| Versions | Nintendo 64 (2000), GameCube Collector’s Edition (2003, a promotional disc), Wii Virtual Console (2009), Nintendo 3DS remake (2015), Nintendo Switch Online (2022, N64 version) |
|---|---|
| Pieces of Heart | 52 in both the N64 and 3DS versions. The rewards from Koume and Dampé swap between versions (see the table below) |
| Empty Bottles | 6 on N64, 7 on 3DS |
| Same in every version | The three-day clock, the 24 masks, the 13 ocarina songs, the four temples and the Moon |
| Which to use | This guide follows the N64 game. The GameCube disc, the Wii and Wii U Virtual Console and Switch Online all play that same N64 game, so every N64 answer in this guide holds on them |
Majora’s Mask exists in several versions, but the story, the map and the three-day structure are the same in each. The N64 original is the version this guide follows, and the GameCube, Virtual Console and Switch Online releases all play that same N64 game. The 3DS remake, built by Grezzo, is the one that really differs: it changes locations, rewards, times, controls and every boss, and some of those changes alter a total or a route in the 100% checklist. Wherever a 3DS difference changes a total or a route, it is noted below, and the tables on this page are the fastest way to check one.
Table of Contents
Releases at a glance
The N64 cartridge needs the 4 MB Expansion Pak, which only this game and Donkey Kong 64 required. Every other release below is either that same game running on newer hardware or, in the 3DS case, a rebuilt remake.
| Version | Released | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Nintendo 64 | Japan April 27, 2000; North America October 26, 2000; Europe November 17, 2000 | The original. Needs the Expansion Pak |
| GameCube (The Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Edition) | Japan November 7, 2003; North America November 17, 2003; Europe November 14, 2003; Oceania March 19, 2004 | A promotional disc with the N64 game, handed out with GameCube bundles, Nintendo Power subscriptions and through Club Nintendo |
| Wii Virtual Console | Europe and Australia April 3, 2009; Japan April 7, 2009; North America May 18, 2009 | The N64 game, downloadable |
| Nintendo 3DS (Majora’s Mask 3D) | North America and Europe February 13, 2015; Japan and Australia February 14, 2015 | The remake, with new controls, a new save system and changed content |
| Wii U Virtual Console | 2016 | The N64 game, downloadable |
| Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack | February 25, 2022 | The N64 game, no Expansion Pak needed. Only on the Expansion Pack tier of the service |
GameCube, Wii and Switch Online
The GameCube disc, the two Virtual Console releases and Switch Online are all the N64 game, not remakes. Termina has the same map, the same rewards on the same days, the same 52 Pieces of Heart and six bottles, and every time and location in the N64 column of this guide applies to them. None of the 3DS changes below exist on these releases, so if a reward does not match the table, you are on the 3DS.
The GameCube disc changes very little: the on-screen button icons are adjusted for the GameCube controller, and otherwise it is the cartridge game. The Switch Online version looks sharper than the cartridge, but a few effects differ because it is emulated.
Gameplay and control
Saving
The N64 original saves at Owl Statues with a suspend save, and the Song of Time resets the three days. You wake an Owl Statue by hitting it with your sword, and saving there writes a temporary save and sends you back to the title screen. Only playing the Song of Time back to the dawn of the First Day writes a permanent save. The 3DS remake turns this around: you wake an Owl Statue just by checking it, saving there writes a full save and lets you keep playing, and you no longer need the Song of Time to make a permanent save. The 3DS also gives you three save files instead of two.
The 3DS adds Quill Statues, extra save points shaped like a quill that stand in many places that never had an Owl Statue, including inside the temples. They save the game but cannot be used as Song of Soaring destinations.
Time songs
The Song of Double Time works differently on each version. On the N64, playing it moves time forward to the next 6:00 AM or 6:00 PM. On the 3DS, you choose the exact hour you want to reach, which helps when you are juggling timed side quests.
The 3DS also changes the Inverted Song of Time. On the N64 it slows time to one third speed, and on the 3DS it slows it to one half, so each cycle has a little less real time to work with.
Bomber’s Notebook
The Bomber’s Notebook is handed to you by different people. On the N64, Jim gives it to you as you leave the Bombers’ hideout, after you have caught the gang. On the 3DS, the Happy Mask Salesman gives it to you once you have the Deku Mask, so you never have to catch the Bombers twice. The 3DS notebook also tracks rumours and splits quests into current and completed lists, and you can set alarms in it for timed events.
Transformations and controls
Zora swimming is the biggest change to movement. In the 3DS remake, ordinary swimming is slower and easier to steer, and does not consume magic. Fast swimming requires the electrical barrier, which drains magic. In the N64 original, Zora Link can swim at full speed without using the barrier or spending magic; activating the electrical barrier still costs magic.
The other forms handle a little differently on the 3DS too, so timing and distances you learned on the N64 may feel different, for example when you roll as a Goron or skip across water as a Deku.
The 3DS adds gyroscope aiming for the bow, the Hookshot and the other first-person items. On a New 3DS the second stick, or a Circle Pad Pro, gives full camera control, which the N64 never had beyond the C buttons.
World and content
Bosses
Every temple boss was reworked for the 3DS, with a new weak point or a new phase, so the N64 habit of simply slashing the boss no longer works. Their attacks changed as well, which means the N64 strategy may not carry over. The Boss Guide gives the step-by-step plan for each boss, and the table below shows what moved.
| Boss | What the 3DS changes |
|---|---|
 Odolwa | He has a large eye on the back of his head. A reliable strategy is to launch from a Deku Flower, drop a Deku Nut onto him to expose the eye, then attack it while he is down. |
 Goht | He also gets a new weak point that you have to hit, so the N64 plan of simply stunning and pounding him does not carry over. |
 Gyorg | The fight has a new phase in which the central platform sinks into the water and Zora Link has to outsmart the boss with mines. |
 Twinmold | The fight now has two parts. You shoot the eyes on the blue Twinmold’s underbelly with the bow first, and you cannot use the Giant’s Mask until midway through the fight. |
The Giant’s Mask itself changes hands. On the N64 you win it from the second Eyegore in Stone Tower Temple before you reach Twinmold. On the 3DS it arrives during the Twinmold fight.
Temples and dungeons
The four temples keep their layouts and puzzles, but the 3DS moves a few details, such as the exact spots of some Stray Fairies, so check the 3DS fairy positions against the N64 placements before you rely on this guide there.
Fishing
The 3DS remake adds two fishing holes, one on the road into the Southern Swamp and one at Zora Cape. You need a Fishing Hole Pass to fish for free, and several fish only bite when you wear the right mask. The remake also swaps some repeatable rupee rewards for passes, including repeat wins in the Keaton Quiz. Nothing in the N64 original needs fishing, so the N64 100% run does not include it. See Mini-Games and Prizes for the other games that pay out prizes.
The seventh bottle
The 3DS version has a seventh Empty Bottle, earned through the Mystery Milk errand for the Gorman Troupe. After you win the Troupe Leader’s Mask (the Circus Leader’s Mask on the N64), Gorman gives you milk to deliver, and if you bring it to him before it spoils, about two minutes of real time, you keep the bottle. The N64 version has six bottles. Check the Bottle Locations page for the N64 six.
The bottle total works out like this: the 3DS gains a bottle from Koume’s shooting game and one from the Mystery Milk errand, and loses the Big Poe bottle from Dampé’s dig, which becomes a Piece of Heart instead. That makes seven bottles, and the total of 52 Pieces of Heart does not change because Koume’s piece and Dampé’s piece trade places.
Items and rewards that change
Several rewards, times and lesson spots move between versions. These matter most for a full run, so compare them in the table below. The Great Fairy swap catches many players out: on the N64 the Woodfall Great Fairy teaches the stronger spin attack and the Snowhead Great Fairy doubles your Magic Meter, and the 3DS trades the two around. Giant’s Wallet and bottle details are explained in the notes under the table.
| Item or reward | N64 | 3DS |
|---|---|---|
| Stone Mask | Soldier Shiro on the road to Ikana, given a Red or Blue Potion | Shiro is inside the Pirates’ Fortress and needs the Lens of Truth |
| Koume’s shooting game in the Swamp | A Piece of Heart | An Empty Bottle for scoring over 20 points |
| Dampé’s graveyard digging (the grave that opens on the third night) | An Empty Bottle, from the Big Poe | A Piece of Heart |
| Giant’s Wallet | From the Oceanside Spider House, only if finished on the First Day | From the Oceanside Spider House, on the First or Third Day |
| Great Fairy rewards | Woodfall gives a stronger spin attack; Snowhead doubles the Magic Meter | Swapped: Woodfall doubles the Magic Meter; Snowhead gives the stronger spin attack |
| Keaton Mask (and the Curiosity Shop man in Kafei’s hideout) | Day 3 at 1:00 PM | Day 3 at 6:00 AM |
| Mikau on Great Bay Coast | Push his floating body ashore and heal him with the Song of Healing | The same |
| Inverted Song of Time | Slows time to one third | Slows time to one half |
| Giant’s Mask | From the second Eyegore in Stone Tower Temple | Mid-fight against Twinmold |
| Circus Leader’s Mask | Latte Milk Bar sound check, called the Circus Leader’s Mask | The same, renamed the Troupe Leader’s Mask, and it also starts the Mystery Milk errand |
| Song of Soaring lesson | Carved on the stone tablet beside Kaepora Gaebora at the top of the Deku shortcut near Woodfall | Taught at the entrance of the Southern Swamp |
| Bombers’ Notebook | Jim, as you leave the hideout | The Happy Mask Salesman, after the Deku Mask |
If a reward, time or location in the N64 walkthrough does not match what you find on the 3DS, check this table first, since it lists the changes that matter for a full run.
Two of the rows deserve a note. The Giant’s Wallet comes from clearing the Oceanside Spider House, and on the N64 you must finish it on the First Day, while the 3DS also lets you do it on the Third Day. The Stone Mask is a Lens of Truth job on both versions: on the N64 you look for the invisible soldier Shiro on the road to Ikana Canyon and give him a Red Potion or Blue Potion, and on the 3DS he is inside the Pirates’ Fortress in Great Bay.
Clock Town
The Clock Town Bank is in a different place. On the N64 it is in West Clock Town. On the 3DS it is in South Clock Town. The bank is where you deposit rupees for the Heart Piece, so check the Heart Piece Locations page for the spot on the version you are playing.
The 3DS also redraws Clock Town with new decorations and extra details; the 3DS-only extras are listed on Secrets and Easter Eggs.
Song of Storms
Both versions have all 13 songs, and the Song of Storms is one of them on both. Flat in the Ikana Graveyard teaches it on the N64 as well as the 3DS, so you do not need the 3DS to get it. The song is available on the first night only, so do not miss it. The ocarina songs are listed on Ocarina Songs.
Visuals and audio
The 3DS remake has higher-detail models, textures and environments, along with stereoscopic 3D depth. It also runs at a steadier frame rate than the N64 original in busy areas.
Menus changed too: the 3DS uses the touch screen for items and masks, and the day counter at the top of the screen became a straight bar.
Which version to play
The N64 original is the version this guide follows. It has the harder saving system, no fishing, and the set of rewards in the N64 column above. The 3DS remake is easier to live with: it has full saves at Owl Statues, a clearer notebook, a more precise Song of Double Time, and better visuals. Pick the version you have, then use the table above to check the rewards that differ.
If you own the game on GameCube, Wii, Wii U or Switch Online, you are playing the N64 game and can follow the guide as written. If you are on the 3DS, follow the walkthrough for the route and use this page for the changes: the bank is in South Clock Town, the Keaton Mask and the Curiosity Shop man arrive at 6:00 AM on the Final Day, the Woodfall and Snowhead Great Fairies are swapped, the Stone Mask is in the Pirates’ Fortress, Koume’s game pays a bottle and Dampé’s dig pays a Piece of Heart, and every boss fight has a new weak point or phase.
