The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask released back in 2000 on the N64 to high critical and fan praise thanks to its wonderfully dark story, great side quests, and its changes to gameplay mechanics. Considered one of the best titles on the N64, it remained dormant for some time until 2015 when it received an HD update for the Nintendo 3DS. Yet, despite the great reception, Majora’s Mask has always remained the outlier of the franchise due to its focus on more mature tones. Even with Nintendo’s shift to a more classic storytelling archetype for its subsequent titles, Majora’s Mask still remains the crowning achievement of The Legend of Zelda franchise.
Before we begin, it’s important to note that we aren’t discrediting the massive impact that games such as Ocarina of Time or A Link to the Past have had on the industry. Many of these titles helped revolutionize modern gaming as we know it, so for the sake of comparisons we are going to simply look at these titles void of their massive cultural impact. This will be a more direct breakdown of the stories, gameplay, art direction, and why Majora’s Mask is the best at all of these.
Up until Majora’s Mask release in 2000, The Legend of Zelda franchise had never offered a truly deep or even elaborate narrative. This was not only due to the limits of the hardware itself, but also the large focus on reimagining the concept of a hero’s journey. There’s always a princess in some sort of danger, an evil force that needs to be slain, a young warrior who is put through a series of trials to test his skill, and eventually the tale is wrapped up quickly.
Majora’s Mask, on the other hand, was a title that felt like a wild experiment to see what would happen if the series delved into the psyche of the various characters. Ganon has always been the series’ go-to bad guy, yet the moon in Majora’s Mask is arguably more frightening. Unlike titles like Ocarina of Time or Wind Waker, this evil entity is incredibly oppressive from the very start of the game. Your main foe is always staring down at the world, reminding the player that no matter what they do it will eventually come crashing down. This makes it a more imposing threat than villains like Vaati, who aren’t as directly involved with the moment to moment actions of the player. Even characters like Ganondorf are easy to forget, as he doesn’t show up for several dungeons after you warp to the future in Ocarina of Time. But the moon in Majora is always watching, always waiting, and serves as a wonderful indirect antagonist that helps define the entire title.
Even your companions and main antagonist Skull Kid have more vivid and interesting personalities than in previous or current entries in the series. Unlike virtually every other Zelda villain, the Skull Kid is a tragic figure who had no desire to destroy the world until he got a hold of the cursed mask. Once players discover this backstory, he is brilliantly reframed not as a malevolent force, but one you want to help. This isn’t the Demon King Ganon looking to rule Hyrule for the sake of it but someone who has become corrupted, fundamentally changed, and ultimately lost in the madness. Majora and the Skull Kid are villains we have never seen before or since in this franchise and stand as some of the best in Nintendo’s history.
Yes, Ganon is an iconic figure within the Zelda lore, but mainly for just being the game’s equivalent to the ultimate evil. He doesn’t go beyond that and we, after 15 games know so little about him. There’s a small backstory to him, yet he lacks a full personality that never allows him to break the classic archetype he is so clearly molded into. Sure, villains like Zant from Twilight Princess have interesting motives but he is never framed in a serious manner throughout the game. It’s hard to truly view him as threatening or even have an emotional investment to the character itself. Skull Kid, on the other hand, appears to be bother dangerous and broken which makes him not only a more compelling figure to learn more about but a unique adversary that serves more to the story beyond “the ultimate evil being.”
However, where the game gets interesting is how the NPCs react to this oncoming doom as many, especially in the main area of Clock Town, could care less. Many think nothing is going to happen, which instills a small sense of paranoia within the player as it becomes abundantly clear that no one is going to truly help you. That is only enhanced by the exploration of death and how others respond to it, such as the Deku Butler losing his son or Darmani trying to reconcile with the fact that he has died. It’s an interesting angle to take with a franchise that typically doesn’t lean towards more adult themes, but it allows the developers to craft a more compelling story. Titles like Wind Waker, A Link Between Worlds, and even Ocarina of Time are rather general with the inhabitants of the world. Most don’t offer much beyond a few lines of dialogue and their interactions with others doesn’t expand in any interesting way.
Complementing this are the wonderful side quests full of unique and interesting characters that have rather elaborate missions for you to complete. Unlike other titles within the series, Majora’s Mask’s quests take a rather lengthy amount of time to finish, but never feel padded with needless amounts of fetch or collect “X number of items” quests. It has a few, sure, but this is easily offset by the more elaborate missions that lend context and humanity to the NPCs you discover. It’s hard not to get wrapped up in their affairs and Nintendo genuinely tries to make the player care about their outcomes. This then feeds back to that sense of urgency as the last thing you want to do is have a couple fall in love only to be crushed by a giant moon.
In contrast, Ocarina of Time only has a very small handful of side quests with the most elborate just being a giant trade between various characters throughout the world. However, Majora’s Mask has a wide variety of missions from the small to more complicated ones like trying to arrange a romantic meet-up between two lovers. This helps break up the repetition of going to an area, entering the dungeon, beating the boss, repeat. Breath of the Wild is the only other Zelda game of note that really tries to experiment with its side quests, but quite a few of them lean on ideas such as solving a riddle, bringing a character X number of items, or hunting with treasure. They are rarely personable to the inhabitants themselves, which is where Majora shines.
The time mechanic is where Majora’s Mask really breezes past its other green tunic-wearing heroes, as it not only works as a wonderful framing device for the stories but also the gameplay. Having only three days to finish everything needed forces players to plan out their journey in advance, making sure every precious second isn’t wasted. While this can be a bit frustrating at first, once players begin to understand these new mechanics it allows this game to shed any trappings of it just being another Ocarina of Time which released two years prior.
This gameplay concept goes beyond a simple gimmick, as it feeds into every aspect of the game itself, from the missions to the dungeons and even the NPCs’ routines. What could simply be slow crawls through dungeons are now timed races to the finish. By doing this, Nintendo has made these massive puzzles more perilous and foreboding, as it requires players to adapt and think on the fly in order to succeed. Tie this in with the rather stellar boss fights, minus the giant fish Gyorg, and you have a set of dungeons that feel truly unique within the series.
Along with these fantastic dungeons are some rather interesting foes that test your combat prowess and skills. While it may not be as refined as Twilight Princess, it’s serviceable enough and doesn’t ever feel truly cumbersome when playing. Majora’s Mask also offers a wide variety of monsters to slay as each one has a different attack pattern, weakness, and style that users will have to contend with. Many only show up in specific areas, which helps keep players on edge and always ready for the next foe to come round the corner.
Masks also serve as a unique addition that builds upon the foundations of Ocarina of Time in new and interesting ways. It gives players a sense of experimentation, as they will constantly be swapping through different masks to see what works and what doesn’t. There’s a good sense of organic problem-solving in Majora’s Mask, as each puzzle is vague on how to solve it and progress. They’re an interesting mechanic that helps add another layer of depth to the actual gameplay beyond simply using your bows, bombs, and gear to survive certain areas.
Yet, the real brilliance behind the masks is how they are made personal to both Link and the player. Unlike say, the Hookshot that is never framed as something deep or important narratively beyond “It’s a really useful weapon you get in a graveyard.” Masks, on the other hand, are typically always tied to a story or character in some manner. The Zora Mask is given to you when the guitarist seemingly dies, which helps make it more than just another tool in your bag. This is a personal item that, in many ways, is the Zora himself as Link will physically transform into the man when he’s wearing it. You are a living embodiment of that fallen person, not just a kid wearing a mask he found in a chest somewhere. Majora’s Mask never forgets that idea, as the entire world revolves around these decorative items, each one designed to convey some sort of story to the user. Other Zelda titles rarely put emphasis on the gear beyond their mechanical function, which is why the masks and how they’re used is genuinely inspired.
That’s not to say other concepts in Zelda games aren’t fun like being able to transform into a Wolf in Twilight Princess, but Majora’s Mask’s unique idea bleeds into every part of the game. Being a wolf in Twilight Princess or on a boat in Wind Waker are all fantastic ideas, but they usually only serve specific sections of the game itself. Time is apart of everything in Majora’s Mask and that not only makes it a more intruiging mechanic, but one that isn’t afraid to try bold new ideas.
Finally, it’s important that we address the gorgeous art direction as it wonderfully takes the models, designs, and concepts from Ocarina of Time and infuses them with new life. Instead of a rather bright and sunny color palette, the use of gem tones gives each of the five main areas a specific feeling. The Southern Swamp is full of deep greens and purples, which reinforce the sense of toxicity that many of the enemies embrace. Great Bay is a beautiful paradise that contrasts the rather dark and dreadful themes that appear in every aspect of the game. It all works wonderfully and offers Majora’s Mask a unique identity among its predecessors. While the Zelda series has always had fantastic art, the dark and twisted ideas brought in this game is like nothing we have ever seen before or since in this franchise.
It’s creative and gives the game a completely different personality that separates it from other Zelda titles like Ocarina of Time, Breath of the Wild, or Twilight Princess. Most of the Zelda titles do not let the actual art of the world really tell the stories within, while every mask, enemy, and piece of architecture in Majora’s Mask helps build upon the lore. Clock Town is beautifully represented, the massive clocktower in the center not only acting as a way for the player to keep track of the hour but a physical representation with how time factors into this world. Enemies like Gyorg when defeated seem to warp back in time to when they were just a small fish and beautiful colors of the masks help them all feel truly distinct. It’s art direction unlike anything in any other Zelda game and while the graphics may not be mind blowing, the use of colors and visual cues help offset this problem.
Yet, we cannot make the claim that it’s the best of the Zelda games without addressing that rather large Goron in the room that is Breath of the Wild. In essence, Breath of the Wild shares many of the same themes, ideas, and even attributes that Majora’s Mask does. It’s not afraid to get heavy with its narrative and the impact the events have on the various people involved. Yet, due to the game being so vast this sacrifices the pacing of the story itself. It can take a players dozens of hours to get to a main story point if they get distracted adventuring which can lessen the impact. Since Majora has a rather alarming time frame from the beginning, players are more focused on the world, direct narrative arc, and thus it allows for the events to have more emotional weight. Even skilled players can bypass much of the story since you are free to complete in any order, as you see fit meaning it’s possible that entire elaborate narrative moments can be avoided entirely.
Even though Majora’s Mask failed to make the cultural impact as titles like Ocarina of Time or the cartoonish Wind Waker have, its smart design and focus on storytelling make it far more memorable. It’s hard to walk away from the game and not draw your own conclusion, especially since the ending is not exactly definitive on what just happened. There hasn’t been a game in this series since that has produced such an intriguing and thought-provoking story. Even without its solid gameplay mechanics, level design, and sound, Majora’s Mask would still stand as one of the best Zelda experiences offered by Nintendo. The world of Termina may have descended into madness, but Majora’s Mask’s brilliance couldn’t be any clearer.
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