Majora’s Mask on Switch seems to have the same transparency issues as Ocarina did
Some effects from the N64 original don’t appear to be replicated perfectly on Switch’s emulator
The upcoming Nintendo Switch Online release of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask appears to have issues with transparency effects in some scenes.
A video created by GameXplain (embedded above) compares the newly released trailer for the Switch Online version of the game with footage from the N64 original.
While the Switch’s emulator makes the game look significantly sharper, there are some scenes which don’t look exactly like they did before.
The most notable example of this is a scene featuring Skull Kid, where he’s surrounded by a colourful aura.
While the aura is present in both versions of the game, it’s far more prominent in the upcoming one, which will be added to Switch Online on February 25.
This is presumably because the aura was made partially transparent on the N64, but the Switch emulator isn’t applying the transparency in the same way (if at all).
Another difference can be seen in the scene where the moon crashes to the ground, with the flame effect looking noticeably different in the Switch version.
further reading
Switch Online’s N64 input lag is improving, it’s claimed
The Switch’s N64 emulator has shown issues with transparency in the past. When the N64 library initially launched in October, players noted issues with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, primarily its lack of water transparency and its inability to properly handle fog.
In November, Nintendo of America’s president even commented publicly on the issue and said the company was taking criticism of Switch Online’s N64 emulation “very seriously”.
An update last month, however, provided evidence that Nintendo was slowly improving its N64 emulation.
