- Joined
- Apr 30, 2022
Ok I know everyone hates edgy takes on Majora's Mask about how Link is dead or in purgatory, etc.I agree because Majora's Mask exists to develop further the character of Link and thus he must have a future, or else the game has no purpose and that would be sad. Still, I think there is a reason the game ended up with such conceptual richness in a short amount of development time: they not only imported assets from Ocarina of Time, the very soul and concept of the Majora's Mask narrative enterprise was already present on that first adventure.
I am always kind of disappointed with some of the theories found in Youtube or other places since they always make interesting in-game arguments but never seem to point out to real word inspirations that Nintendo developers must certainly take into account—the different encyclopedias of course would also never discuss this— These ideas don't exist in a vacuum after all and Westerners are not very familiar with Chinese and Japanese folklore. The game’s english translator even claims that the developers infused a lot of their own culture into this particular game and it makes sense since they wanted to differentiate the world as much as possible from medieval European Hyrule.
First of all i want to say that i have been doing a full musicological analysis of both The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask and, in the process, i have found a lot of influences in the series, So it would be cool if you all could check it out, even if you are not interested as much in the music, I am sure you will find very interesting nuggets of information.
From analyzing closely these two games i came into the following connection. hear me out**…..The Water Temple from Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask are exactly the same thing and more than that, the mask quest from ocarina of time already had the heart of the sequel….i** know, i know, it sounds totally bonkers but I promise i am not losing my mind or trying to do out there fan fiction.
Have you ever wondered why do we fight Dark Link on the Water Temple? Because it’s cool, that’s right; but there are more reasons. turns out that this is a dungeon whose entire concept was gaining wisdom and in fact, the temple is a fully fledged Buddhist shrine, more than ten years before the Ancient Cistern, all culminating with the protagonist conquering himself in a literal reflection room below a solitary Bodhi tree where all Buddhas are said to have attained enlightenment; a true Buddhist allegory. If you have the time, Here is an essay explaining how these ideas are exactly what forms the basis for the design and concept of the Water Temple:
https://officialmusictracks.wordpre...ina-of-time-original-soundtrack-water-temple/
This was the small Eastern influence from Ocarina of Time that will be expanded on its sequel. Majora's Mask is jut a more elaborate culmination of this whole concept. What I think happened on Majora's Mask was that the developers looked back on concepts from the previous game that they felt could be developed further and enhanced. They combined the idea of that temple with the Buddhist influences of the whole Happy Mask Salesman mask quest from Ocarina of Time, which is also a Buddhist allegory the designers wanted to flesh out more (to put it short, there is a reason we received the mask of truth at the end of that quest; it was a mini allegory signaling that Link had become awakened or enlightened, and as you will see, the mask of truth will go on to play a prominent role in Majora's Mask, from the main art, to the very ending)
Basically, the core message of Majora's Mask is literally the first lines of dialogue we hear from the mask salesman in Ocarina of Time; that by healing others one can heal oneself. They just expanded what was already there for the sequel. And the Buddhist ideas are certainly there, as i am sure some have pointed before. The emphasis on the number four is a staple of Buddhism, the cycle of rebirth and gaining karma is right there imbued into Majora's Mask design. and Inside The Moon is nothing more than the same allegory from the Water Temple. That being the Bodhi Tree where all the Buddhas conquer themselves and grow up. this is the reason the Fierce City Mask is an adult Link and is only obtained when you help every single soul in need. The game message can be summarized with two quotes from Cremia and the Happy Mask Salesman:
“With every good deed, a child takes one step closer to adulthood”
"hiyeee! Welcome to the Happy Mask Shop! We deal in masks that bring happiness to everyone! How would you like to be a happiness salesman…..after you’ve sold all the masks, you will become happy yourself! Have faith…"
The healing that is been done on Majora's Mask is that of the hero of time, a person who lost its identity, friends and adulthood at the end of his previous adventure.
This theme is even repeated verbatim on Skyward Sword, where the masks are replaced by gratitude crystals that ultimately are used to heal a dark soul
There is a more elaborate and organized essay explaining the finer points of these concepts here: https://officialmusictracks.wordpre...nd-of-zelda-majoras-mask-original-soundtrack/
Now you know why the purple guy from A Link Between Worlds, a character that is based around motifs of being Link's alter ego, is in possession of the mask of Majora,
The character of Majora is nothing more than the dark side of Link and all the reflections made in the game definitively concern what Link is living through right now. This is the reason why Majora's Mask is shaped like a dark heart; it is the same concept from the Water Temple. In turn, the Fierce Deity Mask is the good side of Link he gained by accumulating karma throughout the game. Eiji Aounuma even hinted at this on an interview. That is the explanation of why it has the face of Link.
Hopefully, you can read some parts of it. But if it is too long, i will summarize and point that to understand The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask it is key to understand the most popular branch of Buddhism in Japan, that is Pure Land Buddhism.
Termina is the Zelda universe equivalent to the Buddhist concept of a 'Pure Land' a realm outside ordinary perception that sometimes is in need of healing by a person that is engaged on a path to enlightenment, it seems that a ‘Pure Land’ is indeed molded after each person necessities and merits so that is the reason Termina is based around time; because it is a plane of existence meant for the hero of time and likely no one else. How real is a pure land? funny thing is, at this very moment there might be a Buddhist forum somewhere where people are fiercely debating their stance about the reality of a pure land. So yeah, the cycle repeats again with the Majora’s Mask discussion. Termina is the place where Link conquers himself.
also, From the very beginning of development, the concept of Navi was based around her being a guide for the player; Navi is short for "navigation" and since early in the making of Ocarina of Time, the developers knew that the game would begin with Navi arriving and end with Navi leaving no matter what happened in the story. The reason is because the player does not need navigation anymore after the end of the game, the control can be unplugged now.
so Navi has slightly more connotations to the developers. Link looking for Navi at the beginning of Majora's Mask is also Link looking for "direction"in life" she was his compass. when Link manages to exit the forest at the end of the game, this means he doesn't need Navi anymore, he found purpose on the land of Termina.
i also think the conclusions of Hyrule Encyclopedia are sometimes wrongly dismissed very quickly, They certainly had access to development documents, Why do we think they just sat and conjectured ideas from thin air and imagination? Maybe they just speculated about the documents and stuff.
Ultimately, i am sure the person with the most precise answers is Yoshiaki Koizumi, the co-director that conceptualized the entire game, so somebody should really start campaigning for an in depth interview with the man—not that i think he would be any less ambiguous and probably dodge most of the questions.
There is still more that needs to be clarified but what i’m completely sure is that the game is mainly oriental inspired, from the music to the masks, to the Chinese and Buddhist concepts.
Here is a full playlist with essays and analysis for each track here. Hope you enjoy and share your thoughts on how you experienced each part of the game.
I am always kind of disappointed with some of the theories found in Youtube or other places since they always make interesting in-game arguments but never seem to point out to real word inspirations that Nintendo developers must certainly take into account—the different encyclopedias of course would also never discuss this— These ideas don't exist in a vacuum after all and Westerners are not very familiar with Chinese and Japanese folklore. The game’s english translator even claims that the developers infused a lot of their own culture into this particular game and it makes sense since they wanted to differentiate the world as much as possible from medieval European Hyrule.
First of all i want to say that i have been doing a full musicological analysis of both The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask and, in the process, i have found a lot of influences in the series, So it would be cool if you all could check it out, even if you are not interested as much in the music, I am sure you will find very interesting nuggets of information.
From analyzing closely these two games i came into the following connection. hear me out**…..The Water Temple from Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask are exactly the same thing and more than that, the mask quest from ocarina of time already had the heart of the sequel….i** know, i know, it sounds totally bonkers but I promise i am not losing my mind or trying to do out there fan fiction.
Have you ever wondered why do we fight Dark Link on the Water Temple? Because it’s cool, that’s right; but there are more reasons. turns out that this is a dungeon whose entire concept was gaining wisdom and in fact, the temple is a fully fledged Buddhist shrine, more than ten years before the Ancient Cistern, all culminating with the protagonist conquering himself in a literal reflection room below a solitary Bodhi tree where all Buddhas are said to have attained enlightenment; a true Buddhist allegory. If you have the time, Here is an essay explaining how these ideas are exactly what forms the basis for the design and concept of the Water Temple:
https://officialmusictracks.wordpre...ina-of-time-original-soundtrack-water-temple/
This was the small Eastern influence from Ocarina of Time that will be expanded on its sequel. Majora's Mask is jut a more elaborate culmination of this whole concept. What I think happened on Majora's Mask was that the developers looked back on concepts from the previous game that they felt could be developed further and enhanced. They combined the idea of that temple with the Buddhist influences of the whole Happy Mask Salesman mask quest from Ocarina of Time, which is also a Buddhist allegory the designers wanted to flesh out more (to put it short, there is a reason we received the mask of truth at the end of that quest; it was a mini allegory signaling that Link had become awakened or enlightened, and as you will see, the mask of truth will go on to play a prominent role in Majora's Mask, from the main art, to the very ending)
Basically, the core message of Majora's Mask is literally the first lines of dialogue we hear from the mask salesman in Ocarina of Time; that by healing others one can heal oneself. They just expanded what was already there for the sequel. And the Buddhist ideas are certainly there, as i am sure some have pointed before. The emphasis on the number four is a staple of Buddhism, the cycle of rebirth and gaining karma is right there imbued into Majora's Mask design. and Inside The Moon is nothing more than the same allegory from the Water Temple. That being the Bodhi Tree where all the Buddhas conquer themselves and grow up. this is the reason the Fierce City Mask is an adult Link and is only obtained when you help every single soul in need. The game message can be summarized with two quotes from Cremia and the Happy Mask Salesman:
“With every good deed, a child takes one step closer to adulthood”
"hiyeee! Welcome to the Happy Mask Shop! We deal in masks that bring happiness to everyone! How would you like to be a happiness salesman…..after you’ve sold all the masks, you will become happy yourself! Have faith…"
The healing that is been done on Majora's Mask is that of the hero of time, a person who lost its identity, friends and adulthood at the end of his previous adventure.
This theme is even repeated verbatim on Skyward Sword, where the masks are replaced by gratitude crystals that ultimately are used to heal a dark soul
There is a more elaborate and organized essay explaining the finer points of these concepts here: https://officialmusictracks.wordpre...nd-of-zelda-majoras-mask-original-soundtrack/
Now you know why the purple guy from A Link Between Worlds, a character that is based around motifs of being Link's alter ego, is in possession of the mask of Majora,
The character of Majora is nothing more than the dark side of Link and all the reflections made in the game definitively concern what Link is living through right now. This is the reason why Majora's Mask is shaped like a dark heart; it is the same concept from the Water Temple. In turn, the Fierce Deity Mask is the good side of Link he gained by accumulating karma throughout the game. Eiji Aounuma even hinted at this on an interview. That is the explanation of why it has the face of Link.
Hopefully, you can read some parts of it. But if it is too long, i will summarize and point that to understand The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask it is key to understand the most popular branch of Buddhism in Japan, that is Pure Land Buddhism.
Termina is the Zelda universe equivalent to the Buddhist concept of a 'Pure Land' a realm outside ordinary perception that sometimes is in need of healing by a person that is engaged on a path to enlightenment, it seems that a ‘Pure Land’ is indeed molded after each person necessities and merits so that is the reason Termina is based around time; because it is a plane of existence meant for the hero of time and likely no one else. How real is a pure land? funny thing is, at this very moment there might be a Buddhist forum somewhere where people are fiercely debating their stance about the reality of a pure land. So yeah, the cycle repeats again with the Majora’s Mask discussion. Termina is the place where Link conquers himself.
also, From the very beginning of development, the concept of Navi was based around her being a guide for the player; Navi is short for "navigation" and since early in the making of Ocarina of Time, the developers knew that the game would begin with Navi arriving and end with Navi leaving no matter what happened in the story. The reason is because the player does not need navigation anymore after the end of the game, the control can be unplugged now.
so Navi has slightly more connotations to the developers. Link looking for Navi at the beginning of Majora's Mask is also Link looking for "direction"in life" she was his compass. when Link manages to exit the forest at the end of the game, this means he doesn't need Navi anymore, he found purpose on the land of Termina.
i also think the conclusions of Hyrule Encyclopedia are sometimes wrongly dismissed very quickly, They certainly had access to development documents, Why do we think they just sat and conjectured ideas from thin air and imagination? Maybe they just speculated about the documents and stuff.
Ultimately, i am sure the person with the most precise answers is Yoshiaki Koizumi, the co-director that conceptualized the entire game, so somebody should really start campaigning for an in depth interview with the man—not that i think he would be any less ambiguous and probably dodge most of the questions.
There is still more that needs to be clarified but what i’m completely sure is that the game is mainly oriental inspired, from the music to the masks, to the Chinese and Buddhist concepts.
Here is a full playlist with essays and analysis for each track here. Hope you enjoy and share your thoughts on how you experienced each part of the game.
