The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask was released on April 27th, 2000 for the Nintendo 64. The game was directed by Eiji Aonuma and Yoshiaki Koizumi under the supervision of Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. The game would be re-released on multiple consoles and remade entirely for the 3DS in 2015. The game has tons of content packed into just three in-game days, and there's much more that went on behind the scenes to make the game that we know and love today a reality. Majora's Mask is widely considered the darkest Zelda game to date. Throughout the years we've learned all sorts of facts about the development of the game, as well as learning more about the game's story itself.

By rummaging through the Hyrule Historia and looking back at interviews with the creators we've learned all sorts of stuff about the game we would of never known otherwise. No matter how old a game can get, we still discover new things about it all the time. Majora's Mask is no exception to this rule. Sometimes it's a glitch that gets discovered by an enthusiast of the game, other times one of the creators will reveal old stories about the development of the game itself. It's crazy to think we are still learning new things about a game that's been out for years! Link's adventures in Termina are riddled with awesome facts and interesting bits of trivia. So, we've gathered 20 awesome facts that you've probably never heard about Majora's Mask before. So, without further ado, let's get right into the list!

20 The Sections Of The Game Are Parallel To The Five Stages of Grief

Majora's Mask is arguably the darkest of the entire series and for good reason. So it's no surprise that a parallel to the "Five Stages of Grief" can be seen in the game itself. Clock Town is denial, with the citizens of the town acting as if the Moon isn't getting closer to them and continue setting up for the Carnival of Time instead. Woodfall is considered anger, seen in the Deku King who lashes out about his lost daughter at a monkey and fails to think about the situation rationally. Snowhead is bargaining, where the ghost of Darmani begs for Link to revive him at any cost. Depression would be seen in Great Bay with Lulu and her missing eggs. The last stage, acceptance, is seen in Ikana Valley, where Link see's lifeless forms of himself and has to move on or end up like those there.

19 Majora's Mask Has The Lowest Number Of Dungeons Of Any Zelda Game

Even though Majora's Mask has tons of content packed into it, and has one of the highest side quest counts in any Zelda game, Majora's Mask has the lowest amount of dungeons. Majora's Mask only features four different dungeons, just barely keeping the record above Breath of the Wild which had five. The four dungeons are the Woodfall, Snowhead, Great Bay, and Stone Tower Temples. Another fun fact about the dungeons is that they all contain contents relating to the bow. Woodfall has the Bow and Arrows itself, Snowhead has the fire arrows, Great Bay holds the ice arrows, and finally the Stone Tower Temple contains the light arrows. Due to the lack of temples, to get maximum health, the player must perform multiple side quests and mini-games that award heart pieces.

18 Zelda Isn't In Termina At All

This one is rather unique, as the titular princess never once appears in Termina. As a matter of fact, her only appearance is of a flashback before Link goes off on the adventure to find his lost friend, meaning he is still in Hyrule. Upon picking up the Ocarina, Link has a flashback where Zelda teaches him the Song of Time and wishes him luck on his adventure. After that, Zelda is never even mentioned again. This is one of the few cases of Zelda not appearing in the game in any major way. As opposed to saving Zelda and stopping the evil, Majora's Mask doesn't include the princess saving part at all and instead Link saves the Skull Kid. That and saving the town from being crushed by a giant moon!

17 The Game Was Made For An Interesting Reason...

After the release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a new version of the game was set to release for the Nintendo 64DD (which would not ever be released), with re-purposed dungeons. The task would be given to a hesitant Eiji Aonuma, one of the dungeon designers on Ocarina of Time, by Miyamoto himself. In an edition of "Iwata Asks," which Aonuma sat in on, he admitted to not being able to get into the Master Quest project and as such would design entirely new dungeons not seen in Ocarina of Time in secret. Aonuma enjoyed making the new dungeons far more than re-making the one's seen in Ocarina of Time. Eventually, Aonuma built up enough confidence to approach Miyamoto about making an entirely new game instead of Master Quest. Miyamoto would agree, but under one condition...

16 The Game Was Developed In Just A Year

Miyamoto agreed to let Aonuma create a completely new game under the condition it was made in a year. To compare, Ocarina of Time took three years to make. Aonuma was justifiably taken aback by the enormous task. Luckily for him, Aonuma would meet Yoshiaki Koizumi around this time, who agreed to help with making Majora's Mask, so long as it had a system to play the same moments over and over again. Due to that, we have the three day system Majora's Mask is most known for, which was taken from a different game Koizumi was working on at the time that Aonuma approached him. With the two co-directing the game together, Aonuma and Koizumi would accomplish the goal put in place by Miyamoto, and create Majora's Mask in just a year.

15 It's Possible To Beat The Game In Under 90 Mins

Through the use of glitches and tricks, Majora's Mask can be beaten in under an hour and a half. The current world record for completing the game as quick as possible is one hour, twenty four minutes, and forty three seconds. That record is currently held my popular Swedish speed runner EnNopp112. The speed run skips many parts of the game, including almost all of the "required" segments of the first three days in Clock Town. Being able to beat such a long game so quickly is no easy feat to accomplish, as tons of random factors can occur that'll cause the run to lose lots of time. However, it's more than possible to beat it in such as small time window, as multiple Majora's Mask speed runners have shown!

14 It Is The Only Zelda Game You Can Kill A Non-Hostile NPC

If you wait in North Clock Town on the first night, an event will occur where an NPC by the name of Sakon will attempt to steal a bag containing bombs from an old lady. Normally, you can either let him steal them or slash him with your sword, which will cause Sakon to drop the bag and the old lady will give you the Blast Mask for helping her. However, there is a third way you can go about handling Sakon. If you shoot him with an arrow, he and the bomb bag will both explode. It is the only instance where Link can kill another character that's not a monster or boss. It also prevents any of the side quests relating to the event, meaning the only reward is guilt. Luckily, the Song of Time can fix all that!

13 Termina Is A Parallel World Of Hyrule

There's a reason that all the denizens of Termina look nearly identical to those in Hyrule, and that's because Hyrule and Termina are one in the same! Well, kind of. As stated in the Majora's Mask game manual, Termina is a "similar, yet different" parallel version of the land of Hyrule. This explains why we see so many familiar faces in vastly different roles than Ocarina of Time. The prime example being the Happy Mask Salesman, who was a minor character in Hyrule, who is part of the reason the events of Majora's Mask even take place. Many of the characters in Clock Town can also be seen in Hyrule Castle Town, albeit in different roles. Masks in Termina also have effects with them, unlike their Hyrule counterparts!

12 The Characters Of Star Fox 64 Are In The Game

Majora's Mask has quite a handful of easter eggs hiding all over the game. Some are fun little things, while some are references to Nintendo itself. One of the coolest ones would not be in gameplay itself, however in the game's item screen. Upon obtaining the Keaton Mask, Bremen Mask, Rabbit Hood, and the Don Gero Mask, the animals they are based upon seem oddly familiar, and they're all in the same row! The Keaton Mask is based on a Kitsune, a unique kind of Fox. The Bremen Mask is a bird, Rabbit Hood is (obviously) a rabbit, and the Don Gero Mask is a frog. These can be directly related to the Star Fox team seen in Star Fox 64 as Fox McCloud (Fox), Falco Lombardi (Bremen), Peppy Hare (Rabbit), and Slippy Toad (Don Gero).

11 Mario Appears In The Game As Well

The Star Fox team aren't the only Nintendo characters to make a cameo in Majora's Mask, as Nintendo's mascot Mario also appears in the game as well! One of the masks that can be seen on the Happy Mask Salesman's backpack is one of Mario himself and it's honestly impossible to deny it is the famous red plumber. This point is driven home even more as the Happy Mask Salesman is widely believed to be based on Shigeru Miyamoto himself, who was responsible for the creation of Mario. While that part was never confirmed nor debunked, it is a widely believed theory supported by the Mario mask that the Happy Mask Salesman carries. The Mario Mask is also one of the few masks the Happy Mask Salesman carries that is actual visible.

10 Who Do The Gorons Play Bongos?

While in Goron form, Link's instrument is a set of bongos, and the Gorons are written to love the instrument. This was a choice that was made by one of the game's directors Eiji Aonuma. Aonuma's favorite kind of instruments are percussion based and the bongos are one of his favorites. In an interview with Game Informer, Aonuma admitted that his fondness of the bongos are the reasoning behind the Goron's love of them as well. Part of that is based on Aonuma himself, as he and other Nintendo employees play in a band together with around 70 others. Aonuma stated that he enjoyed it because of how simplistic it was and how it would fit in with the Goron lifestyle, loving to bang on surfaces and feel the rhythm within instead of reading music.

9 The Aliens In Romani Ranch Are Based On...

The Romani Ranch segment of Majora's Mask is one of the longer parts of the game, although it is completely optional. The main part, and hardest part, would be when Link must defend the Ranch from invading Aliens simply called "Them" from abducting cows. However, did you know that they were most likely based on the Flatwoods Monster (an old legend from Virginia)? Both "Them" and the Flatwood Monster have long and thin arms with glowing eyes. The Flatwood Monster also shares the same head shape as "Them." It is never revealed exactly what "Them" are, but it is generally accepted that they are aliens, which is supported by their abducting of cows, a common practice of extra-terrestrial life (in works of fiction, of course!).

8 The All-Night Mask Was Used As A Torture Device

There's also cool facts, hints, and easter eggs hidden to those who explore and do optional activities. For example, talking to gossip stones will provide some interesting pieces of infromation. One of them will talk to you about the All Night Mask. In the game itself, the mask's only use is obtaining the heart piece from Anju's Grandmother by listening to her stories. If Link is not wearing the mask, he will fall asleep each time and not be rewarded. However, the All Night Mask has a darker, more morbid use not seen in Majora's Mask's gameplay. According to a gossip stone in the game, the All Night Mask is used as a torture device. You read that right, the All Night Mask would be used to torture people by ways on insomnia, as it prevents the wearer from going to sleep, hence the name.

7 The American And Japanese Versions Have Different Save Features

There are a number of differences between the Japanese and American versions of the game. For instance, some glitches are only available in the Japanese versions and the American version has added time-frames to events that require perfect precision, such as the Postman sidequest. However, one of the most noticeable differences is how the save feature works. In the Japanese version, the game has three save slots, but lack the owl statues and, as such, the only way to save the game is by playing the Song of Time. This was a criticism of that version, so when porting the game over to America, they changed the save features by getting rid of a save slot and adding in quick saving by way of the owl statue.

6 The Indigo-Go's Play Music From Past Zelda Games In Their Breakrooms

One of the cooler easter eggs of the game would be with the Zora band, The Indigo-Go's, seen in the Great Bay section of the game. While they all have a lot of fun stuff you can do with the band, you can actually get a music show! Well, not a full blown show. If you go into the band member's rooms, they can all be heard playing parts of music from previous Zelda games. Japas, the bass guitar player will play the dungeon theme from the original The Legend of Zelda. Evan, the band's keyboardist will play the game over theme from the first Zelda game. Meanwhile Tijo, the drummer will play the song that plays during the cave segments in A Link to the Past.

5 You Can Warp To Other Parts Of The Game Due To Invisible Exit Points

In Majora's Mask, there is a glitch that you can do called "Wrong Warp." This is when you can teleport to different parts of the game by entering into a loading zone that is shared with another area. The most well known occurrences are seen in the underground parts of Termina field (namely near the forest and Great Bay) and by using a glitch to get out of bounds, you can access this loading zone, which will teleport you all the way into the Deku Palace, which skips doing the boat tour that's normally required entirely. The game loads two maps, though one is out of bounds and invisible, but it still has the floor allowing Link to walk on it. When he enters a certain spot, the game will register Link exiting in the other unloaded location, teleporting him to the wrong location, and that's where the name comes from.

4 It's Possible To Beat The Game With Just 17 Items

Normally, Majora's Mask requires a fair bit of items in order to complete the game in it's entirety. However, through various glitches to skip the need to get some normally key items, it's possible to beat the game with just 17 items in total, and that's counting songs! Of course, this makes the game quite longer to beat and, at its fastest, it takes nearly four hours to complete! Doing this allows you to skip getting items such as the Goron Mask, Goron's Lullaby, and even getting bombs at all! It's a crazy sight to see and is known as "Low%" online, which means beating an entire game while getting the least amount of items you possible can and still be able to get to the ending cutscene.

3 Link Ends Up In Termina Looking For Navi

For years, no one knew exactly who Link was looking for in Termina. The only thing players had to go off of was that he was "looking for a beloved and invaluable friend" that he had "parted ways with when he fulfilled his heroic destiny." However, the game never goes over just exactly who this was and there were two people it was assumed to be. One of them was Skull Kid, the one who he played music with in the Lost Woods during Ocarina of Time. However, the Hyrule Historia book would reveal who this friend was, over 11 years later. The friend would be Navi, who drifted off after the events of Ocarina of Time took place. Link would venture into the woods where he would fall through the portal that led him to Termina in the first place.

2 The Bremen Mask Is Based On A Fairy Tale

This is one of the more obscure easter eggs hidden in Majora's Mask, but also one of the most interesting. In the game, the Bremen Mask is used to play a special tune and march with Link's Ocarina, which will cause animals such as Cuccos to follow Link around. Though why is the mask called the Bremen Mask? It has nothing to do with the town of Bremen after all. It can actually be compared to the "Town Musicians of Bremen," by The Brothers Grimm. The fairy tale is about a donkey, dog, cat, and rooster who all leave their homes to become musicians in the town of Bremen. The musical themes of the fairy tale and the Bremen Mask can go hand in hand, and would make sense as to why the mask was called that in the first place.

1 The Game's Biggest Side Quest (Anju's Anguish) Came From The Taepodong Crisis In North Korea

The longest side quest in the game by far would be Anju's Anguish, the quest with Anju and Kafei. The quest spans out all three days of the game and requires multiple uses of the Song of Time to complete it in it's entirety. Not only that, you have to do the quest twice to get all of the rewards from it! The inspiration for the quest would come from an unexpected source...the Taepodong Crisis in North Korea. In an interview with Nintendo Dream, Eiji Aonuma stated that the idea to have a quest relating to a wedding when the moon is crashing down came from attending a wedding for a staff member. It was mentioned how it was odd they were celebrating a wedding when missiles could rain down that very day. And thus Anju's Anguish was born...