Whistle and I'll Come to You: The Ghosts of Majora's Mask

Faith is tested, hearts are redeemed, but the monster never dies.  The time has come once again to discuss one of the most mysterious video games in history.  It has been two years to the day since I started my series on the themes and story of Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.  I wanted to write this follow-up post because not only does the game mean the world to me, but the blog series remains the only series I have followed through to completion.  The writing featured on this blog was very much a labor of love and I was determined to see those thirty posts through with reflection.  I also sorta want to get the Great Mighty Poo off of my front page, so there's kinda an ulterior motive in making this post, but you'd do it too if it meant scrubbing the giant singing turd off your front page.  In all seriousness, I'd decided to follow up on my musings on Majora's Mask for some time now, but decided to hold off on posting until today.

The glorious news that accompanies this post is The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is getting an HD remake on the Nintendo 3DS/2DS/and New 3DS.  This is one more reason for a post and for you to go out and get a 3DS/2DS/or New 3DS dependent upon your budget.  It's true that the game is a little difficult, but there are countless walkthroughs on the internet in this day and age so you don't have to be some sort of major league gamer to play it.  Also, the 3DS is a solid gaming platform with many excellent titles for all ages and such apps as netflix, hulu, and youtube, so consider that as well.  All the phone minus the phone, but you probably bought an iPad, so this isn't your first rodeo.  Admit it... you'll buy anything with a screen and buttons on it.  I've got you figured out, muahahaha.

So then, what in particular do I want to talk about for the anniversary.  I've already said a lot and there are countless other people saying countless other things about this game.  The Game Theorists have pointed out that the falling Moon wouldn't actually be much of a threat to the world given the velocity and mass of the moon and the possibility of Link being dead, and recently there has been a series by the brilliant Gaijin Goombah on the African roots of the game's cultural elements.  It's a popular game that inspires discussion, so I'm gonna link all of those videos at the end of the post as well as Jirard "Dragon Rider" Khalil's Completionist video on the game to give those who are new to the game a fast and dirty look at the game itself (I say fast and dirty, but Jirard does a really good job putting those videos together so show him some love).

However, what do I personally bring to this to the discussion that I haven't brought before?  Why not just put it off to the 3 year anniversary of my blog series?  Well, recently I have completed a class on the study of supernatural fiction focusing on ghost stories.  After studying many critical debates in ghost stories, I've realized Majora's Mask is among the great ghost stories of video games, up there with Silent Hill 2, Fatal Frame, and even Metal Gear Solid (I'll talk about that when Phantom Pain comes out, remind me if I forget).  So in the spirit of the season, I'm gonna write a blog post every day from now until Christmas on the Ghosts of Majora's Mask.  You're thinking "Christmas isn't a time for ghost stories!" and I'm saying "uhhh, Christmas Carol, and 'tell scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long long ago.'" Apparently it's a very English thing to tell ghost stories around Christmas, in America we just buy stuff so that our children don't grow up to be cowboys because we didn't get them a Tickle Me Elmo one year.  Pretty sure there's a bit in the Bible where the spirits of dead saints were proclaiming the birth of Jesus at the nativity, so you could go at it from that angle too.

Things you can expect from this series is a discussion of the abodes of the ghosts (Lost Woods, Clock Town, Ikana Valley, things like that), a discussion of desire among haunts, accursed objects, the role of gods in ghost stories, and the inability to let go.  So with that, get yourself a glass of milk (or some chateau romani if you're 21 or older or 18 and not American) and we'll meet back here tomorrow and get started.

Praise the Moon!

Link is Dead Game Theory

Majora's Mask Completionist

Gaijin Goombah on the African Roots of Majora's Mask

Get Out of My House: A Link Between Worlds part 2

Ok, so back to the regularly scheduled adventure.

After going unconscious in the chapel, Link wakes up back in his house.  He looks around to see everything in its place until a man in a strange purple rabbit costume comes out.

There's some major spoilers on this guy,
so I wouldn't recommend looking him up if you don't know his deal.

He introduces himself as Ravio, and he is apparently the guy who dragged you back to your house.  He has a small winged bird friend named Sheerow.  When he finds out from Link about the magician turning people into paintings and how Link tried to fight him, he declares Link is a hero with great cheer.  He states that he is a merchant who sells items to heroes, but he is in need of a place to set up shop.  He then passively coerces Link to let him stay in his house and offers a musty old bracelet thing as rent.  To add extra worth to the bracelet, he calls it the Hero's Bracelet.

He then admits it does absolutely nothing, but it's too late because you already agreed to let him stay.  Before Link can object, Ravio sends Link out saying the kingdom is probably in danger, and he needs to warn Princess Zelda because that's what heroes do.  So Link leaves the house and goes to the castle to warn of coming disaster and the true nature of the vandalism as told to him by his mysterious friend in a rabbit costume.

Even though Ravio may seem like a handful now (and he will only seem like more of a handful in very little time) circumstances will reveal near the end why he's probably one of my favorite Zelda characters.  Generally, my most beloved Zelda characters are the ones that are helpful but also some definitive character flaw.  Tatl is bossy, Midna has ulterior motives, and Ravio likes your money and your property.  In the end, your uneasy alliances with these characters work out, but at first they seem questionable.  I feel like this makes them more memorable since you constantly find yourself guessing what they're all about.  We will return to Hyrule Castle next time

(also, if you know Link to the Past and what it had to do with rabbits, that will help you learn something about Ravio)

Ocarina of Time, The Poet's Tale and the Legend of Life

I'm taking a quick pause from A Link Between Worlds for exam week (especially since we're about to address my favorite character in that game).  However, I wanted to write something in light of having beat Ocarina of Time yet again recently.

Legend of Zelda:  Ocarina of Time is considered by many to be the greatest video game ever made.  On metacritic, it holds a rating of 99 for universal acclaim.  If you know me personally, I've never been much of a fan of representing quality by a quantifiable number, but I think it is a start in the beginning of understanding this game's impact and what it means for the art and industry of video games.  

At the beginning of my series on Majora's Mask, I briefly described the world of Ocarina of Time when it first came out.  It moved the two dimensional world of Zelda into the third dimension and took the traditional alongside the new and exciting.  There was mystery and fear and love and life and death and power and weakness and responsibility and everything that makes a legend legendary.  However, this is merely the sum of its parts, and Ocarina of Time exceeds these qualities.  While the polygon world of Hyrule has long since been exceeded graphically, Ocarina of Time was a piece of art extending beyond its story and its gameplay.  Ocarina of Time is a symphony and an epic told by a poet's look upon the universe.  

And by poet, I mean this poet.  

Sheik is one of the defining features of Ocarina of Time.  He shows up shortly after Link's gone to the future where everything is terrible and guides Link on his quest by discussing the fate of the world and the truths of life.  Sheik usually appears when Link is off to see someone or do something that involves his past in light of the present.  Finally, Sheik does so through poetry and music using the harp that has made him famous.

Sheik teaches Link:
The Prelude of Light
The Minuet of Forest
The Bolero of Fire
The Serenade of Water
The Nocturne of Shadow
and The Requiem of Spirit

With each song Sheik says these words before teaching it.

Minuet of Forest

The flow of time is always cruel

Its speed seems different for each person

But no one can change it.

A thing that doesn't change with time

Is a memory of younger days

In order to come back here again

Play the minuet of forest

Prelude of Light (technically taught after Minuet of Forest)

     There really isn't anything too poetic said with this song, but it is where Sheik gives Link his quest and tells him that the Master Sword and Ocarina of Time will give him what he needs to succeed.  

Bolero of Fire

It is something that grows over time

A true friendship

A feeling in the heart that becomes even stronger

Over time

The passion of friendship will soon blossom into a righteous flower

And through it

You will know which way to go

This song is dedicated to the power of the heart

Listen to the Bolero of Fire

Serenade of Water

(This one's probably my favorite)

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

and reflect upon yourself

Nocturne of Shadow

This is the melody that will draw you 

Into the infinite darkness that absorbs even time

Listen to this

The Nocturne of Shadow!

(admittedly, Sheik is in a hurry with this one given a demon gets released into the world and the village where he meets Link is on fire.  The song itself is very chilling and really stuck out to me this time through.)

Requiem of Spirit

Past, present, future

The Master Sword is a ship with which you can sail upstream and downstream

Through time's river

The port for that ship is in the Temple of Time

To restore the Desert Colossus and enter the Spirit Temple

you must travel back through time's flow

Listen to this Requiem of Spirit
This melody will lead a child back to the desert.

The music in this game is fantastic by the way.

After hearing Sheik say these words, I realized what Ocarina of Time is really all about.  

Shigeru Miyamoto, the man responsible for Mario and Zelda and many other famous Nintendo characters made the first Legend of Zelda game inspired by the caves around his childhood home.  He revisited those caves as an adult after Mario and Donkey Kong had put him on a track for being the future of video games for the next ten to fifteen years.  Ocarina of Time is the culmination of that journey and is a timeless lesson for the target audience of children in the 90s.  It is a lesson of life.  

Link, who begins the game as a child, sees seven years into his future where all of his friends and loved ones could be one day. His friend Saria and the forest represent his past and all things that remain timeless in the past that give us our beginnings but only carry with us to the present and future in memory. Darunia the brother in arms of the fiery mountain represent the challenges of life that will not be faced alone by the strength of the bonds we build with others.  Princess Ruto of the aquatic Zora people represent the love and ambitions of childhood that will either live or be left behind with the passage of time but should be looked upon and celebrated for all they represent.  Impa of the destroyed Sheikah people represent the loss experienced in life that all must go through but the resolute strength that must be kept to keep living.  Finally, the desert, which has always represented strife and its sands that represent time, recognizes that what we do in the past is not without consequence and we can always remind ourselves of the past to do what must be done in the present.  Link saves the thief Nabooru from her mental imprisonment, and she remembers Link as the kid who had helped her seven years ago.  

Life is a matter of time, something Miyamoto recognized, and in life all things that were, are, and could be are instrumental in carrying us through.  A prelude suggests all that is to come, so the Prelude of Light suggests that though the journey is tough and there will be sacrifices, it will be vibrant and worthy of celebration if we respect the past and work in the present for a brighter future even if hardships seem to be all we are destined for.  

At the end, Sheik turns out to be Princess Zelda (y'see, you thought I was making typos this whole time, I know that everyone knows Sheik is Zelda now, but back in '98 everyone thought Sheik was a man. It was a shocking reveal.)  Zelda has lived the seven years Link has been absent, and she has learned all the lessons she taught as Sheik.  In the end, she returns Link to his childhood telling him to live now that his quest has ended.  She gives Link a second chance in life to do all he can for a brighter future following what the two  had seen and fought for as adults.  Link is a vicarious representation of that first audience back in '98 who have this game as a formative part of their childhood and all the lessons it shared.  

I feel this is really what makes Ocarina of Time the enduring title it continues to be.  

A New Link, A New Life: A Link Between Worlds Part 1

Here is the context of this latest installment.  If you don't care about the grander scheme of things and just want to know about this game in particular, you can skip this part and pick up at the Green Sentence.  This game takes place in the Fallen Timeline.  If you have read my post about all the many Links over the years, you would know the Fallen Timeline involves the instance where the Hero of Time (Link from Ocarina of Time) was defeated by the demon king Ganon.  Following this, a war was fought known as the Sealing War where Ganon was defeated by the efforts of the knights of the land and its Seven Sages.  Ganon was sent back to the Sacred Realm where he sought the land's ultimate power, The Triforce, and in this realm he built his empire that became the Dark World.

Many years later, the court wizard Agahnim staged a coup in the land of Hyrule where he seized the seven descendants of the original Seven Sages as well as this reincarnation of Princess Zelda.  The nephew of a veteran soldier for Hyrule, Link, rose up to become the next hero who freed Zelda and the Sages, defeated Agahnim and the demon king Ganon again, and restored peace to the realm.  This Link would continue his adventures in other lands in such games as Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons before going on his final adventure in Link's Awakening.  

This brings us to the present where a lazy boy named Link is asleep.  All Links begin their adventures after waking up, but it is made apparent by his best friend Gulley that this Link is consistently lazy.  Link lives alone in a house that is in the same geographic location as the house where the previous Link lived, but such information was many years ago and lost to time.  He is an apprentice blacksmith under the tutelage of Gulley's father, but his consistent laziness has made everyone call his future success in this endeavor into question.  He runs into the captain of the castle guard who leaves the blacksmith shop without his sword.  The blacksmith sends Link on an errand to return the sword as punishment for his laziness.  Upon reaching Hyrule Castle, he is told by the guards that the captain usually goes to the chapel north of the castle before going on duty.  Link also hears that there has been an outbreak of vandalism all across the castle.

Gulley and his parents

When Link reaches the chapel, the doors suddenly slam shut and the screams of Seres (the chapel priest's daughter) can be heard inside.  Dampe, Hyrule's gravekeeper, tells Link there is a hidden entrance into the chapel.  After Link gives Dampe a run around on how he's ill equipped to face whatever is going on inside, Dampe threatens to tie the sword to Link's hand on the basis that he's the only one who can be of any assistance present.  This marks two differences with this Link from all previous Links. First off, this Link pretty clearly talks as he waves his arms around like he is conversing with another person.  Second, he is incredibly reluctant.

After descending through a network of tunnels in the graveyard, Link arrives within the chapel to find a painting of the captain on the wall.  The captain is nowhere to be found, but the priest is lying on the ground, and a dark menacing figure is approaching Seres.  The figure is a magician named Yuga who holds a flaming scepter that looks like a brush.  He talks about permanently capturing Seres beauty and hanging it on a wall.  He then creates a picture frame and zaps Seres into it, turning her into a painting.  Link recognizes this guy can't be allowed to escape because magicians are almost always causing trouble.  He rushes at Yuga head on, but Yuga jumps into the wall as a painting.  Link slams into the stone wall and falls over.  Yuga thinks Link isn't worth his time, and after he hops out of the wall, he walks off with the painting of Seres.

Link passes out.  

Without Me: A Link Between Worlds Intro

Guess who's back?

       Alright, so I wasn't sure if I'd bring this back, in large part due to lack of inspiration, but with the release of Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, I felt I could at least make an effort and see what happens.  I'm going to start off by saying my initial goal was to approach games on their story aspects and share it with gamers and nongamers alike, but admittedly this is a sort of difficult endeavor.  It's sorta like handing a Wii remote to someone and telling them to "swing it like a tennis racket" and they insist they can't do it because "they don't play games." So this time, I'm going to be a little more reasonable and recognize I can't get everyone to read it but I'll still leave it open for everyone to read.

    I also recognize reading takes time (and in the case of my stuff a little effort too).  So I'll just throw in pictures so we can all be on sorta the same page.


    So why am I coming back now?  Wind Waker HD came out last month(?) and I've sung its praises and considered it my second favorite Zelda game just behind Majora's Mask.  I wrote about Majora's Mask on the basis that it was so bizarre and outside the conventions of the Zelda series while being full of symbolism.  Well, I think I want to do Legend of Zelda A Link Between Worlds in large part because it is so close to the traditional Zelda formula and yet brings something new and exciting that makes it my third favorite Zelda game.  I'll have to do it a little differently, so this will probably be a shorter series.  By shorter series I mean it will be less than thirty pages.

   Without further ado, let's talk about the boy in green.

My E3 2013 Predictions

     For all you people who don't follow nerd culture as closely as, well, nerds do, you may be wondering what this is all about.  What is E3, why should you care, and why do I care.

     For starters, E3, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is an event in which people from around the video game and by extension entertainment industry showcase what is on the horizon for the market.  I would compare it to the Superbowl or March Madness, but in reality it's nothing like that.  If you're political, think of it like a Republican or Democratic National Convention (at times the responding cynicism can be comparable).  If you like sports, think of it like an NFL draft.  Generally, they set up booths, they showcase technology, and they hold press conferences (sans Nintendo this year, more on that later).  The thing that sets E3 apart from other expos like PAX (Penny Arcade Expo, which is owned by two filthy rich web comic    guys, you've probably seen them before) is that E3 is exclusively for reporters and the masses aren't allowed the same accessibility as they would at other expos.

    So what do I want to see this year, and what do I think will happen.  Well, something like this I guess.

1.  Sony will tell us more about the PS4

    Sony has been keeping just about everything on their console under wraps thus far.  You can't really blame them, given everything that's happened to Microsoft and their X-Bones (I'm a pirate yarrr, I know what to call it).  What I do know about Sony is that if we look at the performance of the PS3 from day 1 to now, they have learned a whole lot.  If you don't remember, the PS3 came out with a price range of $500-$600, put a lot on motion control that prematurely killed the IP Lair and with it all of Factor 5 (the guys who gave us Star Wars Rogue Squadron).  Before the motion controller they had the weird batarang/banana controller that nobody wanted.  They also had a blu-ray player which later on turned out to be a better investment than anybody originally thought but was iffy in the early days of the console.  As they went along, with a few dead ends here and there, the PS3 made an effort to learn from these mistakes making us all wish we bought a PS3 at the end.  It still doesn't compare to the PS2, which is considered by many to be flawless, especially the Japanese Market, but it showed improvement from the beginning to the end.

I imagine Sony has taken notes on the response to the X-Bones and if they had similar plans for their new console (which isn't out of the question given they have said nothing about it) they will respond to the best features that aren't in the X-Bones and change anything it shares with the X-Bones (like when they changed their batarang/banana controller).  Since they are finishing out with the exclusive Metal Gear Solid Legacy Collection and The Last of Us (two more reasons I wish I bought a PS3), I trust they will give us some pretty spectacular games this E3.  If not, then at least they gave us the MGS Legacy Collection and The Last of Us.  The new Killzone looks pretty good, so we can at least go in with a bit of hope.

2. Microsoft will try to trick us into buying X-Bones (Xbox One for those who respect it, Xbox Juan, Xbox 360 minus 359, Xbone, Skeletor/Starscream/Stalin, the Why Microsoft Should Stick to Software, and of course Steve Jobs Last Laugh for those who don't)

    Microsoft has a lot of weight to throw around.  It's a really big company.  Assuming this X-Bones doesn't go over as they planned (and let's be honest, I haven't heard a single person who's been paying attention who wants it) they can still give us Windows that will be good one year and bad the next (luckily Windows 9 has landed on a good year, so there's that I guess).

   This thing looks terrible and everybody knows it.  Since the initial press release, Microsoft has been backtracking in all the weeks following, having just recently put out their policy on used games which saves Gamestop but threatens online services like Gamefly (nobody saw that coming).   They specifically said they would only focus on games at E3.  Anyone who follows politics knows that when a politician drops a bombshell and tries to cover it up with broad general statements that are agreeable to everyone, it's not because they've reconsidered their bombshell statement, they're just trying to turn the public's eyes away from it.  Microsoft knows all the things everybody wants, and they have gotten everybody's attention with the  more-than-likely true rumors about a new Banjo-Kazooie game.  As much as I want to play that Banjo-Kazooie (and I really really reeeeeeeeaaaaaally want to play that game), I'm not going to be able to due to the knowledge it will come with a terrible console for a single good game.  There are certainly other games that will be good for the X-Bones, but is it really worth all the other hoops that must be jumped on a daily basis with this thing? Banjo-Kazooie or not, I'm still not excited for the X-Bones and will not be buying one.

sigh

  Instead, I will be looking forward to the title made by all the former Rareware employees, which they've specifically been thinking of selling to Nintendo.

SEGUEEEEEEEE

3. Nintendo will live to fight another day.

Miracles happen, right?

   Ok, I'm biased.  Nintendo is a market fueled on nostalgia, and I and everyone who held Nintendo dear as a child wants to see it do well even though it looks like Belgium in World War I.  If my 30 page Majora's Mask series doesn't say anything, you should read it over there on the right.  So naturally, I'm gonna spend a lot of time talking about this.  If you don't care at all about Nintendo, you can go to the next point, because we're gonna be here awhile.

Specifically for me, Nintendo's handheld market has meant the most to me since the first thing I got that played video games (besides a PC) was a Gameboy Color.  From what I've seen with regards to what they've been talking about, they are all things I really want.  Real-talk, Pokemon X and Y could be the best game in the series yet.  All the Pokemon they've debuted look excellent (except for Froakie, but I wasn't gonna get him anyway, best thing about Pokemon: variety) My only question is how will they transfer pokemon from 5th generation to 6th generation.  The inability to do so ultimately killed the third generation titles although they were otherwise just as good as all the others.  The transition from Gameboy Advance to DS handled it well with the separate GBA/DS slots, but upon examining the 3DS, there is only one slot.  I'm not sure how they are gonna do it, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

I just need an excuse to put this here

   Of course there will be more Mario games, because just like there are still Sonic games, Mario will exist forever in some form or another.  These include another Mario Kart, another RPG, and another Super Mario game.  Not too excited about all those things, although I do like the Mario and Luigi RPG series aside for the lengthy tutorials that explain obvious things (they were pretty bad in Partners in Time).

  Ok, next on my secret docket which isn't really secret is Pikmin 3.  This is the only reason I need to buy a Wii U, and if you've never played Pikmin before, you are missing out on one of the best video game experiences.  From what I've heard, this one will follow a new bunch of space Robinson Crusoes from a new world as they discover the Pikmin world (a.k.a. Earth). The new grey and pink Pikmin look excellent and look to add new mechanics which will lead to better puzzles to solve.  It's gonna be good, you should check it out.

seriously, who wouldn't want this?

  Smash Bros:  Smash Bros, Smash bros, Smash bros.  I feel like this one's a given.  The question everyone wants to know is who's gonna be in it.  We'll probably find out this upcoming week, but in this post on speculations and predictions, I'm gonna give a few of my own.
1. megaman
2. megaman
3. megaman
4. megaman
5. ryu
6. megaman
7. megaman
8. megaman
9. megaman
10. megaman
Ok, those are very narrow prospects, but the creators did say they were going to try and tighten their focus so as to not lose the spirit of the games even though the introduction of Snake and Sonic was very well received.  More so than anyone else, Sonic and Snake have been in enough Nintendo games to still be considered ok in a Nintendo exclusive title.  The only other character I can think of that would fit the bill would be Capcom's very own mascot-whom-they-neglect-at-every-mention-except-to-sell-statues-on-the-25th-anniversary-with-no-games-and-yes-i'm-kinda-peeved-about-that.  Put megaman in it please?

Samus clone? what? no no, totally different

   Not sure what this Wonderful 101 thing is, but it could be interesting so I'll see what they have in store for it this upcoming week.

   Bayonetta 2 is complicated.  A lot of people loved the first one and for those people I hope the second one is everything and more than they asked for.  How Nintendo landed Bayonetta is a huge question that will never be answered for me.  Of course all thoughts of Nintendo being a kids only company were thrown out when the brilliant little gem No More Heroes came out (for those who don't know what that is, think Scott Pilgrim with decapitations and a female lead who has all the imperfections of Ramona Flowers and is completely morally debased).  I'm just gonna say, I kinda like Dante from Devil May Cry (with all his flaws including being remade) better.  Best wishes to the people looking forward to Bayonetta.

   Of course I'm not going to say all this without mentioning Legend of Zelda.  For all who haven't heard, Link to the Past 2 is coming to the 3DS and it looks absolutely fantastic.  Seriously, it's all the best features of the pre-Ocarina of Time series put in 60 frames per second (which is a good thing in the video game world, not so much in the Hobbit world).  It features the return of Tom Baker Link (which I started calling him at the end of my Majora's Mask series) in the events between the first Link to the Past and the Oracle games.  Some people don't consider the handheld Zelda games to be real Zelda games, and to that I say the Oracle titles and Link's Awakening are now available on the 3DS virtual market so you should play them and then come back to me before you say that again.  I feel like this game further solidifies that the things Nintendo has going for their handheld market is really impressive and kinda holds its own for the people who are really interested in it.  There has been the discussion about Nintendo not having a press conference as per the norm at E3 and this has made people worried, but I have some confidence in their approach since they shouldn't need a political rally to sell their games so long as the games are good.  While Nintendo won't ever be the size of entertainment giants like Sony and Microsoft who have their fingers in so many different pies, Nintendo can make sure it has its best fingers in the pie best suited for its consumers.  I myself don't really know what that means, and I just imagined Shigeru Miyamoto and Reggie shoving their hands in an apple pie with a creepy smile on their faces.  What? back to Zelda? Well alright then.

back to the basics

   As for console Zelda, the big new title won't exist for a while as they show us more on the Wind Waker remake.  I'm not sure what's going to be new in this Wind Waker remake, perhaps they'll have a booth about this and then they can talk about it that way.  Probably what is new in it will decide whether or not I buy it, because the original Wind Waker can still be played on the Wii and still looks as brilliant as it did when it first one came out (unless you don't like cel-shading, in which case I pity you because I really like Wind Waker's art style).  Wind Waker taught us we could have a fresh new exciting game without a color palette of nothing but brown.  I'd like for something new to come out of the HD Wind Waker remake, but I might end up passing on it since I already own the original.  With that, I think this concludes our look at Nintendo.

Oh but Atlus, I see you're gonna be at E3.  I hope that means a Persona title for the 3DS.  k thx.

4. Squenix 

   I'm not sure I'm really one to talk about what Square Enix is up to. I'm also not sure I'm a reliable source for anything related to business trends or cold hard facts given I have a tendency to embellish information for the sake of humor and clever turns of phrase.  Doesn't matter how many feels I've got stacked up in the corner, that doesn't bail out companies and decide success or failure.  However, I don't care, and I'm gonna talk about Square anyway.  The president of Square jumped ship earlier this year due to poor sales of Tomb Raider and Sleeping Dogs.  It looks like they are preparing to show new games from old IPs.  There is the reboot of Thief, which has some people excited, and then there is Lightning Returns which I'm guessing is the conclusion of Final Fantasy XIII. Apparently they are also going to announce a new title in Final Fantasy.

   So now, about Final Fantasy.  If it's not considered the best series in video game history (and it's not), it is at least considered one of the most influential and important titles.  It was a series born from a risky gamble and has since been a strange balance of playing it safe but also having the riskiest of gambles.  I really like this quality, because people who have seen my poetry and fiction know I don't strive for what is safe, conventional, or guaranteed to be enjoyed.  For the longest time I had not played a Final Fantasy game until recently when I purchased a used copy of Final Fantasy IV for the DS.  I had played Chrono Trigger in the past, and before playing my new purchase I was afraid Final Fantasy IV would not be able to hold a candle to the excellence that is Chrono Trigger.  Upon starting Final Fantasy IV, (which I chose because no one ever mentions it) I found myself surprised and amused again and again although it was quite slow going for a little bit.  I could probably give it the same treatment I gave Majora's Mask, but will have to complete the game beforehand so I successfully organize a plan of attack and so I don't mess up like I did with Snake Eater.  I'm straying from the topic, so back to E3

The only thing I know about Lightning is that people say she's Cloud Strife as a woman.
Is this accurate?

    Not really sure what to think about Lightning Returns, but I have heard many things about Final Fantasy XIII 1 and 2, most notably how mixed the reception is, which of course draws me straight to it.  It will probably be a while before I get to take a closer look at this, but it does have my attention.  The fact that Lightning gets as much attention as she does is odd given her reception is about as mixed as that of the games.  Still, I'm curious what this game is supposed to be, and I'll take a look at it.

   As for the untitled new game, I hope it's Final Fantasy XV, because for some reason I've got good vibes about that number.

5. SEEEEEEGAAAAAAAA (you gotta say it like the little intro chime for the Genesis though)

     Ok, new Sonic game that is a Wii U exclusive.  Despite my initial disapproval of Sonic on the basis that I really don't like the series all that much, the game looks pretty good and I'd be interested in seeing more about it.  From the trailer, it looks like all the things people hate about Sonic games, (taking itself seriously, real people next to cartoon animals, and terrible, untested mechanics) are not in this game.  There are a host of new characters that look kinda ok, but it looks like Sonic will never get enough of that.  Sadly, there will not be a Humphrey the Stegosaurus since Sonic:  Lost World does not imply Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's or Michael Crichton's Lost World.

    What I'm really interested in is Rome 2:  Total War.  I'm going to eventually start putting the money together for a gaming PC because the PC market has been getting the most love and probably has more of a future than all the consoles.  Every Total War game I've played has been impressive and my biggest grievance with the first Rome Total War was the diplomatic AI, this has since been fixed so I'd really like to see it in a refit design.  Seeing what they do with this game will be pretty spectacular, but the challenge will be ponying up the means to be able to play it.

    Other than that, Grant Kirkhope (of Banjo-Kazooie fame) is apparently composing the music for some Disney game Sega is making.  I hope that's good.

6. Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start

The Konami pre-E3 show was about what everybody expected from it, except for on Metal Gear, but we'll get to that.  The Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2 game looks much better than the first one which I'm playing right now.  I'm not saying Lords of Shadow 1 is bad, but it's been testing my patience with its fixed camera and that Shadow of the Colossus rip off boss.  Lords of Shadow 2 looks like it has none of that except for a Shadow of the Colossus boss.  I think I saw Alucard somewhere in that trailer, and he was in Mirror of Fate as Trevor Belmont (yeah, i stopped asking questions a long time ago).  Alucard is cool; I like Alucard.

Now for the question everybody wants to know.  What do I think about Metal Gear?

From the first day they announced Metal Gear Solid V as Metal Gear Solid V, they said Kiefer Sutherland would be in it.  There is no one better for this franchise than Kiefer Sutherland, and Kojima has been working towards this for quite a while now. From introducing Phil Lamarr as Vamp in Metal Gear Solid 2 and voice acting legend Steve Blum in Peace Walker, it was only a matter of time before a big Hollywood actor like Kiefer Sutherland would be chosen for this series.  The shocking thing was that Kiefer Sutherland would be voicing Naked Snake (or Big Boss) and David Hayter, the voice of Snake for 15 years would not.  It is very important to note the game will be set in 1984.  This means we are getting closer and closer to the original Metal Gear, which was set in 1995.  In 1995, Solid Snake (clone of Big Boss) went on his first mission as part of the special forces unit FOXHOUND.  This doesn't mean it was the first time Solid Snake had any combat experience.  I think this means Kiefer Sutherland will be Big Boss while David Hayter will be Solid Snake.  In this case, this will be the bridge that shows how Big Boss encountered his cloned son(s). To further support this, Kazuhira Miller and Revolver Ocelot show up (and they're awesome so far).  Miller knows Solid Snake and helps him out and Ocelot, known for his infiltration tendencies, will probably be helping Big Boss get revenge on whoever destroyed his Private Military Contractor.

Seriously, what's he hiding behind those glasses
he won't even take them off on an operating table.

Now for my biggest theory yet, which strays entirely from E3 but since I didn't deliver on Snake Eater, I feel like this is deserved.  My theory is that Master Miller never was a real person, but instead has been Liquid Snake this whole time.  It just seems strange that Miller -never- takes off his glasses, when that was the big reveal in Metal Gear Solid when he does to reveal he is liquid and the real Miller is dead.  This theory really goes out on a limb and I'm 65% sure it's completely wrong.  However, Hideo Kojima has shown us in this whole viral marketing affair that theory makes for excellent marketing. The entire game has been about conspiracy theory since MGS2, so this is all open for speculation.  Also, if David Hayter is so upset about not being in Metal Gear, either he's terrible at sarcasm, or he knows all the interviews and tweets he's been putting out are promoting this game in their own way.

7. Final Thoughts

See, you're supposed to fall in love with it.
That way when it dies, you'll feel bad.
It's called forced empathy, you'll love it.  

Call of Duty:  yeah. but I never liked the character Ghost

Assassins Creed 4:  yay?

Elder Scrolls Online:  It better not be World of Warcraft

Batman Arkham Origins:  I should play that series, shouldn't I?

Dark Souls 2:  ...

Quantum Break:  Remedy, but X-Bones, so don't bother

Destiny:  Subscriptions? no thanks

Natsume:  ok internet, don't tell anyone I said this, but I really like games made by these people.  They made Harvest Moon, which is about farming.  It's pretty fun.  This new game isn't about farming, but if it's like Harvest Moon, then I'll give it a shot.

Deadpool:  KATANARAMA!!! If they play it well, I may like this game a lot.  Looks like Cable is in it too, haven't read anything from the Deadpool & Cable era (except for Chris Hastings' Fear Itself storyline), but I've heard good things.

Lego Marvel Super Heroes:  Haven't played any of these since Indiana Jones, I hope they went back to the Lego Star Wars formula since then.  I hear Deadpool is in this one too. Seeing how that plays out is worth the price of admission.

Watchdogs:  it looks really good

Valve:  Where are you guys, and would you like to share anything with the class?

Final Conclusion:  Yeah, not sure how much of predictions this turned out to be, but I'm happy with the finished product.  A little on the optimistic side, but optimism doesn't hurt on the internet.

Working on something big for this blog, I'll catch up with you all next time for that.  'til then.

Time Atlas Sextet: Majora's Mask part 29

    So now that we've come to the completion of the story, I want to go over some theories.  These will cover the entirety of the story and then specifically Link's persona in this game and the previous game (known as the Hero of Time).  It wouldn't feel right to leave it at the ending screen without considering what all this means in the grander context of the Legend of Zelda. I'll admit this one is gonna be pretty long, but it is necessary for a complete understanding which I said I would do my best to present.

Hero of Time, kid and adult. (for point of reference)

    I'm going to begin by saying to anyone who doesn't know, if there is something to be understood about the characters of the Legend of Zelda, it is that most of them are reincarnations of the same spirit again and again over time.  There have been well over ten Links and almost as many Zeldas over the course of the thousands of years this series takes place.  To further complicate this, due to the existence of time travel in this series, there are alternate timelines that branch out of this one.  Finally, though less of a complication, there have been Links in the series who had to split into four identical copies on a number of occasions throughout the series.  That's not so much of a complication because when Link returns the Four Sword (the source of these duplicates) he reunites into a single Link.  If there was some way to understand all of these incarnations of Link, think of it kinda in terms of the book and movie Cloud Atlas.  It's pretty much the exact same people showing up again and again in different walks of life with many similarities to those that came before and those who will come in the future.  The thing that is guaranteed is that there will always be a hero (except in one case but we'll get to that later on), most always be a princess, and always a dark interloper of one form or another.

Legacy of the Hero (image by Nelde)

   With all that said, the Link of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask is known as the Hero of Time.  It is from the Hero of Time that the timeline splits three ways.  There is the timeline in which Link vanquished Ganon when Link was an adult.  In this timeline, Zelda sent Link to before this whole adventure occurred in order to let him live a life of peace.  It is in this "life of peace" that next timeline can be found.  In the timeline we are looking at, Link brings word of Ganon's coming insurrection as well as the Triforce of Courage as a sign of his warning.  Ganon is taken to be executed in this timeline (although this doesn't work to disastrous results) while Link goes into the woods, finds Termina, stops the Mask, and returns home.  There is also the final timeline in which Link is killed by Ganon in their final battle and in Link's death a war breaks out in which almost everybody he knows dies where Ganon is finally sealed in an alternate dimension but the kingdom further falls into more and more disarray.

   I mentioned that the timeline we're dealing with is the timeline of Ganon's execution.  Link is a child once more and as such he is freed from everything he was destined to do.  Conversely, everybody he befriended and met on his journey is now gone, and he now knows he cannot return to the forest where he was raised since he is not a Kokiri child but rather he is a Hylian.  There is a Chinese legend called "The Vain Ocean of Wealth and Splendor" from the collection called the Zhen Zhong Ji.  Basically, it suggests that there is a certain impermanence of all good things in life that ebbs and flows frequently.  It's very eastern in thought, but I felt it was fitting since we are dealing with a story written mostly by the Japanese. In Western culture we call this the Wheel of Fortune, where fortune and folly turn by the hands of blind fate.  How it applies is that although Link has done a heroic and virtuous deed in saving the world, it doesn't change that fate would separate him from the fruits of his victory.

   Link set out into the Lost Woods to find the companion he had throughout his journey, Navi.  It's safe to assume he'd be pretty upset about being alone where he used to have so many people around him before.  He does have his horse Epona which means he probably visited Malon (Romani and Cremia's Hylian counterpart) and Lon Lon Ranch (Romani Ranch's counterpart) before leaving (the only friend he is guaranteed to have at this point since he met her before or during the point of time he was brought back to).  While he is riding around, he is ambushed by Tatl and Tael and robbed by the Skull Kid.  This was where this game picked up.

   Something I mentioned before was that all of Skull Kid's actions during this point of time are entirely normal for Skull Kids to do.  They are generally mischievous, and they are probably all thieves who come in contact with faries because both live in the Lost Woods.  The mask that the Skull Kid is wearing could simply be a mask with no magical powers, especially since the Skull Kid is seen lifting it off his face for a moment to look for witnesses.  Nothing strange happens until Link falls down the cave.  It is at this point that the Mask is revealed to be powerful and evil, that Link discovers Termina and the coming apocalypse, and that everything I have described over the past 28 posts occurred.  It is from this sudden shift in atmosphere that a very popular theory has emerged.  This is known as the Dream Theory.

Just ask him.  He knows everything. and everyone.  Even you.

   The Dream Theory dictates without much need to explain it that everything witnessed at this point was a dream Link had while he was unconscious from falling down a cave.  The Land of Termina was built around the stages of grief because Link was grieving, and the impending doom of the moon suggested that if Link could not overcome this grief it would be his destruction.  The quest is given by the Happy Mask Salesman because happiness would be the goal to be strived for.  The plethora of masks exist because the Happy Mask Salesman told Link in the previous game as well as in this game that the giving of masks is a sign of mutual happiness that spreads around the world.  The setting of a festival was generated because we would expect one to be happy but happiness is not present.  Link also doesn't have the Master Sword in this game, the classic blade that many of the heroes have wielded, which would represent his belief that his part in the legend has been expunged from history.  The people that are doppelgangers of the Hylians are just figments from his mind repurposed to fit in his dream.  The Tutorial Owl as I shall continue to call him has been seen as a representation of the conscious mind in a number of games prior to this one, most notably in the adventure Link's Awakening.

  This brings me to the point of awakening.  Throughout the games, whenever a New Link begins his adventure (with a few exceptions) he is usually seen waking up from having overslept.  At times he wakes up in really odd places, but once he wakes up he goes from narcolepsy to insomnia.  In Majora's Mask, he doesn't go to sleep for three days straight and then he turns back those three days many times.  Link isn't usually in some "heroes only" role and is usually just any average boy.  The idea of waking up is seen as taking up the responsibility of a hero.  In this game, if Link is falling into a dream, it would be the opposite of him becoming the hero.

  In the deeds Link did to receive masks, it is his realization that he doesn't need to have a quest to be a hero.  His helping of the ranch sisters proves that people still need to be protected, his aiding of Kafei and Anju in their wedding shows Link that he has been freed to live as man like Kafei and is not chained to his heroic destiny anymore.  His gathering of all the masks shows what random acts of kindness he can do.  The transforming masks represent that a hero is still a hero even if only in memory.  Finally, in giving the masks away to the Moon Children there comes the acceptance of giving up the deeds he did to bring peace to the lives of the many he touched.  In doing this, he is given the means to defeat the desperation of Majora's Mask and the moon.  However, once he is on the ground again, he has possession of all the masks once more.  This proves that his deeds will always be with him even if only with him.

   The Happy Mask Salesman's parting remarks dictate that Link isn't bound by fate to never see the people he met last time again.  He is told that it rests within his hands to return to the people he met and that the lack of a quest cannot separate him from them.  As Link is seen riding away in in the Lost Woods again, he looks to be sad again.  Probably because he figured this whole thing was a dream and, like all good dreams, they suck when they end.

   The one thing that suggests this wasn't all a dream was the image carved on the tree stump at the end.  Link doesn't see this, but we do.  Even if the entire game was allegorical as most heroes' quests are, it does suggest that not only did Link get clarity, but he did in fact save all of those people.

Hero of Winds, Because cat eyes are cool.

   What happens to the Legend of the Hero after this?  In the timeline where Link defeated Ganon, Ganon came back many years later and since Link wasn't there to stop him, the goddesses sent a great flood to destroy Hyrule while the Hylians were sent to live atop mountains for safety.  Ganon survived and this sets up the story for the most jolly Link ever in Legend of Zelda Wind Waker.  Wind Waker is probably one of my favorite Zeldas beyond Majora's Mask because in sharp contrast to Majora's Mask it is so lighthearted.  It is also one of the more divisive due to the unorthodox art style of cel shading (giving us the famous cat/toon Link).  It has its ups and downs as any good story will have but everything ends so much better for the new Link (known as the Hero of Wind).  In terms of Doctor Who, the Hero of Wind is the incredibly jovial and energetic Matt Smith to follow the tragic demise of David Tennant's Doctor who (see what I did there) is in many ways like the Hero of Time.

Hero of Legend
(w/ Rod of Seasons)

   In the failed Hero of Time timeline, the next Hero rises out of the knights of Hyrule and shows up in Link to the Past.  He is a descendant of the knights who fought Ganon after the Hero of Time was killed.  If I were to compare this Hero to a Doctor (though I really shouldn't because the two are completely different things, but Doctor Who is really popular right now so it makes for an easy point of comparison) it would be to Tom Baker's portrayal of the Fourth Doctor.  This hero (whom I call the Hero of Legend) appears in more games to date than any other Link and has moments of being jolly but can also be really serious.  He is more distant and has a pretty hard life given that many of those around him are killed and it's usually for his sake.  At one point, he is even responsible for an entire island of people made from a magical creature's dreams getting wiped out by waking the creature.  Its hard to say if he ever settles down  to stop questing but from his lineage comes the hero of the first two games in the series known as the Hero of Courage.

  What happens to the Hero of Time though?  Not a whole lot is said in the following games.  I have a theory that I think holds some ground, but it is only a theory.  I assume that Link eventually goes to live on Lon Lon Ranch with Malon and her father Talon (who's counterpart from Termina is dead according to Cremia).  Link knew that in seven years, a farm hand (who was portrayed as the bandits in Termina that attacked Cremia's wagon) would seize the Ranch from the lazy Talon, hold Malon captive, and become a very cruel owner of the ranch.  Although the Hyrule of that time was more savage, Link's presence on the ranch would ensure nothing like that would happen.  Link would probably get with Malon and that is why somewhere down the road on the timeline the Link of the series Twilight Princess would be a rancher who would come into possession of the horse named Epona like the Hero of Time did.  Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the series, has stated that two Links do not necessarily come from the same bloodline (as shown in the Link from Wind Waker who had no hero to be in the lineage of and the Link from Link to the Past who's lineage was from a knight).  However, I find this to be a better ending than Link simply riding off to never be heard from again.

New Link (left) vs Hero of Time (right, he's seen better days)

   The only thing we do know about the Hero of Time is that he does come back as a spirit in Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess.  This spirit instructs the new Link (who I call the Hero of Light) in the ways of swordsmanship.  The Hero of Time's final lament was that he had no one to carry on his legacy.  He fulfills this by teaching the new Link.  After teaching the new Link all of his sword techniques, the Hero of Time fades back into legend with the many heroes that came before.

 
This ends my telling of Majora's Mask and the life of the Hero of Time.  The series isn't completely over yet. I've got one more thing I'd like to say, but since this post is so long I'll wait until the next post to say it.

One Day More: Majora's Mask part 28

   Link wakes up on the ground outside of Clock Town restored to his original form.  Tatl and Tael are flying overhead and Link looks over to see the freed Skull Kid talking with the Four Giants.  It turns out the beginning of this whole mess was when Skull Kid thought the giants had abandoned him.  They had gone to each of their realms to protect and maintain order over Termina, but Skull Kid imagined they had forgotten their friendship.  As the Giants make clear Skull Kid is forgiven, they walk back to each of their lands and fade away.

   Skull Kid comes to understand the value of friendship and wishes to befriend Link since he put him through so much trouble.  Skull Kid then realizes that Link is very similar to the boy who taught him a song in the woods a while ago (that's because they're the same boy who taught the song).  Then out of nowhere, the Happy Mask Salesman appears holding Majora's Mask in his hands.  He says the evil power has now left the mask for good.  For a while I thought he was distraught about this, as though he wanted the power.  However, with further consideration, it suggests he will not have to guard the mask anymore.  It doesn't change the fact he's still creepy, but it makes it less unsettling that he gets the mask in the end.  The Mask Salesman tells Link that all the masks he has given away have been returned to his possession.  He also notes that Link's victory is in all the happiness he spread in getting those masks.  The Happy Mask Salesman ends by saying just because two friends part company doesn't mean they will never be able to meet again.  He says the power of friends to reunite rests entirely in those friends and that no distance can separate two people for long.  With these remarks, the Salesman begins to walk away before disappearing into thin air.  We may never know who he really is, some think he was one of the Ancient Ones who created the mask seeking to protect it from the weak.  With the end of the legend of Majora's Mask, he too fades into memory.

    Tatl, apparently not good with goodbyes, tells Link there partnership has ended as both have come to terms.  She then reminds Link rather callously that he has business to deal with in his world and that she, her brother, and the Skull Kid have a festival to celebrate.  As Link hops on his horse and rides off, Tatl quietly thanks Link for everything he did.  Tatl and Tael seemingly embrace (hard to say, they're both represented as balls of light with wings) and then the camera shows what happens through the rest of the day.

   The Indigo-gos and a host of others perform in Clock Town, gathering a large crowd.  The King of the Dekus makes peace with the monkey he had tried to kill.  The spirits of the dead in Ikana are laid to rest, and the man who Link helped escape the curse of the mummy goes outside with his daughter to greet the new day.  Cremia watches as Romani demonstrates her skills with a bow.  In a gathering of all the people of the town as well as the ranch owning sisters, the wedding of Anju and Kafei takes place formally at the gates of the city.  Sadly, those souls that aided Link were not brought back to life, as seen in Mikau's vacant spot on the stage with his band and the Deku Steward crying over the dead tree Link saw at the beginning of his journey.  Finally, Link is shown riding through the Lost Woods of Hyrule once again on Epona.  He rides with a downcast look, but at least he rides towards a patch of light filtering down from the trees.  As he moves away from the scene, a wood carving on a tree trunk shows Link, Skull Kid, Tatl and Tael, and the Four Giants as Saria's Song is heard one last time.

   And here ends the legend of Majora's Mask and the Hero of Time.

Goodbye

Stone Temple Pilots: Majora's Mask part 21

    Link goes to the stone temple and solves the puzzle of the floating cubes.  This puzzle relies heavily on using the song Elegy of Emptiness.  By performing this song, Ben (yeah we're just gonna keep calling it that and hope no one gets possessed), appears over a pressure plate.  This pressure plate moves a floating block around.  As different plates are pressed with different weight, the blocks rearrange in different positions.  In order to accomplish this, Link has to perform the Elegy of Emptiness using the goron, zora, and deku masks he has acquired thus far as well as when using Ben.  When playing the song in each of these forms, the statue that forms is not of Link but of the three souls that inhabit each mask, Darmani, Mikau, and the deku steward's son.  It suggests with all the souls Link has helped thus far, he has not been alone on this quest.  That said, I feel like the meaning behind the song Elegy of Emptiness is, well, empty.  There's all sorts of creepy things in the canyon including Ben, but something about the actual application of this song is a little disappointing.  This disappointment will continue through the rest of this section.  I am sorry for this but prepare for probably the dullest post of this series.

It's like that Roald Dahl story about the serial killer who was a taxidermist.  

   Link enters the temple, does some puzzles that involve standing on the ceiling and stuff, fights some worms, does so with a mask that makes him big enough to fight the worms, frees the giant and calls it a day.

   Yeah, there's really nothing to say here.  The whole surrounding area is death themed, but once you go in the temple, that all ends.  Link runs into the master of the Garo ninjas somewhere in there, fights him a bit, and then the guy blasts himself to pieces with a bomb so as to probably not fall under the curse of the land.  Link gets some holy arrows or something.

   Personally, I feel like this is the weakest part of the game's overall themes and story.  Sure, that whole bit with the puzzles was cool using the Elegy of Emptiness and the flipping of the temple upside down, but beyond that it is sort out of place when considering how interesting the surroundings are.  There is an entire canyon full of the undead and tormented souls, and this temple revolves around earth, wind, and fire (the elements, not the band).  Sure worms are the boss and there's that whole bit in Hamlet about dietary worms and Polonius and stuff (sorry if I left someone in the dust there with the Shakespeare, but spoilers:  Hamlet kills Polonius and then jokes about him being at dinner with worms).  This temple feels like it should've been in Ocarina of Time, and they didn't have enough done so they put it in Majora's Mask.

  The great thing is despite this temple's shortcomings, the game is less built around dungeons than more traditional Zelda titles.  Since the player is timed in completing each dungeon, these dungeons have to be short and there is a lot more additional content outside of the dungeons.  I feel like there is enough that go on outside of each of these temples that it gives me something more to talk about than the actual dungeons do.  With that said, Link saved the giant. He's got all four giants woot woot, wakka wakka.  With the giants back, the curses across the four lands have been lifted.  The sorrows of the people of Termina can now be lifted.  So now Link can prepare for the final showdown, but before that, I want to talk about a few other things before the ending.  I promise those things will be more interesting than this post.


Here, for your trouble, a picture of RDJ and Conan being awesome.

Masquerade, Paper Faces on Parade: Majora's Mask part 17

    As you've probably guessed by now, masks are of considerable importance to this story.  The villain wears a mask, the monsters wear masks, and the hero is collecting masks from people he helps.  Being such an important symbol, I figure we should take a moment to look more deeply into these masks.

I always liked this picture.  Captures the dark whimsy of Skull Kid.

   I'm gonna start with the three masks that cause Link to transform (there's a fourth one later, but like just about everything in this blog, time and place).  The three forms that Link takes on in this game are the deku (tree person), the goron (rock person), and the zora (fish person).  Aside from the clever stream lining of many items that existed but were limited in use from the previous game (Link can shoot his fins out like boomerangs in Zora form and Goron Link can slam into the ground in the place of the hammer), it is important to note that each of these three masks embodies a spirit.  The Zora was the spirit of Mikau, the guitarist for the Indigo-gos.  When Link wears this mask, the other Zoras believe him to be Mikau.  The Goron mask contains the spirit of Darmani, the Beowulf-esque Goron.  Other Gorons also recognize him.  The Deku mask is the mystery.  Whose spirit does it contain?  Though never specifically stated, it is heavily implied that it was the dead tree Link met in the dark cave when he first came to Termina.  So who is that if both of the other two forms were of great significance and not just run of the mill Gorons and Zoras.  Link, within the Deku Palace, meets the butler and steward of the King who lets Link follow him through a sacred portion of the castle.  When Link wears the Deku mask and follows the Steward, the Steward mentions that Link reminds him of his son who went missing a while ago.  It is confirmed in the credits that the dead tree is his son as he is seen crying on his branches and roots before it.

   I think it is interesting to note that the Happy Mask Salesman (who is hardly trustworthy, stalking and strangling kids and stuff) carries around a lot of masks on his backpack.  We would like to think they are just simple masks with no magical properties, but seeing how Majora's Mask was part of his collection, I doubt these masks are harmless.

  Why masks?  Why not souls in some soul jar?  Well, something that I haven't really noted too much is that the greater portion of this world has a very Meso-American atmosphere to it.  There was the Mayan chanting in the swamp, the ocean huts at the Great Bay, and large dwelling mounds in the mountains, there are also stone temples in the canyon.  According to popular traditions about Native American magic, it was believed that wearing masks made the wearer into the individual depicted.  Many times this is literal, as in the above cases,  other times this is semi literal, and other times still this is metaphorical.

   In the semi literal cases are such masks as the Bremen Mask (a falcon-shaped mask) and Kamaro's Mask (the mask of a dancer).  When Link wears these masks, he still maintains his form as a Hylian (human), but gains the skills of the original owners.  The Bremen mask allows Link to charm animals into following him and  Kamaro's Mask allows Link to dance as the owner's lost spirit once did.


   Other times still, masks just exist as symbols.  Cremia gave Link the Romani Mask, which symbolizes that she recognizes him as an adult, and when two lovers exchange the sun and moon masks (which serve the function of wedding rings) the masks fuse into the Couple's Mask (given to a witness as a testament of the couple's love).

   While there is the matter of bringing something into reality, there is also the idea that masks are a facade.  The three bosses fought thus far died and in their death left nothing but their masks.  Through this, it is suggested that perhaps the monsters never were real, but that they were puppets on strings.  These puppets could be something like anchors that hold the curses down to lands since the Skull Kid cannot be in all these places at once to maintain his own mischief.  By killing the monsters and seizing the masks, the captive giants go free and set right what was wrong.


   I think this will be the first part of the mask discussion.  I will return to this again at the final showdown and complete the thought.  It will make more sense then.

Now let's get to that canyon.

Sea Turtles, Mate: Majora's Mask part 15

   Playing the song for Lulu makes her sing it for an island.  The island turns into a turtle with palm trees on its back and takes Link to the Great Bay Temple.  The temple is surrounded by what looks like a hurricane (in all its N64 glory).  The pirates also try to sail a boat to the temple, but the winds lift their boat and throw them into the sea.  Turtles that perform island identity theft are far more structurally sound means of transportation beyond pirate ships.  The turtle goes to the temple and Link hops off and enters to find turbines and pipes and stuff.  Turns out temples are the perfect places for large industrial centers of indoor plumbing and waste treatment.

  I often have found this to be a matter worth discussing.  What is the purpose of a temple?  I would assume it would be to worship something.  However, in so many of the Legend of Zelda games, these temples are full of puzzles and monsters.  That would be like going to church, and in order to get the church bulletin, you would have to slide boxes around over certain pressure plates to make the treasure chest holding the church bulletins appear.  Next, in order to get the communion crackers and wine, you would have to go down into the boiler room and measure water pressure and divert flow while being timed for the box to open up with the Eucharist in it.  Then, in order to put money in the offering plate, you would have to beat large stone-spitting squids to death with your church bulletin.  Finally, to hear the sermon, a giant fish comes out of nowhere and tries to eat you while being nearly impossible to hit in the murky water.  If that's how people worship in the Legend of Zelda, no wonder these temples are virtually empty.  Link must be a saint for enduring all of this.  I know a church and a temple aren't exactly the same thing, but I feel like the illustration makes the point.  I feel like I might be missing something about the nature of these temples, but if Nintendo ever thinks to write a second edition of Hyrule Historia, I'll let them discuss that to greater length.

So much hate.

  So giant fish, am I right?  His name is Gyorg, and he is wearing a mask like Goht and Odolwa were.  You ever see the movie Jaws?  Well, one fellow wearing green falls into the water, zero fellows wearing green come out.  The fish just throws itself against the platform and vomits piranhas.  He is also very hard to hit.  He is really hard to hit.  I don't know how else to put this.  Just try throwing a feather at a chandelier and then divide that by two, it's unpleasant and tedious.


   Link kills the fish, frees the third giant, and restores peace to the ocean.  The band of Zoras, the Indigo-gos, gets together (except the dead guy, because, you know) and performs the song the little Zora children wrote.  Lulu reveals the song they wrote was actually a song her mother used to sing...


ummm...


Those little fish children are still better at music than Mozart.  Song of Time right outta there.  Next time we will be looking at more symbols and themes and then we will be diving right into the canyon from hell.  This is gonna be good.