The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is the sixth game in the Zelda series and was released on the Nintendo 64 in 2000. Unique among the Zelda series, the game included a 3-day time system (72 hours in total). Majora's Mask is one of the few Zelda games where Ganon or Ganondorf does not make an appearance. Princess Zelda is only seen once in a flashback scene.

Majora's Mask is the sequel to the popular first 3D Zelda game, Ocarina of Time. Many of the conventions pioneered in Ocarina of Time are present in Majora's Mask, including characters, enemies, and items.

Story


Majora's Mask opens with a scene of Link travelling from Hyrule on a personal quest. Although it is never stated ingame, it is commonly accepted that he was searching for his fairy, Navi. His trip is interrupted by the Skull Kid and his two fairies, Tatl and Tael. The Skull Kid, with the help of the fairies, knocks Link unconscious off his horse and steals the Ocarina of Time. When Link awakens, the Skull Kid takes off and leads Link on a chase.

Link follows the Skull Kid and is then turned into a Deku Scrub by the dark magic of Majora's Mask, the mask that the Skull Kid is wearing. With limited abilities, he enters Clock Tower where he meets the Happy Mask Salesman. The mask salesman says that he can return Link to his human form if he finds the Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.

Attempting to steal the ocarina and the mask, Link discovers that the Skull Kid has pulled the moon from its orbit and that it will crash destructively into the land of Termina in three days time.

Gameplay
The gameplay of Majora's Mask is much the same as that in Ocarina of Time, although new features, items, skills, and more are included.

Graphics
The graphics are slightly better in Majora's Mask than in Ocarina of Time. As the second Zelda game with 3D graphics, Majora's Mask uses the same engine as its predecessor.

Time System
Majora's Mask implements a time system, cycling three days, the time until the destruction of Clock Town by a suicidal moon. With the Ocarina of Time, Link is able to play the Song of Time to reset the cycle and return to the first of these three days as many times as he needs to. Link is the only one affected by the time-travel; other inhabitants live as if nothing has happened.

At the bottom of the screen, a clock is displayed, which keeps track of the time. In the center, the day number is displayed. Surrounding in a semi-circle is a revolving sun or moon (symbolizing day or night). This small icon moves around the clock and shows the hour of the day.

Masks and Transformations
Link appears in his younger form, as in Ocarina of Time. However, in Majora's Mask, Link does not have the ability to transform into an adult. 24 different masks with different functions and purposes can be found throughout Termina, of which several allow Link to take the form of another race; Deku Scrubs, Gorons, Zoras, and a powerful grown-up version of Link, Fierce Deity Link. The rest of the masks either give Link new abilities (such as explosive techniques) or disguise him.

Game Style
Majora's Mask is known as the darkest of the series. This is noticeable in many of the game's aspects, as follows:
 * The game's trailer featured screams of horror and agony as the real moon destroyed a city.
 * In several spots in the game, bad omens are evident.
 * Majora can be interpreted as the devil of the Zelda universe.
 * The chant of the Giants is a sad melody.
 * The main tune, instead of the perky Saria's Song, is reversed to create the Song of Healing, another depressing melody.
 * Heroes and less significant characters, such as Darmani, Mikau, and Komaro, die painful deaths.

Reception
The game sold approximately 314,000 copies in its first week of sales in Japan, and has sold three million copies worldwide.

Despite superficial similarities to Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask is often described as different from and much darker than the rest of the series. Edge magazine referred to Majora's Mask as "the oddest, darkest and saddest of all Zelda games". Reviews were generally favorable, although opinions are mixed regarding whether the game is as good as its predecessor. Some feel that Majora's Mask is significantly better than Ocarina of Time in certain areas. According to Famitsu, "The difficulty level of the game is drastically improved from Ocarina of Time, the limited saves, and the time limit to finish the game all help to make the game more enjoyable to play". IGN described Majora's Mask as "The Empire Strikes Back of Nintendo 64. It's the same franchise, but it's more intelligent, darker, and tells a much better storyline". Majora's Mask was one of the last major titles for the Nintendo 64, and may have suffered in terms of popular interest due to the familiarity of the technology. Nevertheless, GamePro described the game as "living proof that the N64 still has its magic". It has been ranked the 7th-greatest game of all time by Electronic Gaming Monthly. One common criticism is that Majora's Mask is not as accessible as Ocarina of Time. GameSpot, giving Majora's Mask a slightly disappointing 8.3/10 compared to the 10/10 that was given to Ocarina of Time, wrote that some might "find the focus on minigames and side quests tedious and slightly out of place". Game-Revolution wrote that it "takes a little longer to get into this Zelda", but also that "there are moments when the game really hits you with all its intricacies and mysteries, and that makes it all worthwhile".

History and Development
In 2006, the game was announced to be availble for download on the Wii's Virtual Console in the future.