The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is the sixth game in the Zelda series and was released on the Nintendo 64 in 2000. Unique to itself, the game included a 3-day time system (72 hours in total). Along with this, Majora's Mask is one of the few Zelda games where Ganon or Ganondorf does not make an appearance, not to mention Princess Zelda who is only seen once in a flashback.
Majora's Mask is the sequel to the popular first 3D Zelda game, Ocarina of Time. Many of the conventions pioneered in Ocarina of Time are present in Majora's Mask, such as characters, enemies, and items.
Story
Majora's Mask opens with a scene of Link travelling from Hyrule, on a personal quest. Although it is never stated ingame, it is commonly accepted that he was searching for his fairy, Navi. His trip is interrupted by the Skull Kid and his two fairies, Tael and Tatl. The Skull Kid, with the help of the fairies, knocks Link off his horse and steals the Ocarina of Time. When Link awakens, the Skull Kid takes off and leads Link on wild chase.
Link follows the Skull Kid and finds himself turned into a Deku Scrub by the dark magic of Majora's Mask, covering the Skull Kid's face. With limited abilities, he enters Clock Tower where he meets the Happy Mask Salesman. The mask salesman says that he can return Link to his human form if he finds and obtains the Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.
Attempting to steal the ocarina and the mask, Link discovers that the Skull Kid has pulled the moon from its orbit and it will crash destructively into the land of Termina in three days.
Gameplay
Majora's Mask implements a time system, lasting for three days, to time the moon's destruction. With the Ocarina of Time, Link is able to play the Song of Time to return to the first of these three days as many times as he needs to. Link is the only one affected by the time-travel; other inhabitants live as if nothing has happened, but are still worried about their last days before the moon crashes.
Majora's Mask is known as the darkest of the series. This is visible even in the game's trailer, which featured screams of horror and agony as the real moon destroyed a city. The owl at Woodfall tells that the Deku are a doomed civilization. In several spots in the game, bad omens are evident. Majora can be interpreted as the devil of the Zelda universe. The chant of the Giants is a sad one, played by a pipe organ in a sad melody. The main tune, instead of the perky Saria's Song, is reversed to create the Song of Healing, another depressing melody. Heroes die in many instances.