Out of all the artistic mediums, I feel the one taken the least seriously is video games.
Video games can tell fantastic stories like art in other mediums and I think the perfect game to show that is “Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask,” designed by Eiji Aonuma, Yoshiaki Koizumi and Shigeru Miyamoto.
The game was released on the Nintendo 64 in 2000, not even two years after the critically acclaimed Ocarina of Time, and borrows many assets from it as well. “Majora’s Mask” is also a direct sequel to “Ocarina of Time,” starting with Link searching for his fairy from the previous game, Navi.
At the start of the game, Link is ambushed by Skull Kid and his two fairy friends, Tatl and Tael. Skull Kid is wearing a powerful and creepy mask while he turns Link into a Deku scrub [a wooden forest creature] and leaves Tatl behind. Link and Tatl explore the new location of Termina and find the ominous Happy Mask Salesman who tells them to retrieve Majora’s Mask from Skull Kid in three days or else the moon will plummet towards Termina and kill everyone.
Using Link’s Ocarina you receive from fighting Skull Kid the first time, you can reset the clock by three days to defeat Skull Kid and take back Majora’s Mask.
The game is very depressing and that is what I love about it. You get to feel for every character and how they are reacting to the coming end of the world. Some cower in fear, some are hoping for an end and others deny the moon will crash into Termina.
One side quest in the game is a perfect example of the immersion the game has in connecting to the characters. The Couples Mask side quest is one of the saddest storylines I have seen in a video game. It involves reconnecting the lovers Anju and Kafei. After spending all three days, you have to reunite the lovers and can spend the last in-game hour [real-life minute] with them holding each other to receive the Couples Mask.
The lovers embrace as they spend their last moments together before you reset the clock. This side quest never leaves me with dry eyes. Seeing the love between Anju and Kafei is so beautiful because they have each other even when the whole world will come to an end.
A sad moment in the main storyline is when the Zora [fish monster] lead guitarist of the Indigo-Go’s, Mikau dies beside Link. Mikau is killed by pirates after trying to take back the eggs that were stolen from the band’s lead singer Lulu. As Link stands beside him dying, Mikau’s soul is given one last time to reunite with his bandmates and then he dies. Seeing Mikau get to see his friends one last time is such a nice touch as he was really close to them.
These are just two of the many beautiful moments in the game, but I would recommend playing it for yourself. A remake for the 3DS was released in 2015. I recommend playing the 3DS version because there is a massive improvement in how the game is played making it a more enjoyable experience.
Nico Brazill can be contacted at
nbrazill@kscequinox.com
