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[Little Green Yoda]

pictures

^Interesting. Though that also brings up the question of how the Fierce Deity got turned into a mask.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

Can't believe the OP praised the villain of my all-time favorite game but forgot to post what he looked like before he was reduced to a mere mask:

Majora's beast form, from the manga. As the legend goes, he ate every warrior who ventured into his realm to challenge him, until one warrior brought a pair of bongos (if I recall correctly) and played a beat that caused Majora to dance... and dance... and dance, until after 72 hours he collapsed of weariness and the warrior (the Fierce Deity) carved up Majora's carapace and made the mask, in which Majora's essence survived.

Meanwhile, the dance-to-death explains why Majora's Incarnation (the second form) dances all over the place, from the moonwalk to the can-can. It's a very cool origin story and one I wish they explored in the game proper. It would be cool to see Majora restored to his beast form in a future Zelda someday... Call him Majora's Hunger, since eating warriors is what he did.

Shit, that isn't canon is it? Actually makes him seem less creepy to me :/

Anyway, gotta add the manga to my backlog.

While interesting, none of that is canon.

Didn't think so.

Proof? I seem to recall hearing it's a Nintendo-sanctioned story.

Or maybe not? To the internets!

 

[ivysaur12]

Can't believe the OP praised the villain of my all-time favorite game but forgot to post what he looked like before he was reduced to a mere mask:

Majora's beast form, from the manga. As the legend goes, he ate every warrior who ventured into his realm to challenge him, until one warrior brought a pair of bongos (if I recall correctly) and played a beat that caused Majora to dance... and dance... and dance, until after 72 hours he collapsed of weariness and the warrior (the Fierce Deity) carved up Majora's carapace and made the mask, in which Majora's essence survived.

Meanwhile, the dance-to-death explains why Majora's Incarnation (the second form) dances all over the place, from the moonwalk to the can-can. It's a very cool origin story and one I wish they explored in the game proper. It would be cool to see Majora restored to his beast form in a future Zelda someday... Call him Majora's Hunger, since eating warriors is what he did.

While interesting, none of that is canon.

 

[Neiteio]

Can't believe the OP praised the villain of my all-time favorite game but forgot to post what he looked like before he was reduced to a mere mask:

Majora's beast form, from the manga. As the legend goes, he ate every warrior who ventured into his realm to challenge him, until one warrior brought a pair of bongos (if I recall correctly) and played a beat that caused Majora to dance... and dance... and dance, until after 72 hours he collapsed of weariness and the warrior (the Fierce Deity) carved up Majora's carapace and made the mask, in which Majora's essence survived.

Meanwhile, the dance-to-death explains why Majora's Incarnation (the second form) dances all over the place, from the moonwalk to the can-can. It's a very cool origin story and one I wish they explored in the game proper. It would be cool to see Majora restored to his beast form in a future Zelda someday... Call him Majora's Hunger, since eating warriors is what he did.

Bumping this to a new page (if you're on a 50-count like me) so more people can see it. Majora's origin story = <3.

Imagine seeing that beastie in full 3D and color... Considering that the mask itself is just a chunk of its carapace, the beast as a whole must've been a veritable rainbow. :lol:

While interesting, none of that is canon.

Proof? I seem to recall hearing it's a Nintendo-sanctioned story.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

The odd thing about Majora is that you don't even know he's a villain for most of the game. They always treat it as the Skull Kid, even giving you his backstory to make you sympathize with him and understand that he's a messed up kid who was corrupted by forces he couldn't understand.

Then his unconscious body drops and the Mask keeps floating.


There's no elaborate backstory given to WHY Majora's Mask wants to destroy Termina and wreck people's lives. He doesn't have any speeches. The only time the Mask itself talks is when it discards the Skull Kid. There are those odd children inside the Moon who wear masks and look like child versions of the Happy Mask Salesman, and the one wearing Majora's Mask gives you the Fierce Deity Mask and says that in the game you're going to be "the bad guy."

It's all very strange.

oh my god I need to go replay this right now

 

[ivysaur12]

Bumping this to a new page (if you're on a 50-count like me) so more people can see it. Majora's origin story = <3.

Imagine seeing that beastie in full 3D and color... Considering that the mask itself is just a chunk of its carapace, the beast as a whole must've been a veritable rainbow. :lol:


Proof? I seem to recall hearing it's a Nintendo-sanctioned story.

http://www.zeldawiki.org/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Majora's_Mask_(Manga)

While interesting, not canon. Zelda Wiki is very good with this kind of stuff, too.

 

[Neiteio]

OK, appears the origin story to Majora wasn't penned by Nintendo authors, according to the Zelda Wiki:

The manga by Akira Himekawa, although not by official Nintendo authors, provides a original side story that attempts to explain the origin of the mask. In this story, Majora's Mask is revealed to have been made from the armor of a legendary beast named Majora, that lived around ten million years before the events of Majora's Mask. The land in which Majora lived was not moving, but not dead either, nor had it stopped. According to a myth devised "by the humans themselves," the armor worn by Majora was supposed to grant wishes and hold a great and terrible power. Warriors, adventurers, soldiers, men, and women sought after Majora for his armor, though they were all killed by Majora.

After centuries of a solitary existence, a human, disguised as a musician bearing a slight resemblance to the Fierce Deity, approached Majora, and offered it eternal rest, not by fighting, but by playing music. As the human beat a drum he carried with him, "making time move", Majora began to dance for three days, and on the fourth day, died. All that remained of the beast was his armor. From the armor, the human carved Majora's Mask; by doing so, all of Majora's power was sealed in the mask. The human believed that by creating the mask, Majora's power would no longer be a threat. He threw the mask in an abyss and it was lost for centuries.

That being said, given the manga is a licensed Nintendo product, I'd hazard to say it's as legit an origin story as any, seeing as I don't anticipate Aonuma rushing in to provide this particular detail anytime soon. I think Nintendo should recognize it in a game at some point... Maybe add a new Gossip Stone in the inevitable MM3D with a few lines of text relating the "rumor" about the mask's origins.

Who did these two incredible pieces of art?

EDIT: One step ahead there, Ivysaur.

 

[ChoklitReign]

I need to beat this game. Fuck the water temple, it's the worst dungeon in all the Zeldas I've played. The game was great until then.

 

[demolitio]

I need to beat this game. Fuck the water temple, it's the worst dungeon in all the Zeldas I've played. The game was great until then.

Wow, too funny. I posted on the last page that I quit after I beat the water temple and my save got corrupted and I could never bring myself to play through it again, especially redoing the water temple.

I was hoping to find a save file so I could continue right after that temple.

 

[Yousefb]

^^^
Haha, my first playthrough of the game back in the day had me stopping at the water temple cause I hated it. Glad I went back to finish the game later.

 

[Pseudo_Sam]

Water Temple rocks, Zoras ftw

 

[GaimeGuy]

^Interesting. Though that also brings up the question of how the Fierce Deity got turned into a mask.

Song of Healing, duh

 

[Dynamite Ringo Matsuri]

I will confess that I have never beaten this game. I lent the catridge to a friend back in '02 and he lost the damn thing. I played through a few dungeons and watched my sister play through quite a bit of it. It certainly looked like the most nightmarish and intriguing Zelda game I'd ever seen. I'll probably pick it up on virtual console when I get some more time.

 

[Pappasman]

Yup, Majora is pretty awesome. I really like his origin story.

 

[demolitio]

Water Temple rocks, Zoras ftw

Well then feel free to replay it and post the save afterwards...

After watching some videos on the high-res mods, I do feel like playing again. I really hate doing the stupid deku temple with the monkeys. (If memory serves me correctly)

This was by far the scariest Zelda to play when I was younger. That moon terrified me and the sense of dread from having to complete what I wanted before time was up was painful as a kid. Even the music in some areas was creepier than most Zelda games. It was like music from the Shadow Temple in OoT all the time in MM.

 

[TemplaerDude]

Water Temple rocks, Zoras ftw

Lets not make too many facetious comments here. That dungeon sucked an epic load of shit.

 

[Anth0ny]

Lets not make too many facetious comments here. That dungeon sucked an epic load of shit.

What is it with people hating all the water temples from Zelda games? Well, at least OOT and MM. I've never had a problem with either...

Also, kicking Gyorg's ass is fun as hell.

 

[xelios]

Easily my favorite Zelda. So dark. It reached me somehow that the others never have.

 

[DonMigs85]

The Shadow Queen in Paper Mario TTYD was another of their darkest villains. You could even opt to join her and become an agent of evil.

 

[Mockingbird]

Yeah, none of this Star Wars Expanded universe BS please. Keep it to the games/instruction manual.

 

[A Link to the Past]

Porky is my favourite villain. His motives are well-defined, and he is even able to best Giygas in his evil nature. Porky even managed to spread his evil further through time better than Giygas ever could.

 

[Maffis]

I think Zant was a pretty good villain in TP. They should definitely have expanded on his craziness instead of just doing what they did instead.

 

[Jay Sosa]

He's a lot better than Ganondorf, that's for sure. I can't take a guy seriously that I've already beat a dozen times.

He's like the Mid Boss in Disgaea.

 

[LowParry]

For a Nintendo villain, I like this guy.

 

[MarkMclovin]

I really need to play this game.

 

[Dreavus]

I think Zant was a pretty good villain in TP. They should definitely have expanded on his craziness instead of just doing what they did instead.

Definitely. He was creepy and mysterious (with the imposing mask and all) until he revealed

Spoiler

Ganondorf

was behind it. Then he went bonkers (in the stupidest way possible) for no real reason and all of that was lost.

I'm less annoyed at

Spoiler

Ganondorf's

forced inclusion and more annoyed at how Zant's potential was ruined on the spot.

[Dunno if spoilers are necessary but, meh.]

 

[Varjet]

I always liked Ashnard.

 

[Cygnus X-1]

Nice OP. I don't know if I agree with you or not though...

 

[SirPenguin]

Saw this on another forum, but you know how you can use the observatory to look up at the moon? On the 1st and 2nd days it shows Skull Kid/Majora dicking around on the clock tower. He notices you, then mocks you by slapping his ass like a monkey before jumping away

On the 3rd day, he changes. The moment you look into the telescope he's staring at you, head cocked at an unnatural angle, twitching slightly. He doesn't even mock you, nor does he jump away. Just continues to stare and twitch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tsu5kbcn7k

It's incredibly unsettling.

Majora's Mask is full of stuff like that. There's a ton of scenes I missed simply because I didn't even think to look for them. For instance, there's a scene that occurs if you rescued 1-3 of the giants, but not all of them. The giants you've freed still come and try to stop the moon...but they fail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGzgBqi5qiU#t=1m55s



MM was an absolute gem of a game

 

[DonMigs85]

I always liked Ashnard.

His mount was Ena's mate, you know

 

[Mastperf]

This is the Zelda I regret missing out on the most. What is the easiest way to find/play MM? Is it available on Nintendo's store on the Wii?

 

[The Super Bob]

Majora was definitely a good villain, don't know if he's the best but he is great.

 

[Ysiadmihi]

I hope Nintendo never uses Majora again not because I don't think he's a great character, but because he's the perfect character as-is. There's nothing they could add to make him more interesting imo. Also, I don't think we'll ever see Nintendo replicate the atmosphere of MM and without that Majora would feel out of place anyway.

This is the Zelda I regret missing out on the most. What is the easiest way to find/play MM? Is it available on Nintendo's store on the Wii?

Yup it's on Virtual Console.

 

[remz]

I love that guy with the music box that shows up at night by the river, that's brilliant.

 

[Hot Coldman]

The Happy Mask Salesman was Majora's herald, he wanted to challenge Link after the events of OoT and pulled him into his fucked-up game.

At least, that's a possible explanation. If Majora is that evil it would make sense he'd want to fuck with the world's greatest hero just for the craic.

 

[Cygnus X-1]

The Happy Mask Salesman was Majora's herald, he wanted to challenge Link after the events of OoT and pulled him into his fucked-up game.

At least, that's a possible explanation. If Majora is that evil it would make sense he'd want to fuck with the world's greatest hero just for the craic.

 

[Android18a]

MM creeps me out too much to play through it again.

Clock Town is the greatest Zelda town ever though, and the overworld music is great.

Majora is scary.

 

[Diffense]

Majora's Mask is the Zelda version of Deep Impact and Armaggedon while also foreshadowing aspects of 9/11 suicide attacks.
MM's change in perspective is brought about by a simple but effective plot device: personification of the doom bringer.
That's what made 9/11 so harrowing: there were people who executed the plan.
Many assumed it was an accident at first, and while that would not have diminished the loss of life, it would have seemed less tragic.

In contrast, Armageddon's and Deep Impact's asteroids were just wayward rocks that held no malice.
Majora's Mask, OTOH was full of HATE and was willing to kill itself in order to detroy Termina.
So we have an enemy with all the callousness of something inanimate and thoughtless, except that it isn't.
I think this is a big source of the game's sense of unremitting horror despite its unassuming exterior.
[Heck, even the name of the place...Termina...Terminal illness...exTermination...that's a doomed world.]

It was a very effective villain because it made you want to save the people from the mask's various tortures and eventually save the whole world.
But the moon's inexorable match frequently forced you to rewind time in which case the residents were back in their bad situations.
I draw blanks trying to come up with a villain quite like Majora in Nintendo's output.

 

[tiff]

Fire Emblem's 3rd party? But, yeah, Yurius or Alvis.

http://fireemblem.wikia.com/wiki/Yurius
http://fireemblem.wikia.com/wiki/Alvis

All you Luca Blight-mentioners ought to click.

1st Party. Intelligent Systems is an internal team.

And

Spoiler

Yurius and Alvis were a lot like Skull Kid in that they weren't really bad people themselves, they were just being controlled by the game's main antagonists. Alvis's ultimate goal was to bring peace to the continent, not chaos, and Yurius was being completely controlled by Loputousu. IIRC Yuria says he was a pretty nice guy before Manfroy gave him the tome.

Ezalc's right that the real fucked up people here are Manfroy and Loputousu.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

Here is why Gary Oak is the good guy

In the original Pokémon Red/Blue, when you encounter your rival in Lavender Town he asks whether or not you know what it’s like to have one of your Pokémon die.

This never happened, actually.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

You forgot to mention that Majora has the mind of a child. Imagine if he/she/it was ever serious.

Wasn't Majora originally some kind of huge, obese monster? I remember a comic or something where he is "killed" and becomes the mask.

Manga are non-canon. There is no such thing as beast Majora.

Exdeath, Kefka and Zeromus come immediately to mind as being similar in that they are agents of chaos and seeking only destruction/oblivion. Come to think of it, the murder-suicide motivation seems to be a common Japanese fantasy trope.

But yeah, Majora is definitely Nintendo's only foray into the archetype and it's done pretty well.

Actually both Exdeath and Zeromus have motives. The former wanted to return everything to the Void(as he himself was originally part of it), and Zeromus was a space racist that wants to kill everyone on the planet so that the moon people can inhabit it as their new home.

 

[Big One]

Yeah the manga isn't canon at all. Not to mention that there's a different backstory in the games, saying that the mask was used for hexing rituals. The dragon thing is kind of random. I like to view Majora's Mask as a relic from the Dark Tribe/Intelopers from the past due to the visual cues the Fused Shadow has of it, and stuff like how Zant fights and acts in the game. There's definitely references at least.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Porky is my favourite villain. His motives are well-defined, and he is even able to best Giygas in his evil nature. Porky even managed to spread his evil further through time better than Giygas ever could.

Giygas has no morality. His mind has warped beyond such things.

He doesn't try to spread evil, it's just his pain manifesting itself on its own.

He's a being that transcends time and space, if he really wanted to spread something the universe would be absolutely saturated in it.

Also you beat him by making him feel better about himself.

 

[_Alkaline_]

For a Nintendo villain, I like this guy.

Ridley[IMG][/QUOTE]

Ruined by Other M!

[spoiler]Nope, made better than ever. <3 Other M Ridley.[/spoiler]

 

[Painraze]

 

[Sofo]

Count me in the crowd that couldn't beat the Water Temple. There's always about dark water with monsters in it that really scares me (you read that right!). I bought Majora's Mask on the VC when I got enough points stored, but haven't really sit to play it. It's probably one of my most favourite Zeldas, but I must admit I'm a sucker for all of them.

So many things I love from this game. Swimming as Zora-link was such a pleasant experience! (When in clear water!)

Been meaning to get my fiancé to play it (he's also really into it), and at the same time he wants me to get into Wind Waker.

 

[Like the hat?]

playing through it now. Water temple was pretty bleh. Actually all of the dungeons kind of suck IMO.

Majora does seem like a great villain though

 

[WillyFive]

Dungeons sucked (but I say that for every Zelda game except TP, so disregard that), but the side quests are wonderful.

Making the chickens grow, reuniting lost loves, teaching the girls how to dance, allowing a dead guy to 'move on', helping the food get to the city by protecting it from Mario and Luigi in a high speed chase, it was all really great and made the game really special.

 

[Scrow]

OP makes a compelling case, wins his own thread.

gg

 

[Captain_Spanky]

That was an amazing OP. Made me love Majora's Mask even more (it's my favourite Zelda game, as it is for many). Really well written and some excellent pictures to support the text.