Originally Posted by 3pic  Majora's Mask is arguably the strangest game in the series. So many strange events happen in the game, and so much is left unexplained. As you play Majora's Mask, there is an uneasy feeling as if the game is hiding something from you.
Hylian Dan's 'Stone Tower of Babel' theory sparked off much theory related to Termina. Here's my own contribution.
One of the less-well explained parts of the game is after the Four Giants are summoned, and you follow Majora's Mask up to The Moon. First of all, let's look at The Moon. The "face" of The Moon seems to go generally unnoticed in Termina. The two "Jugglers" mention The Moon's face, but they are comic relief characters. I for one believe that The Moon's face is one of two things:
1) A Metaphor
The Moon doesn't actually have a face - it is only there to tell the player "I mean business!". The fierce expression just shows that The Moon is a threat. Notice how the eyes are the same as those on Majora's Mask? In my opinion, this is just to show that The Moon is under the will of the mask's great power.
The only time The Moon seems to take on any life is when Majora 'merges' with it, and threatens to "consume all". Note, however, that this is not The Moon itself talking - but Majora's Mask AS the moon.
2) Something that's always been there, so the people of Termina are used to it.
But even in this situation, the angry expression certainly symbolizes that it's planning on doing some damage, and the eyes symbolize the influence of Majora's Mask.
So either way, really. I believe it, overall, to be a personification of Skull Kid's hate (explained later).
Now, it's 04:15am here in the UK, and I'm ready for bed after this post, so I can't be bothered wrangling any specific quotes or screenshots right now. But let's look at Skull Kid without Majora's Mask. He's generally described as a some-thousand-year-old lonely little imp, who got into all sorts of trouble.
The reason for this behavior is sort of explained in the "Carnival of Time" story told by Anju's Mother. This story follows "the imp". This "imp" is Skull Kid - no questions asked. He is depicted onscreen at the time of the storytelling, and he is referred to as an 'imp' by other characters - such as the man at the observatory. But anyway, this "imp" was friends with the Four Giants. Then something happened - many believe the Garo/Ikanan War or something to do with Majora or the Fierce Deity - but that's another story. But whatever happened saw the Four Giants feeling the need to protect the people of Termina - so they were forced to leave the Skull Kid. The Skull Kid was upset by the loss of his friends, so he started being a little bugger, in the most basic sense. Since the Four Giants were now sworn to protect the Terminans, they had no choice but to put a stop to their old friend's mischief. They threatened the Skull Kid with punishment by "tearing apart" if he didn't behave. So then the Skull Kid 'went to the heavens' - which is widely believed to be Hyrule. Either way, he vanishes somewhere and ends up in Hyrule.
In Hyrule, the Skull Kid apparently kicks back in the Lost Woods, playing the flute and frolicing through the meadows with his fairy friend Tatl and Tael. During this time, the events of Ocarina of Time take place. Link sells Skull Kid the Skull Mask - this is relevant because it's explained by Navi (I believe) that Skull Kids hate showing their faces. Link also teaches 'Saria's Song' to Skull Kid - evidence is the ending of Majora's Mask in which Skull Kid refers to Link as "the boy who taught him the song in the forest". Also, Saria's Song is played while an image of a log-scratching of Link and Skull Kid - presumably by Skull Kid himself - is shown onscreen. This, in Skull Kid's eyes, makes Link a friend.
Anyway, one day, after Link's been sent back in time at the end of Ocarina, the Happy Mask Salesman is taking a stroll through the forests of Hyrule. Unfortunately, this coincides with Skull Kid's daily bout of general shenanigans, which sees the Happy Mask Man robbed of his precious Majora's Mask. It's widely believed that the evil power of the mask enhances Skull Kid's mischief to apocalyptic levels - so let's go with that.
Under the spell of Majora's Mask, Skull Kid is unable to recognize his old friend, Link (as he does at the end of the game), so he steals Epona and the Ocarina of Time and leads Link "down the rabbit hole" into Termina. Here, he leaves his friend, Tatl, behind and abuses Tael. Now, I don't believe that the mask fully controls Skull Kid. I believe it just strips him of his innocence and all the good that he has left. Now, Skull Kid's a swine, but he's all about his friends. But under the mask, he just stops caring. He doesn't care about Link, Tatl, Tael, the Four Giants, anyone. Say this theory's true. Skull Kid now has the mask's great power, and no concern for anyone or anything, so he goes back to Termina to seek revenge on those that shunned him - namely, the Four Giants. So he imprisons the Four Giants, and gives them a middle finger in the form of destroying the world that they left him to protect.
STOP! This is important. Does Skull Kid want to destroy Termina out of jealousy? I'll explain this further, but look at it this way. The reason he's as he is is because the Four Giants left him to serve the people of Termina. So perhaps Skull Kid wants to squish all these people as a big "screw you" to the Four Giants.
Anyway, let's get into the meat of this long theory now. Let's take a journey to The Moon. Now you'll notice that when you're on The Moon... it's not really... The Moon. No, it's a big field with a big tree. Now my theory on Skull Kid being jealous of the Terminans comes into play. I believe that Skull Kid, under the influence of Majora's Mask, wants to crush the Terminans as a sort of 'jealous revenge' for stealing his friends. This sees him bringing The Moon down. Now what do you think of The Moon's face? Perhaps the angry expression is a symbol - a personification of Skull Kid's hate and jealousy. The face of The Moon is the face of Skull Kid - the eyes symbolizing that the power of Majora's Mask has some influence over it.
So The Moon is a personification of Skull Kid's hate. So when we go to The Moon, we don't literally go to The Moon... we go on a very symbolic journey into Skull Kid's mind. It sounds silly, I know, but hear me out.
Now, look at the settings here. A great big, open, sunny field with a great big tree in the middle of it. The four children in the Remains Masks happily prance around the big tree, and the child in Majora's Mask sits beneath it. It seems that none of the other children want to play with Majora Boy. Now let's look at this symbolically - as we theorists do!
If we think of this field as Skull Kid's mind, then it makes quite a bit of sense. The big field is enourmous and open - it's an ideal place for children to play. What do we have? Children playing. One word to describe Skull Kid? "Playful". Look at his personality all through the game - even when he's bringing The Moon down he's chirpilly giggling about it. It's all a big game to him. Now Majora's Mask takes this playfulness and blows it out of proportion to the extent that it's dangerous. Skull Kid is but a playful little imp - but he has a powerful godly mask and a vengence. Not good for Termina. Now look at the big field. Think of it as Termina. From the perspective of a Skull Kid possessed by Majora in the way I've explained, Termina is a great, big playground for Skull Kid. The big tree in the middle sits erect, just as the Clock Tower sits in the middle of Termina. The big tree is the Clock Tower - the center of Termina. Throughout the game, when under Majora's spell, Skull Kid doesn't care who he hurts or what he destroys - it's all just a big game to him.
In conclusion - this field is Termina - from Skull Kid's point of view. Link and Tatl haven't gone to The Moon at all - they've gone inside Skull Kid's conscience, personified by The Moon. They're still in Termina, but this is what Skull Kid sees of it. Termina is his playground. The lack of people and buildings simply represents how Skull Kid is blind to such things - he doesn't care what he destroys or who gets in the way of his destruction - he doesn't see himself killing people and destroying buildings - all he sees is a big, grassy, sunny playground. Notice how towards the end of the 3rd Day, earthquakes start happening because The Moon's getting closer. Well, notice how they still happen in this field? When you're supposedly "on The Moon" or in some other strange heavenly world? This is telling you that you're not in some other world - you are still in Termina.
Now, let's look at the five mask-hungry children. Let's look past their philosophical words about masks for a change. Let's just look at their positions - where they are and what they do. I'll name the children by their masks. Odolwa, Goht, Gyorg and Twinmould are all dancing around the big tree having a great time. Majora's sat by himself with no friends.
Now, this one should be simple. What have we learned from the in-game lore? Skull Kid was once best buddies with the Four Giants, but they left him. The Majora Kid is a lonely child with no friends - as Skull Kid sees himself currently. It's safe to assume that the Majora kid represents Skull Kid - especially since he's wearing the mask which has been his trademark throughout the entire game. Now, from Skull Kid's point of view, the Four Giants don't want to play with him anymore. They want to play with the people of Termina instead. Now - look at the other four children. They're
having a great time running around and playing, but none of them want to play with Skull Kid. These other four children resemble the Four Giants - the fact that they're leaving Majora Boy all alone is Skull Kid's idea that the Four Giants don't want to play with him anymore.
This could be interpreted in a number of ways. Let me go off-topic a little here. When you think of the map of Termina, what's the first thing that comes to mind? A compass. Four points. These four compass points are mentioned and depicted all over Termina. The four points of the compass are found carved on all kinds of walls and floors. Clock Town - four gates. The constant references to the 'Four World of Termina' with a giant to protect each one. These 'four worlds' are, of course, 'Swamp, Mountain, Ocean and Canyon', as mentioned by Tael before you fight Skull Kid. In other words, Woodfall Swamp to the South, Snowhead Mountain to the North, the Great Bay to the West (obviously bordering the ocean) and Ikana Canyon - the four temples. These four compass points are very important in Termina. As mentioned by... someone... probably Anju's mother (the queen of theory reference), each of the Four Giants took 100 steps in their own compass direction to protect that certain point - one giant for each of the Four Worlds of Termina.
Now back to the freaky moon children. It can be generally assumed that Skull Kid had the Four Giants imprisoned. The masks of these giants are those worn by the Children, apparently. In Anju's mother's less-popular story - the one which isn't 'Carnival of Time' (the name escapes me), she explains that at the carnival, people carve masks of their giants. Now among all of the red, big-nosed masks, I noticed, just to the right of the screen - the mask of Odolwa. This leads me to believe that Odolwa is a mask representing the giant of Woodfall. So if this is true, the masks of Goht, Gyord and Twinmold must represent the other giants.
So, look at the other moon children - the ones wearing the masks of Odolwa, Goht, Gyorg and Twinmold. I'd say it's okay to assume that they're the giants from Skull Kid's point of view. However, I believe they could also represent the people of Termina - the "Four Worlds of Termina". From Skull Kid's point of view, the people don't want to play with him anymore. This is true, due to the mischief and havoc he has caused, and continues to cause. Hence, the four 'Remains Children' don't want to play with Skull Kid - the Majora boy. And they're wearing the giants' masks. Now, talking to these kids gives the general impression that they love their masks. The fact that these children are wearing the giants' masks implies that they love them too - it could be a metaphor for how the people of Termina have stolen Skull Kid's friends.
When you fight Majora's Mask, the other four masks team up with it against you. This implies that the five masks are all friends. However, back out on 'the field', Odolwa and the boys want nothing to do with Majora. So the masks resemble the giants, and the kids resemble the Terminans - it all points towards Skull Kid's friends being taken away from him by the Terminans. The fact that they all want to play hide 'n' seek simply seems to emphasize that the Skull Kid thinks that everything is a game.
I back this up with my aforementioned idea that the tree is the Clock Tower. The general positioning of the children seems to suggest this idea. Going on the idea that we're still in Termina, The Majora kid is sat under the tree - just as Skull Kid is at the Clock Tower. The other kids - representing the giants - are all the same distances apart from one another. They're all playing and having fun, but none of them are actually communicating with or acknowledging one another - suggesting that they are at the 'four corners of Termina'. But they're not. They're all at the Clock Tower, and they're all fighting against the Skull Kid. Which suggests why the four children are so close to the big tree- because the Four Giants are so close to the Clock Tower. The four children aren't playing with Majora boy because the Four Giants are fighting against Skull Kid's evil. 'Why make the field so big, then?' one may ask. I believe that it represents the vast world of Termina, which Skull Kid believes to be a big playground. A second theory, I'd like someone who actually has a copy of the game to test for me. Walk Link from the big tree to the edge of the map in the giant field. Count how many steps it takes. If it's around 100, then I'm definately on to something!
Finally, I'd like to talk about the Majora kid's 'good guys/bad guys' speech. I believe that this 'Majora kid' represents not just Skull Kid himself, but his relationship with Majora's Mask. As I mentioned about an hour ago (-.-), I believe that the mask discards the few 'good' attributes that Skull Kid has - his strongest being his cherishing of friendship. Skull Kid now sees Majora's Mask as his only friend - he believes it to be good - it's helping him get revenge on all the people that he believes have stolen his friends. In Skull Kid's opinion, Majora's Mask isn't evil, it's trying to help him. Therefore, when you get the Fierce Deity Mask, I believe that the Majora boy is the voice of Skull Kid. He's telling you that you'll be playing the 'bad guy', trying to 'get' Majora - whom he believes to be the 'good guy'.
As for the battle itself, I believe that it backs up my theory that you're still in Termina. It definately seems - to me - to take place inside the Clock Tower. A very trippy version of the Clock Tower, granted - but the Clock Tower nonetheless. I believe that you are on Termina, fighting inside the Clock Tower - but the trippiness tells you that you're still fighting from Skull Kid's conscience - the big field of The Moon. When you kill Majora, I believe that you are doing so from the conscience of Skull Kid - you are purging the mask's evil from Skull Kid's mind.
Phew, well. I better get to sleep now - it's 05:40 in the morning. That theory took me a good hour and a half to write, so please cut me some slack on it! Night! |
05-28-2008, 11:56 PM
I thought that was given. Really, the quote about him smelling like that other kid and Saria's song didn't give it away?
