The idea of reliving the same period of time over and over again until you get it right was also explored in my favorite video game of all time, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. In the game, the hero Link finds himself in a parallel "shadow" universe filled with doppelgangers of his friends from home in Hyrule. This new world, Termina, finds itself a few days away from a New Year's celebration, but, thanks to the story's villain, it is also a few days away from total annihilation. Link has the ability to relive the final three days of the world in order to prevent the disaster from occurring.
Along the way, Link discovers that it's not just the world that needs saving, but the people in it. Although it isn't crucial to the overall plot, Link encounters many individuals with their own problems, and observes their daily schedules, giving him the knowledge necessary to make their lives better. This focus on human development is what keeps me coming back to the game, and it's tragic themes are excellently captured in the music.
The group Zelda Reorchestrated has devoted their time to giving classic Zelda games a necessary orchestrated update. So I'll be choosing my 13 favorite pieces of music from the game, interpreted by the group in 2007.
(Side Note: There is also a group of fans that have been working on composing an opera set to the game's music. It's beautiful, but unfinished, so I won't be able to add it to my mix yet.)
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Nothing makes me more excited for a new game than this music. This is the music that plays as you start up the game, incorporating the main Clock Town theme, as well as hinting at the foreboding doom that is about to befall everybody with Majora's theme.
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After crossing the portal from the familiar Hyrule to the unknown Termina, Link finds himself inside the mystical Clock Tower. It is the exact center of the new dimension and it is the only place where time doesn't flow. You start each new cycle emerging from this tower, and it's always a great place to take a breather or chat with the mysterious Happy Mask Salesman.
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Clock Town becomes your new home for the next three endlessly repeating days. Like Punxsutawney, PA for Phil, this is where you are trapped until you break the cycle. You grow to love this place and all the people in it, as a result.
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Your first goal is to visit the Great Fairy to help free you from your new wooden Deku Scrub form. While this music is recycled from Ocarina of Time, it is a classic theme of tranquility and has even found its way into the greatest film of all time, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
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This is another beautiful escape from the doom surrounding Clock Town. From this secret hideaway, you can observe the fierce moon that is about to crash into the town.
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Or maybe you'd rather drink your problems away. Since this is a kid's game, there isn't any explicit alcohol reference, but it's clear by the way people react to the special "milk" at the bar that it has some powerful effects that help you forget your misery. Kids aren't technically allowed to drink the special Chateau Romani milk, but even little Romani at the ranch is allowed a taste on the final day of life.
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Day 2 of the cycle amps up the pressure that there isn't much time left to get things done. The jaunty town tune is sped up and the rainy weather just keeps everyone in low spirits.
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The wooden Deku Scrubs (Nuts in Japan) are a fun species. They first appeared in OoT as an enemy, but they have a whole kingdom in Termina. You start the game transformed into a young Scrub and you retain the ability to switch between forms as you progress through the game. It is at the palace where it is heavily implied that you have taken the form of the missing (and now deceased) son of the king's butler.
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More music is borrowed from OoT as is practically the whole ranch. It is here where characters flee the town to save themselves, and you also participate in defending the ranch against an alien invasion.
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I'm skipping over the Goron section of the game since most of that music is borrowed from OoT as well, but pirates are more exciting anyway! The aquatic Zora creatures are suffering the disappearance of their valued celebrity Mikau and we learn that the all-female Gerudo pirates have kidnapped his children. So you must infiltrate their fortress to get those kids back! I went with the redux version because it's so cool!
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It's the last day. The Clock Town theme tries to poke through and keep people moving along, but you can just feel the despair all around you.
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Game theorists love the mysterious Ikana section of the game. It is literally the valley of death, and we find the ruins of a once great tribe who somehow angered the gods and were doomed to live eternally as ghosts and zombies. This final temple is so odd, as it's mechanics require you to flip the tower itself upside down (so you can occasionally fall into THE SKY). This theme reminds us of the voices of the past as we work our way higher and higher towards heaven/hell.
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This is the pièce de résistance! If you're ever bold enough to stick around for the final hour of the world (or if you're about to fight Majora or you're waiting to watch the star-crossed lovers reunite for one final brief moment), then you hear this piece of music. It's so eerie walking around the nearly empty town. Everyone knows that death is nigh. Some have tried to flee, others are in denial, and some just accept their fate. It is a creepy yet memorable part of the game and it is my favorite piece of music in the whole story.
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