The Darkest Zelda Game Isn’t Majora’s Mask or Twilight Princess (2024)

Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess often receive the unique honor of being crowned the darkest games in the Zelda series, and understandably so. Aside from containing some of the most jarring visuals in the series, both of those games contain gameplay and story elements that are often violent, and sometimes downright scary. However, being "dark" isn't just about more mature-looking character designs or doomsday plot elements. Sometimes, the true darkness lies in the themes explored in a narrative, and what they tell an audience about its characters.

This latter sense of darkness is technically present in every Zelda game to some degree — Link's journey is always about overcoming the darkness that has overtaken Hyrule. However, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time doesn't get mentioned enough among the darkest Zeldas, simply because it doesn't wear its heart on its sleeve. No conversation around the darkness of any game in the Zelda series is complete without mentioning the moment the timeline was split forever. In fact, it is within that split that Ocarina of Time shines, because any light would only be blinding if there weren't some darkness to contrast it.

Updated by Timothy Blake Donohoo on August 27, 2024: The Legend of Zelda franchise has always been a major hit, and 3D titles such as Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask only increased this. Majora's Mask is also seen as one of the darkest entries in the series alongside The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. This is due to their themes, content and general tone, and to this day, they remain at the top of the list in terms of the ranking for the darkest Legend of Zelda game. Some newer entries might threaten this title, though some are certainly taking strides to keep the franchise lighthearted.

Majora's Mask And Twilight Princess Are Often Considered The Darkest Zeldas

Games About the Literal End of the World and a Parallel Twilight Realm Stand Out

There is no Legend of Zelda game that carries a more mysterious air than Majora's Mask. If the concept of wearing the faces of the dead as a mask wasn't enough, the idea that the world is doomed to end in three days is often enough to fuel any player's nightmares. Even so, Twilight Princess is the first game rated Teen in the Zelda series, and that fact in itself has been proof enough for many to conclude that it is the darkest entry in the franchise. It includes the most mature versions of Princess Zelda and Link yet, and even TP's version of the fairy companion, Midna, is an impish creature that looks more like a monster Link would fight in other games.

As dark as they are, it's likely that both Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess wouldn't be even half as dark as they were without Ocarina of Time. Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess are both direct continuations of Ocarina of Time 's story, and at least part of what makes each of those games dark has to do with the story arcs they carried over from their predecessor. For example, Majora's Mask's story follows directly from the ending of OoT as Link sets out to search for Navi. Similarly, Twilight Princess' Hero's Shade is actually the same Link from Ocarina of Time. These story beats show that things were never easy for the Hero of Time, and he likely had it the roughest out of any version of Link in the series.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The game follows Link - a young boy from the Kokori forest - who is told of great evil developing in the land of Hyrule and is set out on a quest to stop it

Action

Adventure

Franchise

The Legend of Zelda

Platform(s)

Nintendo 64 , GameCube

Released

November 21, 1998

Developer(s)

Nintendo

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Engine

Zelda 64 Engine

ESRB

E10+ for Everyone 10+: Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence, Suggestive Themes

See Also

Echoes of Wisdom announcement thread - Zelda Universe Forums

Ocarina Of Time Implies Link's Loss Of Innocence

Link Skips Over Seven Years of His Childhood to Save the Kingdom of Hyrule

When Link pulls the Master Sword from the Temple of Time and travels seven years into the future, his physical change in appearance serves as more than just a cool stylistic upgrade. In actuality, it clearly reflects his loss of innocence as his childhood is both physically and figuratively gone in that instant. Link is forced to become a hero at a young age in several Zeldas, but in no other game is the weight of his adventure shown with such distinct imagery. Even when he goes back in time and becomes a child once again, Link still retains the memories he gained in the future; and they ultimately lead to the sad events of Majora's Mask. This pain continues all the way beyond his death until Link appears as the Hero's Shade in Twilight Princess: by far the worst fate of any incarnation of Link.

The clearest indication of Link's loss of innocence upon returning to his child form is the loss of Navi, his fairy companion. In Kokiri Forrest where Link grew up, all Kokiri children are joined by a fairy companion of their own, and they never grow old. Because Link is not a Kokiri though, he will grow old, and now that his job is done in saving the world, Navi's is done as well. Even though Link is made a child once again, the possibility of regaining his childhood as a Kokiri is now impossible. He may look like a young boy again, but his child-like innocence is gone forever.

Link's Relationships Always End Tragically In Ocarina of Time

From Saria to Maron to Princess Zelda, Link is Constantly Forced to Put His Own Happiness Aside

Ocarina of Time is full of hopeful meetings with memorable characters whose parting is always a sweet sorrow. The first example of this kind of loss for Link is in the form of the Great Deku tree. The Deku Tree is like a father figure for Link, and despite his greatest efforts, Link is unsuccessful at rescuing him. While the Deku tree is reborn in the future timeline, because Link travels to the past to a time after the Deku Tree has already died, there is no indication that he is ever revived in Child Link's timeline.

The second major heartbreak Link suffers is with Saria, his childhood friend and, by all accounts, his first love. While their first parting ends hopefully with Link receiving the Fairy Ocarina, the ultimate result is Saria's tragic realization that neither of them will be able to return to the Forest like they were as children. The story goes largely in the same way for both Malon and Ruto who – despite the feelings they may have for Link – recognize that their responsibilities to others outweigh their personal feelings.

In each case, the one who can never give their side of the story is Link; and he never has to. It is just a given that Link's fate as the hero prevents him from pursuing any of the relationships in his life to their natural conclusion. The player is simply left to accept it as a fact of Link's relationship to the world, which is ultimately more important than any relationship with any single individual. Even Link's reunion with Princess Zelda at the end of the game is undercut by the fact that the version of Zelda Link grew to know and care for is the very one who sent him back to the past herself.

What's darkest about Link's relationships in Ocarina of Time, though, isn't the fact that he loses the people closest to him. Rather, it's that this is just the reality of his position as the hero and one which he is forced to accept. Even still, Link never truly gets over it, which is why he is so compelled to follow Navi into the Lost Woods in Majora's Mask. Link never got to experience the steps to maturity that would naturally come as a result of age and experience. That's the inevitable fate of every version of Link, though it's one that only Ocarina of Time and its sequels sufficiently explore.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is a 2000 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64.

Action

Adventure

Franchise

The Legend of Zelda

Platform(s)

Nintendo 64 , GameCube

Released

October 26, 2000

Developer(s)

Nintendo EAD

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Engine

Proprietary Engine

ESRB

E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence, Suggestive Themes

Ocarina Of Time's Ending Acknowledges The Relationship Between Light And Darkness

There Can Be No Link Without a Ganondorf

The most interesting aspect of the ending for Ocarina of Time is that there are essentially two of them. Because of the nature of the story, which would later result in the infamous Zelda timeline split, the game actually has two endings that run parallel to each other and occur simultaneously. What's most surprising about these endings when examined closer is that they both express opposing themes and imagery. In the future timeline, the battle is over and good has triumphed over evil. Even so, the destruction of the kingdom itself has already occurred, and the hero who saved the world has disappeared forever. Conversely, the past timeline shows the true battle never coming to be, the land of Hyrule being saved, but Link facing personal conflicts as the only individual in that version of the world who actually endured the battle. In other words: the hero is gone from the future, but the conflict there is resolved.

Inversely, the hero is there in the past, but his own inner conflict goes unresolved. These dichotomies make Ocarina of Time's ending all the more powerful, as it explores the true outcome of any conflict. Namely, that there are winners and there are losers, and even within those groups, the winners take losses, and the losers achieve victories. In that way, Ocarina of Time is both the darkest and brightest of any Zelda game, purely because it most explicitly explores that duality. In the outwardly "darker" games in the series like Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess, the darkness is less effective because it is the rule instead of the exception. Even though the darkness of Ganon is destroyed in the future, that darkness is not really gone; it is still present within Link. Ocarina of Time never entirely does away with the darkness,instead allowing it to coexist with the light from which it is inseparable.

This contrasts with Majora's Mask because, despite the dark imagery that permeated that game, Link has indisputably rescued Termina from certain doom and the festival continues as scheduled. Twilight Princess has an even clearer negation of the darkness: the gate between the Twilight world and Hyrule is broken, separating the darkness from the light forever. Whether fans feel that Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess, or any other Zelda is the darkest game in the series, that's ultimately only part of the message. Every game has an inherent darkness that is vital to its narrative. It's that darkness that Link has to overcome as the hero, because there is always the potential for light implied in any shadow.

Will Any Game Rival Majora's Mask as the Darkest Zelda Game?

Many of the "main" Zelda games in the past decade have taken on a darker, more serious tone than ever. This evokes both Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess, both of which were some of the most popular entries in the series. Nevertheless, there are always caveats, with other games balancing things out tonally. For instance, for all the dark lore and backstory revealed in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, there was a strong sense of both color and whimsy. This meant that previous titles still compete for the role of the darkest Zelda game compared to these new entries.

Likewise, the newest game in the series goes in a totally opposite direction. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom puts Zelda in the driver's seat as she sets out to protect Hyrule on her own. The game has a stylized aesthetic that resembles the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, making it appear "kiddie" and cartoonish, even more so than The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Thus, it's highly unlikely to be the darkest Zelda game ever and will probably be far more lighthearted than most of the previous games. As a result, fans will have to wait for something more along the lines of Majora's Mask to scratch their dark Zelda itch.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

Adventure

OpenCritic Reviews

Franchise

The Legend of Zelda

Platform(s)

Switch

Released

September 26, 2024

Developer(s)

Nintendo

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Engine

Havok

ESRB

E10+ For Everyone 10+

The Legend of Zelda

Begun in 1986, The Legend of Zelda franchise follows Link, Princess Zelda and other heroes in video games and other media.

Created by

Shigeru Miyamoto , Takashi Tezuka

First Film

The Legend of Zelda

First TV Show

The Legend of Zelda

Video Game(s)

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask , The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD , The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword , The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks , The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time , The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes , The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening , The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild , The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom