Inspiration can come from anywhere. You could be walking to the coffee shop and then suddenly get struck with an idea that changes the world. Small ideas can eventually change the course of your project and take it from good to great. Many writers pull from their real-world experiences to guide their writing. They see a small detail in their lives or they take a strange situation and rewrite the experience to fit their narrative.
This has been the case for one of Zelda’s most beloved installments. In a 2015 interview with Japanese news site Nintendo Dream, Eiji Aonuma sheds some light on one of the most iconic and memorable moments from The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask: the wedding of Anju and Kafei.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Majora’s Mask, Anju and Kafei are due to be wed in three days in the game. Unfortunately, Kafei is missing and the moon with the terrifying smile is bearing down on Termina. It’s up to Link to reunite Anju and Kafei before the world ends. It’s a sprawling sidequest that takes the whole three days to complete.
When Majora’s Mask was in its planning stages, something sinister was brewing in the world. North Korea had launched a new kind of missile, the Taepodong-1, over Japan without permission. This led to Japanese leaders withdrawing their funding for the Korea Peninsula Energy Development Organization. The launch also drew the attention of Russia and the United States, with both countries denouncing the move.
According to The Guardian, the missile could carry a 1,000kg nuclear warhead. So, obviously, people were concerned. Japan was in talks with the U.S. to build a missile defense system at the time and this encouraged the government to accept the plans.
Aonuma reflected on how this event shaped Majora’s Mask. “We were attending a wedding of a staff member and were talking with [Yoshiaki] Koizumi [another developer on Majora’s Mask] and the others: ‘Come to think of it, it’s somewhat strange to come to a wedding in a situation when missiles may fall down today.’ The discussion progressed into noting how it would also fit the setting of a falling moon and whether to do a wedding in the game.”
Majora’s Mask speaks a lot to the cycle of grief. We follow Link on his journey through a doomed land with the moon hanging above them, their metaphorical Sword of Damocles ready to call. We help him protect Zora Eggs, soothe a crying child, and allow a father to grieve — all three events caused by the loss of a loved one. These events speak to our internal fears of loss of life, loss of love.
Anju and Kafei’s story starts out as fraught and terrified as these other ones. There is no way these two will get married in the middle of the apocalypse. But in the end, they do. They set aside their fear and show that love is the best antidote for fear. That love conquers all.
