Anju and Kafei Sidequest Meant to Make Majora’s Mask Feel More Mature

Anyone who’s played Majora’s Mask will be able to tell you that, while it can be enjoyed by all ages, there are a number of themes that can be better viewed through the eyes of an adult. With death and despair creeping in on the player throughout their adventure through stories filled with both loneliness and hopelessness, it’s not surprising to see darker and more mature themes tackled. One of the most touching sidequests brings these elements together, and Eiji Aonuma has revealed the intent and origin of that particular story arc.

“The inspiration for that particular sidequest actually came shortly after Ocarina of Time when I went to the wedding party for one of the members of our staff. At the time, we were thinking about what sort of events we could include in Majora’s Mask. And I was talking with Mr. [Yoshiaki] Koizumi, who directed this game with me. He’s now working on 3D Mario games. And we said to each other, ‘I can’t recall seeing wedding portrayed in a game like this before. It would be really interesting if you had three days leading up to the wedding but there was this horrible cataclysm happening alongside it.’ That could be really impactful, we thought.

“Well, at the time, when we were thinking about what sort of events to include in Majora’s Mask, we knew that we wanted to age up the themes of the events a little bit and get into a slightly more adult feeling drama moment here and there. And so I think as a natural outcome of that you end up with slightly more difficult to understand sequences. And slightly more mature themes coming out along the way. So, certainly the item trading in Ocarina was very easy to understand, but this ended up quite a bit more complicated.

“The way we thought about it at the time was, because our target is slightly older—we’re thinking about adults—this is the sort of thing that adults would clue into and get it a little more easily. But, in the final product, I think it is a little difficult to understand in some cases, and that’s why I’m really happy to have the opportunity in this new 3DS version to make it such that the Bomber’s Notebook makes it so that you can understand the sequence a little better and make it easier to accomplish.” — Eiji Aonuma

It’s rather incredible to learn how real-life inspirations led to this memorable story, and I’m sure many would agree that the story of Anju and Kafei accomplished its intended goal quite well. For those of you who originally played this quest as a child find it more meaningful now that you are grown? Do any other sidequests stand out in this regard to you more?

Source: Kotaku

Art Source: Zalohero