Which Game Was Darker, Majora's Mask or Twilight Princess?

[LolGames4U]

While I haven't mustered the courage to play Majora's Mask (I'm afraid of time limits and BEN scared the living crap out of me), I'm doing it this month! I will! I do think TP is extremely dark, with people actually dying and Twilight and Zant and all that stuff, but if Link doesn't stop the moon in MM, the WORLD ENDS! So Majora's Mask.

 

[Hero of Time]

Which is Darker - Majora's Mask or Twilight Princess?

Mods: If there is a thread like this (I didn't see one) please tell me.

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The Legend of Zelda series has always been light, fun, and in some instances childish; Wind Waker being a prime example. (Side note: I love Wind Waker) However, darkness in the Zelda series is something to be cherished. Let's compare the two darkest Zelda games, Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess.

Majora's Mask

Have you ever been sent on a mission to save a land you've never been to in only three days? I didn't think so. The compelling mystery and looming disaster are what make the darkness of Majora's Mask amazing. It's crazy to think that when you're in Clocktown for the first time with it's jolly tune swirling around as Deku Link that there's any possibility of something to take away the pleasure of the town. But then you look up, and there's a giant falling moon with an evil smile staring right at you. Is there anything scarier than that?

And then you take Skull Kid for an example. In Ocarina of Time, they were just weird little guys in the Lost Woods that would dance to Saria's Song (besides when you return as an adult). But in Majora's Mask, he was wearing Majora's Mask, and it completely changed his personality. He became evil. Right from the start he took the Ocarina of Time and Epona. Then he sends the moon at Termina, thus beginning Link's quest. But all along, you know he is only doing this because of the influence of the evil mask he is wearing, and you are scared to see what he will do with it on.

Majora's Mask had it's light moments as well, and many more than Twilight Princess, but that only helped to exaggerate the darkness and evil moments of the game, of which there were many.

Twilight Princess

After a mere hour or two of playing Twilight Princess, you are pulled into the Twilight Realm. Not only that, but you are turned into a black wolf and locked in a cell. Then this strange imp, Midna, comes and says she'll help you. Right from the get-go, Twilight Princess has dark and mysterious elements.

Throughout the game, you are sent to the Twilight Realm, where strange black particles float about, Hylians are only spheres of light, barbaric beasts roam and on several occasions lock you into battles that can only be won if you kill multiple of them at once. Fittingly, the ruler of the Twilight, Zant, is dark and strange as well. He wears a silver mask with a tongue on it (Ghirahim mask?), and under it he has a creepy pale face and sharp teeth. He has a weird relationship with Midna that is unraveled as the game goes on, and tries to kill Link and Midna several times throughout the game.

Almost all the enemies in Twilight Princess are dark and for lack of a better word, monstrous. The bosses are as well. Every location in the game has dark elements. Light parts of Twilight Princess are few and far between.


In conclusion, both Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess have many dark parts, and far more than any other Zelda game. But which do you think is darker? Why?

I personally think Twilight Princess is darker because of the consistency of the darkness. But I would love to hear what you guys think.

 

[Hylian Knight]

I have to agree with you on this one TP much darker than MM and another thing I think you turn this into a Poll Thread.

 

[Reaca]

I think that Majora's Mask is way darker than Twilight Princess because you are always reminded about the time limit in MM everytime you look up and see that demonic moon looking down at you. I personally think that the only reason that MM doesn't seem as dark is because of the graphic capabilities of the N64.

 

[Xinnamin]

There are actually several threads on this topic, most of which are long dead, one of which dead only a month but fairly long so I'll just have these two merged.

My opinion regarding this topic, well, it depends on how you look at it. I feel that MM was darker but TP had the potential to surpass MM.

The reason MM was so dark, I feel, is because the game did such a great job with the character interactions, Anju and Kafei being the obvious example, but others as well. Cremia losing both her livelihood and in effect her sister due to her refusal to believe They existed. The postman desperate to flee but unable to leave his job for his sense of duty. Darmani and Mikau's deaths and the Butler losing his son to some unknown fate. The game really makes you feel connected with the characters, and as a result you sympathize with them and their apocalyptic fate.

TP, however, touches on darker themes in my opinion. There's a prevailing theme of fear in the first half, with all the people cowering in fear at the shadow insects in the Twilight, the children huddled and crying in Kakariko, the adults back in Ordon grieving the kidnappings of their kids (Beth's dad pops to mind). Then when Midna nearly dies, that really had a sense of fear in it with her pathetic looking state, and by that time the player really started to at least build enough of a connection with her to really feel an impact (I did at least). Honestly, watching a character you care about in that near death state struggling to breathe is, in my opinion, darker than walking in on some ghost whose story you don't know until later. A fear of the unknown, I feel, is darker than a fear of a known doom, since what's to say the people of Hyrule didn't think the world was coming to an end? The problem is we don't know what they were thinking the whole time, there was never enough character interaction for us to care about the characters' fear. Plus, after the Master Sword, TP never really revisited that fear aspect until perhaps the last 2 dungeons. If TP had fleshed out the characters some more, then it could have easily surpassed MM in terms of its dark themes.

As it stands, TP was heading in the right direction for those dark themes, but completely dropped off in the second half; wasted potential really. MM kept up the dark aspects constant from the beginning (with everything the Skull Kid put poor Link through) all the way to the end (what with the spine-chilling ascent into the Moon) and everywhere in between, which is why overall MM still wins in this department.

 

[Abbey]

Well, Twilighht Princess seemed to be a bit more melodramatic than "dark."
My vote goes to Majoras Mask, because you really shouldn't torture cute monkeys. Other reasons too, but I dont feel like hiding spoilers right now.

 

[Wolf Sage]

Majora's Mask was kind "screwed up and twisted"...in an effective way. It's like, one of those games that spawns urban legends. I can't even put into words how surreal I found this game. :shake: Also, the theories that result from this game often give birth to some twisted topics (i.e. The Tower of Babel theory *shudders*).

 

[JerônimoLink]

I think that the beginning of Twilight Princess was darker than Majora's Mask itself, but from the half on, Hyrule was fred from Twilight, and Majora's Mask got darker, so I think that they are tied.

 

[A Link In Time]

Majora's Mask was darker by far. The whole atmosphere of the game and knowing the moon would fall and call the people of Termina in 72 hours contributed to this. Also, the music perfectly complemented this mood.

 

[Ventus]

Majora's Mask always was the 'darker' of the two to me. The crazed theme, people dying, all sorts of sadness. TP had...only a few emotional moments, it just appeared dark because the twilight realm literally was dark, but that's about it. I vote Majora's Mask.

 

[Mastik]

Twilight Princess wasn't dark. it was just lifeless and boring. no colors, no interesting character designs (minus a few) the story felt like it's desperate to be dark and never got to the point when you felt your death coming like in MM. The only time i felt any emotion during the game was when Midna almost died. |The great thing abut MM atmosphere is that it didn't try to be dark, it just was. the feel of the game perfectly matched it's story and concept

 

[Ronin]

Majora's Mask was a dark game from the very start. As Link is traveling through the gloom of the Lost Woods out of nowhere a strange masked figure appears and events flow toward a great chase which ends at the bottom of a Clock Tower. As Link walks outside it after being bidden by the Happy Mask Salesman to retrieve his mask, he enters into the bleakest moment of his life. All around him citizens of Clock Town are bustling in preparation for their celebration, the Carnival of Time. Except nothing is getting done. They're not actually working, but rather walking around in dazed bewilderment or staring wide-eyed at the Moon that seems to be descending toward them. Link moves on with his journey and finds bizarre occurrences outside Clock Town, all which seem to be going off from the Clock Tower beneath the Moon. Upon (literally) looking closer into it he discovers that the Skull Kid--the one who stole the Salesman's Mask--is the perpetrator of all the misfortune. The only way he can terminate the apocalyptic ongoings is by traveling back in time and freeing the Four Giants, who are the solitary match against the Moon, but not the malice of Majora incarcerated within the Mask that started and aspired to end every living thing.

Twilight Princess, I don't think, was meant to be an utterly dark game. Certainly it had shadowy elements throughout, but nothing was there to back up that all the way to the end, unless you count Ganondorf. Or, Ganon is the reason its potential to be darker was removed. As it was the story should have ended with Zant. At the point where Ganon dropped in the darker aspects ceased. I believe keeping Zant the only villain would have given us more of a constant and apparent threat, just as the Moon was in MM. Nonetheless, this did happen when the forcefield enclosed Hyrule Castle; an ominous reminder wherein the ultimate enemy dwelt.

Altogether Majora's Mask was the darker title due to the consistent looming menace known as the Moon--and even the Skull Kid who drew it in. Both are still excellent game to me, though. I'm very loath to give either up, except to Skyward Sword, perhaps.

 

[Hanyou]

Majora's Mask is a significantly better game with a significantly better aesthetic in part because it is not so dark as Twilight Princess. It has a fairy tale aesthetic, and it never takes itself too seriously.

Frankly, MM's less-dark tone is far more suitable for the Zelda franchise. Twilight Princess tries too hard, and in the process only manages to be bland.

I voted for Twilight Princess. It's as dark as Zelda gets, and also as boring as Zelda gets.

 

[JuicieJ]

Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess are dark in two completely different ways. Majora's Mask is dark in that it's frantic and eerie, whereas Twilight Princess is all-out creepy and disturbing. I don't think it's fair to say either one is darker than the other. Their "darkness factors" are so different that I don't think they're even worth comparing to each other.

 

[Azure Kite]

Majora's Mask for many reasons.
The obvious reasons being the moon itself about to crash down onto a town of people, the time limit that stresses you and keeps reminding you when the world you're in will end, and the constant reminders in game other than the clock, such as the events in each new area you explore and the many deaths you encounter along the way.

But I think what makes it truly dark is the fact that the main villain honestly has no reason at all to do what it's doing. The villain itself is also questionable, and even reflects on its actions at times (specifically in the moon with the Moon Children). The villain is apathetic, confused, and insane, obviously, and still, no real specific reason for it to destroy Termina. Skull Kid wanted to destroy it because he felt lonely, abandoned and sad, and I think that's where the mask got the 'questions' in its head (the ones the Moon Children ask), but the Skull Kid had a reason. The mask just took his emotions, and when cut off from the Skull Kid's reason, it continued the action with no reason itself. Maybe Majora wanted to continue out the 'plan' Skull Kid had, I don't know, but really... it had no reason to. It started out with petty revenge and turned into emotionless actions with no reasoning, I guess.

Twilight Princess didn't really feel dark to me at all, and felt more 'dramatic', if anything. It had some sad moments and some dark moments as well, but it didn't really give off the vibe of a 'truly demented and dark game'. Zant had a reason for doing what he did, and Ganon always has a reason for doing what he does (usually the same one over and over). Majora's Mask felt truly demented and dark because Majora had no reason to do what it was doing, and the fact that the entire world of Termina would've been wiped off the face of whatever world it was in is a depressing thought, especially since Skull Kid started the course of destruction simply because he was depressed and angered.

But uhm... that's just my opinion...