- This article is for the enemy from Majora's Mask. For other uses, see Ghost (Disambiguation).
Ghosts,[1] also known as They,[1] and Them,[1] are enemies in Majora's Mask.[note 1] They invade Romani Ranch on the night of the First Day with the purpose of abducting the Ranch's Cows.
Characteristics[]
The Ghosts, according to Romani, are the rather strange spirits that come to invade the barn of Romani Ranch to abduct their rare, precious Romani-bred Cows,[3] which were inherited from her father, for undisclosed reasons.[4] They resemble ghostly, glowing aliens, and are similar to Poes in appearance. According to Romani, they come at night every year when the Carnival of Time approaches.[5] They disappear at first light, at 5:15 am before dawn of the First Day.[6] If Link fails to save the Cows on the first night, they will abduct Romani and the Cows, leaving Cremia, Romani's older sister, saddened.[7] On the Second Day, the Ghosts will return Romani with all her memories of their existence removed.[8] For the rest of the day as well as the Final Day, Romani will remain catatonic and occasionally thrash and grasp her head.
Link must defend the ranch from the Ghosts with the use of his Bow. The Ghosts will spawn from several locations as they slowly move towards the barn, with one approaching it from behind as well. They are defeated with a single Arrow shot, though many more will spawn until the night's end (and will reappear faster as time progresses). The locations of the Ghosts will appear on Link's map if bought from Tingle, which are represented by moving white dots, allowing the map to function as a radar. In addition, a Dog near the barn will also run towards and bark at whichever Ghost is the closest to the barn, making prioritizing targets fairly easy. Link can also fire Arrows at them while riding Epona as well. An easier strategy to defend the barn is to simply stand on the crate and aim for the Ghosts 360 degrees at an elevated angle. Like other enemies, if the young Hero of Time makes contact with a Ghost, he will take damage.
As the Ghosts can only be killed with Arrows, there is a danger that Link may run out of Arrows and fail the quest. Link can obtain more Arrows dropped by smashing crates, breaking bushes (including running over them with Epona), defeating Ghosts, or using Bugs on the burrow on the wall. It is suggested to use the "Inverted Song of Time" to slow time and the Ghosts, as their movements are directly related to the current in-game time. However, by slowing time, the engagement also becomes much longer, requiring more Arrows.[9] Besides Epona, the Bunny Hood can also be used to increase mobility.
If Link is successful at stopping the invasion, Romani will award Link an Empty Bottle. For subsequent events, she simply gives thanks.
In Majora's Mask 3D, a small sketch of the Ghosts can be seen in a corner of Cremia and Romani's room, showing the latter's plan of attack.
Trivia[]
- The design of the Ghosts closely resemble the description of the Flatwoods Monster, an alleged extraterrestrial reported at West Virginia in 1952. The Ghosts abducting Romani Ranch's Cows is based on the stereotypical depiction of aliens abducting livestock to conduct experiments. The light used to carry the Cows and Romani away also appears to be based on the tractor beams commonly depicted with UFOs. The official Majora's Mask strategy guide by Nintendo Power also occasionally calls them "aliens".[9]
- In an interview with current series director Eiji Aonuma, it was revealed that his inspiration for the Ghost enemy came from Japan's sudden interest in unidentified flying objects in the late 1990s. Many television programs at the time were covering subjects such as mysterious cow or human abductions, and how they were often falsely attributed to aliens invading Earth.[10]
- The Poe-like balloons that represent the Ghosts in Romani's training practice for Link are placed at the exact same locations the enemies themselves appear in invasion event.
Nomenclature[]
 Names in Other Regions 
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Name | Meaning | |
 |
Japanese | オバケ (Obake) | Ghost |
Gallery[]
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The Ghosts beginning the invasion -
The Ghosts reach the barn -
The Ghosts abducting Cows
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The Ghosts abducting Cows
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Romani being abducted
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The balloon used by Romani to practice for the invasion
Notes
- ↑ The Ghosts are referred to as Phantoms in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask — Official Perfect Guide by Versus Books.[2] However, as this contradicts the name given in Encyclopedia, it is not considered Canon.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 180
- ↑ The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask — Official Perfect Guide, Versus Books, pg. 58
- ↑ "The special Romani-bred cows are the source of Chateau Romani, the most desired of forbidden milk!" — Cremia (Majora's Mask)
- ↑ "These are Romani-bred. My father left them for us." — Cremia (Majora's Mask)
- ↑ "They... They come at night every year when the carnival gets closer. They come riding in a bright, shining ball, and many of them come down...to the barn..." — Romani (Majora's Mask)
- ↑ "They run away at first light of the sun, so we'll have to keep fending them off until then!" — Romani (Majora's Mask)
- ↑ "Oh...Sorry. Now...I'm kind of...Thinking... Last night...My sister... The cows are all gone... But please...Enjoy yourself..." — Cremia (Majora's Mask)
- ↑ "But...This... What is this practice for? ...Romani...can't remember..." — Romani (Majora's Mask)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask — Official Nintendo Player's Guide, Nintendo of America, pg. 114
- ↑ "But the reason we used this at the time was because Japan was experiencing something of a UFO boom. And it even went so far as for shows on TV to cover it and explaining to people what cattle mutilation was. So even to see words as scary as "cattle mutilation" on TV and the idea of UFOs abducting people led to this whole idea of Earth being invaded by aliens becoming rather popular. I thought it would be really interesting and scary to use in a game. That's how we decided to go with that." —Eiji Aonuma (How Did Aliens Get Into The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask?)