MM-3DS Majora's Mask Time Travel Mistake?

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Have you ever felt like you are experiancing events that have happened before? Things are so familar you know what is going to happen? That sensation is known as Deja Vu. Imagine if that feeling happened constantly over a span of time, and when that span of time was over everything restarted exactly the same. This is essientially what happens to the hero of the Zelda series, Link, in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. We know how it feels from his point of view and we can get an idea of how it feels for the other people in the game - they should be unaware that events are happening over and over. There is one who doesn't seem to be effected by time, The Happy Mask Salesman. Why exactly is he different than other characters? Could he be centered around a plot mistake? (Afterall when touching on themes about time travel mistakes are not uncommon as various forms of literature and entertainment have shown) This is what I intend to find out.

Time is a very important thing to us. We all are oriented in time. At some point in our day we start keeping track of time, to work our daily routines around it. We wonder when we should leave to go somewere? Will we be late if we don't leave early enough? Might there be a faster route which gets us past detours such as traffic, crowded streets, or bumping into familar people? Could we get through those detours but still be on time? These are probably just a few questions we have all thought about on a busy day, and don't we sometimes wish we didn't need to worry about those things? That somehow we could harness time to our advantage? Its interesting, the possibility of time travel; with it we could get through our days faster, spend more time in a good moment, even go back to fix mistakes in the past. Doesn't that all sound so convenient? It certainly would make things so much easier, but in order to do this we would need to bend the laws of time, which is impossible with our current technology.

The laws of time are strict. There are two fundamental laws: one being we are all rooted firmly in the present, and two, that time only flows in one direction (foward). As far as we know there is no way to harness time to go back, or foward into it with our current technology. Its still fun to ponder though, what might happen if one were able to travel through time? In general the concept of time travel is hard to grasp, it is even harder to imagine what different scenarios traveling through time could create. If one were to go into the past, and interact with people from that period in time how might that change the course of history there after? These are when scenarios such as paradoxes, and the butterfly effect begin to come into play. A paradox is a scenario which defies logic, but theoretically might be true. Time travel in itself can create paradoxes. The Butterfly effect is a theory which states that ones actions, no matter the scale, will escalate and have a big impact at some point afterward.

There is no denying that these themes are very popular, we often see such themes in books, movies, and in videogames. Popular books include “Rip Van Winkle” “The Time Machine” and “A Christmas Carol”. While movies include “Back to the Future” “Groundhog Day” and “The Terminator”. It should be noted, that with such themes mistakes can arise often, some which might even slip past the Authors, Directors, or Developers of the content. For example, in the movie “Back to the future” the main character of the movie, Marty, goes back in time. In the “past” he interacts with his parents while they were young which alters their meeting. Marty's mother doesn't fall in love with his father the way they were supposed to. In order to keep himself from being eradicated from exhistance Marty dons the identity “Calvin “Marty” Cline” and plays matchmaker for his parents. He successfully gets them to fall inlove, in the process he played a big role in their lives. The inconsistency is that once Marty is actually born and as he grows up wouldn't his parents noticed that strangely he looks just like the man who encouraged them to get together back inHighschool? This is a rather small plot mistake, but it just goes to show thatmistakes can, and probably will happen. So could this be what Nintendo did inMajora's Mask? Did they make a plot mistake that just so happened to revolve around the Happy Mask Salesman?

With the release of Majora's Mask 3D fans of old, and new are experiancing Nintendo's take on Time travel. Recently I have been playing the remake when something came to myattention. I was inside the Clock Tower after playing the song of time once I freed the first giant in the game. I walked over to the Happy Mask Salesman and talked to him, he seemed to remember too much - He seems to remember teaching Link the Song of Healing. The question which arises from this is how does he remember teaching Link the Song of Healing? I believe it has something to do with the flow of time in the game. At the beginning of the game, in the clock tower, the Happy Mask Salesman starts the three day timer. (He doesn't actually start it but he does give Link a deadline of three days to complete his task) However time only begins to flow normally once Link steps outside the tower. Could this have something to do with the Happy Mask Salesman? Everytime Link plays the song of time, he ends up right back at the very moment when he walked out the clock tower for the first time. Before Link walks out of the tower, he makes a deal with the Happy Mask Salesman - this is at the beginning of the game. Here is the quote from that encounter.

“I know of a way to return you to your former self. If you can get back the precious item that was stolen from you, I will return you to normal. In exchange... all I ask is that you also get back my precious mask that the imp stole from me.” -Happy Mask Salesman

Link accepts the deal, he is hardly in a situation not to, afterall Skull Kid turned him into a Deku Scrub. When Link eventually gets the Ocarina of Time back he plays the song of time which takes him back to the moment right when he first walked out the clock tower and the three day cycle began. During Link's second vist to the Happy Mask Salesman he teaches Link the song of healing. Inevitably, Link has to eventually play the Song of Time to advance the quest. Consequently that would bring Link back to the first day, so in theory, The Happy Mask Salesman should have no recollection of teaching Link the Song of Healing or turning him back to his Hylian form. However, in such circumstances if you return to the Clock Tower, he should ask questions such as, “How did you lift the curse?" "Did you get your Ocarina back?" “Why are you no longer a Deku scrub?” Instead he acts quite normal, and asks were Majora's Mask is. (The only reason Link and Tatl retain memories is because they are the ones actually time traveling.)

Everytime Link walks inside the tower, the extent of the Happy Mask Salesman's knowledge should be the original deal he and Link made before the three day timer even began. Also in his mind the whole event should have happened really fast, Link theoritcally was only outside for a few seconds to the Happy Mask Salesman, yet he walks in with the Ocarina, and is human, not a deku scrub. the Happy Mask Salesman should be flustered at this, yet again he acts like nothing is strange.

There are only two explanations. Either it was a mistake that Nintendo made that slipped past them at the time, or it was no mistake at all. Afterall, some say the Happy Mask Salesman is not an ordinary mask salesman; could this just be more proof of this? Let's say it wasn't a mistake, that would only mean the Happy Mask Salesman is no ordinary being. He does seem very strange, he claims to be a Mask Salesman, he says he is on business, yet not once does he leave the Clock Tower. In Termina the carnival of time will be happening very soon, he should be out selling masks, afterall it would be a perfect time for someone of his profession to be selling things. The three day timer was started by him, and it just so happens in three days time Termina's moon will fall. Is that just a coincidence? He claims nobody knows Majora's Mask true powers, but he tells Link the mask's power almost spot on before that! He says when he finally got the mask he could, “sense the doom of a dark omen brewing.” but still kept the mask anyway instead of resealing it! There is definitely more than meets the eye with this man. He probably is immune to the effects of time, maybe that is why time freezes in the clock tower? Of all places were time could freeze its where he is. This sort of null feild in the tower might be what keeps him from forgetting things even when Link restarts time.

If all of this were true, if the Happy Mask Salesman wasn't normal than this just raises more questions. How did a mere imp best him to get Majora's Mask? If he was so powerful why couldn't he get the mask back himself? Was it all maybe orchastrated by The Happy Mask Salesman? If so, what for? Was it all just a game to him, did he maybe do it for a purpose? Maybe the question we should be asking is if there can ever be any justifiable reason to jeoperdise lives? Is the Happy Mask Salesman a good guy, or has he been a villian all along?

 

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

I wouldn't call it a mistake... first, like you mentioned, the Clock Tower seems to have something very special to it. Why on earth did the portal from the Lost Woods lead there of all places? And what was with that incredibly worn and ancient looking door that seals behind Link the first time he enters Clock Tower proper? I don't really know the answers to that, but is seems fairly clear that the Clock Tower is separate from the rest of Termina when it comes to being affected by the flow of time and how it's manipulated.

But I wouldn't even call that the prime reason for the Happy Mask Salesman not being "reset". It's kind of the same thing as the Clock Tower, but the HMS seems to be far, far more "special" in regards to who he is and what he can do compared to the rest of Termina. He apparently can travel freely between Hyrule and Termina, something that no one else can do (Link just kind of stumbled upon Termina by accident, and, as far as we know, the citizens of Termina aren't even aware that Hyrule exists) except seemingly Skull Kid/Majora. Add the fact that there's some rather strong evidence to support that the HMS race is the moon-dwellers, and that he was actually COLLECTING something as terrible as Majora's Mask, I think we can at least arrive to the conclusion that he's fully aware of Link's ability to manipulate time, and himself isn't affected by it, be it because of him just being who he is, or the Clock Tower existing outside of Termina's time flow.

Actually, that would be a really cool piece of irony. The Clock Tower, which is the largest form of keeping time in Termina, is actually the only thing immune to the manipulation of it. Heh, that would be clever.

 

[Dio]

It's the happy mask salesman, he is the servant of Demise, a demon who conquered time itself. Of course he does not get reset, he knows some of his masters tricks.

 

[Maikeru]

I can assure you it was no mistake. The creators of the game knew what they were doing here. As for why, I have come up with three possibilities, each which I find more interesting than the lest.

1. Zelda Logic - That's just the way it is, and we shouldn't question it.

2. The Clock Tower - As others have said, the Clock Tower seems to not be affected in the same way Termina is. Perhaps Majora's powers are limited, and the Clock Tower is vulnerable because of that. Or perhaps even the Clock Tower was made by the Gods or even Terminians as sacred ground of some sort.

3. Happy Mask Salesman - Lastly, I think there may be a reason beyond what we realize that Happy Mask Salesman was in Ocarina of Time outside his initial mask selling duties. I propose that Happy Mask Salesman is the God, or Goddess, of Time. Zelda mentions to Link that the Goddess of Time allows him to back and forth through time. It would make sense if Link always returned to the place of the person who allowed him to do so. The game says she's a goddess, though that could be to make us thing it's a female. Or furthermore, it could be just because the goddess can take on any form she wants. Perhaps the mysterious mask salesman is what she became. Naturally, if he was a time deity, he would not be affected by it. He could be a God of Time totally separate from the Goddess of Time that we heard of, or even been given the task and ability to do this by the Goddess of Time. I would guess that he either contacted the Goddess of Time or is the "Goddess" of Time.

 

[Jirohnagi]

Has no one realized the truth? Happy Mask Salesmen IS A TIMELORD. It explains it all people.

 

[ReveredPartisan]

Well, the Happy Mask Salesman is a very enigmatic personality. He knows far more than he lets on, that much is known, and he has very peculiar ways of hiding his secrets.

Given this, I think it's a bit rash to automatically assume there's some sort of mythological reasoning or basis behind his character. I'd argue he's just an incredibly brilliant, sly, and sickly man, and has therefore come into knowledge of many brilliant, sly, and sickly things, the least of which would be the Ocarina of Time.

And from there, it's a matter of how much he knows, not how he knows it. If he knows of the Ocarina (which he evidently does), he almost knows of the Song of Time, and, given he knows how the song functions, he should be able to logically deduce precisely how the chain of events, in relation to Link and his actions, should play out.

So, no, I don't think he's somehow unaffected by time; he just knows enough to make sense of it.

 

[Random Person]

Even if this was a mistake, I must agree with others. The HMS is so mysterious that anything he does won't be considered impossible to his character. This is a moment where suspending disbelief is done correctly in Zelda games. The HMS's mysteriousness adds to his character.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

I wouldn't call it a mistake... first, like you mentioned, the Clock Tower seems to have something very special to it. Why on earth did the portal from the Lost Woods lead there of all places? And what was with that incredibly worn and ancient looking door that seals behind Link the first time he enters Clock Tower proper? I don't really know the answers to that, but is seems fairly clear that the Clock Tower is separate from the rest of Termina when it comes to being affected by the flow of time and how it's manipulated.

But I wouldn't even call that the prime reason for the Happy Mask Salesman not being "reset". It's kind of the same thing as the Clock Tower, but the HMS seems to be far, far more "special" in regards to who he is and what he can do compared to the rest of Termina. He apparently can travel freely between Hyrule and Termina, something that no one else can do (Link just kind of stumbled upon Termina by accident, and, as far as we know, the citizens of Termina aren't even aware that Hyrule exists) except seemingly Skull Kid/Majora. Add the fact that there's some rather strong evidence to support that the HMS race is the moon-dwellers, and that he was actually COLLECTING something as terrible as Majora's Mask, I think we can at least arrive to the conclusion that he's fully aware of Link's ability to manipulate time, and himself isn't affected by it, be it because of him just being who he is, or the Clock Tower existing outside of Termina's time flow.

Actually, that would be a really cool piece of irony. The Clock Tower, which is the largest form of keeping time in Termina, is actually the only thing immune to the manipulation of it. Heh, that would be clever.

Well the moon dwellers are not exactly a people, they are an analogy, a sort of representation of either one of the two things. Either the 5 represent Skull kid and the 4 giants, or all 5 represent skull kid. In the game we learn that skull kid is the imp menetioned in the legend of the four giants. He was friends with the giants, but one day they had to leave to guard the people. Skull kid didn't understand, he thought they didn't want to be his friends anymore. So he terrorised the people to get the 4 giants attention. The four giants did what was best for the people, skull kid was messing with them so they banished skull kid. The 4 kids wearing the masks of Odowla, Ghot, Gyorg, and Twinmold might represent the 4 giants. They are all friends so they all play. The fifth kid wearing Majora's Mask represents Skull kid. He sits alone by the tree and doesn't play with the other kids because he thinks they no longer like him.

The other idea is that all 5 kids represent skull kids fears and doubts. I'm not sure which one is the right idea, but I don't think the moon dwellers have anything to do with the Happy Mask Salesman besides resembling him.