Introduction: A Terrible Fate

"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"

~The Happy Mask Salesman

A boy pauses mere feet from the door at the question.  He turns, seeking the source of the voice, and sees a purple-clad man with a cheerful but slightly unnerving grin, doubled over under the weight of his pack, which is covered in masks.  His companion, a small, yellow fairy, instinctively darts behind him to hide.

"I own the Happy Mask Shop.  I travel far and wide in search of masks... During my travels, a very important mask was stolen from me by an imp in the woods."

The boy is intrigued.  He is, in fact, chasing an imp wearing a mask--an imp who cast a spell on him, turning him from a Hylian into a Deku.  Could it be the same one?

"So here I am at a loss... And now I've found you.  Now don't think me rude, but I have been following you..."

The boy freezes at the man's next words.

"...For I know a way to return you to your former self."

How does this man know of his predicament?  How long has he been following you, and why?  But before he has time to think about it, the man continues.  "If you can get back the precious item that was stolen from you, I will return you to normal.  In exchange...all I ask is that you get back my precious mask that the imp stole from me."

The above scene from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask introduces a man known only as the Happy Mask Salesman, who in turn introduces the plot.  He is an enigmatic figure who seems to know far too much for a mere wandering mask salesman.  He knows of the protagonist Link's transformation from boy to Deku (a humanoid plant-like lifeform).  He knows of the theft of Link's ocarina, and he seems to sense the intentions of his quest.  And unnervingly, he states that he must leave town for an undefined reason in three days--the exact time, one soon finds, that a moon is slated to collide with the land Link finds himself in.  It soon becomes clear that it is not mere circumstance that connects Link, the Happy Mask Salesman, the imp, and the mask.  There is some deeper, hidden, string of fate binding them together, woven into a web of mystery, despair, destruction...and ultimately hope.

It is this mystery that drew me to Majora's Mask.  While I had played other games in the series, this one stuck with me in a way that none of the others did.  Though my opinion is often met with backlash, I firmly believe Majora's Mask to be a better Zelda game than its predecessor, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (which is often cited by gamers to be one of the best games of all time).  Not due to influence or gameplay, mind you.  I will willingly admit that Ocarina of Time was far more influential and that Majora's Mask's gameplay (more specifically, the time limit in conjunction with the save system) was frustrating, but in terms of storytelling and themes, Majora's Mask enchanted me, and it currently remains my favorite game of all time.

A large part of this love stems from the fact that Majora's Mask is able to tell a story in a way that no other medium can.  The entire game is about a "Groundhog Day" loop, i.e. a story about someone stuck in a cycle of time (named for the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day, in which the protagonist relives Groundhog Day over and over).  The implementation of a three-day cycle in a video game allowed the developers to do more with the characters and world.  The player does trigger game events solely by performing certain actions.  While the player's actions do, in fact, have impact on the story, there are certain things that only happen at certain times.  When you play Majora's Mask, you are not in full control of the story.  You are an outside observer, following people through their daily lives in Termina, helping with their little problems.  They become people instead of the mere item dispensers most video game NPCs (non-playable characters) become.  Majora's Mask is consequently very personal.

Ocarina of Time may have been exceptionally innovative and revolutionary from a technical standpoint, but Majora's Mask convinced me that video games could be art.

And it is in honor of that that I've decided to write in-depth articles about Majora's Mask, delving into the mysteries of Termina and its inhabitants as the moon descends, threatening them all with a terrible fate.  For it is this inevitable doom that provides the game with its atmosphere of dread and, consequently, the ultimate message of hope.

"But yes... You'll be fine.  I see you are young and have tremendous courage.  I'm sure you'll find it right away.  Well then, I am counting on you...."