The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask[a]is a 2000action-adventure gamedeveloped and published byNintendofor theNintendo 64. It was the secondThe Legend of Zeldagame to use3D graphics, followingOcarina of Time(1998). Designed by a creative team led byEiji Aonuma,Yoshiaki Koizumi, andShigeru Miyamoto,Majora's Maskwas completed in less than two years. It featured enhanced graphics and several gameplay changes, but reused a number of elements and character models, which the game's creators called a creative decision made necessary by time constraints.
The story takes place two months afterOcarina of Time. It followsLink, who reaches a parallel kingdom, Termina, and becomes embroiled in a quest to prevent the moon from falling into the world in three days' time. The game introduced several novel concepts, revolving around the perpetually repeating three-day cycle and the use of various masks that can transform Link into different beings. As the player progresses through the game, Link also learns to play numerous melodies on his Ocarina, which allow him to control the flow of time or open passages to four temple dungeons. Characteristic of theZeldaseries, completion of the game involves successfully traversing through several dungeons, each of which contain a number of complex puzzles and enemies. On the Nintendo 64,Majora's Mask—unlikeOcarina of Time—required theExpansion Pak, which provided additional memory for more refined graphics and greater flexibility in generating on-screen characters.