The Message of Majora's Mask/Stone Tower Temple Theory

[Octo Rocked]

The Message of Majora's Mask

Not anything I can claim credit for (I give all credit and props to the writer), but an amazing article. It's really given me a lot to think about.

So what do y'all think about what's been said in the article? Opinions on any of it? I agree with most of it, apart from all that about the Happy Mask Salesman. The theory that I believe there is that he's an attoning reincarnation of Majora--after all, he refers to it as "his" mask, and while he is not malevolent, he's extremely creepy. But I digress.

So, opinions about the article? Agreement/disagreement? Do you think Nintendo would put anything that deep or with that much effort into a game?

 

[Pocket Asian]

That was an interesting article, I will say that, but what made it even more interesting is the fact that I also beat the rest of the game today. I've never noticed a lot of those things mentioned, especially the part about the Stone Tower Temple, which is something I beat today.

 

[CZG]

Looks good, but some other time...
I do have a slight hangover and I'm terribly unconcentrated at the moment.

 

[dumb180]

Interesting.

The Tower of Babel theory: We'll never know for sure, but I think he's reaching a little bit with that. Especially on the obscene nature of Termina's pillars. The couple of Triforce appearances in this game definitely make you wonder about the relationship between the Termina and the Hylian gods. Assuming the guys at Nintendo actually cooked up an in depth backstory that never made it into the game, there's definitely one there.

I'd forgotten about the 'giants being worshiped as gods' bit. There are other gods aside from Din, Nayru, and Farore in the Zelda series, though, as creation deities, they're probably the most important ones. I don't think we can really know whether worshiping guardians would incur their wrath.

Remember these goddesses are the same beings who gave Ganondorf a piece of the Triforce. Perhaps they created Termina with Majora for no other reason than to watch it repeatedly squirm in its death throws, or perhaps they did it to see the great good that can come out of great evil. Then again, it could be because of the guardian worship. Who knows?

I completely agree on the author's intepretation of the game's theme. They hit on having faith too many times for it to be anything else.

In summation, this is a very well thought out article. The sort of thing that makes zelda speculators such as myself jump for joy. Nice find!

 

[lonely_moon]

I read that article some time ago, and I have to say, I really agreed with it. It presented an interesting argument about the nature of the Stone Tower Temple and Majora, and the overall "have faith" message the game carries. It explains the recurring motifs and themes the game has, such as the odd Triforce here and there, unusual because no mention of the Goddesses nor the Triforce were ever made by the Terminans themselves. It may seem like clutching at straws, but I found it to really make sense. And I think that the "faith" moral is a really good one.

The only thing the article doesn't touch on, however, is the fact that no one "converts" to the Hylian religion in this game. Wasn't that what the Goddesses were trying to achieve? That's what got them so angry in the first place, according to this. Or maybe their conscience got the better of them, and they just decided "hey, as long as they live happily, it's OK".

 

[Brandikins]

Why is there a picture from Banjo Tooie in there? Anway, Majora's Mask always had some sort of message to it. For starters, evil is very powerful and is all around us in our world. In a lot of ways, Majora's magic is way darker than Ganon's. It is from ancient times and was sealed away to prevent misuse. Don't ask me where the Mask Salesmen found it. If I was him I would of kept it hidden away instead of carrying it around from place to place. That's just asking for someone to have an urge to buy it/steal it. At least Link defeated the evil in it in the end.

 

[CZG]

That Banjo picture... I didn't get that either.
50 character limit!

 

[Starchain1]

I tink the mask salesman is just a little bit to far in his lust for power as for the triforce my hypothesis is that the triforce made OoT world so what made Termina maybe there is a hidden side to the triforce if so then there could be a darker eviler side.

 

[yann]

The person that wrote this article has really made me realise alot more to the story of MM than I had previously realised.
But, perhaps the most important note was the pivotal role that The Happy Mask Salesman plays.

I hope I don't come across as a racist in saying this because I'm not but, has no one else noticed that for a Japanese game the Happy Masked Salesman is the only character in the 2 N64 Zelda's to have stereotypical "japanese eyes". This may mean nothing, but maybe there's something in that to suggest that this character is based on perhaps a fatherly figure that Miyamoto might have had as a child, who had always been there to give him words of faith and encouragement, much like the HMS does with Link. I say this based on the fact that Miyamoto did of course base the Legend of Zelda on the imigination that he had as a child, and seeing as the theme of MM is having faith in yourself and others.

 

[rnddim]

Very interesting article. Makes me want to examine the game more (I *never* noticed the pointing hand. The supposed message would be more effective with a different finger (from a US standpoint, at least), by the way). Makes you think about the significance of the other temples. After all, aside from being the final temple Link goes to, why is Stone Tower so special, and why does it get all the backstory?

 

[StrangeWig]

Whoa! Brilliant article! THUMBS UP!

MM is the most philosofical Zelda game. Specially by the ending, the masked kids ask Link some very deep questions. Then, the Happy Mask Salesman final quote.

The game teaches you a BIG lesson about faith in your friends.