With Majora’s Mask finally coming out on the Switch next week, it has got me thinking about the time I first played the game. There are many reasons I consider it to be one of the greatest Zelda games of all time, but my memories of the game are pretty special to me as well. You see, unlike most people, I didn’t play this game under normal circumstances. In fact, it was more of life or death — and I was one of the lucky ones to not have it so bad.
The first time I ever saw Majora’s Mask was actually at a Walmart. I didn’t know what Zelda was back then, but the game was on demo for everyone to play. I just remember running and hopping around as a Deku in the sewers, and never really figuring out where to go or what to do. I thought the game looked cool, but the advertisements Walmart would show with the moon creeped me out. I figured it was something I would never own in my life, and basically ignored it after that.
In middle school I finally got to play Ocarina of Time, and became a Zelda fan myself. I still didn’t expect to ever play Majora’s mask, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in it again. My friend didn’t help with my curiosity either. I’d talk about OoT with him, and he in return would talk about both it and Majora. He made it sound great, but I simply had no way to ever go back to it. That is, until one random day in high school.
Back then the Wii was on it’s way, and Twilight Princess was all you ever heard about. I had hopes of getting one for Christmas, but by then my mom was against me playing Zelda. (Blame my uncle.) Basically, even if I got a Wii, Zelda was off the table. It was sad, but nothing I could do about it as a young teen. But then something happened.
One day my cousin randomly came over with Majora’s Mask for Game Cube. I didn’t get to play it much that day, but shortly after was when the ice storm of my life time would roll in, and I had nothing but time on my hands. Time and a copy of Majora’s Mask.
Now don’t get me wrong, this ice storm was BAD. Most people across the area had lost power, we were frozen in our house, and a lot of people were freezing to death. This wasn’t some simple storm — it was a disaster that impacted a lot of peoples lives. Giant trees were falling over, power poles were snapping and coming down (causing a domino effect down the line), and many trapped in their homes never stepped out again. Elderly were especially at risk, and shelters were set up for those who could make it to them. While at my house we had to avoid the outer walls, and stay towards the back of the house (away from trees and what not), thankfully we ended up being ok. We were one of the few houses to keep power (but no cable or internet or phone), but we were trapped inside for quite some time. So to keep my mind off of things, and with nothing else to do — I turned to Zelda.
I’ll never forget playing this game for the first time. I instantly loved everything about it! The new jumping animations for Link at the start, the transforming into other creatures to use their powers, and the whole time travel thing was just a lot of fun. You only had three days to get things done, but by resetting time you actually had all the time in the world. And the way every single character has their own lives to live out — it was pretty impressive. I just loved it! I became obsessed with seeing everything the game had to offer, and before I knew it the two weeks trapped inside had came to an end.
It was a strange time in my. I’ve never been in a situation like that since, and a part of me is glad that it happened while I was still a dumb kid who didn’t know any better. Looking back now I realize just how serious things were, but back then I cared more about not having to go to school. But that’s the difference between being a kid and being an adult.
Of course now days I have my own copy of the game, and have continued to buy and play every release that comes out. I eventually bought it on the Wii (yes I got it that year), and got the 3DS version as well. Now here I am, and I can’t wait for the Switch release! Man, such a great game.
