake just feels "off," as if this isn't the Majora's Mask 3D I always envisioned. Even the music is a little botched.... they added a lot of unwelcome reverb effects and generally lost a lot of the music's power. Hear the difference here:

Astral Observatory (original)
Astral Observatory (3ds)

I actually noticed this long before the remake, when club Nintendo released the MM soundtrack CD. It should have been obvious then that the remixed versions meant a remake was underway.

In short, it's a shitty remake. Some people will consider that hyperbolic, since it does look great and detractors of the original obviously feel the changes are for the better. But I say it's a shitty remake because it shits on the original game. It treated Majora's Mask's mechanics like they were problems rather than assets. A great remake should embrace what made the original great and build on it, like Resident Evil remake did, rather than water down and alter the original to appeal to more fans. I guess the analogy here would be to image REmake having more ammo and unlimited typewriter saves to placate critics.

If it had preserved the original game in some way- like letting you choose an N64 mode that kept the song of time saving- I'd be a lot happier with it. Or if they had implemented the Zora swimming in a less terrible way. But even then, there would still be barrage of little changes for the worse everywhere. I do love the visuals. They really went all out and made the game gorgeous to look at. The gyro controls are also amazing. That's about where my appreciation for the game ends.

Haters of the new swim controls in MM boggle my mind. You banged into walls all the damn time in the Great Bay Temple in the original and it was awful. They actually fixed that and made that temple manageable. You still can do the dolphin swimming in the Bay.

You can't. At least, not without running all of your magic down and being left with no refills whatsoever. I tried zora swimming to get to the pirate fortress on my first playthrough... even swimming there as directly as possible, I ran out of magic before getting there, and then couldn't use the lens of truth to talk to Shiiro. The fact that they didn't add any magic pots to the bay at all means that you can't swim to travel, which is a major problem considering that the bay was designed around that fast swimming ability. Unless you go through the trouble of buying some romani milk just to fuck around, the environment is broken. To me, the fun of the zora swimming wasn't just aimlessly swimming around, it was a legitimately fun way to travel. I think once you learn how to control it, it's not hard to get by without head bumps. And even when they do happen, I don't really care. The swimming is too damn fun for me to care. The new swimming is nice to have as an option for when you only want to move a small amount, but there was absolute no reason to fuck up the old swimming in order to have that. Even if you like the slow swimming, it was a terrible implementation. There's no excusing it.

I don't like Link's model and animations, but they are incredible versions of the games.
For some reason I think the ingame character models is better on the N64 aswell. Less obvious anime.
The character models are much closer to the original designs, so what you're seeing is what they were always supposed to look like:
438

the_legend_of_zelda_ocarina_of_time_3d_conceptart_CJgqg.jpg

I personally prefer seeing the characters this way much more than the blocky, polygonal abominations that the N64 hardware mangled them into.
 
OOT 3D is the best version of the best game of all time. It's getting a reprint and you all should get it if you haven't yet.

Majora's Mask still sucks though.
 
Love them both. My major complaints are mostly nitpicky things, like the removal of the bloodstains from the Kakariko well, the toning down of Dead Hand's design, not using the original Fire Temple song, changes to the swimming mechanic in MM3D, etc.

In the case of Majora's Mask, I had played the N64 original and never really got too into it. Made it all the way up to the Ikana Canyon area before I quit. But the 3DS version clicked with me right from the start, and now I put MM up there amongst my top 3 Zelda games.
 
As a primary portable gamer, it helped me finally beat MM after three failed attempts.

Both remakes are awesome, and with them being on a portable it'll help me replay them more often which I do alot with Zelda games.

Plus framerate is much better.
 
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