Daily Debate: Should Masks be Brought Back in a Future Title?

Whenever someone says the words “Zelda” and “mask” in the same sentence, it’s needless to say that the first thing that pops into most people’s minds is Majora’s Mask. While it’s true the game’s central theme heavily revolves around the usage of masks, it’s definitely not the only one in the series to have them. In fact, the first game to feature masks was none other than Ocarina of Time. Later entries in the series, such as Oracle of Ages, The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, also make use of them, though nowhere near as much as the N64 classics.

The series has found various ways to incorporate masks into these games. Between allowing Link to use an array of different abilities, granting him access to different areas and being key items necessary for completing trading sequences, there definitely hasn’t been a shortage of ideas when it comes to knowing how to use them. Why is it, then, that ever since the release of Majora’s Mask only three games have featured them, and even then only one mask per game? With the exception of the Doggie Mask in Oracle of Ages, which is only used during a trading sequence, the Hero’s Charm and Hawkeye (from The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess respectively) are the only other instances we’ve been able to use masks. With 8 masks in Ocarina of Time, and an outstanding 30 of them found in Majora’s Mask, I highly doubt a lack of ideas is the reason behind this.

I think we can all agree that Majora’s Mask did a fantastic job of making every mask feel different and unique, so why haven’t there been more ever since? Could it be that they feel like adding more than one in other titles would somehow diminish the impact they had in Majora’s Mask? Or could they feel that, after using so many of them in one game, they no longer come across as interesting to the players?

What do you guys think? Are you interested in seeing more masks in future titles? Or would you rather they create new items, instead? With how varied these masks can be, wouldn’t you say they count as new items? Or are you they just honestly not your thing? Let us know in the comments below!