In The Legend of Zelda series, worlds are meant to be explored. Though exploring is usually enjoyable enough through the in-game mechanics, the more zealous secret hunters tend to search in some of the strangest corners of the world, occasionally being rewarded in the form of hidden developer easter eggs. The Zelda series is no stranger to these easter eggs, sometimes referencing other Nintendo characters such as Bowser and Mario in paintings found in Ocarina of Time, or featuring content from outside of the Nintendo universe. Some easter eggs, however, are more carefully hidden and require a bit of navigating to find. After all, a lot of people work on these games, and these hard workers sometimes enjoy leaving their own personal little mark in the game. One such easter egg waits for us behind the Majora’s Mask Potion Shop counter.
This easter egg comes courtesy of field designer Taeko Sugawara, who was responsible for working on maps in Majora’s Mask. Found within the Potion Shop where Link meets Kotake and Koume, there happens to be an interesting object hidden behind the counter which can only be viewed with some precise Z-Targeting. It would seem that the short Kotake is standing on a cardboard box so that she can actually see over the counter. The box has Japanese text that translates to “Shinshu Mandarin Orange” and “Shinshu Agricultural Cooperatives” along with a picture of an orange. The official Japanese Zelda Twitter account ended up posting a screenshot in April of 2015, featuring the very same orange box as it was being reworked into the Majora’s Mask 3D re-release.
Sugawara mentions she left it in as “a small joke” — a joke she considered removing but ended up leaving in the game despite it being difficult to spot organically in the Nintendo 64 version of Majora’s Mask. Since this little joke remains in Majora’s Mask 3D, it seems like the easter egg ended up becoming a beloved part of the shop and was important enough to remaster in the new era.
I can’t help but wonder what inspired this silly little inclusion. I wonder if the designer saw an orange box in the corner of her eye at the office and randomly just laughed at the thought of including it in the game. Normally, I would speculate on theories about what it could mean for Kotake as a character. For example, the oranges might be potion ingredients, or perhaps Kotake or Koume just really enjoy oranges. All of that said, it’s hard to believe a simple grocery store box of oranges would naturally exist in the fantasy world of Termina, so trying to theorize realistically about this orange box comes off sounding quite silly. Either way, I’m very glad for Sugawara’s fun joke making its way into the final game.
