Daily Debate: Could Majora’s Mask Survive as a Game With Just Its Side Quests?

I hope you all have been enjoying Zelda Dungeon’s side quest themed week so far! To keep things going, I’ve got an interesting little debate for you. Zelda fans far and wide know that one of the biggest things Majora’s Mask has going for it is its collection of intricate and captivating side quests. I often find myself wanting to pick up Majora’s Mask again, but there is always something that stops me just as I am about to. That something– and I might get a verbal lashing for this– is the absolute chore of completing the four main dungeons of the game.

Okay, that was a bit harsh. Don’t get me wrong, I really do like the dungeons in Majora’s Mask. However, when I want to take some time to run around completing side quests, but have to give up because I don’t have the necessary items, or I have to complete a dungeon first, sometimes that does seem like a chore to me. And yeah, I know that most times waiting it out until nearly the end of the game makes fulfilling a side quest all the more satisfying, but sometimes I’d rather take a break from the main adventure entirely. That was something I appreciated about Breath of the Wild. I was able to complete side quests almost as quickly as I found them. Now if only Breath of the Wild had taken a leaf out of Majora’s Mask’s book and had more enthralling quests, it would have been perfect.

Anyway, the point to my rambling is that the side quests in Majora’s Mask are so engaging, I wonder if the game would be able to stand on its own without the main dungeons. What if you could go around helping the people of Clock Town, reunite the separated lovers, save the farm from aliens, and even heal the souls at each point of the map and gain the main masks, all without having to beat the main dungeons? I’d play that game in a second, over and over again.

What about you? Do you think  Majora’s Mask could survive as a game of just side quests? Or do you feel like the dungeons are a necessary challenge for more fulfilling content? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!