Termania, Parallel universe?

The fact that Zelda sent Link back in time wasn't a "royal demand"; it was a kind gesture on her part. If she was selfish like so many people claim her to be because of her status, she wouldn't have sent Link back to his childhood and instead could have forced him to stay with her in the alternate timeline. However, being the person she is, she selflessly allowed him to return to his childhood that he would have otherwise given up to remain an adult.

Now, for MM, I believe that the various masks are metaphorically representing Link's pursuit for self identification. This notion is derived from the fact that whenever he wears a mask, he essentially adopts a slightly different personality that matches the specific mask. Switching back and forth between the masks is a possible indication that during his quest in Termina, he experianced an identity crisis. I mean, if you grow up thinking you're one way, and then you find out that you're something opposite, don't you think that would be enough to throw you off for a bit? Link likely just needed enough time by himself to realize where he fits in life.

That's an interesting concept, of Link wanting to find Navi but needing to find Skull Kid. Could you elaborate on that a bit?

It's simple: first off, some things don't add up about it being all Navi.

She leaves, and then he leaves the Temple of Time seeming not really upset. That made me think that their goodbye was inevitable, and natural. He was now a grown up ( in being mature, as per Kaepora Gaebora said ) and didn't need a fairy guardian.
I guess what I mean is he didn't seem too broken up over it, more so over leaving Zelda behind.

So for him to just up and leave to find her seems a little odd. If you consider his situation, he's known as a hero ( according to MM's prologue ) from Zelda, yet he probably feels like a child again with little purpose. Maybe he's not sure he's a hero without his adult form...and he's without a true home, aside from Zelda. He'd never be able to live in the forest, and probably won't fit in anywhere else. So he's feeling alone. ( And maybe he leaves Zelda because she's so sure of her purpose, and he's not. )

Who could understand not fitting in? The Skull Kid. Perhaps Link is now feeling anger towards Navi as he realizes he can't fit in, and he doesn't have her to help him. Again, compare to the SK and the Giants. So I think that the Skull Kid was really who Link needed.

Gosh I love these theories. XD MM is probably the most symbolic and psychological of all the Zelda games thus far. ^^

Mmkay, I think there is a good point in saying that the Skull Kid was the one that Link needed to meet up with again. Though Link was searching for Navi, I don't know that finding her would have done him much good except to have a person who understood him completely and had gone through the same events. However, the Skull Kid had experianced what Link had- he'd been left behind by those he called friends. Not because they didn't care about him or didn't want to be his friend, but because they had to. This can be compared to Link being left behind by Navi and the adult Zelda, all those he had known in the future. . .

Personally, I'm of the opinion that the Deku scrub mask represents how Link feels as a child and as the Kokiri without a fairy. Look how everyone responds to when that mask is worn. Everyone is condescending and won't give Link the time of day, and it's a form much weaker than any of the others. Pretty symbolic- the Skull Kid used MM to bring Link's fears and unhappiness into the form of the Deku scrub. IF that makes sense. :sweat:

With the Goron Mask, I think you need to look on Darmani's feelings when the Song of Healing is played, and equate that to Link's own. Darmani was a hero for the Goron people- they depended on him to protect them, and that's the reason his spirit cannot find rest, because he can't fullfill his deeds as a hero towards those he protects. Likewise, we can compare this easily to Link, who is a hero for those in Hyrule, and they depended on him to protect them from dangers like Ganondorf.

The Zora Mask also requires to you compare Miku's feelings to Link's. Miku's regret shares a little of the hero aspect of Darmani's, in that Miku carries the bloodline of Zora warriors/heros. But what Miku's feelings focus on is Lulu, the woman he is leaving behind, and the pain she has. Likewise, you can compare this to Link having to leave Zelda behind and the pain that causes him since all he wants is to stay with her, like Miku wanting to stay with Lulu.

The final mask, the Fierce Diety isn't too complicated to figure out. This represents what Link once was- the power and strength he had when he was an adult who defeated Ganon blessed with goldlike power.

And I'd type more, but I've got to run. XD But that's my thoughts on some of those things, so yes.

I guess it makes sense that the Skull Kid Link befriended in MM was like a kindred spirit in a similar loneliness that he can relate his own loneliness to. I'm with Gilderpilot in a way that Navi was important to Link but not that important. I personally found Navi to be annoying anyway with the ever constant Z-Target catch phrases of HEY, LOOK, LISTEN, WATCH OUT, HELLO.

So now that I think about it, I can see how the Skull Kid was probably that particular friend Link was looking for and not really Navi. But I think its ironic how you can kill the Skull Kid in OOT for the big orange rupee though. I also like the points on self identification and what the individual masks possibly mean symbolically.

I can see that..it was clearly meant to unsettle Link, hence the scene of him running away from the Deku Scrubs.

Link understands how he feels...I can see that too. Oddly enough if you complete saving the Gorons, they want to make him their leader. A hint for Link's future perhaps? The people of Hyrule may feel similarily...or maybe did in the Adult time.

I had never made this connection, but I can see it now. Link clearly was feeling angst over having to leave Zelda ( the scene atop the Clock Tower ) so he has an idea of how Mikau feels.
You can even compare the feelings in the scene: Mikau is floating, defeated and down and then Lulu appears and they walk together to their band.
Similarly Link is probably feeling at his lowest atop the Clock Tower. He's stuck as a useless Deku Scrub, and he's going to die with all of Termina. Then he gets the Ocarina and Zelda's memory takes him away...she not only saves his life indirectly but encourages him. ( So in a roundabout way, Mikau's parallel to Link reinforces Link x Zelda )

The interesting thing about all three is that while the three Termina people have no chance to fix their problems, Link does.
He can beat being being a child and alone. He can help the people of Hyrule again. He can also be with Zelda again in the future. He has all the opportunities in the world.

I did find Majora's Mask to be filled with hidden meanings (also sadness. Even with its N64 graphics I almost let tears down more than once.. And I wasn't drunk), but to read what others think makes me realise there are a lot more than I thought!

If we want to get THAT serious though:
3.
Holy number of Hyrule. Number of days remaining to save Termina.
And, remembering a text about the original Snow White fairytale:
''the 3 drops of blood on the white snow, making her think about having a daughter with snow white skin, actually symbolises her reaching sexual maturity''
Or something.
This is a game for Everyone, so let's forget the meaning of blood and the number 3 combined (the text did explain how 3 drops of blood, not 2 or 4, meant something sexual), but it did make me think about how all he went through was a step towards manhood, and how the mask changing could relate to what teens go through before fitting in their adult identity. And on how the people around them also change (suddenly, father isn't so perfect, flawed or strong for example).
Plus, the fairy left with him, although awfully bossy (pesky Tatl), was more of the thinking kind. The one left with Skull Kid (Tael) was more impulsive, and more on the distracted/light-headed side. Tatl constantly reminded Link how he reminded her of Tael, who was with Skull Kid, who was trying to destroy the world out of his anger and loneliness. And with some masks, Link is warned to be careful, for they possess great darkness and he shouldn't let it get over him.
Plus, Dark Link being a seperate entity in OoT, but Link finally growing up in MM, thus accumulating the emotional knowledge he couldn't in OoT and the darkness that comes with it...

And that paralell with Anju and Kafei is wicked cool!

Not arguing with anyone here, just giving out everything my mind is throwing, trying to clear it up in the process.
And if anything's wrong someone will tell me.
I've read the other posts, now to see if I've found them clear enough.

Nice spotting the 3 thing, KokirianClockwork!

The number 3 is undeniably important to the Hylian culture, so it is rather fitting that it would be the number of days for the world to end. It's sacrilegious almost, and it sort of ties in with the theory Saami found about the Stone Tower Temple being a blaspheme against the three Goddesses (the thread for that is HERE).

One of the theories I've always found fascinating was that the Happy Mask Salesman was a descendant of the dark tribe that created Majora's Mask, and he had searched the mask out in the hopes of somehow atoning for the sins of his ancestors.

I always thought it was funny that Link would run from the scrubs at first having sliced many of them to bits without trouble in OoT, but after playing it more and seeing the symbolizm of the scrubs, it made sesne that he would run away from them because of what they reminded him of.

I thought the same thing. It immediately reminded me of your case for kingship essay, and it fits in.

Yup! The more you consider it, the morse sense it makes. When Mikau is at his lowest, it's an image of Lulu that brings him peace, and on the flip when Link is in his darkest spot of trouble, it's memories of Zelda that restore his hope. It's also interesting, considering that Lulu and Mikau hold hands in MM, it sort of echos Link and Zelda holding hands in OoT.

It is very interesting. Termania is a world completely without hope- everyone there is in a bad way and very few of them express any hope or have any way to chance things. But Link does- whether this is because he's not really part of this world, or simply because he's a sort of wild card in that land- something that wasn't counted upon- is fascinating to think about.

There always does seem to be a lot of 3 symbolizm in Zelda games. Reflecting back on the Triforce and the Goddesses. ^^ I shall have to read that Stone Tower thing when I have time- it sounds very interesting!

I completely agree. The complete and utter hopelessness in Majora's Mask is what sets it apart from Ocarina of Time. As I've said before, I think OoT was meant to be a classic fairytale, with bad things happening, but good prevailing in the end. We don't have that in the world of Termina. Instead, we have pessimism, gloominess, even a bit of evil if you consider the Majora's Mask and the moon being controlled by it. (This may be off topic, but am I the only one who thinks the meadow in the moon seems out of place in a game as dark as MM?)

No..you're not the only one who thought the peaceful tree in the middle of the meadow inside the moon was totally bizarre. It did seem awkwardly out of place.

I'm thinking the meadow in the moon was meant to be an illusion, that's how out of place it seems. I have no evidence to support this, though; it's just a hunch.

I myself deducted that it was either an illusion or some random magical aspect of the moon. Who knows really.

No, you aren't the only one who thought the meadow was odd and completely random. I think that was the point- after so much gloom and depressing issues and scenery, such a peaceful setting was even creepier than some of the other places you go to. The whole thing is unsettling- you have this meadow with these children- things that are supposed to be innocent and full of light, but then you see the grotesque monsterous masks they wear and the frightening insightful things they say.

I can't remember who was talking about the mask salesman- I'm too lazy to go back and read XD- but I was doing some thinking on it, and I agree about him having a connection to the tribe that created MM. It's just too odd- he knows too much, he had the knowledge of the song of Healing, and he found the mask after the tribe had gone to such great lengths to seal it away. Not only that, but the children inside the moon all look like little red haired versions of the mask salesman. And that he can just vanish into thin air is also pretty questionable. I wonder if perhaps he's the ghost of one of those of the tribe who created MM and he came back to see the mask destroyed, or something. There's lots of possibilities.

It's very ironic that a beautiful meadow with five little kids in it could ever be seen as creepy. Maybe it's an aftereffect of seeing so many depressing, gloomy stuff--we're now expecting that something as peaceful as a meadow (where time doesn't exist, apparently) can't be real, and is therefore an illusion to cover up some kind of evil. Sounds a lot like paranoia, if you ask me.

I know what you mean about the masks that the children wear. Four of the masks are boss masks, and the fifth mask is the Majora's Mask. Not exactly innocent.

But I still don't see how the childrens' question are supposed to be disturbing, if that was Nintendo's intent. I can definitely call them insightful, though:

The questions are disturbing, in a way, but I'm still not sure why or how.

I think the Moon's meadow is more what was inside Skull Kid than anything else. After being so much time possessing the Skull Kid, it's only natural that Majora fed on his thoughts/soul/something similar.
A kid's view of what should be his life, meaning hanging around other kids on a place that's lively green. But, he still managed to be rejected in that reflection of a kid's paradise.
Thus the reason why, although Skull Kid was back in Termina, unconscious (if I recall....), the figure wearing Majora's Mask still only thought about playing although it was sitting away from the other kids, images of the giants Skull Kid thought had abandoned him.

It also made me think a LOT about Link.
Kids, wearing masks, asking questions that could relate on why he even bothers helping everyone he meets. Also, on his true face:
When in OoT, a child woke up inside an adults body, not only having to act as an adult but also having to do things only a strong adult can do, with people suddenly having more respect towards him than when he was still a kid;
could be what OoT Link felt all the time as an adult: a kid wearing a mask, acting. In the official art, he smiles a lot less as an adult than as a kid. In MM, he has 3 days to save the world from an horrible end, he keeps helping people, but they get in trouble all over again when he plays the song of time, as if nothing hapenned, and yet he smiles, confidently. He also reacts more emotionally than ever before.
Even by wearing all these masks, at the end he doesn't feel like an impostor since he knows those masks he wears aren't him. In OoT, he is forced to admit that the body he inhabits is his. It doesn't feel right. His soul hasn't grown into it. He's not sure how to act.

The meadow was some kind of creepy mirror, a fight between innocences.
That world where he can just be a kid and play around, is that not only hiding behind a mask? Hiding one's face not only to avoid being stared at, but also to avoid looking at anything under its true light?
The creepiness of the masks could also indicate the fear he felt when he realised he had grown. They forgot something in the game (or didn't make it clear enough): a world of adults is intimidating when you've lived your life in a small village of children. Waking up as one yourself after thinking you've slept a night or less...

Eek.

I do think Link and Skull Kid are similar.