Daily Debate: Which Zelda Game Should Get the Master Quest Treatment?

Originally released in 2002 as a pre-order bonus for The Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest is a revised version of the beloved 1998 classic. Ocarina‘s overworld, characters, towns, and story all remain intact, while the dungeons were completely overhauled. Existing rooms were shuffled, new puzzles were created, and optional items were made mandatory. The entire game is also mirrored, a simple change that works surprisingly well at freshening up the game and disorienting experienced players, if only slightly.

Developers ramped up the difficulty as well. One of the ways in which they did this was by adding more difficult enemies earlier in the game, like Iron Knuckles who appear as early as the Fire Temple. The difficulty is also enhanced by out-of-the-box solutions to puzzles. One puzzle inside the Great Deku Tree requires the player to crouch under a barrier while carrying a lit Deku Stick on a moving platform. It’s a simple solution, but it requires a combination of moves that the original game never explored.

These changes were designed as a challenge for players who were intimately familiar with Ocarina of Time, though not always for the better. Solutions to puzzles as well as dungeon progression can be cryptic, with no logical reasoning behind why or how the actions Link takes would produce the outcome they do. Such is the case with Inside Jabu Jabu’s Belly, where players will find cow heads embedded in walls that need to be pelted with a slingshot to reveal chests and unlock doors.

Though Master Quest wasn’t exactly a home run in its execution, the concept holds immense potential. Giving another game a “Master Quest” that enhances the difficulty by reusing assets in new and creative ways would increase the player’s time with the game while minimizing the time and budget for development. Another key benefit is that, since only experienced players will be tackling this challenge, dungeons won’t need to spend time familiarizing players with their themes and dungeon items. Players can be thrown into the deep end head first without any tutorials.

It’s worth mentioning that Ocarina of Time isn’t the only game in the Zelda franchise to get a “Master Quest.” The very first game, The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System, has what it calls a “Second Quest.” Upon completing the game, or by entering “ZELDA” as your name on the file select screen, players are treated to a reimagining of the main quest which features reorganized dungeons, new dungeon locations, and more difficult enemies. The Adventure of Link and The Wind Waker also feature Second Quests that are more akin to a “New Game Plus” mode where certain items carry over from the previous playthrough but the main quest is relatively unchanged.

So, which Zelda game do you think is deserving of the Master Quest, or Second Quest, treatment? Maybe there’s one game that you feel had a strong story and overworld but weak dungeons. Maybe you just want to spend more time in the world of a game that you already love and adore. Perhaps you’d like to experience the events of a game from another character’s perspective. Whatever your reason may be, I want to hear all about it in the comments, so join the debate!

Nick Miller

Nick is a writer for Zelda Dungeon and a longtime fan of the Zelda franchise. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, archery, skateboarding, and some good ol’ fashioned family time. He’s an advocate for physical media and an avid video game collector. His favorite Zelda game is Ocarina of Time, though Breath of the Wild and the Link’s Awakening remake are close contenders.