You’ll see a short cutscene of the protagonist, Link, riding alone in the forest on his trusty steed, Epona. He looks rather depressed, or deep in thought. Two fairies then appear and scare the horse while Link is looking the other way, spooking Epona and causing Link to fall on the ground, knocking him unconscious. Come on, he’s suffered worse than that before!
Weird music introduces the Skull Kid, a rather odd character who comes and searches Link. After a moment, he finds the Ocarina of Time and plays a few notes. Awww, now he’s got his spit all over it! As he giggles at his new toy, the fairies will begin arguing in the background.
Link then wakes up and after a shake of the head to get his bearings again, he glares at Skull Kid who tries to hide the Ocarina behind his back. Link tries to grab him, but he easily jumps out of his grip and onto Epona. Link tries to tackle him, but only manages to get his leg. Epona, meanwhile, rides off, dragging Link along the ground. The scene changes and Link loses his grip as they round a corner, leaving Skull Kid home free with both the Ocarina and the horse. Eep, get up dude!
~ Lost Woods…? ~
Starting Area Now that you have gained control of your hero, get used to the controls. Use the Analog Stick to move around, press the A button to perform actions and interact with people and objects and press the B button to slash your sword. Test it out by slashing the bushes nearby. This is actually one of the best places to get cash early on in the game, so if you wish, you can stay for a bit and load up. You can enter the next area and return repeatedly to make the bushes reappear, thus being able to get a ton of rupees before you move on.
Jumping Tutorial When you’re done playing around, run through the stump that the Skull Kid disappeared into. This next area has a bunch of stumps sticking out of the ground and acts as a tutorial area, giving you a chance to practice your jumps. Simply run towards a ledge and Link will automatically jump (depending on how far you’re holding the Analog Stick). If you’ve played Ocarina of Time before this, you’ll undoubtedly drool at Link’s cool new flips.
Uh-Oh… Another short clip will begin of Link falling off of a ledge, after which you’ll get the privilege of watching a Windows 95 screensaver-worthy scene. Link lands on a pink flower and the Skull Kid will insinuate having done something horrible to Epona. Meany! It looks like he decides that Link’s horror at the previous comment is a gesture of war, because he takes this opportunity to send you in to a terrifying dream. Run away from the Deku, Link!
When the dream ends, Skull Kid giggles at Link’s new fashion statement. Well, that just sucks, doesn’t it? Tatl will try to stop you and lose her chance to stay with her buddies. Of course, that’s all your fault, right?
Opening Doors With A At long last, you will regain control of Link, who is now an incredibly short Deku Scrub whose head is disproportionately large compared to his body. Walk around and get used to spinning with A. When you’re ready, go up to the door and press A to go through.
Tatl Go around the corner and Tatl will run after you. She agrees to help you out… at least until you get back to Skull Kid. One-sided love, eh? You now have the option of pressing Up-C on the N64 version, or Right on the d-pad in the 3DS version, when near something of interest and Tatl will tell you about it if you wish. For those of you who have played the prequel to this game, Ocarina of Time, this means no more annoying interruptions for every single new thing you encounter.
Deku Flowers When you’re ready, stand atop the flower and you’ll see Tatl flash. You can press the button to get an explanation from Tatl if you wish. Press and hold the A button to dive into the flower, then aim with the Analog Stick and let go of A to shoot up and fly around using a flower in each hand. Who needs ladders? Fly over to the other side of the room and either wait for the “flower-power” to wear out or press A to drop down early. If you don’t make it to the platform, use the flowers to work your way back up and try again. Once you make it, go through the door.
Deku Nuts In this room, you’ll have to use these flowers to go from one island to the other. Get in the first flower and fly to the second platform. From here, there are two platforms ahead. Fly to the one on your left and open the large chest to get your very first item: Deku Nuts. While you won’t be fighting enemies for a little while yet, these are very useful things to have, allowing you to briefly stun foes and make them vulnerable to attacks.
To your right is a tree. The fourth platform is right behind it, so you can either try and fly around it, or go back to the second platform below and then go to the fourth platform. Once you make it, look off in the distance to see the fifth platform. Get in the flower and go around the tree, then straight for the platform. You should just be able to make it.
Tatl will inform you of the thingy over on the other side (attempting to teach you how to use either Z or L targeting). Check it out if you like, then fly over to the final platform. Press A to inspect the weird tree (looks like a Deku Scrub doesn’t it?) and go through the last entrance.
After going through a corridor with some crazy camera angles, you’ll enter a room where the door mysteriously closes behind you all on its own. It’s scary already! Check out the waterwheel and such, then run upstairs and make for the double doors.
As you approach them, however, a clip begins as the emotional Mask Salesman appears on stage behind Link. While a lot of the characters in Majora’s Mask have the same model design as the ones in Ocarina of Time, they are not really the same characters. This is one of those rare exceptions, as this guy is also from the land of Hyrule.
Apparently, he travels the world collecting masks of all sorts, but the Skull Kid stole a very important one from him: Majora’s Mask. Turns out, if you can get your “precious item” back, he’ll teach you how to return to your normal form! There’s just one thing: bring him Majora’s Mask. Oh, no problem! There’s another catch though; he’s leaving in three days, so you’ll have to do all this before you run out of time. Lovely; however, there’s actually a very important reason for this as you’ll soon find out…
In the 3DS version, the Mask Salesman will reference the nearby Sheikah Stone. Much like in Ocarina of Time 3D, if Link is ever stuck as to where to go, he can enter the Sheikah Stone to get a hint on what he needs to do next.
When he finally runs out of things to say, you’ll regain control of Link. Turn around and go through the double doors to take your first look at Clock Town.
Tingle’s Map After a short overview of the south end of Clock Town, Tatl will remind you of how ridiculous the Mask Salesman’s terms are, and also tell you to go see the Great Fairy.
You should explore a little and get used to Clock Town. It seems really big at first, but you’ll figure it out quickly enough. Talk to the townspeople and they’ll inform you of the giant, creepy moon that’s looming over the city. Well that’s just dandy, isn’t it? Also, everyone is preparing for the annual Carnival of Time which takes place in three days. Hmm…
From where you start (the entrance to the Clock Tower), circle around to the opposite side of the tower and go through the entrance into North Clock Town. Here, you’ll find a creepy guy clothed in green straight ahead. His name is Tingle, and for some reason, Nintendo is obsessed with bringing this freaky character back into Zelda games over and over again. He’s 35, thinks he’s a fairy (no argument there), and his father is ashamed of him (go figure). He usually flies around using a red balloon tied to his back, drawing maps of the land. He’s selling a map of Clock Town for 5 rupees. Spin through the nearby bushes to get rupees (you can leave and come back to make them reappear) and once you have enough, purchase it from him. You can also buy the map of Woodfall if you wish, but you can get a much cheaper one later.
Bubble Blast Enter the cave in North Clock Town to meet the Great Fairy, who was shattered into pieces due to the Skull Kid. In order to restore her to her true form, you’ll have to find the missing Stray Fairy and return it to her. This acts as a tutorial to explain Stray Fairies, a collectible you will be seeing quite a lot of throughout your journey. This one’s location varies depending on what time of day it is.
Day During the day, it can be found in the Laundry Pool in the southwest corner of Clock Town. Hop across the water and touch it to retrieve it.
Night During the night, it can be found in East Clock Town in the middle of the square; you can’t miss it. It’s too high to get by walking up though, so you’ll have to use the nearby Deku Flower and fly into it to retrieve it.
Once you’ve acquired the Stray Fairy, (another big-headed individual similar to yourself, if a bit shinier) return to North Clock Town and enter the cave on the left side. It will then combine with the others in the spring to become a large scandalous female known as the Great Fairy of Magic. They look much less obnoxious than they did in Ocarina of Time. Anyway, she’ll give you Magic Power, allowing you to shoot bubbles with B. Sweetness! She also gives you a clue to finding the Skull Kid, saying to go to the Observatory next. Good to know. She also reminds you to come back when you have returned to your old self. What do you think she has in mind?
Back outside (North Clock Town), you will notice Tingle is now floating around with a red balloon. He’ll be that way from now on, so if you didn’t already purchase a map of Clock Town from him, shoot down his balloon and do so. In the center of this area is a kid wearing a red cap who’s shooting at a Majora’s Mask balloon. Why does it even have that symbol on it? If you speak with him, he’ll tell you to go away. He does mention, however, that if you can manage to pop his balloon, well, maybe you’ll be worth his time. Sounds easy enough.
Face towards the balloon, press B to enter a first person perspective, aim up at the balloon and charge up a bubble (to give it further range). Release it before your bubble pops and you should easily be able to pop the balloon. This will startle the kid, who is now eligible for conversation. Go talk to him and he will tell you how impressive your big head is. Apparently, he is willing to let you into his gang, which grants you access to the Observatory. Hey, that’s where the Great Fairy told us to go! The only catch is, first you will play hide-and-go-seek with him and his friends. Sounds good, right? You have until the next day starts, so if it’s night already, you’ll have less time to do it.
The kids will run off and hide now, and it’s your job to find them. They cheat however, and run away when they see you. So it’s actually more of “hide-and-go-catch.” Put your Deku skills to use and use A to spin after them and B to shoot bubbles and stun them temporarily.
The locations of the Bomber Kids differ in the N64 and 3DS versions of the game. For the N64 version, take a look at the map below.
For the 3DS Version, there is one Bomber in each of the five locations within Clock Town:
After you have caught all of the children, the screen will fade and you’ll be back in North Clock Town. Well, they’ve decided you can’t actually join the club! BUT, they will give you their password to let you go to their secret hang out spot in the Observatory. Nifty!
If you are playing the N64 version, WRITE DOWN THE CODE!!! Otherwise you’ll have to re-catch them to get the code again. For the 3DS version, it is stored for you in the Bombers’ Notebook.
The order they are standing in is always different. All five are shuffled around each time you play, meaning there are 120 possible combinations for this password and it is completely random. Write it down on a sticky note or something and slap it to your TV, since you’ll be using it repeatedly throughout this game. For a little while, you can talk to the kids and they will tell it to you again in case you didn’t write it down. After that, if you ever forget it, you can always play this little game with the kiddos another time.
Now that you have the password, you can go to East Clock Town and have a little chat with the Bomber wearing the yellow cap. He’ll give you the “Hmm” as well as demand for their secret code. Didn’t he see you chasing his buddies? Give it to him and he’ll stand out of the way. This part should be obvious: …go inside.
Clock Town Sewers Ahead, there’s a fork in the road leading to the left and forward. There’s only one way you can go for now, so bounce from platform to platform until you get to solid land. Use A to spin just before you touch water and you’ll zip across it really fast! This is handy for longer distances.
Once you get across, go to the left and you’ll encounter your first enemy: a Skulltula. They’re a bit harder to defeat than they were in Ocarina of Time, but you can still beat them up the same way. Wait for their back to be turned and hit them (in your case, with a bubble). Alternatively, this is a great time to use your Deku Nuts if you’d like to briefly stun it. Either show it who’s boss… or simply walk around it in the shallow water.
At the end, follow the narrow passage which leads to an open room. You can break the jars around here to get some Magic Jars (which restores your Magic Meter) and possibly some Recovery Hearts in case you were harmed by the Skulltula. The ladder in the center of the wall is blocked by another balloon, of all things. Honestly, the Bombers need a more high-tech security system… Pop this “obstacle” with a bubble and climb up the ladder.
Astral Observatory There are some stairs here, some pots and… a Scarecrow that’s alive… right, well… you’ll come back to that later. First, go up the stairs and around to talk to the Professor Shikashi, who likes to stand a little too close for comfort when speaking to you. He rambles a bit, explaining that the Skull Kid has been causing trouble here as well. Are you seeing some sort of ongoing theme? After a moment, he’ll ask you if you’d like to look into the telescope. Why yes, thank you, that’d be lovely.
Gaze around if you’d like. If you look to the left, you can actually see a dude off in the grass doing jumping-jacks. Odd. Look towards the Clock Tower and press A to zoom in on the Skull Kid who is atop it. The Skull Kid will glance at the Moon, which will cause it to cry. Jeez, he’s mean! The Skull Kid will then insultingly show off his rear.
Press B to stop using the telescope. Professor Shikashi rambles a bit, but he does mumble about something rather important: Skull Kid could only have gotten atop the Clock Tower by using the “clock door” which will only open on the eve of the carnival… Or it could be that he can levitate, as you’ve already seen….
After you’re done talking to him, go outside to find your very own Moon’s Tear. Yipee! This will come in handy in just a moment, and it’s necessary to get some Pieces of Heart later on in the game, so remember how to get these! Go all the way back through the sewers and back to Clock Town.
Clock Town
Go back to South Clock Town and approach the giant yellow flower (assuming you haven’t already). Just before you can get to it, a large Business Scrub will fly in and take residence, claiming he has the ownership papers and everything. Dang. He does comment, however, that he’d be willing to sell it in exchange for a Moon’s Tear. Well gee wiz, what a coincidence!
You probably know what to do here. Here’s your first trading sequence, and it’s done a little differently than most of the games in the Zelda series. Speak with the Business Scrub, and after talking with him for a moment, a screen will pop up allowing you to choose an item. In the N64 version, place the Moon’s Tear on one of your item buttons, then return to the conversation and press that C button to give it to him. In the 3DS version, just select the item and it will give it to him. He’ll then pack up and leave in a scene that is far too long (at least on the N64 version). One other thing to note is that he gives you the Land Title Deed. Keep this in mind, since you’ll need to get these later on in the game for some Pieces of Heart.
Pass-Times At this point, the guide will assume that you’re on the night of the first day, if not the morning of the second day. You will have to wait until the eve of the carnival in order to access the top of the Clock Tower, and you likely have some time to burn. If this is your first time playing the game, it is suggested that you spend it talking to people and getting more acquainted with the town. You can also try earning some money by playing mini-games around town. In your current form, you probably won’t get any Pieces of Heart from them just yet, but you can still get rupee rewards if you do well.
– Treasure Chest Shop (East Clock Town) – Deku Playground (North Clock Town)
Optional Glitch: Exploring Termina Field – N64 Version ONLY If you’re REALLY ambitious, you can escape Clock Town by the use of a little glitch to get passed the guards. Only those whom have beaten the game already should do this; however, just make sure you’re back before the final night! To do it, stand near the guard in East Clock Town and face back towards the square. Hold Z (facing away from the guard and exit), then move backwards on the Analog Stick and walk along the wall on either the left or right side. The guard will impede you, but you’ll slowly inch your way out if you angle yourself properly. Once outside, there’s lots of bushes to spin through and holes you can fall into that will reward you with rupees. For some odd reason, there aren’t any chests or enemies out in Termina Field at this point… Play around if you like, then return to Clock Town before you run out of time.
Dancing With The Scarecrow If you STILL have time to burn (or just don’t care to do the above), you should find a Scarecrow. There’s one back in the Astral Observatory, but there’s also one in the Trading Post (West Clock Town). Dance with him repeatedly until the night of the final day to pass the time. He’s also willing to tell you about some hidden songs. Since songs play a vital part in this game, this could be important, hmm?
Once it’s the night of the final day, get ready, because you’re going to confront Skull Kid! Check out the moon every little while, as it steadily gets bigger, but on the Final Night, it grows incredibly quickly.
The Bank Before you actually go to the Clock Tower, there’s one thing you should do quickly. In the N64 version of the game, go to West Clock Town and speak with the man sitting on the counter in the middle of the area (the bank). He’ll stamp you with some special ink, which gives you an account. Right on! Put all of your remaining rupees in the bank, which will allow you to save them for later (you’ll see why in a bit). If you are playing the 3DS version of the game, the banker is located in South Clock Town, just north of the Clock Tower, near the entrance to North Clock Town. Nearby is an Owl Statue. In the 3DS version you can walk up to any of these statues at anytime and save your progress.
Carnival of Time When you’re all ready, go to the yellow Deku Flower in South Clock Town (the one that you traded your Moon’s Tear for) and get in. Fly to the overhang above the door leading into the Clock Tower. Here, you’ll find your very first Piece of Heart! For every four of these you find, another heart will be added to those at the top-left of the screen, extending your total life energy.
At 12:00 on the last night, you’ll witness a short scene with fireworks celebrating the Carnival of Time and the top of the Clock Tower flipping on its side. This will open a doorway with some stairs that lead up to the top. Once the movie ends, run up the stairs to confront the Skull Kid and get back what’s rightfully yours!
Atop The Clock Tower A short cutscene ensues in which Skull Kid is revealed, once again, as a jerk. Tael will attempt to give you a hint about what to do, which Tatl will decipher later. Skull Kid will eventually scream, which causes the moon to fall even faster. After a moment, you’ll regain control of Link. Link doesn’t have much to offer at this point, but let’s see what your new found Deku Scrub powers can do! Show him your spectacular, unstoppable new ability! Z- or L-target him and blow a decent sized bubble (to get further range). This will cause him to drop the Ocarina of Time. Get it, quick!
Another cutscene will then take place, with Link remembering the one-sided conversation he had with Princess Zelda upon leaving the land of Hyrule just before this game began. She offered him her goodwill as well as the Ocarina of Time, reminding him of a mystical song he used in the Ocarina of Time as well: The Song of Time. She told Link that if he ever needed assistance, he could play this song to get help from the Goddess of Time.
After learning the Song of Time, Tatl will yell at Link to get him to stop daydreaming and begin praying desperately to the Goddess of Time to give them more time. Once you regain control, quickly press Start, set the Ocarina of Time to one of your buttons and play your… pipes…? That’s kind of odd.
Play your spiffy new song, which will take you back in time 72 hours to the dawn of the first day. Well, you’re still stuck in Termina, but now you have the Ocarina of Time back and the world hasn’t met certain doom yet! You’ll get flashes of the start of your journey, and you will appear back in Clock Town just as you exited the Clock Tower basement. All in a day’s work, right?
Tatl will voice everything that’s obviously going through your head and then apologize to you for being rude earlier. She wants to help out. Isn’t that precious? You have your “precious item” back, so pay the Mask Salesman a visit, as he suggested earlier.
Clock Tower Basement Speak with the Mask Salesman and he’ll emphatically shake your shoulders with excitement. Somehow, he magically makes an organ appear. Play his melodic tune to become normal once more. Sweet! With the Song of Healing, you can get other cool masks throughout your journey. With the Deku Mask, you can now either stay in your normal, Hylian form or become a Deku Scrub at anytime you wish! This is a huge advantage to have!
Oops! He did ask us to get Majora’s Mask back, huh? Check out his angry eyes, they’re so fierce! He’ll then tell you about Majora’s Mask and how apparently it was used by an ancient tribe to curse people and gave its user incredible power that could destroy the world. It became too dangerous to keep around, so they hid it in shadow, whatever that means. The Mask Salesman found it and took it, then the Imp (Skull Kid) came and stole it from him. He then chuckles. “Just believe! Ho, ho, ho!”
In the Nintendo 3DS version of the game, the Mask Salesman will also give you the Bombers’ Notebook at this point. This will track all of the various interactions you’ve had with some of the residents of Termina. It will be very helpful with future sidequests that arise.
Well, with all that out of the way, leave the Clock Tower to begin your next 3-day adventure. Congratulations on completing the introductory portion of the game.
