So, you’ve decided to spend three days in Clock Town. You're dealing with a falling moon, a weirdly nihilistic salesman, and a skull kid who clearly needs therapy. But honestly? The real stress isn't the apocalypse. It’s trying to stay awake through a two-hour-long story about a carnival just to get the All-Night Mask.
It’s one of the weirdest items in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. It looks like a giant, caffeinated eyeball. It’s creepy. It’s bulky. Link looks ridiculous wearing it. But if you want that 100% completion rate—or if you just want those two elusive Heart Pieces—you’ve got to figure out how to get your hands on it. Most players remember it as the reward for being a "good person" on the First Night, but the mechanics behind it are actually a bit of a nightmare if you miss your timing by even a second.
How You Actually Get the All-Night Mask (Without Messing Up)
Getting this thing is a multi-step ordeal. You can't just find it in a chest in some dusty dungeon. No, you have to play hero in a very specific way. First, you have to be in North Clock Town at midnight on the First Day. An old lady from the Bomb Shop will come walking through, carrying a big heavy bag. Suddenly, Sakon—the prancing thief who deserves every arrow you've ever shot at him—runs up and swipes it.
You have to hit him. Just a quick sword swipe. Don't use a bomb, or you'll blow up the bag, the lady gets mad, and you get nothing. If you save her, she’s grateful. She tells you she’ll have something special in the shop later.
Here is where it gets annoying. You have to wait. You basically have to survive until the Final Day. On the night of the Third Day, head to the Curiosity Shop—that's the pawn shop in West Clock Town. The shady dealer there will be selling the All-Night Mask for 500 Rupees.
500 Rupees. That’s a lot in Termina.
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Unless you’ve upgraded your wallet by depositing 200 Rupees at the bank, you can’t even carry enough cash to buy it. It’s a classic Zelda gatekeeping move. You do the good deed, you wait two days, and then you still have to fork over a mountain of silver just to own a mask that prevents you from sleeping.
Why do you even want this thing?
It has exactly one purpose. It prevents Link from falling asleep. In the world of Majora's Mask, there’s a character named Anju’s Grandmother. She sits in the Stock Pot Inn and offers to tell you stories. If you don't have the mask, Link falls asleep about halfway through her rambling tales because they are—by design—boring as hell.
She has two stories. One takes two hours (of in-game time), and the other takes a staggering amount of time that lasts until the next morning. If you wear the mask, Link stays awake. You answer a few questions correctly afterward, and she gives you a Heart Piece for each story. That’s it. That is the entire "power" of the mask. It’s a glorified cup of espresso that you wear on your face.
The Lore and the Creep Factor
There’s something deeply unsettling about the design. It’s a circular mask with two massive, unblinking eyes and a small, frowning mouth. It doesn't look like something a hero should wear. In the N64 version, the textures were grainy and rough, which almost made it look like it was made of stone or dried clay.
The fan theories around this mask are wild. Some people think it was a torture device. Think about it. A mask that forces you to stay awake? That’s not a gift; that’s a punishment. In the manga adaptation by Akira Himekawa (which isn't strictly canon but is widely loved), the masks often have more personality or backstories. While the All-Night Mask doesn't get a huge spotlight there, its existence in the game suggests that Termina has a very dark relationship with sleep and dreams.
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Honestly, the mask is a physical representation of the game's core theme: time. Everything in Majora's Mask is about the passage of time and the desperation to hold onto it. The All-Night Mask literally steals your ability to rest, forcing you to experience every agonizing second of the final hours before the moon hits.
The 3DS Remake Changes
If you're playing the Majora's Mask 3D version on the Nintendo 3DS, the mask looks a bit "cleaner," but the mechanics are the same. Some people argue the remake made the game too easy, but the All-Night Mask quest remains a test of patience. You still have to stop Sakon. You still have to pay the 500 Rupees.
One thing that often trips people up is the "Kafei Quest" crossover. If you're trying to complete the Kafei and Anju questline, you cannot get the All-Night Mask in the same three-day cycle. To help Kafei, you have to let Sakon steal the big bag of bombs so you can follow him to his hideout later. If you stop Sakon to save the old lady, he doesn't go to the hideout, and Kafei's quest fails.
It’s a brutal choice. Save the old lady and get a mask? Or help two lovers reunite? Termina doesn't let you be a perfect hero in a single timeline.
Technical Details and Strategy
- Cost: 500 Rupees (Giant Wallet required).
- Prerequisite: Save the Bomb Shop Lady at 12:00 AM on Night 1.
- Purchase Location: Curiosity Shop, Night of Day 3.
- Use Case: Anju’s Grandmother in the Stock Pot Inn.
To get the 500 Rupees quickly, most veterans go to the graveyard in Ikana or hunt the Blue Bubbles. But the easiest way is usually just hitting the "Bird" (the Takuri) near the entrance to Milk Road. It drops a huge sum of money. Just don't let it steal your sword first. That's a different kind of headache.
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When you're listening to the stories, the answers are usually pretty obvious if you've been paying any attention to the lore of the Four Giants or the Carnival of Time. For the first story, choose the top answer. For the second, "I haven't a clue" is actually the right path because the story is so long Link shouldn't know the ending anyway.
Actionable Steps for Completionists
If you are staring at an empty slot in your mask menu, follow this exact flow to fix it.
First, make sure you have the Giant Wallet. You get this by completing the Oceanside Spider House in Great Bay on the First Day. If you don't have it, you literally cannot buy the mask. Don't waste your time saving the old lady until you can actually hold 500 Rupees.
Once you have the wallet, reset to the First Day. Warp to Clock Town. Spend your time doing whatever—maybe collect some stray fairies—but be in North Clock Town by 11:30 PM. Stand near the slide. When Sakon grabs the bag, move fast. One strike.
On the Third Day, don't forget to visit the bank. You need to withdraw that 500. The Curiosity Shop opens at 10:00 PM. Go in, buy the mask, and then immediately run to the Stock Pot Inn. You can actually finish both stories in that final night if you're quick, securing those two Heart Pieces before the clock runs out and the moon turns everyone into dust.
It’s a lot of work for a mask that looks like a panicked owl. But in Termina, every piece of heart counts, and every mask tells a story—even the ones that keep you from dreaming.