Released in the US on October 26th, 2000, Majora's Mask is the follow-up sequel to the N64 masterpiece that was Ocarina of Time. The development time between Zelda games is typically long and grueling, but Nintendo sought to deliver another entry on the N64 sooner than later. As such, they formed a smaller team and reused the game engine and assets from Ocarina of Time to cut time and costs, and in just one year, create one of the most unique and dark Zelda experiences in the entire series.
The game revolves around a stolen mask of dark, cosmic power, and a looming destruction of the world as the moon slowly braces for impact over the land of Termina. Our hero, Link, has only 3 days save the four giants of Termina, stop Skull Kid, and retrieve this sinister mask. Such may seem an impossible task, but Link is able to rewind time indefinitely as needed to accomplish these tasks. However hard he may try though, there is never enough time to come to everyone's aid in the game. This further emphasizes a driving theme of the game, the sense of hopelessness and dread as every action you perform never has a lasting impact. You must come to terms with the dark fact that in order to save everyone, you will have to ignore some sad plights of these many troubled characters.
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| Concept art of the many characters and regions of Marjora's Mask. |
Because of the 3-day cycle, the world of Majora's Mask was somewhat smaller, with only four dungeons, though these dungeons are some of the most brutally difficult dungeons in the series, requiring a thorough understanding of the dungeon space and mechanics to progress each of these complex labyrinthine structures. Where the game truly shines though is through its NPC's (non-playable characters). Though the towns and areas may be smaller, each day in the game brings new surprises to be found as each character goes about their life and routines. And with careful observation, you'll come to see that each character truly does have their own motives and intriguing stories to be told. With such a care and attention for detail, this feels like such an alive and realized world. And thanks to the ability to rewind time, players can experience all these many little stories and slowly weave their way into each one, unraveling new outcomes with their careful and considered interactions.
If I'm honest, Majora's Mask was initially one of my least favorite Zelda games in the series. The looming threat of a timer made exploring these difficult dungeons all the more stressful. And the only means to permanently save was to reset to Day 1, which then required considerable amount of rework. Thankfully, a 3DS remake of this classic gave me the perfect opportunity to revisit this game and truly appreciate its bold design choices for what they were. The 3DS remake for one allows permanent saving at the scattered owl statues, which alleviates a lot of stress to quit when needed. Even just the simple act of being able to put the 3DS in and out of sleep mode made this game much more friendly to play in short spurts whenever available, rather than having to commit to lengthy play sessions. The second screen also made a useful addition in tracking tasks and logs of the many characters in the game and their daily routines. So if you were like me and found the N64 offering to be a frustrating experience, do yourself a favor and give the 3DS remake a go.
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| The Bomber kids approve of the 3DS remake of Majora's Mask. |
Much like we are driven to hurry by the ominous ticking of Clock Town, this game gives us some insight as to what Nintendo can do when they too are put to the pressure of a short time table. If such allows them to get this utterly creative and experimental, it makes you wonder what could be done with their other entries such as the recent Breath of the Wild. As that has hit the Nintendo Switch's life cycle early, one can hope that there won't be another lengthy wait for another entry. And while the girth and size of Breath of the Wild was surely an impressive feat, I could see them scaling down and reusing assets as done in Majora's Mask prove to be a beneficial venture. Only time will tell what direction the series decides to go next.
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