The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Majora’s Mask is the dark direct sequel to one of the most famous entries to The Legend Of Zelda franchise – Ocarina Of Time. It features the same Link, the Hero Of Time, in his child form. We are told that he is on a journey searching for a friend. The most obvious interpretation is that he is in fact looking for Navi, as she left him at the end of the game. But this is never stated as fact, so who he is searching for is really left to our own interpretation.

The game was actually made using the same engine and character models as Ocarina Of Time, so you will most likely recognise all the characters you see in the game, even though they will in fact be different people! I actually don’t see this as a design issue though, as Majora’s Mask is supposed to take place in a parallel world to Hyrule, so I personally feel that the repeated models compliment this well.

The usual Zelda conventions are somewhat tweaked here, in that the main focus is removed from the dungeons, with only a total of four main dungeons for you to clear through. Instead the game pushes you to focus on mask-collecting and side quests, two things which were present in Ocarina Of Time but were not nearly as significant to the story.

I love the side quests so much, and really get a lot of enjoyment out of completing them, but this is hardly my favourite thing about Majora’s Mask.

This is a dark game. Nintendo are usually known for their cute, family friendly games, and although The Legend Of Zelda certainly does have its dark moments, Majora’s Mask set the bar to a different level entirely. Skull Kid has caused the Moon to fall, and so it shall … in three days! The people of Termina are largely ignorant to the certain doom that hangs above them, until the final day … on this day people flee, they take refuge, they are scared for their lives – all the people you come across will react differently to this crisis.

Truly, the beauty of this game is in the tiny details hidden in every area.

In 2015, long-time fans the world over rejoiced at the release of a 3DS remake! The world of Termina has never looked so detailed and full of life! There were some updates made in the remake to make the Player’s journey easier, such as the complete overhaul of the Bomber’s Notebook, which was certainly appreciated by myself at the very least.

This was one of my all time favourites when I was younger, and it still feels just as important to me today!

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• Platform: Nintendo 64, Nintendo 3DS
• Release Date: 27/04/2000 (JP), 26/10/2000 (NA), 17/11/2000 (PAL)
• Rerelease Date: 13/02/2015 (NA, EU), 14/02/2015 (JP, AU)
• Genre: Fantasy Adventure