The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is a 2000 action-adventure game created and released 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). A team of designers, including Eiji Aonuma, Yoshiaki Koizumi, and Shigeru Miyamoto, created the game. It was completed in under two years. The game includes improved graphics and new gameplay features, but it reused some characters and models from Ocarina of Time because of time limits.
After Ocarina of Time, the character Link travels to a different world called Termina. He must stop the moon from crashing into the planet in three days. The game uses a repeating three-day cycle and allows Link to wear masks that change his abilities. As the player progresses, Link learns to play melodies on his ocarina, which helps control time, unlock secret areas, or change the environment. Like other Zelda games, players must solve puzzles and fight enemies in several dungeons. The game requires the Expansion Pak, an add-on for the Nintendo 64, to support its complex systems, such as the three-day cycle and mask features. The Expansion Pak also improves graphics and allows more characters to appear on screen.
Majora's Mask was a critical and commercial success and is often ranked among the greatest video games ever made. Some critics believed it matched or improved on Ocarina of Time in certain areas, praising its creative gameplay, detailed design, good controls, and music. However, it faced minor criticism for limited graphics and was seen as less innovative than its predecessor. The game gained a small but dedicated fanbase, with later reviews highlighting its serious story and emotional themes. It was re-released on the GameCube in 2003, the Wii and Wii U through the Virtual Console, and the Nintendo Classics service. In 2015, an improved version called The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D, developed by Grezzo for the Nintendo 3DS, was released.
Gameplay
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is an action-adventure game played in a three-dimensional (3D) world. Players control the character Link from a third-person view to explore dungeons, solve puzzles, and fight enemies. Using the analog stick, players can make Link walk, run, and jump based on the situation. Players must use items to move through the environment. In addition to using 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 or hurt enemies. He can also grab onto objects or paralyze enemies with the Hookshot. These actions are supported by the "Z-targeting" system, first introduced in Ocarina of Time, which lets players lock the camera on a specific character, object, or enemy and keep it in view even as Link moves. Like other games in the series, Link must complete various dungeons filled with puzzles. Some puzzles are optional and reward collectible fairies, which give Link new abilities when all are collected. Majora's Mask follows Ocarina of Time, the first 3D game in the series, and keeps its gameplay and controls while adding new features, such as character transformations and a three-day cycle.
In Ocarina of Time, masks were part of an optional sidequest, but in Majora's Mask, they are central to the story. The game includes 24 masks total. Using three main masks, players can transform Link into a Deku Scrub, a Goron, or a Zora. Each form has special abilities: Deku Link can spin, shoot bubbles, skip on water, and fly briefly by jumping from Deku Flowers; Goron Link can roll quickly, punch powerfully, stomp the ground, and walk on lava without harm; Zora Link can swim faster, throw boomerang-like fins, create an electric shield, and walk on the bottom of water. Some areas can only be reached using these abilities. Link and his transformations interact differently with other characters, which helps solve puzzles. For example, Goron and Zora Link can leave Clock Town freely, but Deku Link cannot because of his childlike appearance.
Other masks help Link without changing his form. The Great Fairy's Mask helps find fairies in temples, the Bunny Hood increases movement speed, and the Stone Mask makes Link invisible to most enemies. Some masks are used for sidequests or special tasks, such as the Postman's Hat, which lets Link open mailboxes, and Kafei's Mask, which starts a sidequest to find a missing person.
Majora's Mask follows a 72-hour cycle (about 54 minutes in real time), where non-player characters and events happen at set times. An on-screen clock shows the time and day. Players can save their game and return to 6:00 a.m. on the first day by playing the Song of Time. Players must use knowledge from previous cycles to solve puzzles, complete quests, and unlock story-related dungeons. While returning to the first day resets most quests and interactions, Link keeps weapons, equipment, masks, learned songs, and proof of completed dungeons. Link can slow time by playing the Inverted Song of Time or skip to the next morning or evening with the Song of Double Time. Owl statues in key areas let players save progress temporarily and use the Song of Soaring to travel quickly.
During the three-day cycle, Link uses the Bombers' Notebook to track characters' schedules. The notebook lists 20 characters needing help, such as a soldier who needs medicine and a couple separated by Skull Kid's actions. Blue bars on the notebook show when characters are available to help, and icons mark when Link receives items, like masks, from them.
Plot
Majora's Mask takes place in Termina, a different version of Hyrule, which is the main setting in most Zelda games. Termina is shown as a darker and more unsettling place compared to Hyrule. Familiar landmarks appear but are changed, and minor characters from the game Ocarina of Time have their own sad stories. In the sky above Termina, a moon with a grimacing face moves steadily closer to the ground, threatening to crash and destroy everything. It is expected to hit the ground at dawn on the day of the Carnival of Time, a yearly harvest festival that will begin in three days. Despite this danger, the people of Termina are focused on their own problems. In the center of Termina, the people of Clock Town argue about whether to leave the city or continue preparing for the festival, which would harm the economy if it fails.
Majora's Mask begins several months after the events of Ocarina of Time. It is the first game in the Child Era of the "Victorious Hero" timeline, which is connected to a different version of events where the Hero of Time defeats Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time and returns to the present to warn young Zelda about the terrible fate of Hyrule.
Link searches for his missing companion, Navi, who left after the events of the previous game. During his search, he is attacked by Skull Kid, a boy wearing a mysterious mask, and his fairy friends, Tatl and Tael. They steal Link’s horse, Epona, and the Ocarina of Time. Link chases them but falls into a trap. Skull Kid curses Link, turning him into a Deku Scrub, but accidentally leaves Tatl behind. Tatl leads Link to Clock Town to reunite with her brother. There, they meet the Happy Mask Salesman, who tells Link he must recover the mask Skull Kid stole to break the curse. After three days, Link finds Skull Kid and gets back the Ocarina of Time but fails to retrieve the mask. As the moon nears impact, Tael tells Link to awaken the Four Giants, the guardian spirits of the four directions. Link plays the Song of Time and returns to the day he first arrived in Termina.
Thinking Link recovered the mask, the Happy Mask Salesman plays the Song of Healing to break Link’s curse. Later, he realizes Link failed and becomes angry. He explains that Skull Kid’s mask is Majora’s Mask, which holds a powerful evil that could destroy the world. After calming down, the salesman sends Link to retrieve the mask again. Link travels to the four regions Tael mentioned and finds each one suffering from Majora’s magic. In Woodfall, the swamp is poisoned, and the Deku princess has been kidnapped. In Snowhead, an endless winter has caused the Gorons to starve. In Great Bay, the water is polluted, turning creatures into monsters. In Ikana Canyon, a plague causes the dead to rise. Through his journey, Link learns that Skull Kid cursed the land out of revenge for feeling abandoned by his Giant friends when they became Termina’s guardians. Tatl and Tael became friends with Skull Kid and helped him steal the mask, which has corrupted him. Under the mask’s influence, Skull Kid forced the moon toward Termina.
Through many repeating days, Link frees the Giants and calls them on the night before the Carnival. They stop the moon from falling, but Majora’s Mask comes to life and takes control of the moon, leaving Skull Kid behind. Link fights Majora’s Mask inside the moon and defeats it. Link, the fairies, and the Giants make peace with Skull Kid, and the Happy Mask Salesman takes back the now powerless Majora’s Mask. The Carnival of Time begins, celebrating Link’s achievements. Nearby, Skull Kid draws a picture of himself with Link and his friends on a tree stump.
Development
Majora's Mask was released much sooner than Ocarina of Time, which had taken five years to develop after the previous game, Link's Awakening. The game was created by a team led by Eiji Aonuma, Yoshiaki Koizumi, and Shigeru Miyamoto, with Miyamoto overseeing the project. It was first planned as a revised version of Ocarina of Time for the 64DD peripheral, a disc-based add-on for the Nintendo 64. Aonuma, who had designed dungeons for Ocarina of Time, was not excited about simply changing them for the 64DD version. Miyamoto encouraged the team to create a new game using the same engine and graphics within one year. The team completed Majora's Mask in 15 months by reusing existing game assets. The tight schedule led to long hours of work, and the writers included complaints about overwork in the game’s story. Another team finished the 64DD version of the game, but it was never released outside Japan and did not succeed commercially. In 2002, the 64DD version was renamed Ocarina of Time: Master Quest and included with pre-orders of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for GameCube.
Aonuma said the team struggled to decide what game would follow Ocarina of Time’s success. Koizumi, who was designing a game with a "cops-and-robbers" theme that allowed different experiences each time, joined the project. They adapted Koizumi’s idea into the three-day system, which made the game data smaller while keeping deep gameplay. Early in development, the system was planned to rewind a week, but this was changed to three days because seven days was too hard for players to remember and too complex to create in one year. Aonuma said the time loop idea was inspired by the 1998 movie Run Lola Run. Miyamoto and Koizumi created the story, which was written by Mitsuhiro Takano. Koizumi said the idea of the moon falling came from one of his dreams. The art director, Takaya Imamura, said "Majora" was a blend of his last name and "jura" from the movie Jurassic Park. Aonuma believed players had grown older since Ocarina of Time and could be motivated by emotions like sadness and regret. A key side quest, the Anju and Kafei wedding, was designed to contrast a happy event with the game’s dark ending. Reusing character models from Ocarina of Time allowed the team to place them in a more serious setting. Koizumi said Majora's Mask’s world, Termina, was inspired by Southeast Asia, unlike Ocarina of Time’s Hyrule, which was based on medieval Europe. The game originally included support for the Voice Recognition Unit, but this feature was removed before release.
Majora's Mask first appeared in media in May 1999, when Famitsu reported that a Zelda expansion for the 64DD was in development. A playable demo was shown at the Nintendo Space World exhibition in August 1999, featuring elements like the large clock in Clock Town, the screen timer, and mask transformations. Nintendo announced a "Holiday 2000" release date in November 2000, and the final title was revealed in March 2000. An $8 million marketing campaign supported the game in the United States. Majora's Mask was released in Japan on April 27, 2000, and in North America on October 26, 2000, on a gold Nintendo 64 cartridge.
The game uses an improved version of the engine from Ocarina of Time and requires the Nintendo 64’s 4MB Expansion Pak, making it and Donkey Kong 64 the only games needing this peripheral. IGN suggested this requirement was due to the game’s origins as a 64DD project, which needed extra memory. The Expansion Pak allowed for longer views, better lighting, more detailed textures, and effects like motion blur. The improved draw distance let players see farther, removing the fog and "cardboard panorama" used in Ocarina of Time. IGN praised the game’s textures as colorful and unique, even though some had low resolution.
Composer Koji Kondo created the music with help from Toru Minegishi. The soundtrack includes reworked music from Ocarina of Time, classic Zelda themes like the "Overworld Theme," and new material. Kondo described the music as having a "Chinese opera" sound. The Clock Town theme changes with each of the three days, and IGN noted the faster tempo on the second day reflected the game’s growing urgency. A two-disc soundtrack with 112 tracks was released in Japan on June 23, 2000.
Reception
In Japan, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask sold 601,542 copies by the end of 2000. In the United States, it was the fourth best-selling game of 2000, with 1,206,489 copies sold. In Europe, it was the eighth highest-grossing game of 2000. Worldwide, 3.36 million copies were sold for the Nintendo 64.
Majora's Mask received high praise from critics. It had a score of 95 out of 100 on Metacritic, which means it was highly praised by critics, based on 27 reviews. Most critics believed the game was as good as or better than Ocarina of Time in some areas. Chip and Jonathan Carter of the St. Petersburg Times once called Ocarina of Time "the Gone With the Wind of video gaming." While Shigeru Miyamoto was celebrated as a creative genius, critics noted that Majora's Mask was primarily directed by Eiji Aonuma, showing Nintendo's broader talent. The game was seen as proof of Nintendo's ability to innovate within a well-known series, even without Miyamoto's direct involvement.
Critics praised the three-day time cycle as a bold and creative feature, often compared to the movie Groundhog Day. This system allowed players to relive the same three days using the Ocarina of Time to reset progress and control time, adding urgency and depth to the game. The Bomber's Notebook, which helped players track NPC schedules and side quests, was praised for making the non-linear experience more engaging. The introduction of 24 masks, including three special transformation masks, was a standout feature. Critics highlighted the different forms and their abilities as a fresh addition that made gameplay more varied. However, Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot and Victor Lucas of The Electric Playground found the game's time-sensitive nature and focus on side quests frustrating. Lucas initially wanted to quit the game due to its repetition but later appreciated its depth after learning how to play it.
The world of Termina was described as carefully designed, smaller than Hyrule but filled with more content due to its many side quests and interactive NPCs. Edge and Jes Bickham of GamesRadar emphasized the focus on the lives of Clock Town's residents. Edge called the connection between characters' quests a "remarkable achievement," and Bickham noted that their reactions to their impending doom added a darker tone to the story. Bickham and IGN's Fran Mirabella praised the variety of environments and the changes that happened when players completed dungeons, which increased replayability and depth.
The game's technical aspects were praised, but seen as less groundbreaking than Ocarina of Time. Edge, Bickham, and IGN's Matt Casamassina liked that the game kept the same control scheme as its predecessor, though Casamassina said the sequel improved on these mechanics without adding equally revolutionary features. This familiarity, he noted, is why the game scored slightly lower than Ocarina of Time. Critics praised the visual improvements from the Expansion Pak, including better draw distances, more detailed textures, and the ability to show more characters on-screen. Bickham and GameRevolution's Johnny Liu called the game one of the best-looking N64 titles, and "The Freshman" of GamePro was impressed by details like the menacing moon visible from a swamp boat tour. Despite these improvements, Mirabella, Casamassina, and Electronic Gaming Monthly's Greg Sewart noted occasional framerate drops and blurry textures, which showed the N64's aging hardware. Liu, while praising the graphics, compared them unfavorably to newer consoles like the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2, saying the game would have benefited from more powerful hardware.
The soundtrack was praised for its atmospheric quality, with music that changed to match the time of day and environment. Mirabella noted the typical MIDI quality of N64 games. Mirabella and Liu enjoyed the return of the iconic Overworld theme, but Liu found the new soundtrack additions less effective. He and "The Freshman" of GamePro were critical of the lack of voice acting.
Majora's Mask came in second place for GameSpot's "Best Nintendo 64 Game" award, losing to Perfect Dark. It was also nominated for "Best Adventure Game" among console games. During the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, Majora's Mask won the "Console Action / Adventure" and "Game Design" awards. It also received nominations for "Console Game of the Year" and "Game of the Year."
Legacy
Majora's Mask is often listed among the best games in the Zelda series and the greatest games of all time. It has also received high scores in fan-voted polls. Critics have compared it favorably to Ocarina of Time, its closest contemporary. Danielle Riendeau of Polygon noted that Ocarina of Time helped Majora's Mask become the most innovative Zelda game in terms of structure. She praised how Majora's Mask shifted the focus from the "chosen hero" story common in the series to the many characters Link meets, who were given more detailed descriptions than in Ocarina of Time. Tomas Franzese of Digital Trends saw Majora's Mask as a model for how Tears of the Kingdom later added new mechanics to the world of Breath of the Wild. Marty Sliva of The Escapist compared Majora's Mask to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for how both games challenged series traditions.
Retrospective reviews highlight the game's mature themes and complex time loop gameplay. Yahtzee Croshaw of The Escapist said the game's reset mechanics went against common game design trends that focused on giving players more control. He noted that a game like Majora's Mask was unlikely to be made again because of how cautious big-budget game development has become. Sliva pointed out that the short development time and reuse of assets forced the design team to be creative. Jonathan Holmes of Destructoid described Majora's Mask as a game about "being a young adult," with the responsibilities and confusion that come with that stage of life. He saw Link as an adult trapped in a child's body who must take action when other adults fail during a crisis. The falling moon, a common topic in reviews, represents themes of loneliness and forgiveness. Nikole Robinson of GamesRadar+ called Majora's Mask a stressful yet engaging game, where the three-day time cycle and the moon's crash create a sense of hopelessness and fear of time passing. She said the game's eerie atmosphere, emotional side quests, and masks tell a dark story of loss and despair, challenging players to save a doomed world while dealing with unresolved mysteries. Majora's Mask has inspired games like Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Outer Wilds, and Elsinore. Author Gabe Durham of Boss Fight Books noted its influence on films like Source Code and Edge of Tomorrow.
In 2003, Nintendo re-released Majora's Mask on the GameCube as part of The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition, a special disc that included three other Zelda games and a 20-minute demo of The Wind Waker. This disc came with a GameCube console, as part of a subscription to Nintendo Power magazine, or through Nintendo's website. It was also available through the Club Nintendo reward program. A discount was offered in 2004 when purchasing The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures during a "Zelda Collection" campaign.
The Collector's Edition versions of Majora's Mask are copies of the original games using GameCube hardware. Small changes, like button icons, were made to match the GameCube controller. A warning about possible sound issues during emulation is included. GameSpot's Ricardo Torres noted the frame rate seemed less smooth and audio was inconsistent. The GameCube version had a slightly higher resolution and used progressive scan compared to the Nintendo 64 version.
Majora's Mask was released on the Wii's Virtual Console in Europe and Australia in 2009, Japan in 2009, and North America in 2010. It was the 300th Virtual Console game available in North America. Club Nintendo members could download it at a discount in 2012 and again in 2015. It was later released on the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2016. Majora's Mask was also released through the Nintendo Classics service in 2022.
After the release of Ocarina of Time 3D for the Nintendo 3DS, director Eiji Aonuma said a Majora's Mask remake would depend on interest and demand. A fan campaign called "Operation Moonfall" was launched to show support, inspired by a previous campaign called "Operation Rainfall." The petition reached 16,000 signatures in a week. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé acknowledged the campaign but said the decision would depend on financial factors. Aonuma and Miyamoto expressed interest in making the remake.
The remake, called The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D, was released worldwide in 2015. It featured improved character models, stereoscopic 3D graphics, altered boss battles, and a new fishing minigame. It was compatible with the New Nintendo 3DS, including its second analog stick for camera control. Aonuma and his team at Grezzo reviewed gameplay moments they felt were outdated and updated them. The release coincided with the launch of the New Nintendo 3DS. A special edition New Nintendo 3DS XL was released with the game, and a themed paperweight was offered as a pre-order bonus in the UK.
Majora's Mask inspired the 2010s web serial Ben Drowned by Alexander D. Hall, which helped define the creepypasta genre. The story is about a haunted Majora's Mask game cartridge that causes strange events. Eric Van Allen of Kotaku compared it to a campfire story for the digital age. Victor Luckerson of The Ringer said Majora's Mask's ambiguous themes helped it gain a lasting following, allowing reinterpretations like Ben Drowned. Sliva said Ben Drowned is a key part of the game's legacy.
Features from Majora's Mask appear in the Super Smash Bros. series. A stage based on the Great Bay is in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Ultimate. Skull Kid appears as an Assist Trophy in several versions, and the Moon appears as an Assist Trophy in Ultimate. A Skull Kid-themed mask is available for Mii characters.
In 2016, American company Ember Lab released an animated short called Terrible Fate, based on Majora's Mask. The film gained fame for its animation quality and helped the studio become well-known.