Zelda: Majora’s Mask Put Heartbreak At Its Core, And That’s What Made It Special

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October 26th, 2025 marked the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. This game is known for its unique use of time travel, which allowed it to create some truly unforgettable stories, and we’ll take a look at how it did that.

Despite being a highly successful series, The Legend of Zelda has had a few less popular entries, and Majora’s Mask is arguably the most controversial. Released as a sequel to the beloved Ocarina of Time on the Nintendo 64, it used many of the same elements but added a unique twist: a repeating three-day cycle. This feature initially divided players, but it’s also what makes Majora’s Mask stand out and remain powerfully affecting even today.

While Majora’s Mask is famous for its time travel mechanics, the Zelda series first explored this idea in Ocarina of Time. That game’s central instrument, the Ocarina, lets Link travel between two eras: his peaceful childhood and a bleak, future Hyrule. By obtaining the Master Sword, Link gains the ability to move freely between these time periods.

Unlike its predecessor, Majora’s Mask offers a more flexible take on time travel, allowing Link to manipulate time more directly. While Ocarina of Time involved jumping between different points in the past and future to defeat Ganon, Majora’s Mask traps Link in a three-day cycle as he tries to prevent the moon from crashing into Termina. If he fails within those 72 hours, he must use the Ocarina to reset to the first day, effectively restarting his progress—though all the work he’s done will be undone.

The tight deadline creates a real sense of pressure throughout the game. If you don’t finish a temple within three days, you have to start the entire adventure over. This means losing all your items, resetting any completed puzzles and quests, and even making characters forget you. While you do keep a few important items and lessons learned, it’s almost like starting from the beginning each time. This mechanic gives the game a different feel than Ocarina of Time, changing the usual gameplay in a way that makes it stand out from other games in the series.

While the time-travel element significantly alters how the game is played, its most powerful effect is on the story. Nintendo cleverly used the repeating three-day cycle in Majora’s Mask to tell intimate, character-driven stories that wouldn’t have been possible with a straightforward, sequential plot.

As a huge fan, one of the things that always struck me about this game is how alive the world feels, even though you’re racing against the clock. Every single character, even the ones you don’t interact with directly, has their own schedule. The postman always delivers mail, the performers practice at the inn, and shops open and close at set times. It’s like they’re living their lives whether I’m there to watch or not, and honestly, it makes you really care about the people of Clock Town. It’s such a clever way to make the world feel so real and immersive!

These events aren’t fixed; your actions can change how things unfold each day. For example, an old woman who runs a bomb shop is normally robbed on the first night, which means she won’t stock a larger bomb bag. But if Link learns when and where the robbery will happen, he can stop the thief, ensuring the bomb bag becomes available and earning a valuable mask. However, how Link deals with the thief matters – accidentally blowing him up will not only destroy the stolen bag, but also prevent you from completing a specific side quest later on.

The game’s repeating three-day cycle—where you experience all possible outcomes for the characters you encounter—makes its side quests surprisingly emotional and creates some of the most memorable scenes in the entire series. The story of Anju and Kafei, a couple torn apart right before their wedding, is particularly well-regarded for its intricate and moving mystery, which takes multiple cycles to solve. However, the most heartbreaking story centers on Cremia and Romani, the sisters who run the ranch south of town.

Even though the ranch is close to town, you can’t get in for three days because a huge boulder is blocking the road. When the road finally reopens, you find Cremia and Romani acting strangely quiet and upset. From what little they say, it’s clear something bad has happened to the ranch and its animals.

The story of these two characters is initially unclear, but becomes apparent once you get the Goron Mask and the Powder Keg. These tools let you clear a boulder early and access the ranch on day one. You then discover they’re facing two connected problems: Cremia is being harassed by a competing ranch, and Romani needs help protecting her cows from strange, nightly “ghosts.” This leads to a complex storyline that unfolds over all three days of the game, demanding careful gameplay to support them both in their individual challenges.

Even after helping Cremia and Romani with their problems, a feeling of sadness still hangs over the ranch by the third day. Knowing the moon will cause widespread destruction – and that even the ranch won’t be safe – Cremia sadly accepts what’s coming. Romani is too young to understand the danger, so Cremia gives her a rare treat: a Chateau Romani, the ranch’s special milk drink normally reserved for adults. As they prepare for bed on the third night, right before the moon falls, Cremia tells Link they’ll see him tomorrow, carefully hiding the truth from Romani about the impending end of the world.

The scene is deeply moving, particularly after everything you’ve been through with these characters, and perfectly illustrates why Majora’s Mask continues to be so compelling even 25 years later. While some fans initially found the game’s time loop mechanic unusual, it enabled Nintendo to tell stories and explore themes with a powerful emotional impact that wouldn’t have been possible in a typical game. This makes Majora’s Mask one of Nintendo’s most memorable and emotionally powerful games of all time.

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2025-10-28 22:10