History Trivia / TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask

* This is the first entry in the core series[[note]]If we go outside of the core series, the first instance would be ''VideoGame/BSTheLegendOfZelda'' for the UsefulNotes/{{Satellaview}} UsefulNotes/SuperFamicom, in which a boy or girl avatar was playable[[/note]] in which the player gets to directly control a character other than Link, even if only for a very brief section: Kafei, in one moment during his sidequest.

* AbsurdlyShortProductionTime: The game received its Japanese release in April 2000, just seventeen months after the release of its prequel ''Ocarina of Time''. For reference, every mainline 3-D ''Zelda'' title since then has required 3-6 years of development time. The original plan was to re-release ''Ocarina of Time'' with higher difficulty and scrambled levels, which they later did when porting it to the UsefulNotes/GameCube as ''Ocarina of Time Master Quest''. Consequently, the development team was given a very small window to make a sequel, leading to elements like the three-day time loop mechanic, reused character models in the parallel world of Termina, and only four dungeons compared to ''Ocarina of Time's'' nine. Against all odds, the game garnered the same amount of widespread acclaim as its predecessor.

** Instead of the Fierce Deity's Mask, there was going to be a mask in the game that would have let Link turn into his adult self from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' (evidence of its existence can be seen in really early screenshots). This mask was scrapped for being mostly useless since all major equipment could be used by young Link this time around. Remnants of this idea include the fact that Fierce Deity Link reuses adult Link's voice clips and model (not textures), as well as an unused mask depicting Link's regular face.

** Instead of the Fierce Deity's Mask, there was going to be a mask in the game that would have let Link turn into his adult self from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' (evidence of its existence can be seen in really early screenshots). This mask was scrapped for being mostly useless since all major equipment could be used by young Link this time around. Not wanting to let the "adult Link" aspect go to waste, however, the developers put in the Fierce Deity's Mask instead as a OneHundredPercentCompletion bonus that's required to use on the final boss in order to see the GoldenEnding. Remnants of this idea include the fact that Fierce Deity Link reuses adult Link's voice clips and model (not textures), as well as an unused mask depicting Link's regular face.

** The game began development for the N64 add-on called the 64DD (or the "Nintendo 64 Disk Drive"), and was going to make use of some of the add-on's features. The game would have used a real time clock instead of the in game one, and was going to use a full 7 day week instead of three days like the final game (the 7-day cycle was later shown during the 2020 ContentLeak), but these were dropped from the final product since there were difficulties trying to get these features to work on standard N64 hardware (even with the required RAM expansion pak). There was also a proposed feature regarding being able to literally buy time from a merchant, but the change to the clock system and lessening of days made the merchant seem less important.

* This is the first entry in the core series[[note]]If we go outside of the core series, the first instance would be ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaISatellaview'' for the UsefulNotes/{{Satellaview}} UsefulNotes/SuperFamicom, in which a boy or girl avatar was playable[[/note]] in which the player gets to directly control a character other than Link, even if only for a very brief section: Kafei, in one moment during his sidequest.

* MagnumOpusDissonance: The 3DS remake highlighted that the playerbase and the developers have a disconnect in how much of a SacredCow ''Majora's Mask'' actually was. Some fans praised the game's higher difficulty, darker atmosphere, and changes to the general ''Zelda'' gameplay conventions. On the other hand, the developers and some of the playerbase (which included some of those developers, even Eiji Aonuma himself) saw these points as negatives which they used the remake to address, which garnered mixed reactions.

** [[https://youtu.be/Hj6cXziHpjQ?t=79 The first trailer]] for the 3DS remake shows that the sun would have started rising a few in-game hours before the moon collides with Clock Town, like the original version. In the game proper, the sun never rises again once the final night starts, with the sky becoming into an ominous dark red all over Termina[[labelnote:note]]The only area that is exempt from this is Ikana Canyon, which will have the sun begin rising at 5 AM just like the base game, but only if Twinmold has not been defeated yet[[/labelnote]].

* ThrowItIn: Link [[MarshmallowHell hugging Cremia and having his face pressed against her chest]] as an alternate reward for successfully completing the milk delivery sidequest was born from an error. Link was positioned too close to Cremia during the animation process, but the team decided to keep it in because they thought it would appease their mostly young male audience.

** Shigeru Miyamoto told ''Famitsu'' that there was going to be an enhanced fishing mini-game. In the game, Link would be fishing for the legendary Jabu-Jabu--the Terminan version of the whale/fish deity from ''Ocarina of Time'' of the same name. If he managed to catch the giant fish [[RealityWarper truly bizarre things would happen, such as halting the fall of the Moon, or rupees raining from the sky]]. The minigame wasn't implemented partially because Kazuaki Morita -- the programmer who would have worked on it and did the original fishing minigame -- thought [[SidetrackedByTheGoldSaucer it would distract players from the main quest too much]]. [[invoked]] Fishing would later be implemented in the remake, and it ''is'' possible to catch a rare fish that resembles a smaller Jabu-Jabu named "Lord Chapu-Chapu," though nothing spectacular happens when you do.

* MagnumOpusDissonance: The 3DS remake highlighted that the playerbase and the developers have a disconnect in how much of a SacredCow ''Majora's Mask'' actually was. Many fans praised the game's higher difficulty, darker atmosphere, and changes to the general ''Zelda'' gameplay conventions. On the other hand, the developers and the minority of the playerbase (which included some of those developers, even Eiji Aonuma himself) saw these points as negatives which they used the remake to address, which garnered mixed reactions.

** Data mining has also revealed [[http://www.zeldauniverse.net/zelda-news/majoras-mask-contains-two-hidden-unused-cutscenes/ removed cutscenes]] that were apparently supposed to be a Great Fairy teaching Link about the Magic Meter [=and/or=] how to use the SpinAttack. In addition to [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything looking more than a little suspect]], it was also somewhat pointless since Link would already know these things from the previous game. The cutscenes remain unused in the remake.

** Early screenshots display various changes to textures throughout the game. A small example is that the Deku Pipes originally were colored white instead of brown, but a much bigger example is some of the wall textures for both inside and outside of Clock Town. The textures originally were a bit more surreal with weird-looking suns, but in the final game the walls textures instead got somewhat less surreal looking designs. Perhaps another very interesting change is that Link was originally going to have the Kokiri Shield from Ocarina of Time return in place of the Heroes Shield (or perhaps as an alternate starting shield), and the Kokiri Sword originally looked exactly like how it did in Ocarina.

** Shigeru Miyamoto told ''Famitsu'' that there was going to be an enhanced fishing mini-game. In the game, Link would be fishing for the legendary Jabu-Jabu--the Terminan version of the whale/fish deity from ''Ocarina of Time'' of the same name. If he managed to catch the giant fish [[RealityWarper truly bizarre things would happen, such as halting the fall of the Moon, or rupees raining from the sky]]. The minigame wasn't implemented partially because the programmer who would have worked on it thought [[SidetrackedByTheGoldSaucer it would distract players from the main quest too much]]. [[invoked]] Fishing would later be implemented in the remake, and it ''is'' possible to catch a rare fish that resembles a smaller Jabu-Jabu named "Lord Chapu-Chapu," though nothing spectacular happens when you do.

** The 3DS version has one with a Skull Kid statue in the US. The European version has a [=SteelBook=] case, an artbook, and a pin.

** The original was released in the US just before Halloween, which is appropriate given the game's mask motif and dark themes.

* NewWorkRecycledGraphics: To cut down on development time and resources, the game recycles many assets from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', most notably reusing character models for the majority of the extras. One area where the developers goofed with this is the arch at the entrance to Romani Ranch, which is the same as the one at the entrance to Kakariko Village in ''Ocarina of Time'', including sign with Hylian text that translates to "Welcome to Kakariko Village''. The 3DS remake fixes this, however.

** Do you live in an NTSC region? Want your hands on that LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition with its steelbook case, poster, and badge? Tough. Especially painful since the 3DS is region-locked.
** On the other hand, the Skull Kid figurine is only available in the U.S. LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition.

** Shigeru Miyamoto told ''Famitsu'' that there was going to be an enhanced fishing mini-game. In the game, Link would be fishing for the legendary Jabu-Jabu--the Terminan version of the whale/fish deity from ''Ocarina of Time'' of the same name. If he managed to catch the giant fish [[RealityWarper truly bizarre things would happen, such as halting the fall of the Moon, or rupees raining from the sky]]. The fishing minigame would later be implemented in the remake, and it ''is'' possible to catch a rare fish that resembles a smaller Jabu-Jabu named "Lord Chapu-Chapu," though nothing spectacular happens when you do.

** [[https://youtu.be/Hj6cXziHpjQ?t=79 The first trailer]] for the 3DS remake shows that the sun would have started rising a few in-game hours before the moon collides with Clock Town, like the original version. In the final, the sun never rises again once the final night starts and the sky stays blood red for the entire night.

* This is the first entry in the core series[[note]]If we go outside of the core series, the first instance would be ''BS Zelda no Densetsu'' for the UsefulNotes/{{Satellaview}} UsefulNotes/SuperFamicom, in which Princess Zelda was playable[[/note]] in which the player gets to directly control a character other than Link, even if only for a very brief section: Kafei, in one moment during his sidequest.