The Pirates’ Fortress is one of my favorite sections of Majora’s Mask. Returning the stolen Zora eggs was the most emotionally important mission in the game to me, and that’s saying a lot. Majora’s Mask is overflowing with heart, but invading the Gerudo stronghold felt extra personal. Not only were we stealing back eggs for a distraught Lulu, but we were also avenging Mikau. While the music accompanying this quest may not be the most tear-jerking song in the game (there’s a lot of competition for that title), it does enhance the intensity of the situation quite well.
A snare drum kicks off the piece, its triplet rhythms evoking a sense of unrest. There’s also a string bass to keep us grounded, and sporadic timpani fills to keep us on our toes. These three instruments embody the vigilance of the pirate guards. Some strings lay out an ominous harmony to remind you that the moon is falling, and a deep dark piano doubles the bass until the melody starts. This melody is strong and determined, but the smooth trumpet texture is sprinkled with a very light vibrato, making it sound almost mournful. It plays the main melody entirely alone, only joined by a second trumpet for a harmonic outcry in between phrases. This structure reminds me of Link and the spirits who reside within his masks; even with all of their sorrow, they valiantly press on. A pair of clarinets close out each melodic statement with a yearning Asus2 chord, as if the stolen Zora eggs are desperately calling for help. After the trumpets and clarinets come together for a tense buildup, one last outcry closes out the loop.
While all of that musical symbolism is enough for me to find this piece surprisingly emotional, there’s something else I’ve noticed about it. The chord progression, with its Am-Bb-G core, is nearly identical to that of the classic Hyrule Castle theme. Not only that, but the melody itself feels like a remix. It starts with a leap to the fifth and leads into the next bar with a triplet dance into the same sustained fifth as bar one. And on top of all that, I believe the notes Hyrule Castle uses to “dance” around its root are the same notes (when accounting for the key change) used in the Pirates’ Fortress timpani fills. Of course, I may have gaslit myself into imagining this last connection, but the other examples are clear enough for me to believe this similarity is not only real, but an intentional musical callback.
I’m not sure exactly what this resemblance could mean, if anything. Maybe this isn’t actually Hyrule Castle’s theme, but a theme of general Hyrulean conquest and control. Perhaps after Ganondorf was arrested for treason, the Gerudo stole Hyrule Castle’s iPod and fled to Termina. I could speculate for hours, but all this stretching makes it hard for my tinfoil hat to stay on my head. Instead, I’ll ask you, dear reader, what do you think of this connection? Is something deeper going on here, or am I grasping at straws? That’s for you to decide.
