Like zellinkda said, don't feel bad about that. There are plenty of stories I enjoy
because they are dark. There have been happy moments during manga or movies I've seen where I literally was upset they didn't kill a character because it would have been better for the plot and character development if they had. Darkness in a story isn't always a bad thing.
That said I'm with Hero of Time. It's important to note that which story is darkest is a highly personal thing, because that depends highly on personal feelings, but to me Twilight Princess is a far darker tale. The key for me is that Majora's Mask's darkest moments rely on dread, whereas Twilight Princess' darkest moments are of melancholy or sorrow. Fear is not as contrary to happiness as sadness is. When you're afraid, you can stave the fear off by laughing. When you're sad, it's pretty much the exact opposite of happiness or laughter.
Majora's Mask isn't dark to me because its dark elements don't counteract its happiness as much; it's balanced. Twilight Princess isn't to me. I can't say whether or not my assessment is mostly personal or not, but it's definitely how I feel.
I've also never found Majora's Mask to be that dark of a game to begin with. I never felt it was dark or depressing even
once throughout my many times playing it. I'm completely serious.
I think he was a little exaggerated, but I can't stop thinking it could be true, after all in my own opinion, the game never shows any happy or cheerful moments until the sweet end. And oh dear God, MM happens to be my favourite game, and I'm a little sad due to the fact my friend could be the one with reason...
I just found out my favourite game may be a sadistic/cruel/whatever thing...
Anyone here disagrees with my friend and can point out a moment of happiness in the game? Because... If the game really has no good, happy moments until the end... I'll never play it the same way I used to.
I actually very much disagree there are no happy moments. First off, there's a lot of humor throughout, just like in any Zelda game. And I don't see how anyone could interpret most of the events as anything but happy. What happens when you first learn the Song of Healing? The scene where Link is cursed shows Link getting overrun and attacked by Deku Scrubs, but when he's cured, the Scrub shrinks away as Link waves, making peace with whatever afflicted him and making use of it as an ally.
When Link cures Darunia, he cries tears of joy at a last cheer of his heroism, acknowledged as what he was (a hero) even in his defeat, so he didn't have to feel shame, because Link finished what he set out to do and protected his people. Mikau's mission was accomplished in exactly the same way, and he even, in a spiritual way, got to play with the Indigo Gos one more time when Link returned to Zora Hall after Great Bay Temple. Igos du Ikana, the evil ghostly king of Ikana, was cured of his evil and recognized what he had done wrong and overcame all his regret, and virtually the same was true of Sharp.
See, Majora's Mask is a game about death. That's absolutely true. That's pretty much entirely what the game is about.
But it's about death not in the evil, dark sense, but the spiritual sense. It's a game where death doesn't have to be bad. Death isn't just about ugliness. It's about peace, about passing on, about resolving your time on earth. Those are the themes that are present throughout the story of Majora's Mask. Every time I watch one of those Song of Healing scenes, I feel like crying not because they're sad but because they're beautiful. I think all of the scenes concluding each of the sidequests in the game are the same way... you help people. And they're happy because of it.
Majora's Mask is a game about the good and spiritualism in death, and a game about friendship. Friendship with those you help, with the Skull Kid. Even the children on the moon talk about friendship.
...gah I'm crying while I type. Lmao.
To me Majora's Mask is philosophical. Not dark. Not as dark as people make it out to be, anyway.