There’s no denying that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake looks weird. Whether you think it skews too far into the direction of realism or you’re bawling your eyes out over how good Hyrule looks all these decades later, it’s strange to see such a distinct and recognizable game look like this. And I’m hoping that it’s received well, because I would love to see the same treatment applied to Ocarina of Time’s incredibly strange and dark sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, if only too see just how messed up that moon is going to look.
It’s possible you’ve never played Majora’s Mask but will immediately recognize one of its primary antagonists: a menacing and ever-present moon that is slowly hurtling towards Clock Town over the span of three days. As time progresses, its creepy grin edges closer and closer to the ground, a constant reminder of the impending doom that only you can stop. It’s a striking design that, alongside the equally iconic design of the titular Majora’s Mask, gives such a different look and feel to the majesty of Hyrule in Ocarina of Time.
While the Nintendo 3DS remake offered a way to see this menancing moon in more detail, I really can’t wait to see what Nintendo can do if it decides to go down the same route as its most recent remake. Based on the footage in the latest Nintendo Direct, faces seem to be a divisive topic when it comes to talking about the look of Ocarina of Time. Young Link has an incredible amount of detail to the point of uncanniness, and that extends to an arresting first look at young Zelda that stood out (to me at least) as the strangest interpretation of the lot. There are many others that look a lot better–adult Link and Sheik look pretty great–but these are all characters that were designed to be friendly and inviting.
Majora’s Mask, by contrast, has characters designed to look the exact opposite, meaning we could probably see some truly alarming recreations that would fit perfectly with the tone of the game. And it’s not just the moon, either. There’s a whole host of freaky Clock Town residents that I would love to see in this style. The deranged mask salesman that swaps between eerily happy to eyes-wide crazed. The all-legs-and-no-body giants that you summon to stop the moon’s impedning collision. The ghostly form of Kamaro as he roams Termina Field. And every single body-contorting transformation Link goes through when equipping the handful of masks you find during your adventure.
There are so many opportunities to really lean into the haunting nature of Majora’s Mask in ways that this new visual design might complement more than attempting to recreate the splendor of Hyrule, but it could also be informed by how Nintendo attempts to tackle the areas (or, times) when it isn’t so magical. For those who know, Ocarina of Time takes a turn around halfway through, and some of the horror elements that went on to define Majora’s Mask are experimented with in some effective ways. Without spoiling anything beyond that, I’m most excited to see how these areas are adapted, especially since they were so effectively creepy with previous technical constraints.
Regardless of what you think about how Ocarina of Time looks, this is fertile ground for Nintendo to continue experimenting with. And while it’s less likely that we’ll get a continuous stream of remakes akin to Capcom’s treatment of Resident Evil, I really do hope we at least just get one more.
