Third Majora’s Mask Tease in A Link Between Worlds?

Everybody knows of the two references to Majora’s Mask in A Link Between Worlds, with the mask itself being on the wall of Link’s house, and the entries in Ravio’s Journal spanning a time period of three days. However, a lesser known, third reference appears to have been uncovered. Hit the jump to find out more!

After Link has acquired all 100 Maiamais, if he goes back to speak with Mother Maiamai, an unusual little encounter will play out. Mother Maiamai will inform Link that she and her babies are off to another dimension:

“You came just in time! It’s a bit sudden, but we must bid you good-bye. I’m off to a different dimension with my Maiamais! Oh! But Mother Maiamai doesn’t even know your name! Ah… Link. What a nice name. There’s nothing more I could do to make it nicer, oh, good friend of mine. My darling tykes owe you their lives. May we see you again, by and by.”

And when Link leaves the cave after this encounter, this happens:

That ain’t normal…

Definitely not normal…

Once the energy has dissipated, Link can return to the cave to find only one Maiamai left:

Loner…

72… that number sounds familiar…

Or… they all abandoned you and you’re in denial…

Wow, Mother Maiamai really is a terrible mother: first she loses all her babies and now she’s abandoned one. Somebody call youth services. But seriously, the fact that it’s the 72nd Maiamai you rescued, specifically, is quite intriguing. The number “72” could well be a reference to Majora’s Mask, in which you relive the same 72-hour time period over and over until you save Termina. It makes you wonder: if Nintendo would put a reference this small and obscure in A Link Between Worlds on top of the other two, more prominent references, could there be others?

What do you think of this? Did you already know this? Are you still enjoying all the references to Majora’s Mask, or do you feel they’re starting to get a bit tedious? Let us know in the comments!