Majora's Mask 3DS Challenge: Hard Mode

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Majora's Mask 3DS Challenge: Hard Mode ​

Hey guys! Recently I've began challenging myself to a self made Hard Mode on MM3DS and I'm here to share it with you lot and see if you, too, are capable of taking on the challenge! Right now, it's actually not proving itself to be too difficult, for me at least. But I'm sure that'll change the further I get into the game, especially if I ever make it to Majora successfully. In the mean time, though, I've decided the keep you lot updated on my progress as well to hopefully give motivation to any of those who are also interested in my challenge! Lets begin.~

The Rules are as follows:​

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Spoiler

1.) No Great Fairy Upgrades with the exception of the one you need in order to become human again.​

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2.) Only three heart containers throughout the game. Yes, this means you're not allowed to grab the heart containers you get from bosses, either. ​

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3.) You may only have the use of one non-transforming mask of your choosing with the exceptions of those that you are forced to use in order to complete the game. ​

*Please note that it's okay to use masks in order to get another mask that you've chosen. So, lets say that you want to use the Bunny Hood mask, you're allowed to get Bremen's Mask in order to get it.​

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4.) No Sword Upgrades​

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5.) No item upgrades.​

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6.) No slowing down of time.​

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7.) You are not allowed to go back in time while completing the Deku and Goron areas.​

*Please note that this does not mean you have to complete both areas within the same time span. That's impossible. What this means is that you must complete everything you need to do in both areas before you are able to reset time. ​

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8.) You're only limited to one time Reset for Zora and Ikana Canyon story lines.​

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9.) If you fail to beat the areas within the time you're given, then you must restart the game. (This, however, does not mean you are forced to restart the game if you die.)​

*This gives you only 6 chances to reset time total minus the time you use it in order to turn back into a human. If you go pass this then you must restart the game.​

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10.) You may only have one bottle in your inventory.​

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11.) You're not allowed to use any health or magic replenishing items in your bottle. This also goes for fairies. Your bottle can only be used for water, bugs, fish, etc.​

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12.) You are allowed to give yourself more limitations as you deem necessary.​

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I believe I've covered all the limitations I've placed on myself for this challenge.

Since I've been doing this already I've, unfortunately, have no pictures to provide. I will continue to update this with text based paragraphs only, and I'll be sure to get just one snap shot of when I'm on the moon and when I beat Majora.

Updates for my Play Through:​

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Deku Story Line:​

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Spoiler

1.) Completed beginning story line with ease. Made it to human without losing health. I also stocked up on Rupees and deposited 99 in the Bank.​

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2.)Made it to the swamp and rescued the Old Hag without losing health -- earned my one and only bottle. Before entering the swamp, I made sure to stock up on Bombs (grabbed some rupees out of the bank) and Deku Nuts.​

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3.) Went straight into the Deku Palace without speaking to the king first. Time is a necessity and I do want to save as much as I can. Managed to infiltrate, get the Magic Bean, and learn the song of Awakening by the night of the first day. After this, I rushed towards the Swamp Temple.​

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4.) Successfully made it into the Woodfall Temple.​

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5.) Successfully managed to get the bow without losing any health.​

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6.) Odolwa's nerf in the 3DS game made this boss too easy to handle. Since I was completely stocked on Deku Nuts, I managed to kill him rather quickly and obtained his mask by the night of the Second Day. ​

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7.) Since I had a whole day to spare before I reset for Snowhead, I decided to preemptively go for the Bunny Hood, my mask of choice. ​

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8.) Obtained Bremen's Mask.​

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9.) Fast Forward to day 3.​

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10.) Ran to Romani's Ranch.​

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11.) Grew the Chickens successfully and obtained the Bunny Hood.​

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12.) Unlocked the owl statue near the Ranch and saved.​

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13.) Went back to Clock Town, stored the rest of the rupees I had in the bank.​

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14.) Snagged the 100 rupees that is located above the shooting range in Clock town and stored them in the Bank.​

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15.) Upgraded wallet to 200 rupee capacity.​

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16.) Reset Time. ​

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Goron Story Line:​

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Spoiler

1.) Immediately placed Bunny Hood on and rushed to Mountain Village.​

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2.) Did not fight any enemies on the way there, saved at Mountain Village.​

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3.) Rushed to Goron Village​

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4.) Spoke to the owl, received the Lens of Truth. Found Darmani and followed him to his tomb stone.​

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5.) Successfully obtained the Goron Mask via Song of Healing followed by hot spring water.​

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6.) Rushed to Goron's Village, releasing the hot spring water over the ice cube that allows entrance to another Hot Spring Area before Goron Village.​

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7.) Opened the Door via Pound with Goron Mask, spoke to the Elder's Son.​

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8.) Left Goron Village, grabbed more Hot Spring Water, Spoke to Elder and learned the Incomplete Lullaby.​

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9.) Rushed back to Goron Village, learned the complete Goron's Lullaby, successfully placed Elder's Son to sleep.​

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10.) Rushed to Snowhead.​

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11.) Put Giant Goron to Sleep.​

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12.) Made it to Snowhead Temple by the night of the First day --> Proceed to enter.​

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13.) Since Majora's Mask came out on the N64 version first, I remembered this place like the back of my hand. I was easily able to achieve all objectives without taking a scratch with the exception of accidentally falling off of the ledge via Goron Roll while heading to the room to receive the Fire Arrows. Yikes.​

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14.) Saved time by obtaining Boss Key and using the Deku Flower at the top of the Temple to fly my way to the boss room.​

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15.) Goht isn't much different from the way he was in the O.G. MM minus the eye ball. Since I typically have good steering control with the Goron roll, I was able to sit him down rather quickly by landing on top of his back via Goron Roll. I used fire arrows to ensure extra damage as his eyeball was exposed. Managed to beat the temple on the dawn of Day Three.​

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16.) Received Goht's mask.​

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17.) Flew back to Clock Town, deposited Rupees in the bank, and Reset Time.​

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Zora Story Line:​

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Spoiler

1.) After resetting the time, I realized that I forgot to grab the Powder Kegs before resetting. Therefore, I rushed back to the Goron Village via flight to Mountain Village.​

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2.) Placed Goron Mask to gain extra speed via Goron Roll.​

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3.) Rushed to the Powder Keg place in Goron Village, melted the Giant Ice Block via Fire Arrows.​

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4.) Successfully passed Goron Powder Keg Trial by 11:00AM on the first day, received free Powder Keg for completing.​

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5.) Used the Song of Soaring to fly to Romani's Ranch and used the Powder Keg to get rid of the giant boulder blocking the entrance.​

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6.) Spoke to Romani, learned Epona's Song.​

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7.) Since aliens aren't a factor in completing the story, I skipped this and headed straight towards the Great Bay on Epona.​

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8.) Used Song of Healing on Mikau, received Zora's Mask,​

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9.) Swam to Pirate's Fortress. ​

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10.) Knowing that gathering all the Zora eggs were going to take some time with the one bottle limitation, after infiltrating the fortress, I decided I'd make my round about in the fortress, knock out all the Pirates I needed to, and then come back to each of the eggs. I also figured out that the best way to knock them out quickly is to actually use your bow and arrows on them versus just straight up fighting. It's actually pretty broken, but none-the-less gets the job done VERY QUICKLY. When they hop, spam arrows, you'll catch them in a constant hoping pattern that is very easy to kite off of.​

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10.) Gathered all the eggs I needed from the Pirate's Fortress by Day 2.​

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11.) Swam to Pinnacle Rock.​

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12.) I didn't need the guidance of the Sea Horse since I already knew the pathing to make it there safely. I killed the Sea Snakes that I needed to, gathered the eggs afterwards.​

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12.) Learned New Wave Bossa Nova​

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13.) It was night of the second day, therefore I used my time reset before tackling the Great Bay Temple.​

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14.) Warped back to the Great Bay Coast on Dawn of the First Day via Song of Soaring.​

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15.) Swam to Zora Cape, played New Wave Bossa Nova to reveal the Giant Turtle. ---> Proceed to enter Great Bay Temple.​

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16.) While getting the Ice Arrows, I managed to score my first death. I underestimated Wart's.... warts XD. I had a ton of warts left on him, so when they fell off after doing some damage to him, they swarmed me and I wasn't able to kill them fast enough as he ran into me. ​

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17.) Trying to get the Ice Arrows again, this time carefully planned by using Fire Arrows. Managed to knock off and kill more warts this time, allowing me to get the Ice Arrows and not take any damage the second time.​

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18.) Proceeded to fight Gyorg. --> Gyorg's remake in MM is definitely interesting. He's way more difficult that what we originally was in the N64 version of MM. I managed to get off of platform one and fight him underwater but alas, this time, I died again. This was due to a critical error on my part as he went to suck me in -- I accidentally ran into the mine that I was trying to break! News flash -- if you're doing this challenge -- DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID. The mine damage + his chewing damage = instant GG. I died instantly because of this critical error on my part. ​

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19.) Rechallenged Gyorg, this time having a flawless victory and taking no damage. Achieved his mask. Warped to Clock Town, deposited what little rupees I had, and saved at the Owl Statue in Clock town on night of the Final Day. My deaths put me behind on time a lot, but I managed to beat this part just in time.​

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Ikana Canyon Storyline:​

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Spoiler

1.) My pathing was not great in this part as I could have saved a bucket load of time preparing, however I digress. Calling Epona, I rush to the Ikana Graveyard to fight the Captain. I never realized how strong the Captain truly was until just now, considering that my sword is usually upgraded. Slowing him down with a few hookshots, I was able to get him to fight me after the first fire pathway. It literally took me about a solid 30 hits before I was able to take him down. The real MVP in this fight was my bunny hood, which allowed me to dodge his butt stomps (lol) more efficiently than rolling. ---> Achieve the Captain's Mask.​

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2.) Used Song of Soaring to Milk Road to race the brothers on Epona. Managed to easily defeat them due to the natural rhythm of the race (Use one carrot, let it replenish, rinse, wash, repeat.) ---> Obtained Garo Mask​

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3.) Rush back to Ikana Canyon, used the Garo mask to gain entrance.​

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4.) Unlocked Save Point on top of the mountain.​

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5.) Ran back to the Graveyard​

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6.) Fast forward time to 6:00PM First Day with Captain's Mask on to unlock the first Graveyard.​

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7.) Fought the Iron Knuckle AND DIED due to mistiming. (He can one shot you easily if you don't dodge properly.)​

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8.) Refought the Iron Knuckle, got his armor off by using Shield + B combo. When his armor came off, I kited him down with the Bow. (You are not able to use your bow against him with his armor on as it protects his body.) Won without getting a scratch.​

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9.) Learned the Song of Storms after releasing Flat's soul.​

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10.) Used the Song of Soaring back to Ikana Canyon.​

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11.) Rushed to Sharp's Chambers, used the Song of Storms to activate the Musical Box House.​

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12.) Successfully lure the little girl out via bomb and used the Song of Healing on her dad. Obtained the Gibdo Mask.​

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13.) Went into the water well, spent an eternity there trying to figure out the maze.​

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14.) Escape the water well on the Dawn of the third day to Ikana Castle ---> Successfully received the Mirror Shield.​

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15.) Working through Ikana Castle to make it to the king proved to be a task without the use of the Gibdo Mask (or others) to distract the ReDeads. How I countered this was if I went into an area, I had the Goron Mask equipped and began to sling punches before their petrify went off. This allowed me to have enough time to get several punches off before they could jump on me. One hop from these guys and you're dead. This proved to be especially useful after beating the Wizrobe in the final room before reaching the roof on the castle. The moment you open that final door, they are there to petrify you. So be prepared to start slinging. The good news is, once one of their comrades has fallen, they will be more distracted by their fallen comrade that you, so you can easily make your escape afterwards. But this is always a great chance to make a huge stock on some rupees, so it's your choice to fight them or not. I did fight them and managed to snag an easy 200 from it.​

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16.) Flew back to Clock Town to get a Powder Keg via Song of Soaring.​

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17.) Back to Ikana Canyon ---> Ikana Castle​

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18.) Blew up roof in Ikana Castle --> Proceed to fight the King.​

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19.) This can be a scary fight when you fight the king as he is invincible when his head comes off. Honestly, if you don't have all three heart containers full by the time his head comes off, you're done for as it is literally impossible to dodge his head attacks. I died three times due to this. However, with that being said, if you are careful you maybe be able to time perfectly when to break a pot in the room and receive health again. I used the Shield + B combo to get off some very effective, quick stabs on him to lower the chances of him releasing his head off his body. He did it only twice by the time I finished him. This was completed by 6:00PM on the Final Day.​

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20.) I was about to reset, but I figured I had enough time to make it to the Owl Statue near the Stone Temple, which I did. Climbed up the Stone Temple, saved at the Owl Statue.​

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21.) Reset time.​

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22.) Dawn of the First Day I warped as fast as I could to the Stone Temple.​

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23.) The trials I was placed through while trying to go through the Stone Temple were not all that difficult until I made it into the Boss Key room. Gomess is easily the best Mini Boss in the game. However, with that said, having the small mana bar made him kind of scary and time consuming to fight as using the Light Arrows to get his bats away took up a lot of mana. Luckily, I remembered that the bats actually drop mana if you kill them. So if you're at this point in the challenge, make sure to NOT fight him (unless you can time it perfectly when he sends his bats at you -- you can get a couple of hits off of him by doing this) until you have some mana back. Waiting for the mana and fighting him took a chunk of time away from me -- but it's really all about how patient you are with this battle to make it speed up. Again, his bats will drop mana. ​

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24.) Made it to Boss Room​

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25.) Heh, so Twinmold was a troll of a fight. At first I was having problems timing exactly when the Red Twin would swoop in and hurt me while trying to knock out the blue one. Since I had problems timing this, my strategy to use was to have a Goron Mask out and actually switch to Goron mode before he hit me. If you're using this method, this actually allows you to stay low to the ground if you use your shield, that way the Red Twin would not be able to touch you and, instead, will fly right over you! So this helped me out a lot while trying to kill the blue one. As for the red one, you need to giants mask in order to kill it. So I did what I could do my best and punched it as hard and as fast as I could. I say the best and fastest way to kill the Red Twin is that when the Red Twin spawns the babies, don't try to knock them all out at once. Instead, use your power up punch, knock out as many as you can before he comes in for his regular swoops (You only get 4 swoops before he goes underground again so you need to make the best of it) and kill the babies while you're attacking him simultaneously. The babies will give you hearts as you kill them so collect your hearts during this process and the fighting isn't nearly all that bad. It is very long though so make absolutely sure you have enough time to tackle this fight before you do it.​

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Majora's Fight:​

MAJORA IS STUPID WTF.​

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSgfrdh2qtU​

 

The main thing is trying to bait the suck out of him as you head towards the nearest mine.
How were you breaking the mines?
If you're using boomerangs then just stop. Use the swift swim to break the mines when he begins to suck you in instead; it changes this fight entirely.

 

I did it with some time to spare.

Zora and Ikana Canyon allows you to reset time once during their play throughs due to their extended storylines. It's plausible!

Can't wait to see what you have in store.

 

There really is always the N64 version and I'm totally fine if people want to try it on the N64!


I'm at Majora right now (I haven't updated my progress yet because I was in the hospital due to my brother having a horrible wreck.) and Majora has proven to be the hardest challenge out of all them. It's not because he's too hard to beat because honestly, he's not. It's just that through all three stages, you can't afford to mess up once as the only time you'll be able to recover hearts is when the 4 masks float out in stage one, which, usually, I try to get out of the way before I make it to Stage 2 of the fight. Majora's Wrath is a force to reckoned with when he begins to grab you with his whips. And! Not to mention, depending on how your RNG is at the time, if he gets you just once he can get you instantly again before you have enough time to get back up.

Definitely a lot harder than Gyorg or Twinmold.

Oh, yeah, I uploaded this when I beat Twinmold

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSgfrdh2qtU

(Will be adding it to the OP soon.)