After more than 25 years of The Legend of Zelda, the Master Sword has lost its shine. I’m not talking about the countless times Link has literally had to repair or restore the sword. It’s just that I’ve personally gotten a little bored with it. Although designs vary, many versions simply adapt the standard blade with the wide edge and the blue handle with wings. It’s great and all, but it can feel a bit basic and formulaic.
That’s why I’ve always had a soft spot for Zelda games where Link isn’t allowed to use the Master Sword. Link wields the White Sword The Minish hood and just a regular sword in it Link’s awakening. These still bore me, but there’s another game where the Master Sword doesn’t appear: The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. In fact, Majora’s mask gave fans the coolest swords in the series’ history and brought out a new, dark side to the franchise.
Of Majora’s mask, directors Eiji Aonuma and Yoshiaki Koizumi delivered the strange darling of the series. In it, Link is not in Hyrule, but in the floundering world of Termina. Any Zelda game can feel bleak in his own way. But even today, Majora’s mask feels surprisingly transgressive for a Zelda game. It allows Link to fail – and fail again – in his role as hero. In Ocarina of TimeLink jumps through time to save Hyrule. In Majora’s mask, the most he can do is afford himself a few days before a cataclysmic round-toothed moon grimaces above him. And the premise gave the developers the perfect setup to get creative with Link’s powers and especially his sword.
Instead of just using standard tools like weapons, Link collects masks that he uses as items. They all contain the spirit of a dead character, and some even allow Link to physically transform into the likeness of the deceased soul. These objects feel cursed with power. In the cutscenes that trigger when he puts one on, Link puts on a mask – one that resembles a Goron’s face – and screams in pain as he takes on his new body. These new bodies increase the number of powers Link has and, in one specific case, give him an exceptionally cool sword.
(Ed. remark: This post contains spoilers for the end of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.)
At the very end of the game, Link can obtain the Fierce Deity Mask, which allows him to wield the corresponding Fierce Deity Sword. It is a gigantic double helix blade that spins around itself and can fire discs of light. The sword and its associated persona help Link take on the final boss battle in the game and give him a tremendous amount of power. As for the basic sword analysis, it looks and feels so cool. It’s no wonder that later games, such as Breath of the wild And Tears of the kingdom, brought it back. The Fierce Deity mask also shows us a new side of Link’s swordsmanship.
Image: Nintendo/Nintendo EDP via BeardBear/YouTube
The Fierce Deity Mask gives Link unprecedented power, but at a price. He becomes a warrior who is animalistic and monstrous. When the child wearing Majora’s Mask gives Link the cursed item, he claims that Link is the “bad guy.” According to a fan Wiki, the original Japanese language version refers to the mask as worn by an “oni” or an ogre. Even Link seems daunted by his power, and the description asks, “Could the power of this dark mask be as dark as Majora?”
The Fierce Deity sword isn’t the only cool sword you’ll appear in Majora’s mask. I’m also a fan of the rainbow leaf and black rose etchings on the Great Fairy Sword. But personally, I like the Fierce Deity sword because it shows a side we rarely see in The Legend of Zelda. This allows Link to win the final boss fight, but he sacrifices his humanity during the fight. If you use the mask, he wins not as himself, but with a borrowed monstrous power. It sounds like something Ganondorf would be more likely to do, and less like the hero’s antics. It’s a level of depth rarely shown around the swords in The Legend of Zelda, and for that (and the fact that it looks cool) it’s always been one of my favorites.