The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is considered one of the greatest video games ever made, but many prefer its sequel The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask for creating a darker world that has immediate stakes thanks to its three-day time loop. That popularity has resulted in many fan projects, such as a Majora's Mask anime opening created for the game's 20th anniversary, and recently a gorgeous concept video was made by Nexon OC's Lead 3D Artist Cordell Felix.
Felix uploaded his currently-unlisted video, titled "Majora's Mask - Rebirth," to YouTube August 12. It takes place in a version of Termina set hundreds of years after the events of Majora's Mask, in which the Happy Mask Salesmen hid the artifact deep within the Lost Woods before passing away.
The five-minute video, rendered in Unreal Engine 4, shows sweeping shots of the Lost Woods as tendrils from Majora's Mask spread and absorb all life from the forest, ending with the mask gaining enough energy to rise off the floor with glowing eyes. Its slow burn is accentuated by atmospheric sound effects replicating the original game, a remix of the Song of Healing by Robert Karpay, and a realistic mask Felix created for Ember Lab's 2016 fan film "Majora's Mask - Terrible Fate."
Setting this idea far in the future may leave fans disappointed at the lack of an appearance by Link, especially given how long the video takes to reach its titular "rebirth" scene. However, Felix said that the process of imagining this fan-favorite title in a more realistic style "has been my effort to give back to the Zelda community," and it's hard to argue with how beautiful and affecting the project turned out.
Of course, the 3D artist has an extensive pedigree that makes it easy to see how they captured such a style with real-time rendering in Unreal Engine. According to his website, Felix has previously done work for games like God of War (2018), 2019's Borderlands Remastered, and 2016's Bioshock: The Collection.
While Zelda fans have been open about their affection for titles like The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask through these kinds of projects, Nintendo has also shown a lot of love to the iconic Majora's Mask throughout the years. On top of receiving a 3DS remake, the Nintendo 64 game has spawned Easter eggs like a wearable Majora's Mask in Breath of the Wild, as well as merchandise like a First 4 Figures replica with motion-controlled LED lights.
Source: Cordell Felix, Terrible Fate