Zelda boss Eiji Aonuma detailed some of the exciting (and approachable) new features of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D in a recent report by Nintendo Everything.
“We were told by Mr. Miyamoto that he felt there were a lot of users who finished the original without even noticing all the hidden events scattered around the town. He said that he wanted us to make sure users were more aware of them this time around,” Aonuma shared.
In an interview with GamesMaster magazine, the longtime Zelda producer revealed that the Bomber's Notebook - an item unique to Majora's Mask allowing the player to keep track of the intricate schedules of the world's many NPCs - has been completely reimagined. Players can now interact with it more fully, allowing them to keep track of important (and not-so-important) side-quests, as well as take notes on the main quests driving the central plot of the title.
I know that personally, I preferred to play the game with a notebook next to me so I could remember all of the hidden extras and easter eggs scattered throughout Termina. If what Mr. Aonuma is suggesting will be coming true, it will make the cult hit considerably more approachable for gamers old and new alike when Majora's Mask makes its 3DS debut this spring.
Mr. Aonuma continued to explain some of the advantages that will be fulfilled by having the game on a handheld console:
“When the game was launched, I believed that the real purpose was for players to overcome this pressure and experience a sense of achievement. On a portable console, users don’t have to choose when or where they play, they can keep on playing the game whenever they want. I think this should allow all users to enjoy that special sense of achievement,” Aonuma reasons.
One final piece of interesting news is that a product listing on Amazon.de details another new feature: "With the help of owl statues and the new feather statues, which can be found all over Termina, you can now save your adventure anytime you like." This will allow players to put the game down and pick it back up without having to play the Song of Time and reset the timeline. This feature is particularly interesting, because it is likely to make the game (again) more approachable to the wary audience who detested the unorthodox save system seen in the original release, or at least found it limiting and/or frustrating. While this was a unique save system - and one of the defining characteristics of the original game - I personally think that this is a step in the right direction. While impending doom is indeed an integral component of the feel of the game, I do not think the save system should punish the player as much as the original seemed to.
Lots of new goodies are awaiting players who will meet with a terrible fate this spring, and this game is a rare treat for those who have yet to head into Link's darkest adventure.
