Evan’s Favorite Childhood Video Game

When I look back on my childhood, I am reminded of the games I played during rainy days, cold winter nights, and humid, unbearable days. During those quite lonely and quiet days, I found myself playing on my 3DS. The main game I would play on it would be The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D. This game defined my childhood in so many ways that I will be unlikely to be able to describe them, but I shall attempt to.

Majora’s Mask is the most abstract and different – for lack of a better word – game in The Legend of Zelda franchise. It restricts players to a three-day time limit, a concept unique to this game. It gives the player a sense of urgency to complete whatever quest the game has given you as fast as possible.

While playing this game when I was younger always made my palms drenched in sweat as I ran through the fields of Termina trying to get to the next quest objective. You could always reset time to the beginning of the three-day cycle, but you would lose all progress you had made during that cycle.

I remember spending hours talking to the characters around the game, learning every bit of information I could get from them. The characters help craft a story that is somehow both grim and lighthearted at the same time. They all played their role perfectly, which helped convince me to play this game through to the end. The side quest involving Kafei and Anju is the most memorable part of the game. Their story is filled with tragedy and sorrow, making it even more fulfilling as I – the player – helped them reunite in the game’s final moments.

Nintendo created a world that feels alive, a difficult task for many games to pull off correctly. I am barely scratching the surface of the things Majora’s Mask has for the player to discover. I would love to erase all my memories of Majora’s Mask and re-experience it for the first time. If you haven’t played it before, I highly recommend that you do it soon because you certainly won’t regret it.