is a 2000 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It is the second game in The Legend of Zelda series to use 3D graphics, following Ocarina of Time (1998). Designed by a creative team led by Eiji Aonuma, Yoshiaki Koizumi, and Shigeru Miyamoto, Majora's Mask was completed in less than two years. It features enhanced graphics and several gameplay changes, but reuses elements and character models from Ocarina of Time, a creative decision made necessary by time constraints.
A few months after Ocarina of Time, the character Link arrives in a parallel world, Termina, and becomes embroiled in a quest to prevent the moon from crashing in three days' time. The game introduces gameplay concepts revolving around a perpetually repeating three-day cycle and the use of various masks that transform Link into different forms. As the player progresses, Link learns to play numerous melodies on his ocarina, which allow him to control the flow of time, open hidden passages, or manipulate the environment. As with other Zelda games, players must navigate through several dungeons that contain complex puzzles and enemies. Majora's Mask requires the Expansion Pak add-on for the Nintendo 64, primarily to support the game’s complex mechanics, such as the repeating three-day cycle and extensive mask system. It also allows for graphical enhancements and more on-screen characters.
A critical and commercial success, Majora's Mask is considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time. Some critics deemed it to be on par or superior to Ocarina of Time in certain aspects, praising its innovative gameplay, intricate design, robust control scheme, and atmospheric soundtrack, though it received minor criticisms for graphical limitations, and was considered less groundbreaking than its predecessor. It generated a cult following, with retrospective analyses highlighting its dark narrative tone and emotional depth. It was re-released as part of The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition for the GameCube in 2003, the Virtual Console service for the Wii and Wii U, and the Nintendo Classics service. An enhanced remake developed by Grezzo for the Nintendo 3DS, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D, was released in 2015.
Gameplay
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is an action-adventure game set in a three-dimensional (3D) environment. Players control the on-screen character, Link, from a third-person perspective to explore dungeons, solve puzzles, and fight monsters. Players may direct Link to perform basic actions such as walking, running, and context-based jumping using the analog stick, and must use items to navigate the environment. In addition to wielding a sword, Link can block or reflect attacks with a shield, stun enemies by throwing Deku Nuts, attack from a distance with a bow and arrow, and use bombs to destroy obstacles and damage enemies. He can also latch onto objects or paralyze enemies with the Hookshot. These actions are aided by the "Z-targeting" system introduced in Ocarina of Time, wherein the player may lock the camera onto a particular character, object, or enemy and maintain it in view regardless of Link's motion through the environment.[ The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask instruction booklet]. (PDF) Similar to other games in the series, Link must progress through a variety of dungeons, which include numerous puzzles that the player must solve. Dungeons also contain optional puzzles that award collectible fairies, which grant Link additional abilities when all are gathered. As the sequel to Ocarina of Time, the first 3D game in the series, Majora's Mask retains its predecessor's gameplay systems and control scheme while introducing elements including character transformations and a three-day cycle.
Masks and transformations
Whereas the masks in Ocarina of Time are limited to an optional sidequest, they play a central role in Majora's Mask, which has 24 masks in total. Using the three primary masks, the player can transform Link into different creatures: a Deku Scrub, a Goron, and a Zora. Each form features unique abilities: Deku Link can perform a spin attack, shoot bubbles, skip on water, and fly for a short time by launching from Deku Flowers; Goron Link can roll at high speeds, punch with deadly force, pound the ground with his massive, rock-like body, and walk in lava without taking damage; Zora Link can swim faster, throw boomerang-like fins from his arms, generate an electric force field, and walk on the bottoms of bodies of water. Some areas can only be accessed by use of these abilities. Link and his three transformations receive different reactions from other characters which is key to solving certain puzzles. For instance, Goron and Zora Link can exit Clock Town at will, but town guards do not permit Deku Link to leave due to his childlike appearance.
Other masks provide situational benefits without transforming Link. For example, the Great Fairy's Mask helps locate stray fairies in the four temples, the Bunny Hood increases Link's movement speed, and the Stone Mask renders Link invisible to most enemies. Certain masks are involved only in sidequests or specialized situations. Examples include the Postman's Hat, which grants Link access to items in mailboxes, and Kafei's Mask, which initiates a long sidequest to locate a missing person.
Three-day cycle Majora's Mask revolves around a 72-hour cycle (lasting about 54 minutes in real time), in which non-player characters and events follow a predictable schedule. An on-screen clock tracks the day and time. Players may save their game and return to 6:00 am of the first day by playing the Song of Time. Players must use knowledge accumulated from previous cycles to solve puzzles, complete quests, and unlock dungeons related to the main story. Although returning to the first day resets most quests and character interactions, Link retains weapons, equipment, masks, learned songs, and proof of dungeon completion. Link may slow down time by playing the Inverted Song of Time, or skip to the next morning or evening using the Song of Double Time. Owl statues scattered across major areas of the world allow players to temporarily save their progress after activation and also provide warp points to quickly navigate the world using the Song of Soaring.
During the three-day cycle, Link tracks characters' fixed schedules using the Bombers' Notebook. The notebook lists 20 characters in need of aid, such as a soldier who needs medicine and an affianced couple estranged by Skull Kid's mischief. Blue bars on the notebook's timeline indicate when characters are available for interaction, and icons indicate that Link has received items, such as masks, from the characters.
Plot Setting and characters
Majora's Mask is set in Termina, an alternate version of Hyrule (the main setting of most Zelda games). Termina is depicted as a darker, more unsettling version of Hyrule, in which landmarks are familiar but twisted and minor characters who previously appeared in Ocarina of Time are presented with individual stories of misfortune. In the skies above Termina, a grimacing moon moves inexorably closer, threatening to crash and obliterate all life. It is predicted to impact at dawn on the day of the Carnival of Time, an annual harvest festival that begins in three days. Despite the looming threat, the various peoples of Termina are preoccupied by their own respective troubles. In the center of Termina, the people of Clock Town endlessly debate evacuating the city or continuing to prepare for the festival, the failure of which would be devastating to the economy.
Story Majora's Mask begins several months after Ocarina of Time. It is the first game in the Child Era of the "Victorious Hero" timeline that connects to an alternate reality scenario where the Hero of Time successfully defeats Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time and time-travels back to his childhood to use the wisdom he has gained to warn young Zelda of the horrifying fate of Hyrule.
Link sets out in search of his missing companion, Navi, who departed after the events of the previous game. During his search, he is ambushed by a Skull Kid wearing a mysterious mask and his two fairy companions, the siblings Tatl and Tael. They steal both his horse, Epona, and the Ocarina of Time. Link pursues them and falls into a trap; Skull Kid curses Link, transforming him into a Deku Scrub, but inadvertently leaves Tatl behind. With no other choice, Tatl guides Link to Clock Town to reunite with her brother. They meet the Happy Mask Salesman, who pressures Link into recovering the mask that Skull Kid stole, promising to break the curse if he succeeds. After three days, Link manages to locate Skull Kid and retrieve the Ocarina of Time but fails to get the mask. As the moon nears impact, Tael instructs Link to awaken the Four Giants, the guardian deities of the regions in each cardinal direction. Link plays the Song of Time and miraculously returns to the day he first set foot in Termina.
Mistakenly believing that Link recovered the mask, the Happy Mask Salesman breaks Link's curse by playing the Song of Healing. He soon discovers that Link failed and flies into a rage. He explains that Skull Kid's mask is Majora's Mask, which contains a powerful evil that can bring about the end of the world. After he collects himself, the salesman dispatches Link to retrieve the mask once more. Link embarks on his quest by going to the four regions that Tael mentioned where he finds that they are afflicted by Majora's magic. In Woodfall, the swamp is poisoned and the Deku princess was kidnapped. Snowhead has been suffering an eternal winter, driving the Gorons to starvation. Great Bay's waters have been contaminated, turning its creatures into monsters. In Ikana Canyon, inhabitants are terrorized by a plague that brings the dead back to life. Along his journey he finds Epona and they reunite. Through his travels, Link learns that Skull Kid cursed the land as revenge for feeling abandoned by his Giant friends when they became Termina's guardians. Tatl and Tael befriended the lonely Skull Kid and accompanied him in the mischief that led to his theft of the mask, which has been corrupting him ever since. Under the mask's influence, Skull Kid forced the moon on a collision course with Termina.
Across numerous time loops, Link liberates the Giants and summons them on the eve of the Carnival. They manage to halt the moon's descent but Majora's Mask comes alive and possesses the moon itself, abandoning Skull Kid. Link confronts Majora's Mask inside the moon and defeats it. Link, the fairies, and the Giants all make amends with Skull Kid, while the Happy Mask Salesman recovers the now powerless Majora's Mask. As Link departs Termina riding on Epona, the Carnival of Time begins with celebrations based on Link's accomplishments. In a nearby forest, Skull Kid draws himself with Link and his friends on a tree stump.
Development