Nintendo just announced that the next game coming to the Nintendo Switch Online library will be 2000 classic The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.
It’s fitting, given the fact the original N64 release needed that console’s physical expansion pack, that it’s also slotting into the modern Nintendo’s pricier Expansion Pack tier of its Switch Online subscriptions, joining its predecessor The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the service.
This news follows the announcement yesterday that Banjo-Kazooie was also coming for Expansion Pack subscribers, though its release wasn’t quite as far off in the distance; it should already be out and available by the time you’re reading this.
If you’re a little rusty on Majora’s Mask, you could do a lot worse than revisit Heather’s excellent 2020 retrospective on the game:
What is heroism? Is it defeating Ganon and saving the princess? Not always. Sometimes, it’s putting a crying baby to rest. Other times, it’s having one last jam session with the band. The good that is achieved in Majora’s Mask is often fleeting. But while it is a game willing to wallow in pain and anxiety, Majora’s Mask never suggests that these moments are any less good than saving the world. That’s an important message, and one that Majora’s Mask tells with only a few mechanical tweaks from Ocarina of Time. Many of the assets are recycled, Zelda only shows up in a brief flashback, and while you do save the entire world in the end, much of the game is focused on fleeting side-quests. It would have been just as “easy” to give players “Ocarina of Time but more.” To make the world a little bigger, resurrect Ganon, and let them storm the castle. Instead, players got something else: a remarkable experiment that was still magical but much more personal. Two decades later, we remember the transformations and the freaky moon but it’s crucial to remember the lesson too. Day by day, do something good. That’s just as worthwhile as saving the world.
