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My Theory on What Termina REALLY Is.

Shadow Mori

the shadow of the moon
Joined
Dec 3, 2011
Location
screw it I have a capcake!
Maybe Link was sent to termina as a resson. I think link was feeling the way you say and was sent to termina for that resson. The moon children might be figers in Links mind to help him in the last strech (+ thay give him piaces of heart) so I like it but it needs inproovemint.....And so dose my spelling.


Shadow Mori
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2011
Location
Tennessee
Well I could point out that Miyamoto himself has confirmed that it was Navi that Link was looking for. Which kind of rules out this theory altogether anyway.

actually the navi thing is obvious, but it takes nothing AT ALL away from the theory. its not like it was based around navi being lost...

To be honest, now that I've thought about it for a few more minutes, the idea of Majora's Mask being Link's journey of self discovery makes less sense to me, considering he didn't actually learn anything from his adventure. Let me explain.

A major theme of Majora's Mask is friendship and seperation. Aside from the main story of the Skull Kid lashing out because he felt abandoned by his best friends the Giants, virtually every single character is seperated from a someone or something in some way. Here's a list:

-Anju and Kafei - Seperated by fear
-Koume and Kotake - Koume is lost in the woods
-Romani Ranch - The whole area is blocked from the rest of Termina, stopping business
-Clock Town Officials - The Guards and Carpenters are at odds about what to do regarding the Moon
-Pamela and her father - Pamela had to lock her father in a wardrobe and hide from the world
-The Deku King - His daughter is lost
-The Monkeys - One of them has been imprisoned and the others are trying to save him
-The Indigo-Gos - Lulu has her eggs stolen by pirates
-The Goron Elder - He is seperated from his inconsolable son
-The Great Fairies - Literally seperated into pieces
-Link and Epona - This seperation happens right at the very beginning of the game
-Tatl and Tael - Again, a seperation from the very beginning
-The Bomb Shop - Has his stock stolen
-The Hand in the toilet - Seperated from something to wipe with
-Gorman - Regrets leaving his brothers on the ranch
-Tingle and his father - Tingle's father is ashamed of his son's eccentricities
-Madame Aroma - Is worried about where her son has gone
-Shiro - Totally invisible to the world due to the Stone Mask

All of these situations are resolved by Link. He spends his time in Termina bringing these people back together; reuniting broken families, bringing old friends together and even just opening roads to reconnect the world. In this way, you could say Link learnt a valuable lesson about friendship but that's not true. Link didn't need to learn anything and instead it was him helping Termina discover itself.
The very first thing we see in the game is a bit of text explaining that Link is searching for an important friend. We know this friend is Navi and this shows us Link already understands the importance of friendship and togetherness. Throughout the game, he helps the inhabitants of Termina understand this as well, in big ways like reuniting the Giants, and in small ways, like reminding Gorman why he got into show business. Link leaves an indelible impression on Termina, not the other way around.

At least, that's the way I see it. I don't think it was a 'journey of self discovery'.

well u do know Termina wasn't technically a REAL place like hyrule. It was in another dimension/dream world/lost reality/realm/ etc... actually everything u said adds to my theory, because he did lose his friend. maybe him reconnecting the world of termina and everyone with each other was his way of reconecting himself and opening himself back up to reality...
 
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Cfrock

Keep it strong
Joined
Mar 17, 2012
Location
Liverpool, England
well u do know Termina wasn't technically a REAL place like hyrule. It was in another dimension/dream world/lost reality/realm/ etc... actually everything u said adds to my theory, because he did lose his friend. maybe him reconnecting the world of termina and everyone with each other was his way of reconecting himself and opening himself back up to reality...

Termina is a parallel dimension. It is there as a physical world, it just doesn't exist in the same reality as Hyrule. It isn't a dream world.

How does anything I said add to your theory? Becaus he lost his friend? I'm gonna quote you again:

its not like it was based around navi being lost...

Suddenly you seem to think Link looking for Navi is a lot more important than when you repsonded to TheBlueReptile.

The whole Navi thing is extremely important and does poke massive holes in your theory. Link was looking for Navi, showing he already valued friendship greatly. Link taught that to Termina as a whole and then left, having learnt nothing new himself. Your theory is that Majora's Mask was a journey of self discovery. If that's the case then Link would have learnt something, which he didn't. If that was the case, Link would have realised the value of friendship the way the Skull Kid does and then gone in search of Navi, having a newfound appreciation of friendship.

Nothing I said supports your theory in any way.

The skull kid could be his "split crazy personality manifesting itself in a dream or something"

Your entire theory is built on the assumption that after Ocarina of Time, Link's mind was in a state of emotional turmoil. Right here you suggested he had specific mental health issues, like schizophrenia. You say Link's mind was so messed up that it 'invented' the adventure in Termina as a means of fixing itself. Sounds like he must have gone plum crazy.
The background to Majora's Mask directly contradicts this. We know Link did three things between Zelda sending him back in time and him entering Termina.
1) Link visited Hyrule Castle to inform Zelda about Ganondorf. It makes the most sense that he would have done this immediately after he left the Temple of Time, as seen in the final cutscene in Ocarina of Time. Zelda mentions that he spent a few days there and she gives him the Ocarina of Time and teaches him the Song of Time.
2) Link went to Lon Lon Ranch where he met and bonded with a young Epona and perhaps bought her from the ranch. Link never lost rupees when he went back through time in Ocarina of Time so he may have still have a full wallet to do this. Regardless of how, Link got Epona.
3) Link rode into the Lost Woods to find Navi. Since she is a fairy from the forest, it seems like a sensible decision to look for Navi there.

These do not sound like the actions of someone whose mind is as damaged as you suggest. These actions are very deliberate, they are very sensible and clever, they show a clear system of prioritising and show he understands what Hyrule needs as well as what he needs for his own little quest. If he truly was in the state of mind you suggest, he would barely have gotten to the 'warn Zelda' stage.

I just disagree with your theory. I know it sounds like I am attacking it but I'm just trying to show why I don't agree with it. I've added this extra bit to try to help you see how nothing I said backs you up and that by saying that you're just not accepting there are flaws in your theory. There are flaws in every theory, don't take it to heart.
 
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Joined
Feb 23, 2011
I think I'll just stick to what Nintendo has confirmed, and that is the fact that Termina is an alternate dimension. There's no dream involved this time around, as Nintendo has not even hinted at it - in any source that I've read (including Hyrule Historia) - over all these years. I'm sure something would have been brought up on the subject by now... :/ Most importantly, I doubt Nintendo would go the dream route again...

By the way, this thread topic reminds me a lot of the "Majora's Mask = a broken heart (a heart consumed by sadness and darkness)" theory on ZU.
 

SuperMetroid

Eating Your Brains
Joined
Apr 6, 2012
Location
Melbourne, Australia
This is actually a common theory (as far as I'm concerned). Source 1, source 2 et cetera. TL;DR, Link goes into the lost woods without a fairy, and as information in OoT implies, this means he would become a stalfos. Termina is a world created by him, which recreates all his life experiences as Cfrock listed. In unlike what Cfrock stated, the theory is that Link's resolving of the problems around Termina helps him to accept his life experiences, and in a way live them out the way he wanted. (such as Anju and Kafei to Link and Zelda)

It's actually interesting to note that Tael says something like "it's time to let go... accept your fate". The comment would imply that Link needs to accept that he'll never find Navi. However, it could also mean that Link needs to accept his life for what it is and accept that this is the end of his life.

This theory is easily debunked, however. Miyamoto and the like have said that Termina is a mirror universe to Hyrule. Stalfos Link in TP is an adult, whereas the theory would imply he dies as a child. Not all of the happenings in MM reflect Link's experiences in Hyrule (and if it does, it's going out on a limb). It's all up for interpretation though.
 
Joined
Feb 23, 2011
This is actually a common theory (as far as I'm concerned). Source 1, source 2 et cetera. TL;DR, Link goes into the lost woods without a fairy, and as information in OoT implies, this means he would become a stalfos. Termina is a world created by him, which recreates all his life experiences as Cfrock listed. In unlike what Cfrock stated, the theory is that Link's resolving of the problems around Termina helps him to accept his life experiences, and in a way live them out the way he wanted. (such as Anju and Kafei to Link and Zelda)

It's actually interesting to note that Tael says something like "it's time to let go... accept your fate". The comment would imply that Link needs to accept that he'll never find Navi. However, it could also mean that Link needs to accept his life for what it is and accept that this is the end of his life.

This theory is easily debunked, however. Miyamoto and the like have said that Termina is a mirror universe to Hyrule. Stalfos Link in TP is an adult, whereas the theory would imply he dies as a child. Not all of the happenings in MM reflect Link's experiences in Hyrule (and if it does, it's going out on a limb). It's all up for interpretation though.

I hope that, by "Stalfos Link," you mean the Hero's Shade (HS). It has been confirmed numerous times, including in the Hyrule Historia, that he is not a Stalfos. What's more likely is that the Hero of Time (HoT) assumed that form to face [TP] Link, and the golden wolf spirit is his true spiritual form; this would make sense when one considers that it parallels [TP] Link who also assumes the form of a wolf, due to divine influence. The skeletal appearance of the HS might just be an intepretation of what the HoT looked like after his body decayed, and the clothes that he wears are likely the clothes that he was wearing when he died.

Hyrule Historia (Glitterberri translation) said:
•Link, the Hero of Time’s Descendent

The first time Link sets foot in the Twilight, the crest of the Triforce of Courage on the back of his hand shines and he takes on a beastly form. When he returns to human form, he is garbed in the clothes said to be worn by the hero. The ghost of his ancestor, the Hero of Time, teaches him secrets. Ever since returning to the child era, the Hero of Time had felt regret that he could not be remembered as a hero. Therefore, he addresses Link as his son and passes down the proof of courage and his secrets.

Source: Pg. 118 Princess Zelda’s Revival & Ganon’s Suppression

While I'm at it, I guess I'll post this as well...

Hyrule Historia (Glitterberri translation) said:
•Link’s Departure

Link borrowed Epona from Lon Lon Ranch.
And after several months of wandering looking for his past friend Navi, he was lost in a mysterious forest.
In the forest, there was a way to the parallel universe called Termina.

Source: Pg. 110 The Twilight Realm and the Hero’s Descendants
 

Libk

Spaceballs: The Mafia Player
Joined
Jul 12, 2011
Location
Spaceball 1
So here's why Him looking for navi isn't really important to this game at all(and it might make se of you think I'm crazy for saying its not). Ok so Link's main quest is him trying to find Navi. He gets interrupted trying to do so and goes on this quest. Majora's mask is actually a side quest technically. It has nothing to do with his main quest of finding navi. I just thought of point that out
 

AwesomeTingle

Pure Awesomeness
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Location
Somewhere over the Rainbow
So, Link has a mental disorder? It would explain why he doesn't speak.
That is a really interesting concept, and I like it. But I don't think that's what Nintendo had in mind. They wanted to make a good sequel to an amazing game in under a year...
Then again, a lot of Majora's Masks story is really deep. Maybe you are right. I guess we'll never know...
 
Joined
Apr 17, 2012
Location
Germany
I also think that this theory is interesting, and after I read the first post I really saw were it comes from, but I don't think that Termina was a dream. I think that in the discussion here next to every important point about why it is not a dream has already been stated, so I won't go into any more detail with that. All I want to say is: If it was all a dream, where does the painting on the games final screen come from?
 

Megidrus

Wolf of Time
Joined
Apr 20, 2012
Location
Muffinland
i think it may be a dream but not about link discovering himself but while he is caught in stasis coz mm happened before tp meaning link must have some how aged so i think mm happened as a dream and during it he forgets abvout his life before
 
Joined
Feb 23, 2011
So here's why Him looking for navi isn't really important to this game at all(and it might make se of you think I'm crazy for saying its not). Ok so Link's main quest is him trying to find Navi. He gets interrupted trying to do so and goes on this quest. Majora's mask is actually a side quest technically. It has nothing to do with his main quest of finding navi. I just thought of point that out

How does ↑ serve to disprove the OP's theory?

Anyway... Finding Navi was Link's main objective, but him being sidetracked didn't interfere with that objective. It is hinted that he continued on his search for her after his quest wrapped up, but, in Nintendo fashion, the details behind this were left incredibly vague. You are right, however, that Majora's Mask is a sidequest, as it was originally to be called Zelda Gaiden. The word "gaiden" roughly translates to "sidestory."
 
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bkelly458

Just Some Dude
Joined
Apr 13, 2012
Personally, I don't think the psychological journey of self-discovery and the parallel world of Termina are mutually exclusive ideas.

I've always thought Link would have had some serious emotional baggage after OoT. He was, for all intensive purposes, a loser of a "Kokiri" kid without a fairy at first, left town after his town's mentor (the Great Deku) died, embarked on this big, epic adventure across time and became an adult, only to end up at square one again- a fairyless kid with maybe a handful of genuine friends in the world. Everyone owed him their lives, but they either had no clue or didn't even know him. I think, personally, the last scene in OoT wasn't originally about Link telling Zelda about Ganondorf and creating a split timeline, but Link just looking for a friend. The whole world had sense of closer about it- but Link didn't feel it, and nothing to show for it. Link was surely empty inside, if not going crazy.

Overall, I think the gods created a mutual beneficial situation in MM.

1) Have Link save Termina by helping them connecting friendships, and
2) Have Termina save Link through him connecting friendships (in a "its more blessed to give than to receive" way) and to resolve some of his emotional wounds he held by being the Hero of Time by coming to terms with HIS reality through an ALTERNATE reality.

I believe it's a real, physical parallel world, but the gods engineered it to resemble Link's thoughts and psych for everyone's benefit.
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2011
Location
Tennessee
i think it may be a dream but not about link discovering himself but while he is caught in stasis coz mm happened before tp meaning link must have some how aged so i think mm happened as a dream and during it he forgets abvout his life before

What? you dod know it is a different Link in TP... You make it sound like Link forgot about MM, aged normally, and went on to TP. sigh..
 

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