With its dark story about a world on the brink of apocalypse, Majora’s Mask has gone from a black sheep to a cult classic of the Legend Of Zelda series since it was released back in 2000. Today, an unofficial animated short called Terrible Fate from the visual effects studio Ember Lab somehow made that story even darker. Narrated by the game’s creepy mask salesman, this stunning five-minute film imagines how Majora’s Mask, a powerful relic and harbinger of doom, ended up on the face of Skull Kid, the little scarecrow like mischief-maker players chase throughout the game. It’s a tragic story, as the happy-go-lucky Skull Kid is lured into becoming the mask’s sinister envoy.
The film’s soundtrack is just as lush as its imaginative visual style. In fact, the entire project is a tie-in with the latest album from Theophany, a musician who specializes in rearranging video game music. Called Time’s End II, it’s an entire album of music from Majora’s Mask that’s been reimagined with the rich, cinematic sound heard in Terrible Fate. You can download it for free from Theophany’s Bandcamp page, where you’ll also find their first Majora’s Mask remix album and other music. And you can see more of Ember Lab’s work on the studio’s YouTube page, including its ambitious 30-minute horror feature, Dust.
[via Kotaku, which, like The A.V. Club, is owned by Univision Communications]