I've got two favorite Zeldas: A Link to the Past, and Majora's Mask. The rest of the franchise is all well and good, but I've got a special place for Majora and Past. I've already went on and on about how A Link to the Past was so awesome, but I don't get to gush about Majora's Mask nearly as much as I'd like, so let's just jump right into that.

Majora's Mask was a really rad game. It had a nice, subtle "darkness" to the story, art, and setting, and the gameplay was a nice twist while still feeling true to the franchise. But I think the one thing that pulled me in was how immersive the world was. For a game on such limited software, it felt real; every second counts and there's a whole mess of problems to solve.



This is Anju. While she initially appears to be a normal innkeeper at Clock Town's (only) inn, you slowly start to unravel her web of secrets; she's scatter-brained, has to take care of her senile mother, and needs to keep the inn up and running. Oh yea, and her fiancee up and left her.



And this is Kafei, Anju's fiancee. He's one of the many victims of Skull Kid's crazy antics, turned into a child and forced to live in a secluded shack in the corner of Clock Town. He wears a silly mask to cover his face in shame, and never stays outside for more than a few seconds.

Helping these two takes all three days, requiring you to sneak into Kafei's house, deliver a few letters, and help infiltrate a robber's hideout to retrieve a special mask for the wedding ceremony (and control someone else besides Link in a Zelda game). The quests final moments take place back in the inn, minutes before the moon collides with Termina. The couple reunites despite Kafei still trapped in a child's body, and they resolve to stay together, even after the world is crushed by a giant, grimacing moon. It's really sweet, and makes completing the long sidequest totally worth it, even if all you get from it is a worthless mask.



I like this one a lot. Two sisters run a ranch by themselves. Sales are going down, and the cows are disappearing, meaning no milk to sell for profit. Little sister (Romani) claims aliens abducted them, but can't convince anyone. Cue mute hero in green tunic.

The first part of the story arc involves target practice on your newly reacquired Epona (YOUNG LINK? ON MY EPONA?!), followed by a horseback showdown with an army of ghost/alien hybrid things. If you return to the ranch the next night, Cremia will invite you for a ride as she delivers a new shipment of Romani Milk. She fills in Link (and the player) on how hard it is to take care of Romani and the Ranch by herself, but stops short once a pair of thieves attempt to make off with the milk. It's up to you to keep them at bay and see to it that Clock Town gets its daily glass of milk by sunrise. Succeed, and you get a hug ("you feel fuzzy inside! You could get used to this!") and a silly cow mask that gets you into the town bar. Awesome.

Zelda games never really had a great cast of characters outside of the usual cliches, but I thought Majora's Mask helped give life to the small world of Termina. Every character had a name and a story, and if you took the time to look into their story, the game would give you a small reward as a momento. Twilight Princess could have a world a million times the size of Ocarina of Time, but one ingredient was missing: life and character added by A Cast of Thousands...of Polygons.

I apologize for that clincher. It was out of line :<