Majora's Mask is the sixth game in The Legend of Zelda series, released as one of the last games for the Nintendo 64.
The game was released in its home country of Japan on April 27, 2000, where it is known as Zelda no Densetsu: Mujura no Kamen. Six months later, it was released in North America on October 26, followed by Europe on November 17.
A follow-up to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in terms of both story and gameplay, the development team re-used the engine and character models from Ocarina of Time, which reduced the development time of this game to one year. Fitting, as the devs only had that one year to make it, owing to a bet Eiji Aonuma made with series creator Shigeru Miyamoto. The game was notable both for being a noticeably Darker and Edgier entry in the series at the time, and for being one of only a handful of games that required the N64 Expansion Pack.
After the end of Ocarina of Time, Link embarks on a personal quest to reunite with a lost friend. As he wanders through a mysterious forest on his trusty horse, Epona, he is mugged by a masked Skull Kid and his two Fairy Companions, who steal Epona and the Ocarina of Time before fleeing. Link chases after the trio, but falls down a rabbit hole of sorts and is transformed into a Deku Scrub by the mischievous Skull Kid.
Link soon discovers that he has fallen into the parallel world of Termina, the residents of which are preparing for the annual Carnival of Time. But a sinister omen hangs in the sky: The Skull Kid has taken control of the moon, and he intends to crash it into Termina within three days. The impact will wipe out everyone and everything.
Link eventually regains both his Ocarina and his true form, then sets out on a quest to save Termina by traveling across the land to awaken its slumbering guardians. Link has two special skills to exploit in his new quest: He can gather and wear different masks to transform into new forms (each form has its own unique abilities), and he can use the Ocarina of Time to time travel back to the beginning of his quest (which gives him the additional time needed to unravel the Skull Kid's plot).
Majora's Mask has only four dungeons, so the gameplay places great emphasis upon various sidequests. Numerous people in Termina need help of some form or another, and by exploiting the "Groundhog Day" Loop, Link can help all of them (albeit temporarily) to acquire Pieces of Heart, new Masks, and other rewards. These include helping a young couple reunite with each other and defending a farm from cow-stealing UFOs. The game is also well known for its grim, disturbing atmosphere, as well as its thematic examination of issues such as despair and inevitability.
In the wake of the success of its predecessor's 3D Video Game Remake, Majora's Mask also received a remake for the Nintendo 3DS in February 2015, concurrently with the 3DS' upgraded model, the New Nintendo 3DS. The remake was developed by Grezzo in conjunction with Nintendo.The N64 original has also been rereleased on the Virtual Console for Wii and Wii U, as well as Nintendo 64 catalogue of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.
The game also has a manga authored by Akira Himekawa.
Majora's Mask contains the following tropes:
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