When I play video games, I usually skip genres that are scary or seem scary. However, the fact that Majora’s Mask was a part of the Legend of Zelda series, I felt that I had to give it a chance. Surprisingly, it turned out to be my all-time favorite Legend of Zelda game.
TLOZ: Majora’s Mask is basically the sequel to Ocarina of Time. After defeating Ganondorf, Link travels back in time to put away the Master Sword. At the beginning of this adventure, we’re told that Link is on the search for a friend he has lost.
As Link and his horse Epona go through this mysterious forest, they are ambushed by two fairies. This ambush startles Epona and knocks Link off her. This leaves Link unconscious for a bit before being greeted by Skull Kid wearing a weird heart-shaped mask, which is the Majora mask.
As Skull Kid goes through Link’s things, he finds Link’s Ocarina. It’s the same Ocarina that Zelda gave him in Ocarina of Time. After playing a few notes, Link comes to and see’s Skull Kid playing his Ocarina. This doesn’t make Link happy and as he tries to attack, Skull Kid leaps over him and steals Epona. Link grabs a hold of Epona and is drug some distance before letting go of the horse.
After chasing down Skull Kid, Link falls into this darkness which leads to a room. Link finds out that Skull Kid is under the influence of the mask. Just to annoy Link even more than he already has, he takes away his human form and transforms him into a Deku Scrub, and leaves.
To wrap the concept of this story up, Link follows the path that Skull Kid went down and meets probably the creepiest character in this game, the Happy Masks Salesman. He greets you with the most infamous line of the game, “You’ve met a terrible fate, haven’t you.” After talking to him, you are introduced to the wonderful place of Clocktown and are free to explore the world of Termina.
Now the real game begins. The reason this game holds a special place in my heart is because of it’s dark, yet melancholic atmosphere. As we meet the people of Termina, we learn a story about each character we encounter. Most of their troubles dealing with the carnival that is happening in two days and this game runs on a 3-day cycle.
In order to make the adventure high stake, Majora created a gigantic moon with an extremely scary face. The moon is set to crash into the land of Termina in three days unless you play the song of time to reset everything back three days prior. So, Link must save Termina in three days, or the moon will crash and everyone in the town will meet a terrible fate.
As you go through the game, you will visit different areas, where you can equip different masks to help you on your journey. The masks are important, and I believe the reward at the end is worth it if you can collect them all. The thing that really impressed me about this game is that it only came out two years after Ocarina of Time. This game took a dark turn for the Zelda series.
I remember in Ocarina of Time the story was kind of typical. An evil tyrant is taking over the world, a princess was captured and you as the protagonist must set everything right. However, with this game, we get something completely different. A boy is looking for his friend, and as he is looking for his friend, he encounters a demonic mask plotting to destroy an alternate universe within three days.
The whole atmosphere of this game is just dark. All of the areas have been transformed, and people are in a depressed mood. It’s rare to find a happy moment in this game, but that’s what brings that amazing melancholic mood.
This game runs on the same engine and has the same characters, yet everything seems to run smoother. We were given a better pause screen that made choosing items less of a hassle. Although this game has the same characters, they gave everyone a different name, gave them some backstory and made you feel the need to help these people find happiness in their lives again, while trying to save the whole world from an apocalyptic fate.
If you’re a fan of a game with a dark storyline, The Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask is for you. It’s my all-time favorite in the series, and I would recommend it to everyone.
