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The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

aka: The Legend of Zelda: Mask of Majora, Zelda Gaiden, Zelda no Densetsu: Mujura no Kamen, Zelda: Majora's Mask

Description official descriptions

After having fulfilled Princess Zelda's request and saved the land of Hyrule from grave danger, Link departs on his horse Epona. In the Lost Woods he is ambushed by Skull Kid, an imp who dons a mysterious mask, accompanied by the fairies Tael and Tatl. Skull Kid turns Link into a small plant-like creature known as Deku Scrub and takes away his horse and his magical ocarina. Shortly afterward Tatl joins Link and agrees to help him revert to his native form. A meeting with a wandering mask salesman reveals that the Skull Kid is wearing Majora's Mask, an ancient item used in hexing rituals, which calls forth a menacing moon hovering over the land of Termina. Link has exactly three days to find a way to prevent this from happening.

Majora's Mask is a direct sequel to Ocarina of Time. It utilizes the same engine and visual style, and virtually identical interface. The game retains the traditional elements of Zelda games (dungeon exploration, sword fighting, bows, bombs, heart containers, etc.) as well as those introduced in its immediate predecessor, such as active blocking with a shield, various throwing items, and the usage of melodies played on the ocarina to solve puzzles. Compared to the previous Zelda games, this installment is more oriented towards interaction with NPCs and has a larger variety of items, optional quests, and mini-games.

Also unique to this entry is its time system. The game has an internal clock, with one hour roughly corresponding to one real-life minute. If the player hasn't completed all the objectives within three in-game days, the moon falls on Termina, annihilating everyone and ending the game. However, the player can return to the first day at any time by playing a song on the ocarina, saving all quest-related progress and inventory but losing other items such as ammunition or money (unless stored in a bank). It is also possible to learn melodies that slow the time passage significantly or advance the clock instantly to the next day. Some events happen only at specific times, and many characters follow their own schedules throughout the three days. Owl statues scattered across the land provide quick-save points and serve as teleporters between areas when discovered.

Collection and usage of masks play an important role in the game. Most of the twenty-four masks that can be found in the game are optional, and usually serve to solve side quests or enhance Link's abilities, allowing him, for example, to run faster or to become invisible. Transformation masks can be used to turn Link into a Deku Scrub, a Goron, or a Zora. Each of these forms has access to unique abilities, many of which are essential to the completion of the game. Among other skills, Deku Link can shoot bubbles from his mouth and float between flowers; Goron Link can operate heavy switches and walk through lava without taking damage, and weigh down heavy switches; Zora Link can swim fast and generate force fields.

Spellings

  • ゼルダの伝説 ムジュラの仮面 - Japanese spelling

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Credits (Nintendo 64 version)

106 People (100 developers, 6 thanks) · View all

Producer
Supervisor
Game System Directors
Script Director
Program Director
Music Composer
Art Director
Cinema Scene Director
Dungeon Director
Memory Management Director
Map Data Managers
Cinema Scene Support
Program Manager
Main System
Display System
Boss Enemy Program
Enemy Program
Program
[ full credits ]

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Subject User Date
Genre Correction Mark Picard 2013-07-08 16:20:47

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The N64 version of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Development

As with Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask was meant to be released for the 64DD add-on, but eventually got crammed into cartridge format. Producer Shigeru Miyamoto originally wanted to re-purpose Ocarina of Time's dungeons into a new game and only gave director Eiji Aonuma a year to create the game. When Aonuma requested that he create a brand new game in the series instead, Miyamoto agreed, so long as the one year deadline remained, creating a rushed development cycle.

Ganondorf

Both this game and The Minish Cap are the only Zelda games in which Ganon/Ganondorf doesn't appear, not counting Link's Awakening in which the shape-shifting final boss assumes his form briefly.

Music

The song Ballad of the Wind Fish previously appeared in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.

References

Several persons, items and music from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time return in this game, in either the same or a different role.

References to the game

In the MTV animated series Undergrads, the game's black countdown screen (which greets you at the beginning of each dawn, provided you're not in a dungeon) was parodied with the words "72 HOURS UNTIL THE END OF FRESHMEN YEAR" in the season finale.

Tingle

This game marks the first appearance of Tingle, the strange man who thinks he is a fairy.

Awards

  • Electronic Gaming Monthly
    • February 2006 (Issue #200) - #155 out of 200 of the "Greatest Games of Their Time"
  • Game Informer
    • August 2001 (Issue #100) - #68 in the Top 100 Games of All Time poll

Information also contributed by Big John WV, gamewarrior, Mark Ennis, Tiago Jacques and Zovni

Related Games

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
Released 2015 on Nintendo 3DS
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Released 2006 on Wii, GameCube, 2017 on Android
The Legend of Zelda
Released 1986 on NES, Game Boy Advance, 2006 on Wii...
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Released 1998 on Nintendo 64, 2007 on Wii, 2015 on Wii U
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Released 2017 on Wii U, Nintendo Switch
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Released 2011 on Wii, 2016 on Wii U, 2021 on Nintendo Switch
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Released 2009 on Nintendo DS, 2015 on Wii U
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Released 2002 on GameCube, 2013 on Wii U

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  • MobyGames ID: 3550

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kartanym.

Wii added by Robond. Wii U added by Michael Cassidy. Nintendo Switch added by Rik Hideto.

Additional contributors: PCGamer77, Exodia85, Sciere, gamewarrior, formercontrib, Patrick Bregger, FatherJack, deadaccount.

Game added April 3rd, 2001. Last modified March 28th, 2023.