After Ocarina of Time launched to generational success in 1998, the formula for 3D Zelda was basically set, with the next four games in the series all following roughly the same framework while offering different gimmicks so as to keep the experience fresh. Wind Waker has its ocean; Twilight Princess had Wolf Link and Skyward Sword had flying and motion controls. As for Majora’s Mask, it’s main unique feature was its time loop, but, unlike the others (and the recent Switch games), it also offers players a very different kind of story, one that still stands out even now.
In almost every Zelda, the stakes are as high as they can get. Link is on a journey to save the world from catastrophe, be it the rule of an evil entity, infestation of nightmares or even utter annihilation (as in the case of Majora’s Mask). Accomplishing this is typically a matter of gathering up gear (and sometimes allies) and, as Link, single-handedly overcoming the evil and fulfilling your role as the Hero of [insert title here]. It’s just a classic and more or less direct story about fighting and overcoming evil.
Majora’s Mask has this kind of story too, but only on the surface. Yes, Link defeats Majora in the end and saves Termina from “a terrible fate,” but he doesn’t do it alone and accomplishes it in a very different way. See, it’s not Link’s gear or his heroics alone that carry the day (though they are of course important). Rather, it’s a combination of that and the efforts of his friends (Tatl and the Four Giants) that makes the difference. And how does he go about winning those friends? By resolving the regrets that are (quite literally in the case of the giants) keeping them imprisoned.
One of the key themes in Majora’s Mask is regret. Just about everyone in Termina has one, and those regrets keep them all in a sort of stasis. Even without the time loop and the impending doom represented by that horrifying moon, the people of Termina would still be trapped in their regrets, unable to move forward even as time progressed. Some of these regrets are so strong, that they’ve placed entire regions in a static state of peril, thereby chaining down their guardian deities.
In Woodfall, the regret is connected to neglect of the swamp and its temple. The Deku Tribe failed in its duty to maintain it, thereby allowing evil to take root and poison the waters. The tribe then lashes out at everything around it, refusing to face its mistake while simultaneously carrying the regret of its neglect. Link resolves this by rooting out the evil in the temple and forcing the Deku king to face his and his tribe’s failtures.
In Snowhead, the initial issue is a bit vague, but its held most prominently by Darmani and the Goron elder. Darmani was the one and only hero of the Gorons and was thus the only one that tried to do something when the blizzard started blowing from Snowhead Temple. When Darmani died in his (solo) attempt to do something about it, his spirit lingers in the regret that he couldn’t save his people alone.
As for the goron elder, he doesn’t say it directly, but he seems regretful that he put everything on Darmani’s shoulders instead of trying to do something as a tribe. Perhaps, if they had been more unified, Skull Kid wouldn’t have been able to curse Biggoron and this could have all been avoided. Waking him up stops the worst of the blizzard, creating an opening to take out Ghot and bringing an end to winter outright.
The Great Bay suffers a similar issue, with everything resting upon a single person (Lulu the singer) to keep things from falling apart. The Zoras failed to protect her and the pirates were too ignorant and greedy to stop and consider their actions. The whole of the Bay becomes dangerous for everyone, and it’s up to Link to step in and undo what should have been avoided in the first place.
The Kingdom of Ikana is pretty much a graveyard of regret. Its bloody conflict with the Garo Tribe, its proximity to (or perhaps even construction of) Stone Tower and a brutal unforgiving culture all led it to fall and transform into a land of curses and regrets even before Skull Kid started his campaign on behalf of Majora.
Link doesn’t even resolve all their regrets, it’s too late for that. All he does is help them realize why they’re cursed and destroys the power that’s keeping them tethered to the mortal plane as ghosts and skeletons. They’re already dead, as is Ikana, so there’s no saving them. Granting them the rest of the dead and the knowledge of why they ended up this way is the best he can do.
Even outside of the main story, Link spends all his time resolving regrets or helping people achieve what they need to before its too late. Spreading the dance of a departed master, helping Romani defend her sister’s cows from abducting aliens, making a jaded man realize his own homesickness…all of these are personal quests that tie back into the same overarching theme of regrets and how they weigh you down.
Certainly Link visits dungeons and collects gear in Majora’s Mask, but victory comes from helping the world to let go of its regrets and move forward. Even Skull Kid winds up realizing that holding onto his regret (and grudge) of being left behind was what was causing him pain all along. It’s even been argued that the whole game is about Link coming to grips with the fact that he’s dead (somehow) and has to let go in order to move forward.
I don’t think he’s dead, though. The journey that brought him to Termina was his search for Navi after resetting the timeline at the end of Ocarina of Time. She left (probably because she felt she wasn’t needed) and Link went looking for her because she was all that was left of his identity as a hero. Even though he saved Hyrule, he might have regretted doing so in that he no longer had a purpose.
Perhaps, for him, his experiences in Termina helped him to move forward and realize that he can be a hero in smaller ways too and not just as The Hero of Time. This is Majora’s Mask, a very personal story (or perhaps a collection of personal stories) about letting go of regrets and moving forward rather than the standard tale of saving the world. It’s was fascinating back in 2001, it’s fascinating now, and I can only hope Nintendo will return to telling more deep stories like this in the future.
What’s your take on the story of Majora’s Mask? Do you think Link’s dead? What game in the series do you think manages something similar with its theming?
Image is promotional artwork