Zelda Majora’s Mask is my favorite game of all time. Though nostalgia is a factor, the game was the first game I played where the world felt alive, and choices impacted the characters. The three-day-time mechanic may bother some people, but the darker tone was welcome in a Nintendo game, especially as I’ve gotten older.
The game starts with Skull Kid transforming you into a Deku, which I wouldn’t say I liked because I wanted to be Link as a kid. The transformation is quickly undone with the healing song, setting the darker tone as you progress. When the Deku change becomes undone, it is the first taste of how masks affect the game. Masks in the game help make gameplay have more variety than just playing as Link with a sword. The Masks and time element help make Majora’s Mask stand out from other Zelda games.
I remember being confused about the time element at first. When you figure out the song of time, you get an impending sense you have to accomplish tasks quickly; otherwise, everything gets reversed. Slowing down time is an option, which I found out by accident—after that, getting tasks accomplished isn’t too hard.
The three-day cycle does provide the game with the feeling the world is alive. After doing any side mission or main mission, you could see how your choices had consequences in that cycle. Even though the world would reset after playing the song of the time, the game showed how you could impact the world if you helped a character. They also behaved on a loop for the three days, so you can learn how all the NPC behave each different day.
The character’s movements and behavior help make this game world feel alive, beginning to happen in the N64 generation. You could see how your choices affect the world, and even though there were only four bosses, which you could refight, the number of side quests and areas to explore. Majora’s Mask is a classic for me.