After 24 Years Majora’s Mask’s Community Is Still Debating What The Game Is Even About.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ค. 2024
- Majora’s Mask has been out for over two decades, yet there are still debates about the most basic things regarding Majora’s Mask. Up to the point that people are still discussing what the game is even thematically about? Is Link dead during the game? Is the game about healing? About friendship? About grief? Is Majora’s Mask about Link dealing with his lost childhood or about him coping with his own death. Is the game about changing identities or about Buddhist themes? Is Majora’s Mask a dream or is it literally about Link searching for Navi.
What is Majora’s Mask’s story even about?
In this video we are going to take a deep dive into all those questions. We will explain Majora’s Mask’s story. The meaning of the stone tower, the questions of the moon children, the words the happy mask salesman says at the end, whether Link is dead, if the five stages of grief are represented in the game, the symbolic meaning of the sidequests, what the four main areas represent, the subtext - everything.
It’s my attempt to shed some light into Majora’s Mask’s darkness.
====== Patreon
Help videos like this survive on the platform: / ceave
====== Timestamps-----------
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:58 - The Looming Moon (Majora’s Mask’s Premise)
00:15:11 - Gameplay
00:23:27 - A Quick Interlude (Economical Surrounding)
00:28:03 - Gameplay Part 2
00:37:31 - The Stone Tower (Literal Story Analysis)
00:43:14 - The Time Thieves (Allegorical Story Analysis)
00:58:10 - Into The Moon
====== Links
Majora's Mask is One Big Buddhist Metaphor and Here's Why (NEW DISCOVERIES) MaxDerrat:
• Majora's Mask is One B...
The original stone tower theory:
zeldauniverse.net/2006/11/03/...
u/the_goldilock’s great analysis:
officialmusictracks.wordpress...
The entire letter from the end of the video:
archive.org/stream/dostoevsky...
====== Credits for the Music
Duck Tales NES OST - “Title Theme”
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST - “Gerudo Valley”
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask OST - “Gerudo Valley”, “Title Theme”, “Clock Tower”, “Mayor’s Meeting”, “Guru Guru’s Song”, “Last Day”, “Astral Observatory”,”Song of Healing”, “Magic Hag’s Potion Shop”, “Wood’s of Mystery”, “Giant’s Theme”, “Snowhead Mountain”, “Stone Tower Temple”
Outer Wilds OST - “End Times”, Final Voyage
------Holfix
/ holfix
HolFix - Beyond The Kingdom
• [Free Music] HolFix - ...
Additionally the video uses licensed music from productioncrate.com - เกม
Man, you're going to be so frustrated when you realize you never had to grab the ledge, but instead use Zora Link's ability to dolphin hop out of the water directly onto the island. 21:00
I stopped the video just to say this.
I believe that the original Japanese version required the Zora jump to get up to the research lab.
wasn't that the change he mentioned from the original?
@GreyAcumen What are you refering to?
Still frustrating, since that didn't really work every time, at least on N64, never played the 3DS version.
Ah yes, Majora's Mask, the game about traumatic experiences like being stuck in a bathroom without toilet paper
Well, that is a pretty shitty experience...
Or giving totally non-alcoholic milk to a child to numb the realization of impending death after she was abducted by aliens
Lmao, I get that reference 😂
You joke, but until you live this terrible day for yourself, you cannot comprehend the terror
He doesn't know about the 3 sea shell's
This really recontextualizes Skull Kid's line at the end that Link "smells like the boy in the forest who taught me that song". Not realizing that Link *is* that boy, but saying that he *smells like* him. It feels kinda like saying "you seem like yourself again". Link is starting to feel like the same happy boy in the forest again, after everything he's been through. It's like a version of Undertale's "Despite everything, it's still you"
It is weird when you think about how adult Link can kill that skullkid (and others, i guess) in OoT. If the game let you kill anyone, it could easily be argued that it is completely uncanonical but the game only really lets you kill things that you are supposed to kill... Does not mean that it is canon but the possibility is weird to think about.
@@elio7610 ummm... what? No adult Link can not kill any skullkid. If he attacks them, they just fade away. Given that they can hurt you, they are real, but since they don't disappear into a puff of smoke like any enemies, it's pretty clear they just run away.
@@MorganSaph Try it. Child Link is not able to attack them, adult Link can and is also attacked by them.
@@MorganSaph Adult Link can kill the skull kids, at least for certain in the N64 version. He goes into Lost Woods, & the skull kids will attack him on site.
@@MorganSaph On N64, the skull kids slain by adult link fall to the ground and incinerate away, leaving a big orange rupee (200) behind. This may have been changed on the 3DS release, however.
"The face under the mask... Is that your true face?"
In ocarina of time, Link is a child in an adults body. He has not grown. So no, that isn't his true face.
But in Majora's mask, the fierce deity is also an adult, but this time- it's *because* Link has grown up. So yes. This time, it really is his true face.
Majoras Mask takes place less than a year after oot, implied to be only a few days/weeks later. Not much time to do any growing there, plus you still play as kid link in mm.
@@peadrianlastname I hope you realized what Sock meant after you actually got through the video
@@peadrianlastnamesymbolism, not literally
I had a slightly different interpretation but very similar. While creave was saying we didn’t know how each link would answer, my brain started turning, because when I heard that line the first thing I thought of was people who “wear a mask” or alter themselves to appear to be the person that those around them want them to be. With this interpretation of the line, the gears in my head turned and I came to a realization. Ceave spent the entire previous bit talking about how OoT link was not a hero by choice, and didn’t enjoy being one very much at all, but now Link did choose to be the hero, and being the hero has helped him heal and truly be happy again. OoT link’s answer would be no because OoT link is wearing the mask of the hero, but underneath that mask he is a traumatized child. Majora link would answer yes, because he is not wearing the mask of a hero anymore, he is the hero, and he is truly happy to be one.
@@proking2354 I thought something similar. Nietzsche's journey of the soul is as follows: the Camel, who takes burdens unkownwingly (therefore, unwillingly); then the Lion, who rejects those burdens because they were imposed; lasty, the Kid, who fully embraces said burdens out of his own, wise will.
One interesting angle to Majora's Mask is it being potentially influenced by Alice in Wonderland. Alice in Wonderland is actually really famous in Japan and its themes are pretty similar. Link falls into a big hole to get to Termina, the Skull Kid's first appearance has him appear mask-first, then his body afterwards like he's the grinning Cheshire Cat, the way Link is transformed into a Deku Scrub is much like how Alice is shrunk and throughout the story changes in size often, sometimes to get past certain obstacles, much like Link with the transformation masks. Alice in Wonderland is all about growing up, learning to accept change, and especially to deal with the inevitability and suddenness of death and trauma. Alice has an identity crisis when she starts to shrink then grow again. Link most likely has his own existential crisis after being returned to a child after suddenly being thrust into adulthood, having lost his innocence, then returned to being a child after all of that. Is it even the same Link anymore?
Would not the Happy Mask Salesman be Chesire? Well, i am not all that familiar with the story.
@@elio7610I think story-wise HMS is p close to the Cheshire cat, but i wouldnt be surprised if skull kid's "appearing" animation was inspired by the cat's smile appearing before the rest of him (since Link falling down the hole to termina seems pretty clearly inspired by the fall Alice takes to Wonderland)
Link also gets that giant mask
The Happy Mask Salesman is the caterpillar, everyone treats him like this wise, sagelike character, but he's really just kind of a dick. He sings "How Doth the Little Crocodile/Song of Healing" to you and gives you extremely vague instructions.
Honesty, when you said "Screw people who tell you your trauma is good for you" that made me feel much more whole inside. Thanks!
Yeah, it generally is not. Well, maybe it can have benefits but there are better ways to get those benefits.
Yes, pain is a teacher, but a very crappy one at that. I appreciate what I learned from my trauma, but it is still trauma, and a lot of times, life sucks because it just can, not because it is trying to teach you something.
Nobody is alone in suffering. Suffering builds empathy and empathy builds trust. My father and I suffered and hurt eachother but now that we've grown past it we can feel that trust because we suffered together.
Trauma is bad, pretty much by definition. That doesn't mean that you can't find (or create) good things from it, any more than being able to find those silver linings mean it's a good thing in the first place.
trauma is good for you though. Doesn't mean you deserve to suffer, but people who undergo hardship are often more emotionally mature than those who don't
The Hero of Time being banished after Ocarina explains why Twilight Princess is so insistent on reminding the player that Ordon is outside of and independent from the Kingdom of Hyrule. Link's descendants never returned from their exile, until the Hero of Twilight. Which also ties into the "parting need not last forever" line - Link *does* return to Hyrule, in another life
he wasnt banished, he left hyrule on his own volition he wanted to see navi and the great deku tree but because of the danger Ganondorf posed the deku tree sealed away the forest so link the hero of time was actually lost in the lost woods because the kokiri forest was sealed away and he was trying to find it once more it was his home in his eyes.
as for the hero of time the remake of twilight princess debunks this theory they added a mural in the new hyrule town that shows the legend of the hero who worked with all the 4 regions to warn them of the coming war that was initiated by Ganondorf when link the hero of time returned to hyrule he joined the ranch in hyrule field and was later convinced to join the hyrule militia where he became a respected knight as it is described in the hyrule castle graveyard hence why the "hero's shade" is adorned with armor because he was buried and honored by the kingdom but even tho he thought he did the right thing he wasn't satisfied with his legacy as he tells the hero of twilight he couldn't convey the lessons of his life to a worthy heir and he felt that Ganondorf would return to plague hyrule so forced himself to live beyond death as a spirit until a hero of his line was born and could inherit his mission and ease his regrets.
@@DeusGamez You've misunderstood the symbolism. And holy jesus, did you never learn punctuation? At least use a full stop.
Anyway, Link chose to leave Hyrule, sure. But it must have felt like he was banished.
The happiest moment for Link in OoT would have been getting a fairy, like all the other Kokiri. But that was just because someone else needed him to be a hero. But Link has a good heart. He's scared and unwilling, but does it anyway, because he doesn't want to let someone else get hurt.
Then he gets sent to Zelda, who sends him on a journey across the world to get the Spirit Stones so they can stop Ganondorf from getting them. Then Zelda dump the Ocarina on him and he goes to the Sacred Realm to try stopping Ganondorf there.
But he gets trapped there for seven years. Furthermore, he can't go back in time as Zelda herself (disguised as Shiek) stops him.
So now he has to fight scarier monsters, get hurt more, save more people AND defeat Ganondorf, entirely alone, except for Navi.
AND THEN, when Ganondorf is finally defeated, Zelda immediately sends him back in time, making him lose everything he'd gained in his adult form and undoing his adventures as a child.
The happiest moment of Link's life, getting a fairy, was simply the calm before the storm in Link's eyes. And then he got tossed aside after being used.
"Thanks for saving us, now go away and do whatever".
He went searching for Navi in the Lost Woods, which had turned hostile and confusing after the death of the Deku Tree. Why? Because Navi was the closest thing to a real friend Link had. A friend who had left him.
Yes, Link wasn't banished nor abandoned. But he's still a child. He was hurt and scarred in ways that real life war veterans get hurt and scarred. And the people he saved? Left him, forgot him, told him to go live his life. He would have felt like he was banished and abandoned, even if he wasn't.
As for Ordon not being a part of Hyrule and Link's descendants not returning, yeah that's wrong. Most likely, Link (OoT) just had multiple children and one of them moved to a still developing rural village, which later became Ordon, on the outskirts of Hyrule.
@@MorganSaph i'm sure he did have reservations about returning to be a child an being unable to change what would occur, but his journey was his own doing is what i'm trying to say there was no one telling him to not do it or to seek a different route and his journey also serves as a growing up experience; what majora's mask hammers in deeply is that loss is inevitable an people will go their separate ways, because they too have things they must do or a path they must walk an he sees that at the end of the game that even if apart, it doesn't have to mean a goodbye forever as the masksalesman stresses.
an this ultimately is what helps Link move on an return back to hyrule an he continues to maintain his friendship with the skull kid its implied he was the one who asked skull kid to watch over the sleeping master sword and that he returned the zora tunic to the zora an instructed them to give it to his descendant.
he decided to help hyrule and more importantly those he knew in his own ways, so he got some closure but he lingered on in death though not because of lingering misgivings, but because he needed to entrust his knowledge on to someone who would carry out his will.
Ordon village still pays homage to hyrule that's what the ordon sword and shield were a gift to the kingdom of hyrule. So perhaps it was a feifdom under the protection of hyrule.
Something i thought was interesting was that majoras mask isnt just shaped like a heart, but a heart with walls (or spikes) around it, in order to protect it. Like, the skull kid was so hurt that he put up these walls/spikes around his heart to protect himself, but at the same time is creating destruction from his cold hardened heart
Hmmm
For me, the butler scene at the end isn't about that he is still mourning his son, it's that he finally witnessed that his son is no more. Putting a potential end to his suffering.
In my experience that's not how mourning works at all. There's no end to it. There's just a distance. The thing that hurt unbearably is now more bearable. Still hurts though.
I agree that its demonstrating that he did get closure. There's no longer a question mark next to the fate of his son. But the mourning, the pain of the loss, that's something that will carry on the rest of his days in one form or another.
Closure
@@rainbowkrampusThat's called an adjustment disorder. You are supposed to get over things eventually.
@@Arcessitor Bro, please, you are not a therapist and have no idea what you're talking.
@@ArcessitorPal, grieving is an extremely important part of losing someone you care about and you will never fill the hole in your life left by the people you care about passing away. You just get better at dealing with it
Trees are incredibly important to Link's tale. Link lives in a treehouse at the start of the game. The closest thing that Link has to a parental guardian is also a tree, the Deku Tree, whose death Link was a direct witness to, and was blamed for. Interesting, he also bears witness to the sprouting of the second Deku Tree. The Bodhi tree in the Water Temple is shrivelled up. But by the time the end of Majora's mask rolls around, the tree in the moon is healthy and vibrant.
Explain the connection between the tree in the water temple and the tree in the moon
@@SeanLaMontagne Both the room in the Water Temple and the Field in the Moon represent Links heart. During the fight with Dark Link, his heart is empty and lonely. He has no home, with the Kokiri not recognizing him and he's in a future where Hyrule is conquered by evil. All he has is himself, his duty and Navi.
On the other hand, by the time Link is inside the Moon, Link's heart is much healthier. Instead of being alone, there are 4 friendly children that Link can give gifts to, and a representation of the Skull Kid. Finally, the tree, the manifestation of the health of his spirit, is massive and healthy.
Both times, he has to overcome the darkness inside of himself. The former time, I believe Dark Link is simply just as powerful as Link is. But the second time, his dark side has taken the power of Majora, making it much stronger.
That's my take, at least.
Maybe the inside of the moon reflects the inside of Link’s heart in the same way that the other kids and Majora have their own distinct areas and rooms.
The Water Temple in OoT representing Link's growth can also be seen in Sheik's words when you learn the Serenade of Water. "Time passes, people move.... Like a river's flow, it never ends... A childish mind will turn to noble ambition... Young love will become deep affection... The clear water's surface reflects growth... Now listen to the Serenade of Water to reflect upon yourself...."
That part about "young love" seems more like a certain princess talking about herself. Link certainly had no reason to love her.
@@MorganSaphLink had no reason to love Ruto or Zelda? Because Sheik was referencing Link's relationship with Saria, Darunia and Ruto when she dropped those knowledge bombs we all know about
In oot all women had surface love for link but further down line link and zelda can't be couple because link reincarnated diff, time shenanigans and Zelda going semi hylia again. Ss was only game they were possibly a couple of you use ending and demise mogma and kikwi quotes about humans
The fact that Ocarina of Time has so much poetry in it is one of the reasons it's regarded as the best video game ever made.
Dark Link as a mini boss and the concept of "Conquer yourself" really does seem to reflect growth.
Majora's mask is a poster child for games as art. It's deeply layered with meaning on various levels so that your reading is valid. So is matpat's, ceave's and everyone else's. It's subjective what the various symbolisms come together to mean
It's true events in Zelda timeline it isn't just link zonked out in the woods like Alice was. And whole game wasn't symbolism
@@AshePBlack True events and symbolism are not mutually exclusive. many cultures through the ages see more symbolism in history than in fiction.
@@AshePBlacknext time watch the video before commenting, and if you did than at least provide an actual argument as to why you disagree and not just "I right, u wrong"
Majora's is my favorite Zelda game. I remember being so terrified when playing as a kid 😅
I never played OoT or MM growing up, though I was utterly captivated by them when watching a friend play his copies before we'd play super smash bros. melee or something. But, after falling in love with TP I deep dived the lore and was introduced to OoT Link, who I'm a huge fan of when you take his entire arc as one. From Child to Hero's Shade, we get to see a Link grow up and eventually die. The first half of the Child timeline is so interesting to me, from OoT to MM to TP. The fact that instead of being flooded and destroyed, we get to see what became of Hyrule and the consequences of undoing the victory against Ganondorf... way more interesting to me.
Cremia is my favorite character in MM. In an actual "world is ending" situation, she felt the most REAL. She did her damndest to shield Romani from the imminent horrors even up until the last minute at the Milk Bar.
She’s the favorite of all my roommates for other reasons😅
This is honestly one of the best Zelda videos on the platform. The editing and pacing are great, and by acknowledging the subjective/unknowable aspects of the various theories, you showed off a bunch of different aspects of the game's story. Taking a bunch of the popular theories (5 stages of grief, Buddhist themes, Skullkid as Link, etc.) and giving them all equal weight is great, since some of those theories have seen a lot more mainstream attention than others.
Nah it's cannon to whole story. Lower lands, tower of Babel, demons from cracks. Humans later hylians are oldest race. Demons almost won war hence mortal hylia and skyloft so majors mask took place in a real world with mostly real people. Mask matches malice, sheikah, interloper and more stuff and...in tp dead hero and supposedly skull kid lived on
Nitpick: In the water dungeon, there's no electricity and switches--there's pipes carrying water and valves to turn them on. You literally turn the valves and make water come out of spigots to hit a waterwheel.
I swear, yesterday I was just thinking to myself “can’t wait for Ceave’s next Zelda retrospective”
Thanks for listening to my internal thoughts :)
Same
Imagine having an adventure where you meet a person, have a long story to save them, even living in adult body for it. And in the end she sends you back and time, you lose everything, even the person you risked your life for. That would also traumatize me too.
I love Majora's mask because the story of young link/ the hero of time is super compelling to me. Personally I see a man (more a boy) that does his best everywhere in his life but just keeps losing. In OoT he loses 7 years of his life to save the world and then lose every relationship he made in that time because he got sent to a timeline he didn't do it all. He then searches for the only friend that lived through the trauma he went through (navi) to never find them. He then gets trapped in a time loop made by a traumatised diety controlling a broken child. Then link tries to save everyone affected by the dangers but everytime he has to reset he has to put the people he saved back into harms way. But after defeating majora he still doesnt find closure and just returns to hyrule in hope of building up a new life and protect the people he loves eventhough they don't remember what he did at all, to then die in battle before his child is born and be forgotten to time and then muster up the will to train his child after death when the lines between life and death are blurred to be finally rest when the world is saves yet again.
He is a hero full of scars, time heal scars, so he fades away
If this is merely your personal headcannon that's fine, but there is little in-game lore to suggest that the Hero of Time "died in battle" or died before his son was born/grown. If you are basing that on him posthumously mentoring his "blood descendant" in Twilight Princess, bear in mind that "blood descendant" does not necessarily mean "son," and that Twilight Princess is believed to take place at least a century after Ocarina of Time.
Why's this Mario Maker youtuber suddenly putting out the best video essay analysis videos?
I'm baffled Ceave giving us *movie length* analysis videos that manage to say fascinating things the whole time! Definitely the best video game based discussion channel on the platform in my humble onion.
For real!! Near the end (specifically where the butler finally sees his deceased son), I found myself crying. There was so much love put into the game and the analysis video.
🧅
35:50
Ikana representing the last stage of grief and having you go through all the other stages *again* before really getting to acceptance is really thematic. Like a test of the stages of grief you'd been through up until this point to ensure you can really accept that grief.
I love how nobody ever mentions how Majora's mask is litteraly shaped like a heart with weird clashing colors and pointy bits to show you that its about people with a broken/twisted/sad experience. Everybody in this game has something sad going on so it's a good representation of what depression/ anxiety would look like if it had shape.
I've been thinking a lot about this video and how other elements fit within this narrative, such as how Song of Time itself can be seen as a coping mechanism, representing a desire to go back and constantly having to play this song that assisted Link through the events of OoT. It holds off the destruction, but it's never permanent- the moon/his mind is calmed for just a bit. With the dawn of a new day, it's assumed there's no longer any need for the Song of Time. Link is no longer reliant on it and is moving on from his past and (from what I know, could be wrong) it doesn't play a central part in any future mainline games.
probably my favorite video made on Majora's Mask ever. I applaud your effort and thank you greatly for such insight on the themes of the game. keep going, Ceave.
He cites his argument with hyrule historia. Which is completely wrong on several fronts. Link was never banished from hyrule in either timeline. You can think about it in a metaphorical sense like that, but he wasn't banished. That part is why people can't pass reading comprehension. The text in game directly conflict with this idea.
Ceave is the only channel that whenever he uploads, I always have to watch it
It's him and Scott the Woz for me.
other meticulously researched video game videos with that status for me:
* tomatoanus
* summoning salt
* abyssoft
* bismuth
Action button also
I’m doing some homework when I saw this video. Perfect just perfect like the best thing to listen to right now
@@BlueToad07^^^^
Majora’s mask is probably my favorite video game of all time.
Thanks so much for making a video about it!
This had me crying for a vast majority of the latter half of video. There is no way to thank you for putting into the words I've felt since I was young. Transcendent art. As someone who has been experiencing immense grief the past few years, I've had many of these ideas driving me forward, and especially the letter at the end will stick with me for a long time. I look forward to what you produce next!
I love that one day, Ocarina of Time was made and was almost entirely just an innocently-made tale of "A kid becomes a hero because he has the chosen power!"
And the Zelda series has basically spent its ENTIRE LIFETIME SINCE examining that the way it happened was absolutely horrible. Wind Waker tells us "the hero was sent away and he did not come back, and that was our demise". Twilight Princess tells us "that hero died harboring regrets, and is STILL looking to solve those" (though fortunately, the regrets he has as the Hero's Shade do not seem to overlap with the regrets addressed in MM).
Even by Breath of the Wild, there's just no romanticization of the idea of being the Goddess's chosen hero. It's such a satisfying aspect of the series in my eyes that they really seem to analyze that which they make.
The Hero's Shade implies that Link never had children, right? It is just interesting because people often think that Twilight Princess Link is a descendent of Zelda64 Link. I guess it is possible that he had children and just did not teach them his skills.
@@elio7610iirc Hyrule Historia stated that the Hero of Twilight was a blood descendant of the Hero of Time, but OoT/MM Link held regrets because he never imparted his teachings to his descendants until TP Link came along
Big disagree about the bosses. Goht is one of my favorite bosses (granted, that's basically just because the goron mask is an absolute joy to use), and I don't really have any problems with Odolwa. I wouldn't say "he randomly dies", he just doesn't have a super-defined weakness the way most Zelda bosses do. Instead, you just fight him freeform, damaging him in any of the several possible ways. Nothing wrong with that IMO. As for Gyorg... I don't say this without sympathy for your experience, but, well, skill issue. You need to know how to jump out of the water with a properly spaced jump, and it's not a design flaw for the fight to require you to exercise that skill.
finally seeing a loving thoughtful majora's mask retrospective by an adult with media literacy is like the Song of Healing for my soul. what a beautiful well-done video
These sorts of Majora's Mask story analysis videos are a dime a dozen, but you managed to bring an interesting perspective by really interrogating the game's relationship with OoT moreso than I've seen from others. Kudos for that. I'm glad that you ended up reaching the message of healing others as the most effective path to healing oneself, that's a powerful lesson to take away.
I had no clue the guy who's Mario videos I used to watch would make my favorite Majora's Mask analysis of all time, but damn, you did it! Even after all these years, I can listen you go on and on about something and be thoroughly entertained!
Yeah, i was like "Huh, this voice sounds familiar..."
@@elio7610 the coin population is still in shambles
God, words cannot describe just how freaking much I love Ceave's videos
It doesn't matter if it's a main channel video or one of these game retrospectives, I will always just love them so damn much
I’m sayin
His voice sounds like he was taught English exclusively by gay dudes. The fact that he calls God a ‘she’ doesn’t help much either
@@Level_Eleven Excuse me what the fuck? Where the hell did this unsolicited homophobia come from??
@@SuspiciousTemmie From up your butt
Damn, I've been a huuuuuuge MM simp for like more than 15 years now probably, so this video was a huge treat. Thanks for all the comparisons to other media like that execution story.
A couple things I remember hearing that really brought the context of the game into perspective was that the development time for the entire game was 1 year and they were absolutely NOT allowed to delay it at all. Aonuma said in an interview that Miyamoto gave him an ultimatum that it was either the 64 disk drive expansion for OoT or his weird sequel project but only for 1 year. Aonuma was adamant about making a totally seperate Zelda game than just "OoT 2" and the context about the release date compared to the game cube and ps2 makes Miyamoto's hard deadline a lot more reasonable.
Also, in a different developer interview, team members said their inspiration for a lot of the game (and specifically the Anju and Kafei sidequest) was when they went to a wedding for another team member during a time when North Korea was threatening a missle strike near where the venue of the wedding was. I'm going completely from memory but I believe they said they wanted to capture the feeling of celebration mixed with looming dread.
This video was still incredible, I just thought you might have missed those bits of trivia that give a bit more context for how different the game is from other Zelda games.
This is such an incredible video, was on the edge of my seat the whole time. I was on the verge of tears by the end.
was going to comment and say exactly this. Edge of my seat and i was on the verge of tears multiple times throughout. Absolutely incredible and am so glad I watched the entire thing. Well done @ceave
me too
Wow! Just wow! Exceptional work here. I had always thought that Majora's mask's biggest strengths are its deep symbolisms and that somebody needed to make a deep analysis of its every aspect and you absolutely drove the point home.
Nearing the end of the video, one song struck me the most...
Final End Times from Outer Wilds, a modern game that uses an almost identical theme the more you think about it.
And how fitting for it to be the song played when you break the time loop.
Perfect music choice and placement, Ceave!
21:21 Which is why you ignore the ledge and just dolphin leap out of the water. It's not free either but it's way better alternative imo
your notes at the end about the letter remind me of a story i heard once. About the scientist who invented dynamite. who invented TriNitroTolulene. By some freak accident, his obituaries were published in the newspaper before his actual death, and he got a glimpse of how he would be remembered when he was gone.
"the doctor who invented death"
He was horrified. THIS was the legacy he was leaving behind? A name spoken in the same breath as destruction and misery. He decided he would not accept this, and that he would change his legacy. So he put all his work, and his entire Will into an organization devoted to recognizing and encouraging the betterment of the world, and he gave his name to it.
And the Nobel Prize is remembered to this day.
I’ve watched I think 100s of majoras mask videos in the years I’ve been on TH-cam; this is the best one
Ceave, I am not sure if you'll read this, but I really have to say that this video felt like you were talking of a game I have never heard of. Majora's Mask has always been my favourite Zelda for similar reasons you described here, but on a much more surfaced level. I had never thought of the stone tower of anything more than just a cool dungeon, and the stories being told being just that; a story. Even if the symbolism isn't intentional, which I honestly think it is, since the dev team was probably much more focused on releasing this game at all than creating something so symbolicly deep. However, it doesn't matter; the fact that these interpretations exist and make sense it what makes art art. And this entire game has been recontextualized after my viewing. I never drew the parralels to Ocarina of Time, and especially the link between skull kid and the gaints and Link and Zelda struck me as too major to be coincidental. All in all, this is some of your best work. Thank you for letting me enjoy one of my favourite games even more.
That end times melody at the end was such a stab in the back; it made me cry a lot. Loved it
ceave, i absolutely love how i start watching your videos just waiting for that one moment where you connect all the dots and blow our minds with your interpretations, and this video definitely delivered that
Videos like this are my favorite on the entirety of TH-cam, I’m so glad you returned to making videos Ceave!
this is genuinely one of the most incredible breakdowns on this platform about major's mask. congrats ceave you did stellar work here and as a Majora's mask super fan i love it greatly
The symbolism of the Elegy of Emptiness, where you leave a smiling shell of your former self to complete a task that leads to your enlightenment upon completion or your demise if you fail is top tier. So many times people put on the smile during their moments of grief, they wonder if it will all be worth it in the end?
While I heavily disagree on MM being just something in Link's mind, I really love how you connected the story to Link's trauma. I've never thought about it like that before. And while I disagree that the game as a whole matches the stages of grief, I feel like Ikana Valley actually does, and I never would have known if you hadn't known this video.
Overall, very cool video.
A Ceave video? And about my favourite game, no less? I had to watch it immediately and of course I wasn't left disappointed. Thanks and keep up the good work!
I never ever expected Majoras Mask to be such a deep spiritual topic. I absolutely respect Aounuma for bringing such noble art into video games. It is beautiful
This video is like someone taking you gently by the hand and giving you a guide through a new town. So excellent as always!!!!!
I’ve watched a lot of videos on Majora’s Mask, but this is the most insightful and interesting one I’ve ever seen. Great work!
I wanna quickly just give my interpretation of the questions the moon children ask Link. It's pretty similar to what Ceave's interpretation was but whatever
In order:
"Your friends... What kind of... people are they? I wonder... do those people... think of you... as a friend?"
In OoT, Link's friends prior to his adventure were the kokiri, however he was an outcast among them because he didn't have a fairy. I interpret these questions as questions Link asks himself internally, so this question is Link questioning what kind of people his friends are, and whether or not they think of him as a friend. Saria was the only kokiri that explicitly treats Link like a friend, but as soon as Link gets a fairy, he has to leave the forest. When he does go back, Saria discovers that she is one of the seven sages, so this question could be guilt that Link feels for burdening Saria with that responsibility. Does Saria think of Link as a friend after that? After Majora's Mask, however, he isn't treated like an outcast. He's become trusted by the Deku Scrubs, the Gorons, and the Zora, and is able to interact with them without wearing a mask after saving their respective worlds, and the people of Clock Town treat him as one of their own.
"You... What makes you... happy? I wonder... does what make you happy... does it make... others happy, too?"
What makes Link happy is spending time with people. But in Link's experience, everyone he spends time with eventually faces some kind of misfortune. The biggest example of this that comes to mind is Malon. Malon is the first person outside of Kokiri Forest that Link is able to form some kind of connection with, and she ends up being forced to work for Ingo, and Link has to save her, only to leave with Epona. In reality, Malon doesn't blame Link for any of this, but Link no doubt wonders if people are truly happy to have him around, when everyone he interacts with ends up suffering. But after Majora's Mask, this is no longer the case, and in fact everyone he interacts with ends up better off for it. He reunites Kafei and Anju, he helps defend Romani Ranch, etc.
"The right thing... What is it? I wonder... If you do the right thing... does it really make... everybody... happy?"
In OoT, Link constantly has to do the right thing, and the right thing doesn't always make everybody happy. He takes the master sword, but in doing so lets Ganondorf into the sacred realm and lets him take over Hyrule. He saves all the sages, but in doing so forces them to stay in the sacred realm, away from their people. The right thing doesn't make everybody happy in OoT. But in Majora's Mask, the right thing is quite literally saving everyone. It still doesn't make everybody happy, but it makes everyone who isn't actively causing harm to others happy.
"Your true face... What kind of... face is it? I wonder... the face under the mask... is that... your true face?"
This is the toughest one for me. In OoT, Link's true face is always that of Young Link, the one that lives in Kokiri Forest, blissfully unaware of his fate. But throughout the game, he's forced to wear a metaphorical mask, one of a hero that stands against the odds, and loses himself in the process. In Majora's Mask, he's forced to wear literal masks constantly, yet I believe this allows himself to realise that his true face is one of a hero, one who strives to do best by others, no matter what. He stops doubting himself, and accepts his fate as a hero. This may also be why he would later become a knight as we find out in Twilight Princess.
In short, the questions the moon children ask him are representative of Link overcoming doubts he had by the end of Ocarina of Time. It's Link coming to terms with the reality of his situation, and accepting what he needs to do and what he wants.
I'm so glad you are back. I loved your challenge videos on the mario games and this retrospectives are really interesting and are making me appreciate things about some great games that I wouldn't have considered. I hope you're doing great and I'm already waiting for your next video
Incredible video. Easily one of my favorite videos on the platform ever now. Thank you for making this!
I just came across your content for the first time. Amazing, amazing, amazing job. I loved the dialogue, the editing, the transitions. It was truly a fantastic watch/listen. Thanks so much for the effort and passion you put into this. I appreciate you.
I’m not crying, you’re crying. Holy Fuzzy, Ceave, this is a masterpiece.
Something occured to me when watching this video. Navi has an omnipresent consciousness. Has anyone done a video on the events of ocarina frim its perspective? How does Link's time travel look from Navi's point of view.
How does time work for fairies?
Amazing timing. This is my favorite game of all time. I hadn't played since I was a kid, but I just picked it up again a few weeks ago and just recently beat it. It's been on my mind a lot recently and it felt nice to be reminded why it's my favorite. This video was a lovely way to bid Termina farewell until our next meeting
Thank you for this video! I’m so fond of revisiting these games every 5 years or so for a play through. But revisiting them with videos like this add so much warmth and introspection to the play through.
That was amazing. Your analysis was beautiful and it made me emotional. Thank you Ceave!
You know I played this game years ago and I'm only just now noticing that the "Farewell to Gibdos" tune was remixed from the merry-go-round theme in Big Boo's Haunt in Super Mario 64.
So happy that everything is going smoothly for you. Its sad how almost every high quality channel without a huge team or budget needs a patreon, but i guess thats just how the platform works
Your analysis of the Ranch quest is one I have never heard before and my god that makes SO much sense, and is incredibly powerful.
I'm so sad I'm working rn but I will watch this entire video with some ice cream as soon as I get home I'm going crazy and shaking. Your past videos have been so good and funny and informative
I've often referred to Majora's Mask as "My favourite game I've never played". I don't own it, but I've watched videos, read about it, etc. And something about it has always spoken to me. I'm so happy to see a video like this.
If you have the nintendo online expansion and a nintendo switch you can play it as part of your subscription perks, though it does look different from the original
@@TheLonelyLuneon Oh! I didn't know it was added! I don't have the expansion though, sadly :(
Does it looks different? In which way?@@TheLonelyLuneon
The emulation rendering textures and effects differently from the original
@@TheLonelyLuneon ahh ok ok.
This is a really impressive video Ceave. I recently caught up on your Mario Wonder trailer review and it led me here. I've always loved both types of your content and I'm thrilled to see you taking all the time you need for something this powerful and complete.
The full analysis of not just the game, but the symbolism, really feels like a complete honor for Majora's Mask. Thank you so much for making this and for embracing this kind of content.
I was waiting to see that tower of babel theory. I once read a forum post on zeldapedia YEARS ago, I'm so glad you incorporated that into your video! True fan status
1:14:42 have to point this out only because i will never forget the theif considering how much he freaked me out as a kid... but that isnt the theif when you said "the old lady and the theif are friends" but thats actually the bomb shop keeper standing next to her. Regardless, i absolutely loved the analysis, probably the most thorough and sensical ive seen yet. Good job sir!
Absolutely Phenomenal, these are the kind of videos I look for on this platform. Thorough and well though out, pure passion and you can tell so much effort went into the research and presentation of every point. Thank you for this Incredible video!
I watched this video in one sitting and it felt like 20min and i think this represents how great it is. I just love listening to his thoughts and how great he explains them. And i think this video helped me a little bit with my own problems. So thank you for your wonderfull video.
Whenever I see a new Ceave video I get so excited because I love your videos so much! These long videos talking about these games are some of my favorite videos you have made and I'm already looking forward to the next one!
The cool thing about art and metaphor is it doesn't matter if the team intended for something to be a certain way or not, art is a communication between author and audience and an audience's read of a work is just as valid as what an author intended with their work.
I feel mixed about this. It is possible to enjoy a story differently to how it was intended and that should not be considered bad but it is still important to keep in mind that the interpretations you make may not be the authors intention. If all interpretations are valid, language is meaningless. Entertainment does not really need a message, the author may not have intended to communiate much at all, but it is still important to seperate intention and interpretation.
Yeah, subjective analysis is why no one takes English, Literature, or Art very seriously... unless there's 70 or more percent chance it relates to you specifically in some way. This is not how it should be.
I take stuff authors and creators say on their media as cannon and that's that weather it's Zelda or game of thrones
@@elio7610I agree not all media or stories is made to have a deep moral point. Goosebumps are horror stories for children and they don't over explain villains. Most villain motives were just their existence. No deep meaning. Not all in Zelda had deep meaning. It's basically a never ending cycle of hylia vs demons
Unless you misinterpret it in a horrendous way and it ends up leaving a sour taste in multiple peoples mouths
This is a great interpretation, I really like this. So few works detailing the Hero's Journey deal with the trauma that comes afterwards, especially for child protagonists. LoTR with Frodo falling into depression/disassociation is one of the only examples I can think of. Given all that Child Link had to go through and how his whole world was upended, and the isolation he would naturally feel, it makes sense it would leave an impression on him that he would need to confront at some point.
Whatever your interpretation though, Majora's Mask is, undoubtedly, capital-L Literature. All games can be considered Art of course, but this is one of the few I would describe as being truly Literature, possibly one of the first of the medium.
I absolutely LOVED this deep dive in Majora's Mask. Thank you for sharing.
Truly, a good reminder. Thank you, Ceave. I really appreciate the stuff you make. Speaking on behalf of many, I hope you know that.
For the longest time I thought the fairies just had weird names. I knew Navi was short for Navigation, but Tael and Tatl just clicked to be Tattle Tale xD
1:14:55 you would not believe the sudden surge of fear I felt when hearing that first note lol
what a tease, right?
Finally, after your first video being about a series I've never played, and the next 2 being games I haven't finished yet and don't wanna get spoiled, a video I can watch
omg ive been scrolling too long, the double take i did when i saw hat ghost pfp DFKJLDJFLDFLDF HI 🥺🥺🥺✨
Something this video made me realize metaphorically about the game that wasn't addressed.
The moon is constantly threatening to crash into Termina, it's face twisted with anguish.
It's summoned by Skull kid, a mirror of Link.
The moon is literally Link's trauma about to consume him whole, destroying him entirely as mentioned in the video.
But what even STALLS it from happening?
A memory of Zelda, perhaps Link's last good memory of her, it holds off the Moon for as long as Link can cling to that memory.
This was a wonderful and fantastic video as always Ceave! I've always loved everything you create, through growing up, finding out I was trans, and getting to where I am now, your videos have always been a comforting and enlightening presence. This one was incredibly enlightening and fantastic, and it, aswell as the themes it discussed, hit very emotionally for me, thank you so much for everything that you do Ceave
This deep dive into Majora's Mask Narrative and story is absolutely incredible!
hearing end times as you conclude the ideas youve shown through out the essay just slapped a whole grin on my face. end times and final hours serve the same purpose and yet feel so different, and i honestly had an instinctive reaction to hearing it here, as if it caresses me and brings me home once again, unlike final hours' ominous and macabre tone. i am so excited for the outer wilds essay, it is my favorite game of all time and i cannot wait to see your brilliance taking on what i also consider the most beautiful media ever. both majora's mask and outer wilds hold so much personal value to me, and i absolutely loved to see your creative analysis featured in this incredible essay, thank you for it all!
Reading Dostoyevsky's letter at the end really got me, great video Ceave!
man, you and pyrocynical really know how to take me through a game in a way that is so much more deep and immersive than playing the game ever could.
This is one of the most well written videos I have ever watched. Great job
This is my first video I've seen of yours, and man was it absolutely great and amazing in every single way. Majora's mask is one of my favourite games of all time and this just made me love and appreciate it all the much more. Thank you for putting in so much hard work into this, I look forward to going through more of your videos.
One of the things that impresses me the most about Majoras mask are the stories they were able to tell through virtually the same characters. As you know by now this game was incredibly rushed, so they used as many assets as they could, characters including, but whats crazy is how connected they all feel to the world of Termina, despite not belonging to the world of Termina at all. Like, having the happy Mask Salesman as a main character was an absolutely genius move, & they put so much emotion and backstory to him instead of just, in game: having followed Link, & in reality: a re-used asset with a few changes.
My problem with your Stone Tower segment is the mentioning of a Goddess of Time, of which there is none. Unless you were meaning to say the Goddess Hylia, whom is not specifically responsible for time and its flow. Neither are any of the "lesser" Goddess entities Nayru, Din and Farore. Hylia also has AFAIK never cursed or sought to curse anyone for transgressions against her in any way and was only directly involved in one conflict in the timeline - the one against Demise. Furthermore, there was a manga for Majora's Mask that not many people know about or even saw because of how obscure it is and how it never made it out of Japan. Although not exactly canon, Majora is depicted as a cruel and vengeful dragon that was slain a great deal of time ago and its spirit sealed within the mask by some sort of pagan tribe that sought the dragon's power. It could much more likely be that the Stone Tower and the vague link to Majora is what the manga story intended to build off of. Again, I don't know enough about Zelda lore to really hammer home that Hylia wouldn't be involved in a theoretical punishing of heretics in an obscure alternate dimension maybe, but it doesn't seem consistent with her depiction in any other form of Zelda media.
That was a fan-made comic; it isn't canon at all thus cannot be taken into account. To put that comic into account is no better than bringing Hylia into the conversation. At least Nayru, Din and Farore are relevant - the triforce was shown in Stone Tower which DOES represent them.
A new video from ceave🎉
Really liked the story of majors mask and there remains ONE question for me...
Deku mask=buttlers child
Zora mask = this guitar Zora guy who dies in front of you
Goron mask = this hero from the gorons
Fierce deity= at least thousands of theories...
Whats the identity of the giants mask?
Where did it come from?
Who was the original giant?
I have been searching for even just one little theory but it seems like Noone but me suffers und this unsolved mystery... 😢
I don't think it's comparable. It strengthens and grows the original body of the wearer, it does not really transform into another one or replaces it. It's a buff, not another identity.
I think you could look at it at another form of blasphemy/hubris in the tower of babel analogy. It could be a mask that was made in order to try and grant the power of the giants to humans
@@ruolbu I really like your explanation...
But it doesn't work for me, for 3 of the masks we find out that they are from persons. Deku comes from a child, Zora comes from an adult who passes away when we meet him, goron is a hero who died some time ago. Fierce deity might be not as clear but I can't believe that they introduce us to this concept and then break with it completely. The other masks who give us some abilities are just worn like normal masks but I think the transformation of these 5 masks is link becoming one of the dead persons who left us the masks...
It just doesn't sound right for me that the 4th transformation mask is sooo different in it's origin...
There has to be an ancient giant who died and became this mask😭🙈🙈🙈
@@tomt7621I have theory but it’s probably wrong but could the Giants mask have belonged to the giant that maybe became the skull kid after being abandoned by the other giants and walking alone for so long turning into a skull kid which is kinda like dying therefore it works similarly to the dead species masks but not quite the same. This could also explain why they were buddies with the giants and also why it replaced Majoras mask in the temple as Majoras is the skull kids new mask. I don’t know much about MS lore so I could definitely be wrong but this was my best attempt.
Notice how in the original n64, the transformation masks are all in the last column of the masks menu, while only 3 of them are connected with a line. This is because the fierce deity mask doesn't come from an already existing person, yet it still is a transformation mask, thus being on the last column. The giant's mask isn't a transformation mask at all, because Link doesn't change in any form, he just becomes bigger.
Also I remember an interview stating that the fierce deity mask is the embodiment of all the memories and feelings of Termina's people which explains why you first need to trade all the other masks
Wow, that got super deep at the end...and I ain't even mad about it, that was a very nice reminder of how brittle life can be, it just caught me off guard..😢 I'm not crying, you're crying.
Just started the Video, already very happy and excited to watch it, love your voice and writing and everything abt your Videos!
It was another awesome video, enjoyed it a lot! I really need to play that game someday
The fact you just realized that something can have more than the direct literal meaning and can have multiple layers or interpretations, and feelings it's something exclusive to a game like Majora's mask really shows the lack of media literacy and focus on understanding themes in education for people these days
Shut up bro. This is about Majora's Mask. Not persona get over it.
Who else read the "It's surprisingly Beautiful" part as "It's surprisingly simple" the first time?
I think that's the point. Ceave has used that line for his entire career, and so, the fact that he's changing it so subtly, so suddenly, and so strangely, is meant to draw our attention towards not simplicity, but to beauty. This isn't talking about something simple like good or bad game design. It's about the beauty and complexity of Majora's Mask's philosophy.
ooooo Ceave you are a amazing artist. your scripts and deliveries truly touched my heart - both in the past. and today. thank you!
What an amazing video. It took me a while to get to it, to find enough time and eventho I was doing work while listening to you, it was hard to concentrate on something else while the things you said were so captivating.
This is such a wonderful video and while art interpretation does not have a single right reading, the way you presented yours here was just amazing and gives me a lot of appreciation for Majora's Mask, even more than I had before. I'm not a big Zelda fan (just isn't the sort of gameplay or storytelling even that I'm much into), but this game has always been on the more interesting side of the series to me.
The discussion of lore interpretation also hits so much deeper on a personal level than gameplay design normally does so it feels so much more different from any of your other excellent videos.
I did not expect to hear someone talk about Momo while discussing Legend of Zelda, and was quite surprised before I remembered you're German. XD
I absolutely love this video, hard to even express how much so. I wish I could give this more likes than one.
>open up “video essay”
>plot summary
Translation "I'm not old enough to watch this video because if I did I'd see I look foolish posting this comment"
Durring Ceave’s mentioning of The Tower of Babel, does Ceave use she/her for Yahweh, or am I deaf?
@nomickike2165 Eh, there’s no harm in it, something tells me Yahweh wouldn’t care even if they did exist, I couldn’t imagine being an all powerful being and still caring about what pronouns people used to refer to me.
@nomickike2165 I’m Jewish, this is regardless of respect; for all we know, maybe he just wanted to see if someone caught it.
@nomickike2165 There is no God, it’s sort of a moot point.
@nomickike2165 What.
This got philosophical quick! Amazing video as always Ceave!
I love these types of long form videos. Please keep up the great work.
I apologize if me splitting my watch up into two sections throws off the algorithm. It was too tempting to start watching when I knew I didn’t have the time to finish.