The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask at 20 – still eerie and profound

The strangest, saddest Zelda stands out in the memories of those of us who played it as children - but it is just as remarkable today

It's Termina's terrifying moon that everyone remembers. Its grimacing, red-eyed stare looms large in the memory, summoning anxious recollections of hours spent watching its terrifying visage inch ever closer to the earth, of time slipping away.

Majora's Mask recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Sequel to the groundbreaking The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, it was released in April 2000, only 16 months after Ocarina's initial release. Much has been written about the motivations behind the game's unusually speedy development, not all of it in agreement, but an interesting consequence of this abbreviated production is that instead of producing new 3D models for the game, the developers reused the game engine and graphics from Ocarina. This gives Majora's Mask an uncanny mirror-world quality that enhances its themes of isolation, identity and transformation.