On Nov. 5, Nintendo held a Nintendo Direct, a digital press conference, for their video game lineup in 2015. Most of the games were previously revealed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) last June and only updates and new features were revealed. However, there was one brand new game revealed, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D for the Nintendo 3DS.
Following the reveal, the internet exploded with praise and excitement over their accomplishment. Nintendo stated that they have been working on the remake right after the release of Ocarina of Time 3D, but did not want to tell the public until they had a polished final product. They also said that the game would include more features, to the delight of many fans.
To understand the magnitude of the situation, one must start at the release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D in 2011. Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64 is often praised as one the most influential games of all time. When it was remade for the 3DS, fans were ecstatic. However, they also wanted more. They wanted a remake of Ocarina of Time’s sequel, Majora’s Mask, which is considered by many as the best Legend of Zelda game of all time, due its dark tone and atmosphere. Many people said that a remake would be easy since Majora’s Mask used the same exact game engine as Ocarina and that the original Majora’s Mask was released about two years after Ocarina.
That being said, Nintendo did not announce any plans to remake Majora’s Mask for the 3DS. In response, fans created an online petition dubbed Operation Moonfall to gain support for a remake (“Moonfall” refers to the premise of the game where the moon will fall and destroy the world). After a few days the petition gained 10,000 signatures, but still Nintendo did not announce anything. As the months went on, many more fans started expressing their support through videos or fan-created remakes of Majora’s Mask itself, but Nintendo still said nothing.
That is until a year ago with the release of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. In the game, there was an Easter egg referencing Majora’s Mask. A few months later, Masahiro Sakurai, the developer for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, revealed that Skull Kid, the main antagonist of Majora’s Mask, would appear in the new Super Smash Bros. game as an assist character. Even more hints at Majora’s Mask’s reveal continued to appear over the following months, including Zelda Williams appearing on stage at E3 with a Majora’s Mask replica. Ultimately, these hints culminated to the reveal of the long-awaited game last week, much to the relief of fans of the franchise.