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The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask strayed from well-established game elements. It was darker, creepier, and more foreboding. Imminent danger was always staring down upon young Link, which created a sense of finality; and the clock ticked away the hours to remind players of the urgency of their adventure. The game was fantastic and now we can play it in glorious (or not) updated stereoscopic graphics.
Originally released for the Nintendo 64 in 2000,
Majora's Mask quickly became a favorite among series fans. Despite not attaining the popularity of its predecessors, like
Link to the Past and
Ocarina of Time, this darker, more mature game certainly didn't feel like a Zelda game. This deviation from tired conventions contributed to the game's overall positive reception and solidified its status as a cult classic.
When looking at the Zelda series, it's telling that Nintendo is capitalizing on nostalgia. In September of 2013, we got to take to the seas and relive Link's adventure in the HD remaster of the bright and colourful
Wind Waker. Before that, Nintendo brought us back to Hyrule Field with
Ocarina of Time 3D. New ideas continue to come out of Nintendo, but they know that they have a safe alternative with all the classics that many gamers played in their youth. Even the Virutal Console is home to many 16-bit gems. But there's something about Nintendo's nostalgia trip that has many people wondering: "What's with the secrecy until the very last minute?"
The Zelda series re-release of the updated
Ocarina of Time excited many Nintendo devotees. This hallmark game was perceived to be an omen for more remastered versions of fan favourites. If the first N64 Zelda got the 3D treatment, surely its successor would, right? That's when things became vague.
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Fans spotted teasers like this one in
Link Between Worlds and then speculation ran rampant over the internet. Even before this, in 2012 director Eiji Aonuma said that a remake of Majora's Mask was considered "not an impossibility." Let's not forget
, which made many believe that the game was being redeveloped for the Wii U. That was the last piece of news or rumor for quite some time. Fans petitioned for an HD update, but Nintendo remained silent. Operation Moonfall, a campaign which gathered signatures of gamers requesting a remake, seemed to fall upon deaf ears.
Then suddenly, during one of their Nintendo Direct addresses, Nintendo announced what many Zelda fans were waiting for, development of a 3DS release of
Majora's Mask was under way. What happened next can only be described in three words: "hype" and "let down."
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First it was revealed that Europe was to receive a Collector's Edition. This likely wasn't a surprise;
Bayonetta 2 was released with an incredible limited edition in Europe as well. Then listings appeared for
Majora's Mask 3D on North American retailers' websites. Certainly this excited a great many people, thought die hard fans still held on to hope that a fancy limited edition would be available State side as well. And sure enough, it was announced to much praise from fans and critics alike, but it was extremely limited. Listings first appeared on Amazon's US site and pre-orders sold out within minutes. Online communities had their share of respectful excitement from those fortunate enough to reserve a copy and bitter resentment from those who missed out. Then another batch was made available for pre-order. Some of the unlucky claimed that resellers and "scalpers" were buying multiple reservations to sell after the game's release with high price mark ups. Some even proclaimed a loss of faith in Nintendo and game retailers.
A Canadian forum for bargain hunters had an interesting discussion regarding the release of this edition of the game.
"Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask Limited Edition for NA (with Skull Kid figurine)"As collectors, we all understand that a limited release of a game will be just that, limited. But in the case of
Majora's Mask 3D limited meant store allotments of five copies or less. What could Nintendo be thinking when they release these small batch Collector Editions? Are they testing the water to gauge the profitability of the Zelda franchise? Were they just exploiting what we all learned in high school economics in terms of supply and demand?