Theory: How is Majora’s Mask in A Link Between Worlds?

The idea for this article dawned on me while I was in the middle of a conversation on Skype with a close friend of mine. It started as a normal conversation about how I had just beaten Majora’s Mask, when I realized something a little off topic. Majora’s Mask appeared in a trailer for A Link Between Worlds. It seemed a little funny to me, as this game takes place on a different timeline than Majora’s Mask, so I asked Doyle, my friend, how this could have happened. He had an interesting theory.

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As we know, Majora’s Mask was an evil entity that plagued the world of Termina during Link’s adventure there. In the end, our trusty hero, Link, vanquished the evil, thus eliminating the threat to the land. The Happy Mask Salesman, owner of the accursed mask, once again gained possession of it and vanished into thin air. It left most of us with two questions: “Where did he go?” and “What happened to the mask?”

Well, let’s start from the beginning. The Happy Mask Salesman got hold of this mysterious mask and ventured forth to Termina, only to have it stolen from him by Skull Kid, a mischievous imp from the Lost Woods of Hyrule. Conveniently enough, the saddened mask salesman ran into Link, who also had a fateful encounter with Skull Kid. The mask salesman begs Link to get back the stolen mask and mentions that he will be leaving Termina after three days. Our hero accepted the quest and completed it in the allotted time. However, the salesman and the mask both vanished, as I mentioned earlier. That should be the end of the mask, right? We sure don’t see it in Twilight Princess or Four Swords Adventures.

Let’s take a step back in the timeline to the prequel of Majora’s Mask, Ocarina of Time, probably the most cherished game in the franchise. We see the Happy Mask Salesman in Hyrule selling masks in Hyrule Market. His mask trading side-quest is optional. Let’s say sometime before Ocarina of Time, the mask salesman gains possession of Majora’s Mask. Because we know the mask salesman appears in Ocarina of Time, we must remember that the timeline splits at the end of the game, as determined by the Hero of Time’s fate during the final conflict with Ganon.

If the Hero is successful, there are two paths the timeline takes: child and adult. In the child timeline, the Happy Mask Salesman ventured to Termina thus leading to the story of Majora’s Mask. After that, since he had vanished, the mask wasn’t seen in Twilight Princess or Four Swords Adventures. In the adult timeline, the Hero of Time disappeared, Ganon was revived, and Hyrule was flooded. So that’s the end of that. The Happy Mask Salesman and Majora’s Mask are assumed to be lost within the unknown depths of the Great Sea. A few of the saleman’s masks possibly survive as seen in an easter egg in The Wind Waker. That’s all for that timeline.

If the Hero is unsuccessful and perishes by the hand of Ganon, the timeline takes a step toward the downfall of Hyrule. This includes the Sealing War, the events of A Link to the Past, Oracle of Ages/Seasons, Link’s Awakening, The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link, and A Link Between Worlds. It’s unclear right now where A Link Between Worlds will rest on the downfall timeline. Let’s think about the possibilities of what happened after Link’s failure to defeat Ganon. Hyrule became infested with evil, driving it’s inhabitants to serve their new leader. The Happy Mask Salesman did not leave Hyrule in this timeline, but instead settled down somewhere in the land and made it his home. So, in theory, the mask salesman didn’t go to Termina and never encountered Skull Kid. This theory led Doyle and I to believe that the mask salesman passed Majora’s Mask down to his family as an heirloom, and to speculate that Ravio, Hyrule’s shopkeeper in A Link Between Worlds, is a descendant of the Happy Mask Salesman, thus the reason Majora’s Mask is hanging on the wall in his shop.

I hope you all enjoyed! Remember, this is just a theory and is not confirmed as fact, however, I would like to ask you guys what you think. Do you agree or disagree with this theory? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!