Majora’s Mask Fan Discovers Scrapped Feature

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home December 29, 2024 22 Views 6 Min Read
Majora's Mask Fan Discovers Scrapped Feature



Summary

  • Majora’s Mask was originally going to implement the Nintendo 64 microphone for voice commands, according to hidden game code.
  • Scrapped voice commands were for taking pictures, obtaining milk, and checking the time before the moon falls.
  • Only two games utilized the N64 microphone: Hey You, Pikachu and Japan’s Densha de Go! 2 Kōsoku-hen.

A fan of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask recently discovered a scrapped feature that incorporates the Nintendo 64’s microphone. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is considered one of the best games in the franchise, being a sequel to Ocarina of Time. While a lot of Majora’s Mask was built using Ocarina of Time as a base, it tells a much darker story where Link has to stop Skull Kid from dropping the moon on top of the town of Termina. The game has a very experimental feel to it, having a unique three-day mechanic that players have to loop time around. It appears the experimental nature doesn’t end there, as it was also originally going to support one of the Nintendo 64’s unique controllers.

The Nintendo 64 had a few different accessories over the years, such as a dance pad, a glove controller reminiscent of the NES Power Glove, and the Japan-only N64 DD disc peripheral. One of the more notable controllers was the Nintendo 64 microphone and Voice Recognition Unit (VRU). This controller can be plugged into the console’s fourth player controller port, allowing players to speak into the microphone and perform commands in-game. Majora’s Mask was a game that originally was going to implement this accessory.

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Majora’s Mask has had many re-releases on many different platforms over the years, but some are better than others.

In a video posted by Skawo, they discussed how Majora’s Mask‘s code contains support for the N64’s voice recognition system, but it is hidden and can be re-enabled. Majora’s Mask has five actions that correspond to five voice commands, which are all in Japanese. If a player says “Hai Chiizu” (“Say Cheese”), a picture will be taken. When next to a cow, saying “Miruku” (“Milk”) will act as if the player used Epona’s song, filling up a milk bottle. Saying “Atonanjikan” (“How many hours remain?”) next to a Gossip Stone makes it act as if Link hit it with his sword, telling the player how much time is left before the moon falls.

Majora’s Mask Had Six Scrapped Voice Commands

  • “Hai Chiizu” (“Say Cheese”) – Takes a picture
  • “Miruku” (“Milk”) – Fills up an Empty Milk Bottle when next to a cow
  • “Atonanjikan” (“How many hours remain?”) – Gives how much time is left before the moon falls when next to a Gossip Stone
  • “Okirou” (“Wake up”) – Skips Sonata of Awakening and wakes scrubs up
  • “Haiya” – Uses one of Epona’s carrots while riding her
  • “Osuwari” (“Sit”) – Does nothing, but likely meant for the in-game dogs

Saying “Okirou” (“Wake up”) lets players skip the Sonata of Awakening to wake the scrubs up. Lastly, saying “Haiya” while riding Epona in Majora’s Mask has the player use one of the carrots to speed up. There’s also a sixth command programmed in called “Osuwari” (“Sit”), which is likely meant to be used with the dogs in-game, but the command, as is, doesn’t interact with anything.

Only two games ended up using the VRU: Hey You, Pikachu and the Japan-only Densha de Go! 2 Kōsoku-hen. The player uses the N64 microphone to talk to Pikachu in Hey You, Pikachu! and interact with him, as it is a pet sim game. Densha de Go! 2 uses the microphone in a similar manner, where the player can use it to announce train stations to the in-game passengers.

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