For a long time I've interpreted the game as being about penance. In every area, an important character recklessly goes out on their own, and everyone else is left to grieve and pick up the pieces without them, a lot of the time nobody even understands what happens, or why. When he left, presumably the dungeons were left unsolved, who knows how long it would've taken the Zora to find Ruto, or the Goron's to have access to food again. Ganon may be gone, but the problems he left behind aren't.
This is a beautiful video but unfortunately, in the real world, you can't heal people just by helping and forgiving, if they are ridden with mental illness.
I agree that the eng-game of MM is healing the Skull Kid, but I don't think it is correct to say that HIM doesn't deserve forgiveness. He was used by the mask, it is implied that if not for the mask he wouldn't have done such horrible things. Sure, he was a prankster that was inconveniencing the people of Termina, but he wasn't evil in any way, it was after he got hold of the mask that he started to be more evil in his doings, so I do think forgiving him is fine because he is also a victim in all of this.
I remember playing MM back in 2013 and not sure what to do. I wondered how am i suppose to make the dekus happy if i eventually have to reset time. How am i suppose to make every person happy in 3 days. Im just glad i got my hands on the 3ds version and recently beat it. I want to replay and 100% it. This time with the patched version.
This video was a delight to watch. Thankyou for finally explaining to me what this game is about. I want to play it again with this perspective 💖 excellent explanation, production, editing ✨ your effort is noticed and recognized.
The forgive your friend line was referring to the desertion of Link by Navi. And he does in the end. But it doesnt mean Link is will ever truely heal from her loss.
I'm so happy you had Tingle for Moral support. He's such a pal. But in all seriousness, this was a wonderful video to stumble across. You did an amazing job doing it! Def earned a sub! I've been in a kind of Majora's Mask hyper-fixation as of late because of the new PC Port Recompilation of the game that was released last week. :)
It's sadder to know that for all of Link's accomplishments, and all the lives he touched... he still faded, unfulfilled, empty, and lost, and became the Shade. He could save others. But the Hero of Time could not save himself in the end.
I really feel like mentioning the addition that EVERYONE in Termina is healed in the credit roll. I've only ever seen one video mention that, everyone else seems to get hung up on it being "undone" while you're playing.
growing up, I absolutely loved Skull Kid and Majoras Mask, despite not being able to beat it on my 3ds. Returning to the game now in my 20's with newfound wisdom as well as reconciliation of my own personal traumas, its an absolute crime that I cannot reach through the screen and give skull kid the hug he deserves. One of understanding and pain. Your video is a perfect analysis on this.
Its super refreshing to have a short video essay! You got to the point, and made your arguoents clezrly and concisely. Ill be thinking about this video in the future!
I am in a lot of Zelda fandoms in English and Spanish, and when someone starts the toxic rant, the fandom somehow let this person to know that Zelda Fandon is not the right place for this. But to this date, the most toxic fandom that I have ever been is the Latin American Nana fandom. That thing is radioactive ☢️
I had some trauma happend for a long time and I didnt know how to move forward. I disconnected from everything and slowly I became someone I couldn't recognize and kept falling down in the darkness. Especially the part of wanting others or the ones who hurt you to feel the same pain, so they could understand. (I never hurt anyone but started thinking like that, which scared me since I never had a thought like that in my life. Which made me hate me more.) This video feels like you played the song of healing for me. Thank you, I needed this.❤
I played oot when i was a kid so i never finished it (cus i was a stupid child who didn't understand the mechanics) and this vid makes me want to replay it so bad
majoras mask is, to this day, still my favorite zelda game. the defining moment for me was learning about skull kids story, because the hurt he was feeling was not that dissimilar to my own. seeing that in a game made me feel seen, as silly as that sounds.. but at the time, it felt so important to me & made me feel less alone
Excellent vid! I thought this video was both well-organized, insightful, and an interesting interpretation of this bizarre game. Could you tell me how you came to make the connections between this and trauma research? And do you think, considering both texts released before the development of the game, they had direct influence?
Not to mention how trauma and the fluctuating states it puts someone in may as well be masks themselves. Some masks become so influential they begin to become the true face...
One thing I haven't seen mention yet is that Link being forced to return to childhood the way he does is akin to being forced into a world that gaslights you just by living in it. With Navi gone, he has no one to validate that what happened to him even real. This can literally drive a person insane, let alone a child. Can lead them to question whether it all actually happened, whether it was a dream or a nightmare or whatnot. Sure the argument could be made that Zelda is Links saving grace in this. If she truly was a Sage level of consciousness then her awareness and intuition is probably timeless, and she can probably remember, or at least look into her past lives or this whole time debacle through meditation or something. The argument could be made that she was there to validate for Link what went on, but here's the thing, Link ISN'T at that Sage level of consciousness and he doesn't have the real world support system that Zelda does. In fact his support system got ripped away from him. And Zelda, in the childhood time, still has her royals duties to uphold and kingdom to concern her with, so there would simply be no feasible way for her to be there for Link like Navi could. Not saying anyone in this should be blamed, but a lot of people point the finger at Navi, but what about the Great Deku Tree or Saria (again, if we're applying our real world awakening/ascension/enlightenment process on the situation someone doesn't achieve Sage level conscious in one lifetime, therefore those like Saria or Zelda should have some access to their Akashic Records, past lives, or some sort version of their siddhis, while Link on the other hand is just beginning his awakening process, hence the starting of the Hero's Journey.)
Majora is a very dark Trickster Demon. Skull Kid also belongs to the trickster archetype, but was mostly harmless, or at least neutral. (There are benevolent trickster beings as well. A "Heyoka" would be an example of this. Some modern day stand-up comedians are Heyokas.) But because of SK's trauma he became match for being taken over and possessed by a much darker malevolent trickster energy, kind of like the Fox and the Cat being taken by the Henchman in Pinocchio (only they were already sociopaths to the Henchman's psychopathy)
What a hidden gem, I love shit like this. I understand the title now too. The creepy is the subject and stories; the cozy is your voice. I have no complaints, the video is great.
Lovely analysis...well, what I could stand was. Please, I beg, lessen the verbal fry a bit, it's truly painful to listen to at times. Other than that I can tell a lot of thought was put into this.
Its truly such a masterpiece- the best game of all time in my eyes. The theories I've seen of the Fierce Deity and Majora, along with the Four Giants, linked through a Japanese Buddhist/Shintoist (I can't remember which) belief of the four gods backing a fifth divine god of wrath, striking down on demons and evil spirits, while dubious itself in its nature. The Fierce Deity Mask in the Japanese translation is the 'Oni God Mask' (Oni being the Japanese word for demon). The inside of the Moon not really being the inside, but actually just the psychology of Majora itself. All of it is so beautifully crafted, through incredibly psychologically damaging trauma settling itself on the developers in the year-long development cycle. It's crazy how they could do get it done so well.
What a great analysis! I played Majoras Mask for the first time at the age of 11 and back then I couldn’t really point out how it made me feel. I just thought it was a mixture of sadness and happiness. Now, I know it’s empathy. Connecting with all the characters’ tragic stories and feelings but most importantly trying to help them to solve their problems for the sake of healing…not just them but especially yourself. I love ur take on this!!!
