You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?
Like Link's Awakening, I love Majora's Mask because it takes the standard Zelda formula and does something unique with it. Also like Link's Awakening, there is a surprising amount of depth to Majora's Mask, most of which went right over my younger self's head. What was once a fun game with a neat twist has become a shockingly dark, yet hopeful story about a doomed land inhabited by the depressed and those who have given up.
I have recently replayed Majora's Mask, and met with a slurry of emotions that I had previously either ignored or just didn't notice, as well has some of the more hidden nuances to the story and the inhabitants of Termina. Needless to say, the following analysis will be loaded with spoilers, but if you've already played the game, maybe I'll touch on something that you never noticed yourself. There's a lot to discover in this game, and there's always something new to learn!
We'll begin by looking at the basics. On the surface, Majora's Mask is a story of trust and friendship, and what can happen if these ideals are compromised. Link leaves on a journey to find a long lost friend, and in the process encounters the Skull Kid, someone who has felt alienated by his friends, the Giants. Feeling completely alone, he lashes out at those around him, hoping to reclaim the attention of his lost friends. His mischievous ways begin to escalate into full-on terrorism when he steals a mask from a traveling merchant, until he ends up calling about the complete destruction of the land of Termina. Link eventually calls the Giants, who, instead of punishing the Skull Kid, still call him their friend, and everyone leaves on peaceful terms. The Skull Kid repents, and he and Link form a new friendship. The entire journey reminds Link that, while a parting of friends is always sad, there are always new beginnings around the corner, and he returns home to be with all of his other friends that he left for his journey.
But it's not just the sad story of the Skull Kid and the Giants that conveys this message. Many inhabitants of the land of Termina show a lack of trust in one another, leading to a great deal of misfortune among them. And it's not just the arrival of Majora's Mask that prompts this. The usage of masks in festivals and ceremonies, and even the prominence of masks in average decoration, shows that the Terminans have valued secrecy and isolation for a very long time. They all get along well enough, but everyone wears a mask of some sort, to the point that it's hard for them to really let anyone in. It's even outright stated that these failings were the prime reason that the ancient kingdom of Ikana fell: they squabbled over everything and held little trust in one another.
No other part of the game shows this as well as a certain sidequest does. The quest to reunite Anju and Kafei, an engaged couple whose wedding is postponed due to the groom's disappearance, is a very intensive quest that spans the entire 3-day cycle of time. The bulk of this quest involves working around all involved parties' reluctance to show their vulnerabilities, and their fears of showing their true selves. The entire thing would be a non-issue if Kafei would just trust Anju and believe that she would still love him, even in his altered state. But his fear prevents that, and Anju's lack of trust let her listen to the rumors that Kafei ran off with Cremia. Everyone involved even communicates entirely by mail. It's up to the player to break down these walls and reunite the two lovers by sending mail and exchanging tokens of affection until they are finally ready to meet. And as each person involved becomes more open, they shed their "mask" and embrace their hope and freedom. Relatedly, this quest gives the player quite a large collection of masks by the time it is completed.
But it's not just a lack of trust that plagues the people of Termina, it's also a lack of faith. The people of Termina are both untrusting and skeptical, which in itself leads to problems. But when Majora shows up, it ends up being the sole reason they are doomed. Everyone in Clock Town squabbles over if they believe that the moon will really fall, the Deku King refuses to listen to the monkey's warnings, Cremia doesn't believe Romani's story about the aliens invading the ranch... It all creates a large amount of chaos that makes it very easy for the forces of evil to take control, and the fact that nobody acts on anything makes Majora's victory absolute.
There are, however, a handful of heroes within Termina. Heroes that go against the rest of Termina's mindset and try to fix the problems they are faced with. However, they all sadly fail, because they have no support in their efforts. The Deku Princess gets captured, Darmani and Mikau die, Romani gets abducted and mind-wiped... They all could have succeeded with some help, but it's not until Link shows up and offers his help that these heroes can fix the problems plaguing their lands.
So we've quite thoroughly discussed the Terminan mindset: untrusting, skeptical, and self-defeating. That in itself lends a dark atmosphere to the game, but there is obviously more to it than that. What else is at work here to make this game so chilling? The finer details. The details you need to really dig for to find. It starts with the obvious realization that anyone should have, in that Link's efforts in enriching everyone's lives is mostly futile. How depressing is it to go to all the work reuniting Anju and Kafei, only to play the Song of Time immediately afterward, undoing all of it? Then there are the things you don't tend to think about until they're thrown in your face. You should easily notice that the Bombers' "availablilty" in the notebook is stretched across the entirety of the three days. You'll probably even notice that they are always wandering around town, regardless of the time of day. But it'll all finally hit you when you talk to one of the gate guards on Night 3, and he'll remark how heartbreaking it is to see children wandering the streets, completely unaware of the apocalypse that is about to happen, with nobody to tell them to take shelter.
There are a number of gameplay-related things that contribute to the dark atmosphere as well. You'll spend a great deal of time listening to Clock Town's music, which is a cheerful and calming tune... Until you get to Day 3. Then the song becomes a distorted and frantic mockery of itself with an ominous, droning tone in the background, becoming complete silence when night falls. Then, with only a handful of hours left on the clock, this music starts up. It's difficult to describe just what kinds of emotions that this piece evokes, but if forced, I would say it conveys a sense of dread and fear, but also acceptance of the inevitable. And with the clock tower's bells added in, it becomes outright chilling to hear. While its easy to feel safe, knowing that you can play the Song of Time at any time, you still can't help feeling tense whenever the final hours begin. Especially at the end of the Anju/Kafei quest, when you're waiting with Anju for Kafei to show up. It's difficult to stay there and wait for him as you watch the clock quickly tick down, with the earth quaking beneath you. And have you ever actually seen the moon fall?
But it's not all doom and gloom. There is still a message of hope in here, and the importance of believing in yourself and having faith. The Happy Mask Salesman outright tells you this whenever you talk to him, but it is also tucked away in various other points of the game. This article from the Zelda Informer covers this theme in great detail, and also discusses a few other things, most notably the mysterious Stone Tower. It's a great read that I highly recommend. But there's another key point that I always thought was just kinda weird and random: entering the moon.
Calling the Giants and stopping the moon causes Majora's Mask to fully take over, ditch the Skull Kid, and directly take control of the moon in a last effort to make it fall. Link enters in pursuit and encounters... a sunny meadow inhabited by playful children? I can't even begin to theorize what they represent on their own, but they serve a very important purpose: They force the player to face what they have become. When Link enters Termina, he loses his self, and has to go through a great deal of trials in order to regain his true self. But as the game goes on, he acquires more and more masks. These masks become more and more important as the game goes on, to the point where Link is entirely dependent on a very large number of them for the entirety of the Ikana Canyon segment of the game. Link's journey through Termina forces him to lose himself once again. He adopts the Terminan way of life and lives behind a series of masks. What the moon children do is basically call him out on this and force him to relinquish his masks. The player will obviously be hesitant to do this, as a great deal of work went into finding all of those masks. But letting go of that fear, and trusting the children, grants the player the Fierce Deity's Mask. Stripped of all of his personal barriers, with nothing left to hide behind, Link gains the ultimate power: a very powerful and heroic version of himself. Link spends the bulk of the game making the people of Termina trust and believe in themselves, but still has to do this for himself in order to defeat Majora.
And all of this is why I love Majora's Mask. It entertains, but it also makes the player see things in a new light. It teaches that trust is a valuable attribute to have, and that your friends will always be there for you. It's dark, but has a message of love and hope, and does a great job of challenging the player emotionally and introspectively. The core beliefs are clear, but there are also a number of ambiguous points to theorize over and discuss. It's these qualities that make a game stop being "just a video game," and elevate it to a piece of art.
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