About this game
Released in Japan on April 27, 2000, Majora's Mask was built on the engine of Ocarina of Time in just under 18 months — yet it emerged as one of the most psychologically complex games Nintendo ever made. A repeating three-day countdown, a moon falling toward destruction, and dozens of characters each living out their final hours create an atmosphere of existential urgency unlike anything else in the Zelda series. It divided audiences on release and is now considered a landmark of experimental game design.
Key Features
The game's core mechanic — resetting time with the Ocarina of Time and replaying the same 72 hours — forces players to experience the same events from multiple angles. Twenty-four transformation masks and the three-day cycle create an intricate web of side quests that each tell a miniature tragedy. Saving is tied to starting a new cycle, making every session feel weighty and deliberate.
The Story Behind
Majora's Mask arrived at the tail end of the Nintendo 64's commercial life, overshadowed by the looming PlayStation 2 launch. Its compressed development timeline — a deliberate creative constraint imposed by producer Shigeru Miyamoto — forced director Eiji Aonuma and the team to build something radically different from Ocarina of Time rather than simply repeat its formula. The result was a game that anticipated themes of grief, impermanence, and community that indie games would later explore extensively.
Tricks & Tales
Majora's Mask was developed in approximately 18 months — an astonishingly short period for a Zelda game. The team recycled assets from Ocarina of Time as a foundation, then radically redesigned the world and systems around the time-loop concept. The game's haunting moon face became one of gaming's most iconic images, and the 'Elegy of Emptiness' statue — an eerie hollow duplicate of Link — spawned one of the internet's earliest gaming creepypastas.
Collector's Guide
Available in our shop
Hand-cleaned and tested units shipped worldwide from Toyohashi, Japan. HP direct purchase exclusive: we include a printed shop owner's note card with every order.
Direct purchase supports this museum directly. eBay Top Rated Seller · 1,750+ reviews · 100% positive feedback.
Unexpected Discoveries
Games you weren't looking for — but might be glad you found.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
Share your memory ↑