Majora’s Mask is one of the most unique Zelda games in the series; the sequel to Ocarina of Time, made in a year (which is almost unthinkable today), and it’s a fan favourite game in the Legend of Zelda franchise. Today I’m going to highlight some lesser know facts and secrets and things you may not know in the Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask.

Without any delay, let’s dive into the facts and secrets of Majora’s Mask.

Nintendo console references

You can find a reference to the Nintendo Gamecube in Majora’s Mask. The Gamecube was codenamed “Project Dolphin”. In the Astral Observatory you’ll find some pots, and if you pick them up, underneath you’ll see an image of a dolphin on the floor.

Also, if you go underwater as a Zora in Clocktown, you’ll be able to see some weeds that make up the form of a N64 controller.

Aonuma’s Dream

Following on the Ocarina of Time the Zelda team started working on the “Master Quest” a new version of Ocarina of Time with increased difficulty. Aonuma was tasked with creating new dungeons for the project, but as they got further into the project the team decided on creating a new game instead of adding to an existing one. Miyamoto gave Aonuma and the Zelda team the deadline of a year to finish the new game, and the pressure became so intense for Aonuma that he started to have nightmares about the project.

Aonuma said “Dekus appeared in my dream. I woke up screaming! I went to work the next day and that’s when Kawagoe-san told me that he finished making a movie for the Dekus, so I had him show it to me….and that movie was exactly like my dream!” You can recognise the screaming from when Link turns into a Deku Scrub, it’s pretty terrifying!

Three days vs seven

The central mechanic in Majora’s Mask is the three day cycle. Link gets involved in a quest to prevent the moon from crashing in three days’ time. The game introduces gameplay concepts revolving around a perpetually repeating three-day cycle and the use of various masks that transform Link into different forms.

Originally Eiji Aonuma wanted the time cycle to be seven days instead of three. Aonuma had worked on a project in the 90s, where you had a week to catch a criminal. The project was cancelled and Aonuma ported some of the ideas over to Majora’s Mask.

Is The Happy Mask Salesman Shigeru Miyamoto?

The Happy Masked Salesman is a key character in Majora’s Mask; he’s both delightful and terrifying at the same time. He first appeared in Ocarina of Time, but stepped up from a narrative point of view in Majora’s Mask to take a starring role. But did you have a close look at The Happy Masked Salesman and see the comparison to Zelda’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto? His smile is similar, his haircut is the same, could the Zelda team have modelled The Happy Mask Salesman after Shigeru Miyamoto himself? I certainly think there’s more than a resemblance there.

Fixing signs

Link can play the Song of Healing to fix broken signs. This is similar to playing Zelda’s Lullaby in Ocarina of Time. However, given Zelda’s Lullaby doesn’t appear in Majora’s Mask, then this is a decent replacement, especially given the name “Song of Healing”.

Complete the game in three days

It’s possible to complete Majora’s Mask in a single cycle of the 3 days. To mere mortals, this sounds like an impossible task, but it has been done many times. You have to collect items in a very specific order and also use the Inverted Song of Time, even then the task is incredibly difficult. But if you are up for a challenge, why not try and complete Majora’s Mask in a single cycle and join the Zelda elites.

Too mature for the iQue Player

The iQue Player was released in China. This was a version of the N64 made in collaboration with Wei Yen and Nintendo, and released exclusively in China. This was a controller that plugged into a TV. 14 games were ported to it, and one of those was planned to be Majora’s Mask. Ocarina of Time was successfully ported to the machine, but Majora’s Mask was deemed to be ‘too mature’ for the Chinese console. According to reports it violated Chinese censorship laws and ultimately was never released.

Five stages of grief

Majora’s Mask is dark, and the legend goes that the game represents the five stages of grief. Link is trying to come to terms with losing Navi, his companion and friend all throughout Ocarina of Time.

Clock Town represents denial, as the people of the Town go about their daily business, refusing to accept the moon is about to crash into the Town and kill them all. Deku Woodfall represents anger, demonstrating this with the monkey and the princess story. Snowhead represented bargaining, with the Goron Domani bargaining with Link to keep his people safe. Great Bay represents depression with Lulu who has lost her eggs. IKana Valley represents acceptance, where Link doesn’t have mask and completes his quest on his own.

Alien inspiration

One of the strangest additions in the game are the aliens found in Romani Ranch. They are inspired by a true story from 1952 in Flatwoods, West Virginia. Two brothers saw bright lights in the sky and then followed them until they found a creature with glowing eyes and a strange-shaped head. This was described as a the Flatwoods Monster. The aliens in Majora’s Mask look similar to these Flatwood monsters. Aonuma described this was added to the game because around the time of Majora’s Mask development UFO sightings were very common and also becoming popular in Japan. He said he found the idea of being abducted by aliens absolutely terrifying and appropriate for Majora’s Mask.

Alternative opening

When you start the game, immediately after starting, press up. Then press the A button on the options and then the B button. Let it save. After it saves press the B Button again to get back to the start and instead of the start screen showing Clock Town it will show Romani Ranch.

Milk is alcohol?

In Clock Town there is a “Milk Bar”, however kids aren’t allowed to hang out there. This suggests that Milk in Majora’s Mask is actually some kind of alcohol. If you visit the Milk Bar at Night then you’ll even see a Goron acting a little drunk. The Goron actually asks “can you get tipsy off something like milk?!?”

The Milk is described as Chateau Romani milk. On the third night Romani is excited because she gets to try Chateau Romani milk for the first time. Romani suggests its because Cremia finally says she’s an adult, but actually she’s being prepared for the moon to crash into Termina. Chateau is often a term to describe wine too.

Community facts and secrets

Japanese Folklore by @darkdragonmedeus705

The plot about the Moon falling is based on an Japanese folklore. It was commonly fantasized there would be a day where the moon falls to the Earth and destroy all life as we know it. It is a common theme in general such as Tsukuyomi and Kaguya-Hime to have plots involving the moon.

Let me know what you think in the comments and if you have any new Majora’s Mask facts and secrets, share them in the comments for the community.