Majoras mask was a DREAM

[DekuNut]

Let's be even more literal. If he died at the beginning of MM, as a kid, then the events of adult link in OoT cease to exist. Those events are predicated on the fact that Link then goes on to live over those 7 years, coming back at the end of that span to finish taking the Master Sword out of the pedestal - and going on to defeat Ganon. It doesn't make a ton of sense, but that's the paradoxical nature of time travel. If he died in MM then the only explanation for adult OoT Link is that Link himself is a spectre, or those events are carried out in a parallel world themselves, which is a bit of a stretch even for Zelda's convoluted timeline.

Actually, it's been confirmed that Link travelling back in time at the end of OoT caused a split timeline. One split is MM and the like, where Link went back in time and stopped Ganondorf before he took over. A second was WW and its sequels, where Ganondorf was defeated but they were left without a hero. A third is where Ganon ended up killing Link and he was trapped in beast form in the sacred realm, leading to... I think it's ALttP? Anyway, all of that is confirmed.

 

[Mr. Ister]

A second was WW and its sequels, where Ganondorf was defeated but they were left without a hero.

Why were they left without a hero? Either way Link eventually grows up and exists beyond the defeat of Ganon.

 

[Kingwobbly]

Why were they left without a hero? Either way Link eventually grows up and exists beyond the defeat of Ganon.

Link travelled back in time at the end of OoT and so ceased to exist in that timeline, so there is no adult Link in the Adult timeline, which is why they were left without a hero. So events in MM wouldn't affect the ending of OoT because it's now a different universe. That's what I got from it anyway.

 

[Mr. Ister]

But you haven't explained what happened to adult Link after beating Ganon in OoT. He went back in time, but that is unrelated to what happens to adult Link starting with Ganon's defeat. If he ceased to exist, does that mean adult Link dies after defeating Ganon?

 

[Kingwobbly]

No, adult Link is sent back in time, so he only exists in the past. He doesn't split into two people.

 

[Mr. Ister]

But he is still there...going back in time from point B to point A does not mean that the events directly following point B are, in reality, delayed at all from the perspective of the universe at point B. Time does not stand still the second after point B because the individual went back in time - the events of point A happen within an instant, allowing point B and the following events to continue uninterrupted within the context of the universe - the individual may pause and move around, but the universe continues unabated. It's temporarily hitting pause from the time traveling individual's perspective, but it does not mean the individual in the future time point ( ceases to exist. Otherwise you're voiding the whole master sword time travel mechanic, since placing the master sword in the pedestal to go from adult to child does not void the existence of adult Link, once you return to that state.

Might be pointless to argue about it. I've reached the point at which time travel as a concept becomes paradoxical, and to try to explain it within the context of a video game that obviously isn't too concerned about it is probably a waste of time. I do think that saying adult Link just vanishes into thin air is a bit of a cop-out, but again, does it really matter...

 

[Kingwobbly]

Well, I kind of see what you mean, but since there is one individual, he grows up to be adult Link, then as soon as that quest is complete, he goes further back in time and changes the future, so he doesn't grow up in that time line. So he doesn't vanish into thin air, but he doesn't exist in that timeline anymore. That's what I think is supposed to be the case in the game.
The thing with time travel is that it's been done in many ways in many different stories with many different rules, so you have to figure out what rules apply to each story. It only makes sense if you let the writers tell you what the rules are, then you squint at the product from a distance and turn your head to the left.

 

[Mr. Ister]

Haha, well put

 

[MrPsychoSlayer]

There are so many theories stating that Majora's Mask didn't really happen, even though Nintendo has stated that it was a parallel world. It's real. It happened. There's no evidence that it was a dream.

 

[Gage]

Dude he fell on a flower he didn't die But the theory on Navi is unexplainable. I couldn't tell you

 

[Sheiken]

Link was not dead in Majora's Mask nor was it a dream. It was a side adventure of the Hero of Time akin to the Ocean King's domain in PH (alternate world). There is no indication that Majora's Mask was a dream nor would it make sense.

Even Nintendo themselves stated that Termina was in a parallel world. All of these theories about how Link could have been dead or anything of the such are a little annoying to be honest. Theories are always great, but not when you go against established canon facts as well as what the creators themselves state.

 

[fermian]

This will likely be far from popular, but it must be said: what happens in the game or what comments are mafe by the creator are meaningless compared to what happens in one's own imagination. Personally, I follow Link and friends every single day whilst at work and I couldn't begin to relate the purely bizzare places he has taken me.

is MM a dream?
is Link dead?
is Tingle the physical manifestation of your darkest subconscious desires?
The decision is yours to make.