I've had a hard, hard time getting accustomed to The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (MM). The first time I played it was for only 15 minutes, before my power was cut in the midst of a torrential downpour and windstorm. This was something I took as a sign from the forces of nature that maybe I could be doing something better with my time.
My perception of MM is mostly as a responsive piece of work, with little ingenuity or originality. As a seemingly unnecessary sequel to Ocarina of Time (OoT), MM was essentially riding the dick of OoT's fame. Maybe my skepticism is too harsh with too much haste, but I've not exactly fallen in love with the game, even after about three hours of gameplay (but not in-game hours... god, why did they implement a timer?!).
The fact that MM came so late in the N64's career, only a year before the Gamecube was released in the US, may help avid fans of this installment understand why it wasn't received with the same zeal as say, OoT or Wind Waker (WW): looking at the differences in gameplay and graphics, WW was leaps and bounds ahead of MM, though it was only released two years later.
Maybe I'm generalizing and undervaluing the games' values, but it seems like the most successful installments of Zelda games are accompanied with a new Nintendo system being launched, which may not be a coincidence. Even Link's Awakening (LA), released originally for the Gameboy and then remade for the GB color with much hype, was a big deal-- showing gamers that you could finally adventure as Link on the go, out of view from the realms of your television set.
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