The Descent (Back) Into Darkness for Zelda

The Zelda series has seen tons of iterations over the years, but the concepts used for the games have not always been original. Understandably, too much change to the series could alienate the core fans. However, there is one concept of a Zelda game that hasn’t been truly explored again, and that’s the dark storyline.

It seems like, with the upcoming re-release of OoT for the 3DS, that there have been a plethora of Zelda fans asking for a MM remake as well. A remake of the game would be great, however, though, with as much interest in Majora’s Mask as the Zelda community has shown, maybe Nintendo should go back to the darkness that made MM such a great game. One could even say that a return to this darkness would bring back some of the core fans that have been alienated over the past few years due to their dislike of the recent games, such as Twilight Princess or the DS games.

MM creates this connection with the player, the sense of wanting to save Termina because you feel for the people that reside in the land, not just because the game has you saving some worthless saps. Even ol’ Guru-Guru’s tale was saddening, and some people probably made that kind of personal connection with him. It’s completely conceivable that Nintendo could create another emotional, dark story. What would be a good start, is making the next Zelda after Skyward Sword a Majora’s Mask sequel. Who knows what land it would be in. Maybe Termina could show up again, but bigger this time, and with even more stuff to do and people to interact with.

Let’s reminisce for a moment. OoT revolutionized the series by bringing it into 3D. When Hyrule was first seen like that, it was a big deal. Hyrule Field was wide and open, waiting for you to roll or gallop across it. The only thing about that was, as wide and big as Hyrule had become, it was empty. Sure, the Market was full of people, but, it’s pretty safe to say that they were, essentially, worthless. They weren’t necessarily central to the story, and they weren’t really interesting. Characters like Malon may have connected with you on some level, but even then, she still wasn’t interesting enough to make you feel like, “Oh, I’ve gotta destroy Ganon to save Malon!”

As for MM, let’s take the main sidequest as an example. When you first meet Anju, it seems like she’s just a ditzy hotel worker. But as you continue to talk to her and her problem is revealed, you begin to feel for the woman. You understand the situation she’s in, that her heart is longing to find the man she loves. When you meet Kafei and listen to his story of how he was turned into a child. Too embarrassed to face Anju at the moment, he gives you the Pendant of Memories to give to his love. Now, if that story of love and loyalty, doesn’t fire up your emotion, well, you need a heart.

Back to the point. Arguably, it’s safe to say that most people would welcome a Majora’s Mask remake, and even more so a brand new Zelda game with that same darkness returning. Nintendo would do good to realize how much the fans enjoyed MM, and it would serve them well to listen to the community and return to the darkness.

*Credit goes to Zelda Dungeon for both Majora's Mask images.

I don't think MM needs a sequel, but the level of NPC detail in that game has still been unmatched. it's definitely something nintendo should learn from. TP, even with much more script, never evoked the emotions that MM did. the advantage of video games as a story telling medium is interaction, and that's why it's key to get link involved with the NPCs instead of having all story play out in cutscenes

I'm also a fan of the odyssey second adventure where, upon saving hyrule in the prototypical zelda story, link wanders into a new land that is familiar but strange and alien at the same time(LA as well as MM). I'm hoping SS link has a similar encounter

It seems as though SS Hyrule will be of the same caliber, having been previously unknown to Skyloft's inhabitants. With it being that way and also overrun by monsters, I don't think this Hyrule is going to be quite like anything we've seen before.

I do agree with that, but I would like to see it at least one more time, even if it was in, say, MM 3DS or something like that. But yeah, I do see it being harder to recreate those types of NPCs without the 3-day cycle, which (though I loved MM) was just a little annoying.

I DO think you can have depth in the cast without the 3-day cycle. However, not like MM. They would need to take a different approach. But great article! I do think, however, that you should change the title to "The Descent (Back Into Depth for Zelda" or something along those lines. Because from reading you're article, you're not exactly asking for a return of MM's dark themes. You're asking for MM's deep characters.

Just felt like mentioning that. A lot of people tend to throw around the word "Dark", when half of them time they're actually referring to "Depth" or "Mature".

Good read!