Majora's Mask (Object)
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Majora's Mask (ムジュラの仮面, Mujura no Kamen) (Pronounced /mæ ˈdʒɔː rə/) is the primary antagonist of Majora's Mask and must be defeated to save the land of Termina from the Moon.
Role in the game
The mask is first introduced after the Happy Mask Salesman removes the curse that was placed on Link by Skull Kid. The salesman explains that the mask is an ancient artifact that was used by an ancient tribe for its bewitching rituals, but the mask's wicked power became so great that it was sealed away to prevent a great catastrophe. However, since the ancient tribe vanished, no one accurately knows the true nature of its power. The salesman fears of the great devastation that could befall Termina if the mask is not taken back from the Skull Kid. [1]
For a majority of the game, the mask is worn by Skull Kid on the Clock Tower, drawing the Moon to Termina. Although the Skull Kid was unaware, Majora's Mask gradually began to take complete control of his mind, turning his harmless pranks on people to acts with malicious intents. Due to this, prior to the game's events, Skull Kid used the power of the mask to prank and curse others around him, such as Kafei. [2]
On the Clock Tower after the Four Giants are called, the Mask abandons Skull Kid and enters the moon so that it can push it through the Giants' blockade and complete its destructive path.[3][4] It is there that Link follows Majora's Mask into the moon to fight the evil menace behind all of this.[5] After the young hero and Tatl defeat the malevolent mask, they return back down to the land of Termina where the Happy Mask Salesman informs them that the evil inside Majora's Mask has disappeared once and for all.[6] The mask is last seen as the salesman departs with it in his hands.
The Mask itself manifests in three forms: a hovering mask, Majora's Mask; a pedantic legged-being, Majora's Incarnation; and a vicious humanoid monster with whips as arms, Majora's Wrath. The mask is shaped somewhat like a heart.
Forms
Majora's Mask
Template:Boss Majora's Mask comes to life and grows hairlike tentacles as well as growing significantly larger. To defeat the Mask, Link must stun it with some projectile weapon to make it collapse to the ground, allowing him to strike it with his sword. However, it must be a strike to the back to stun it. An easy way to do this is to transform into Zora Link. When Z-targeting the Mask, the Boomerang fins will fly around behind it and strike it in the back, stunning it. After the Mask has taken enough damage, it will shoot a fire beam at Link and the four Boss Remains Masks will begin to attack him as well, though little effort is taken to kill them. The beam can be deflected with his Mirror Shield to reflect it back at the mask. Majora's Mask has tentacles in this form and can use a whirling attack.
Majora's Incarnation
Template:Boss After the Mask is defeated, it grows a set of arms and legs along with a single eyeball; it also loves dancing. To defeat the Incarnation, Link must shoot it with an Arrow or any other weapon to stun it, and then strike it with his sword. Majora's Incarnation (もくようび, lit. Majora's Incarnation) is very fast and unpredictable, but takes very few hits to defeat. While its various dances are funny, and its child-like antics entertaining, they can be a bit grating on the nerves. It can moonwalk, can-can, Russian dance, ballerina twirl, and fire energy bolts (its only attack). Since the moves are unpredictable, it's wise to keep distance. It has a shrill scream when it's damaged.
Majora's Wrath
Template:Boss After the final scream from the Incarnation is heard, it becomes enraged and its limbs throb and pulse, becoming Majora's Wrath (ムジュラの魔人, lit. Majora's Mage/Sorceror). It is a humanoid version of Majora's Mask with a horned head with 3 eyes, whips for arms, and a flaming mouth. To defeat Majora's Wrath, Link must use a projectile weapon to stun it while it is paused, then strike it with a Light Arrow or his sword. This process must be repeated until it is defeated. The individual attacks of Majora's Wrath are not particularly damaging, however, its immense reach will allow it to attack numerous times very quickly. It will often jump from one side of the arena to the other. Because it is slow to attack, it can, however, be easily defeated. Majora's Wrath attacks by whipping three times, leaping across the room, throwing eyeball-shaped tops, grabbing Link and tossing him clear across the room, and using a furious whipping attack that is only announced by a horrifying shriek briefly before it uses the attack. Killing the Wrath results in it turning into ashes, eliminating the threat to Termina.
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Fierce Deity and the Moon Dungeons
Majora's Mask is encountered when Link talks to the lonely child under the tree inside the Moon. Using the Fierce Deity's Mask, Majora's Mask can easily be defeated; however, some fans think this takes some of the fun out of the battle.
To obtain the Fierce Deity's Mask, Link must obtain all twenty-three other masks and use them to enter the four moon dungeons. While on the moon, the young hero will notice five children, four of which are running around wearing each of the Boss Remains. Each will allow Link entrance to their dungeon, for a specific fee of masks.[7] If he gives a total of twenty masks to the four children, (excluding the three transformation masks) at the entrance and exit of each dungeon, the child wearing Majora's Mask will give him the Fierce Deity's Mask for a game of "Good vs. Bad", although this has no effect on the boss battle.[8]
Theories on Origins of Majora's Mask
THEORY I: Majora (ムジュラ, Mujura) was an evil being plaguing Termina in ancient times. Though the game doesn't give much specific history on the origins of Majora's Mask, it does state that in ancient times, the mask was worshiped by an ancient tribe who used it in rituals involving the casting of hexes and curses, until they finally sealed it away from the world in the hopes that its evil power would never be unleashed again. Hundreds of years later, it was sought out and found by the Happy Mask Salesman. Soon afterwards, the Skull Kid scared the salesman unconscious and stole the mask from him and began to access its power, awakening the consciousness of the mask.
The Skull Kid, wearing Majora's Mask, still doesn't take on Majora's mind or personality; he is simply possessed by the Mask. At the end of the game, inside the Moon, Majora manifests out of the mask into Majora's Mask, then Majora's Incarnation, an insane being that dances around the boss chamber. After the Incarnation is defeated, Majora's transformation is completed, and the Incarnation becomes Majora's Wrath. Majora is eventually defeated, and the being itself disintegrates. The mask is left behind, cleansed of the evil inhabiting it.
THEORY II: It has also been suggested by some that the "ancient and evil" tribe is perhaps referring to the ancestors of the Twili, the Dark Interlopers, a race whose existence was revealed in Twilight Princess. This is due to similarities between an ancient object created by the Twili dubbed the Fused Shadow and Majora's Mask, as they share similar powers and they have a similar design. Also, Zant's fighting style in the eighth dungeon of Twilight Princess is similar to that of Majora's Mask, in fluidity, style, and spontaneity.
Majora's Mask takes place in an alternate universe. However, Majora's Mask could be a parallel version of the Fused Shadow.
The "ancient and evil" tribe, however, could also be the Sheikah, due to their symbol being an eye similar to the eyes of the Majora's Mask. This, however, leaves a gap of information on why they would hex and curse others, as they were devoted to the goddesses. On the other hand, it could explain why the Sheikah were called the "shadows of Hylians," and additionally why the mask is marked in the manner it is. This opinion is, yet again, left to fan speculation.
THEORY III: Another theory suggests that the Sheikah may be the creators of the Fused Shadow and the ancestors of the Twili, given their affinity with shadow. This means that the Sheikah's Terminan counterparts, who were physically absent from Majora's Mask, very much like many of the Sheikah were absent from Ocarina of Time, were the creators of Majora's Mask, given, of course, that it is the Terminan counterpart to the Hylian Fused Shadow. The Hylians, Gorons, Zoras, Deku, and Gerudo of Hyrule were given Terminan counterparts, the Sheikah must have them as well. However, because the Sheikah were largely absent from Hyrule in Ocarina of Time, so too must their counterparts be absent from Termina. With that established, their counterparts may very well be the Ikana, with Ikana Canyon being the obvious Terminan "Kakariko Canyon", sporting similar geographical features, a graveyard, and other similar landmarks.
Despite these similarities, however, there has been no confirmation of a connection between the two by Nintendo, and any perceived connection is merely fan speculation.
Majora's Mask creation (manga version)
In an extra chapter of the Majora's Mask manga, the story explains that before the time setting of Majora's Mask, there lived an evil creature which fed on the desires of the countless numbers of humans who had come before it to try and claim its armor and be granted their wishes. A traveler, similar in appearance to the Fierce Deity, comes forward to the place where the monster lived. The traveler starts talking with the man-eating creature, where he finds that the monster itself wanted to die, being so miserable. The hero pulled out his bongo and started playing. The monster went into a trance and started dancing. The hero played for three days straight (probably why Majora wants to finish off the world in three days). On the third day, the beast dropped dead from dancing his heart out. The hero took its magical armor, but instead of wishing upon it, he carved it into a mask in an attempt to seal the beast's power inside the mask forever. The mask was named Majora after the beast. The mask had a spirit because Majora's evil power lingered on inside the mask seeking a host, not resting until its wish was granted.
Trivia
- The eye of the Fused Shadow looks almost identical to the eyes of Majora's Mask.
- The eyes of Bellum and the eyes of Majora's Mask look similar to each other in color.
- The battle between Link and Majora is similar to the battle between Link and Vaati in The Minish Cap in terms of the three forms and the way they are described. (i.e. Vaati's and Majora's final form have both gone insane and mad with power also, both first forms seem to toy with Link due to their confidence of their own victory.)
- During the battle with Majora, if one listens to what Tatl has to say, her hints sound like the ones given in previous boss fights, but in reverse order and excluding Gyorg. During the battle with the first form, Tatl says to strike it from behind, similar to the weakness of Twinmold[9]. When it transforms into the Incarnation, she says to hit it with your own body, similar to how Goht is defeated, although it is unnecessary to do so[10]. Finally while battling Majora's Wrath, Tatl says to strike it while it is distracted, almost exactly like how Odolwa was fought[11].
References
- ↑ "The mask that was stolen from me... It is called Majora's Mask. It is an accursed item from legend that is said to have been used by an ancient tribe in its hexing rituals. It is said that an evil and wicked power is bestowed upon the one who wears that mask. According to legend... the troubles caused by Majora's Mask were so great... the ancient ones, fearing such catastrophe, sealed the mask in shadow forever, preventing its misuse. But now, that tribe from the legend has vanished, so no one really knows the true nature of the mask's power... ...But I feel it. I went to great lengths to get that legendary mask. When I finally had it... I could sense the doom of a dark omen brewing. It was that unwelcome feeling that makes your hair stand on end. And now... that imp has it... I am begging you! You must get that mask back quickly or something horrible will happen!" — Happy Mask Salesman (Majora's Mask)
- ↑ "I was turned into this by a strange imp wearing a mask..." — Kafei (Majora's Mask)
- ↑ "A puppet that can no longer be used is mere garbage. This puppet's role has just ended..." — Majora's Mask (Majora's Mask)
- ↑ "I...I shall consume. Consume...Consume everything." — Moon (Majora's mask)
- ↑ "Well? You're going in, aren't you? ...We can't do anything down here. Let's go!" — Tatl (Majora's Mask)
- ↑ "Oh...So the evil has left the mask after all..." — Happy Mask Salesman (Majora's Mask)
- ↑ "Then I'll play with you. So...The masks...Give me some..." — Children of the Moon (Majora's Mask)
- ↑ "Let's play good guys against bad guys... Yes. Let's play that." — Children of the Moon (Majora's Mask)
- ↑ "Remember your battles! When something resistant would deflect your weapons, what was its backside usually like?" — Tatl (Majora's Mask)
- ↑ "Remember your battles! When you fought things that ran around, didn't you battle them using your own body?" — Tatl (Majora's Mask)
- ↑ "Think about battles and weapons! When you had the chance before an enemy was about to attack, didn't you usually try shooting it?" — Tatl (Majora's Mask)