Majora’s Mask still stands as my favorite Zelda game of all time. The world was immersive and addictive, to the point that I blew through the game almost without realizing it. That micro-world idea, where you play through the same three days on repeat, wasn’t the result of years of planning but instead a tight development schedule that only afforded the team a year.

“The ‘Three-Day System’, the idea of a compact world to be played over and over again, came down from Miyamoto-san and one other director, (Yoshiaki) Koizumi-san,” said one of Zelda’s top developers, Eiji Aonuma. “We added that to the mix, and then, finally, we saw the full substance of a The Legend of Zelda game we could make in one year.”

Satoru Iwata added, “Actually, I feel as though, back then, we were given a glimpse of the concept that ‘Deep, compact play is one form of the games of the future’. I think in that sense, as a product, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask was a big turning point for Nintendo.”

I don’t know what it is about the month of December but it’s got developers thinking. Again, I love the idea. Few things can ruin a game for me quite like over-ambition.

Source: CVG