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Anth0ny · Feb 21, 2012

I stumbled upon this on /v/.

On the final day, most of the NPCs in the game are freaking out over the moon. Two that have always struck me as especially depressing were the Master Swordsman and the Postman:

But now, I've stumbled upon a scene that never really stuck out to me. The Romani Ranch scene on the third day.

That's sad. Poor Romani, she's so innocent. Totally oblivious to the impending destruction.

That's all that scene has ever meant to me. But there's more.

Chateau Romani is a drink that is served at the Milk Bar in Clock Town. The Milk Bar is open at night, and children aren't allowed in. The only way to get in is by wearing Romani's Mask, which the player gets from Cremia. She gives the mask to individuals she acknowledges as adults.

At this point, I finally put two and two together. Chateau Romani is the equivalent of alcohol in Termina. Cremia is letting Romani drink the Chateau Romani and sleep in her bed that night in order to put her at ease and numb the pain of being engulfed by the moon in mere hours.

This fucking game.

kayos90 · Feb 21, 2012

Best. Zelda. Game. Ever. Opinionated of course.

Medalion · Feb 21, 2012

Remake coming to 3DS, believe!

kai3345 · Feb 21, 2012

FUuuck

rainking187 · Feb 21, 2012

Damn, I don't remember any of that.

KorrZ · Feb 21, 2012

Medalion said:
Remake coming to 3DS, believe!

Please Nintendo, please!

Game is fucking great. It and Ocarina are still my two favourite Zelda games of all time.

Seik · Feb 21, 2012

The single '3-days before doom' concept was genius. The moon is made of nightmare fuel, what can we possibly ask more?

Oh...this! XD

One of the best Zelda in the series imo. Each games are filled with little details that we can easily forget with the years.

GavinGT · Feb 21, 2012

Why is that girl talking to a cow?

CorvoSol · Feb 21, 2012

kayos90 said:
Best. Zelda. Game. Ever. Opinionated of course.

AGREEMENT.

Although I dance the line between Majora's Mask and Wind Waker all the time. That they are MM and WW makes this that much stranger.

Definitely prefer these two darkest Zeldas, though.

AniHawk · Feb 21, 2012

heh, i don't think people were expecting how out of left field this one was coming. oot is this sorta classic good vs. evil tale, and then comes its sequel, a story about people dealing with their own mortality.

dungeons are still kinda meh except for that last one.

Schnei871 · Feb 21, 2012

I'm replaying it right now. The game is amazing.

When I was a kid and played it the first time I hated it. I did not understand.

Playing through it again, I think it might be one of my favourite games ever. The characters, the symbolism, the journey, the reward... It's beautiful

Lord Ghirahim · Feb 21, 2012

You feel all warm and fuzzy!
inside! Sigh...
You could get used to this!

Brazil · Feb 21, 2012

kayos90 said:
Best. Zelda. Game. Ever. Opinionated of course.

Yup. There's just no doubt in my mind.

Unless I'm playing The Wind Waker. Then I have some doubts.

kittens · Feb 21, 2012

I loved this game when it first came out, but I tried replaying it when I bought my (second) Wii three years ago, and I just couldn't get into the first dungeon. Like, literally, I couldn't get into it, I was totally stuck. I couldn't make it through the deku maze place before the three days were up, so I got frustrated and never came back to it.

I think. My memories are fuzzy.

Anyways, fucking loved the game when it first came out.

Pappasman · Feb 21, 2012

Still my #1 game. MM is one of those games that is just a joy to play from start to finish.

NinajHeartless · Feb 21, 2012

Definitely my favorite Zelda game.

Would totally be down for a 3DS remake!

CitizenCope · Feb 21, 2012

This was the first Zelda I didn't play. Didn't like what I was reading about it at the time so I passed. Sounds like I missed out.

Ra1den · Feb 21, 2012

Such a masterpiece.

udivision · Feb 21, 2012

Anth0ny said:
Chateau Romani is the equivalent of alcohol in Termina. .

It's pretty obvious from the get go, bro. They've done it in several Zeldas since too. It's a bar. But it's milk. HA!

whitehawk · Feb 21, 2012

I still haven't played it

ElectricBlue187 · Feb 21, 2012

Yeah that part was pretty depressing. Majora's Mask is so much better than other Zelda games, the world actually felt like a 3 day snapshot of a place where human beings were living out their lives

Dark Schala · Feb 21, 2012

AniHawk said:
dungeons are still kinda meh except for that last one.

I agree, but the last one really made up for the shortcomings of the previous ones. It's one of my favourite dungeons in the series.

kayos90 said:
Best. Zelda. Game. Ever. Opinionated of course.

That's how I feel too, though I'm straddling the line between it and Skyward Sword now.

But Majora's Mask usually comes out on top because of its storytelling and Link animations.

Cosmo Clock 21 · Feb 21, 2012

Pappasman said:
Still my #1 game. MM is one of those games that is just a joy to play from start to finish.

I wouldn't say that, I've only played the whole game start to finish once. The rest of the attempts are starting and failing to complete the game and beating the game from somebody else's half-completed save file.

That being said, best game ever.

The Xtortionist · Feb 21, 2012

MM is probably the most emotional game I've ever played, and one of the few that actually had me invested in saving its world. It wasn't about beating the game, it was about making Termina a better place.

Rikkun · Feb 21, 2012

Whoa, I didn't remember about the drink. I remember I wanted to try to snag into their room.
And never found the swordsman too... (or just can't remember, back in the day I found all the masks but not every heart container etc)

PS: worst part is the zombie house anyway.
That closet.

vid · Feb 21, 2012

Anth0ny said:
the Postman

The Postman completely decimated me the first time I played Majora's Mask. He wants out so badly, but in the end, he succumbs to his own neuroses and forces himself to stick to his schedule. I've always felt like a crazy person for being so impacted by the Postman... his tiny little story moves my heart in ways that even the Anju/Kafei subplot cannot.

...but wow. The Romani Ranch thing... it was pretty clear to me that Romani Milk represented alcohol in the world of Termina, but I never made the connection between that and how the ranch girls were coping with the final night.

Majora's Mask is truly my favorite Zelda game.

HylianTom · Feb 21, 2012

I get to see the Symphony of the Goddesses in a few months, and from what I understand, at one point the orchestra begins to play the

Milk Bar Theme Music

. This has to be one of my most-anticipated moments for that evening,

MrOogieBoogie · Feb 21, 2012

Wow, that Romani Ranch one hit me really hard.

Tears in eyes almost. Jesus Christ.

-PXG- · Feb 21, 2012

This game will never get the love it deserves. Truly the best in the whole franchise.

JaseMath · Feb 21, 2012

I need to play this game again. I played it only once when it first came out and did it with a guide. It just seemed like a bunch of different side quests piece-mealed into a full game. Is that an unfair critique?

Schnei871 · Feb 21, 2012

The Xtortionist said:
MM is probably the most emotional game I've ever played, and one of the few that actually had me invested in saving its world. It wasn't about beating the game, it was about making Termina a better place.

But every time you only had the time to save one area, the others would remain in sorrow. You would thaw the mountain but you knew the swamp was still poisoned. Enjoyed it while you could but then it was like nothing ever happened... Man... That game...!

Aguila · Feb 21, 2012

This game was just so well crafted. The atmosphere, the character interactions, the millions of symbolisms, the unique game mechanics (masks)...
The game deserved a remake more than OoT, so that more people could have experienced it.

ChuyMasta · Feb 21, 2012

Schnei871 said:
I'm replaying it right now. The game is amazing.

When I was a kid and played it the first time I hated it. I did not understand.

Playing through it again, I think it might be one of my favourite games ever. The characters, the symbolism, the journey, the reward... It's beautiful

I don't know how official this is, but this is some heavy stuff (Might be old)
http://www.zeldauniverse.net/articles/the-stone-tower-why-termina-was-doomed/

VERY long read.

Summary (This is my own opinion and I didn't re-read the article, I read it a long time ago. If someone can provide a better summary, I'll appreciate it):
=The four giants are the protectors of Termina
=Humans began worshiping them
=Goddesses offered a covenant with the Giants by offering the protection of the Triforce.
=Humans recent this (Male Gods Vs Females)
=So Terminians build a temple to represent this hate (Stone Tower)
=You can see the humiliation of the triforce on the Stones that "lick" it
=Majora is also worshiped in that temple
=Goddesses doom Termina.

Rikkun · Feb 21, 2012

HylianTom said:
I get to see the Symphony of the Goddesses in a few months, and from what I understand, at one point the orchestra begins to play the

Milk Bar Theme Music

. This has to be one of my most-anticipated moments for that evening,

That theme is awesome. My brother always plays it with his guitar.

Jason's Ultimatum · Feb 21, 2012

Not only was the 3 day concept cool, but transforming into different creatures to solve puzzles and navigate through the world was and still IS the most creative idea in a Zelda game.

I wish Nintendo would make another WW like Zelda with Link transforming into different characters, like in MM.

Stone Temple was genius, too. And I love playing that patriotic flute whith the giant dinosaur skeleton.

Landing on the Moon and realizing it's this beautiful, serene, green landscape blew my mind. It was so peaceful.

Garcia el Gringo · Feb 21, 2012

Wow, it really is just months away from being 12 years old. All of that stuff flew over my head when I was 9. I hope Nintendo remakes it for the 3DS or something. I could barely figure out Ocarina of Time a few years earlier. Majora's Mask was way too sophisticated for me at the time (I did manage to get extremely close to the endgame with a guide).

The NPC stuff in Majora's Mask was amazing. I wish a Zelda title would tackle that again.

Hiltz · Feb 21, 2012

I keep forgetting that I have Majora's Mask on the virtual console. The time mechanic is kind of annoying but the game does seem pretty interesting and a bit different from the other Zelda games. Although, I'm very early in and only got past doing the town sidequests and the part where you confront

Skull kid

, but I'm not sure if it even counts as a boss battle. Those damn flying bird enemies outside of town are so annoying! It kept on stealing my precious rupees .I missed out on getting the bomb mask when you have to catch the thief running away bnut I accidently pressed the wrong button (was still getting used to the control scheme on the classic controller pro). I tried going back in time but he wasn't there anymore.

What's up with the music notes painted on the side of the hill outside of the town ? I tried to play them on the Ocarina but nothing happened.

Raptomex · Feb 21, 2012

It better come to 3DS. From what I hear it's in development. Haven't actually researched it yet.

blamite · Feb 21, 2012

Damn, I really really need to play this again. Every time it's brought up i realize just how much I've missed/forgotten. The Wii VC version is the best way to go, right?

Cosmo Clock 21 · Feb 21, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Mf2mp6fms

Man the commercials for this game were some heavy stuff.

Wii Tank · Feb 21, 2012

The Postman's character was always one that stuck out to me a lot. He's a totally hardworking, honest, and determined guy. When I went to talk to him on the third day and saw how upset and scared he was, I really felt it. I freaking love this game.

I while back I found an article that analyzes aspects of Majora's Mask. It really made me realize the little details Nintendo puts in their games that flesh out the story and characters. Here it is for those who would want to read it. I was probably only 10 years old when I first beat the game so most of it went right over my head.

Since then this game has remained my favorite game of all time. Some days I just play through a 3 day cycle just to talk to the characters and replay side-quests and other aspects of the game. I'm in love with the story, the characters, the gameplay, everything. No other game has impacted me so strongly.

Except maybe the Metroid Prime series

Aguila · Feb 21, 2012

ChuyMasta said:
I don't know how official this is, but this is some heavy stuff (Might be old)
http://www.zeldauniverse.net/articles/the-stone-tower-why-termina-was-doomed/

This is another similar article: http://www.zeldauniverse.net/articles/the-message-of-majoras-mask/

These types of connections really make me wonder what was going through the developers' heads when they were creating the game.

Edit: I was beaten

MrOogieBoogie · Feb 21, 2012

blamite said:
Damn, I really really need to play this again. Every time it's brought up i realize just how much I've missed/forgotten. The Wii VC version is the best way to go, right?

Yup. The Wii version looks and runs amazingly on the VC. First time I played it on the Wii it blew my goddamn mind.

Also, anyone else love the alien invasion sequence? God, that was always so fun to play. Loved the classic 40s/50s alien invasion film vibe.

SaintZ · Feb 21, 2012

Anju and Kafei = OTP 4ver. My favorite couple in a game.

Dark Schala said:
That's how I feel too, though I'm straddling the line between it and Skyward Sword now.

But Majora's Mask usually comes out on top because of its storytelling

I feel the exact same way., I always give MM the edge in the end. In fact SS, reminded me a lot of MM mainly for the interaction with the characters.

MrOogieBoogie · Feb 21, 2012

Aguila said:
This is another similar article: http://www.zeldauniverse.net/articles/the-message-of-majoras-mask/

These types of connections really make me wonder what was going through the developers' heads when they were creating the game.

To be honest, probably not nearly as much as we think. The game just really lends itself to crazy fan theories and connections, a lot of it probably unintentional. But hey, I'm not complaining.

Anth0ny · Feb 21, 2012

Jason's Ultimatum said:
Landing on the Moon and realizing it's this beautiful, serene, green landscape blew my mind. It was so peaceful.

The contrast between the peaceful surface of the moon and the rest of the game's desperation was fucking GENIUS.

Tookay · Feb 21, 2012

Best Zelda.

And thanks for pointing out the Romani/Cremia thing on the third day. I thought I explored this game inside out but I keep on finding new things. So cool.

Ghost_Protocol · Feb 21, 2012

Milk Bar Owner

...As you can see, all of our
customers have taken refuge.

It may be my undoing, but I'm the
sort of fellow who'll stay at his
business through thick and thin.

And I continue standing here
at the counter hoping one of my
favorite customers will appear...

And I wasn't wrong.
See? You stopped in.

Ikana King

Believing in your friends and embracing that belief by forgiving failure. These feelings have vanished from our hearts.

Child on the Moon

Your true face... What kind of... face is it? I wonder... The face under the mask... Is that... your true face?

I'm convinced the writing is the reason why OoT and Majora's Mask continue to be the best Zelda games today. Mood and writing.

ivysaur12 · Feb 21, 2012

MM is my favorite Zelda game. What made it so special (the NPC interactions, the life of the world) seems to be what's been missing from both Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword.

Twilight had better dungeons, on the whole, than Majora did. But Majora was filled to the brim with content and life. The Stone Tower Temple was also one of the best Zelda dungeons. And the Majora's bosses were incredible, iconic, and memorable.

polyh3dron · Feb 21, 2012

We need this game on 3DS ASAP. Not enough people have played it.

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