Inside The Score - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Moon's Destruction

Dawn of the new day

“Aah! He’s awake!”

The first words we hear from our fairy companion after annihilating both Majora and the moon—along with their gongs—a new sage of light has been born. The ultimate conquest of the Hero of Time, an unapologetically triumphant moment seldom found in Majora’s Mask that was not even present at the end of Ocarina of Time; a success fanfare long in the making accompanied by the disintegration of Majora alongside the moon, the cries of jubilee of people across Termina—giving the reason all along to the head of the committee who claimed that there really was no cause for worrying about the moon; it was just people spreading unfounded panic— And the long awaited “dawn of a new day” in bold letters. Few things feel as well earned and surreal as seeing those letters appear on screen and letting that clock go past the final hours after so much time. The four stages of awakening have been completed.

And sounding like a Star Fox 64 mission accomplished tune, there it goes the ugly familiar face of the astral body of the moon which tormented us during our entire adventure, there it goes the red tinted sky that always signaled our failure (does this mean Termina is now left without a moon?). And there it goes the clock that had trapped these people on a cycle; the cycle of rebirth has finally been broken. The hero has awakened.

The humble bomber’s notebook ended up being equally as important as the Oath to Order, allowing Link to truly become and embrace his role as the fifth protector god of the land, now completing all locations: south, north, west, east and center; Clock Town being the land of Link, a place based around time in need of the Hero of Time.

Musical Analysis

Structure: Section 1 / Section 2

Time Signature: 4/4

Tempo: 80 (ritardando to 64 at the end of Section 2)

Melodic and Harmonic Profiles: G Mixolydian; Ab Mixolydian; A Mixolydian; A Phrygian Major

Besides its triumphant nature, the cue is also full of suspense, with a classic long sustained note as an intro matching the scene and the transposed motif to raise the tension of the destruction. And then the release of seeing the moon turned into a magical rainbow; in Buddhism there is a concept known as the rainbow body, the sight from a third person perspective of seeing someone else attaining complete enlightenment. All of Termina is witnessing the awakening of Link. The Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask was meant to be a spiritual successor to Link’s Awakening and boy does he awaken here. The nightmare is over.

After a very long roll, the timpani playing perfect fourths almost omnipresent at the end of any epic symphony—as heard on the ending for Ocarina of Time— cap off the moment, accompanied by the sacred altar bells mimicked by the glockenspiel (similar to its treatment on the Prelude of Light cue).

The motif is transposed two times before reaching the cadence, adding female and male choirs along the way to make it more potent. The moment is so cathartic that Kondo employs two sets of cymbals in different registers. It has the same objective that the End Credits from Ocarina of Time had, a classic Koji Kondo fanfare where you can picture the guards outside town with their trumpets and all the people joining singing in masse.

The low strings maintain pedal notes while the rest of the instruments play the chords.

G/F – F – G/F – F

Ab/Gb – Gb – Ab/Gb – Gb

A/G – G – A/G – G

Bb – A

The interplay between strings and brass completing the chords in second inversion.

After this we are treated to the characteristically silent and poignant moments seen on many Zelda games, one last moment of reflection where the Hero of Time has to say good bye to his fairy companion once again and abandon the land he helped to protect once again.

Now we get to see what awaits these characters at the dawn of a new day.