Happy Mask Salesman: Villain or Hero? (Legend of Zelda Lore)

[Music] [Music] [Laughter] despite his relatively few appearances the happy mask salesman has become one of the most iconic characters in the zelda series because although he claims to be a mere happiness salesman peddling masks there are hints towards a darker truth behind his character the mask salesman possesses incredibly dangerous powerful ancient artifacts and while his usual demeanor is overly friendly and humble his personality shifts violently to deranged and psychotic when things don't go his way which begs the question is the character of the happy mask salesman in itself a mask hiding a sinister truth underneath chronologically the mask salesman's first appearance in the series is an ocarina of time he owns the happy mask shop in castletown a strange building found in the temple of time we can assume that the shop is a relatively new addition to the town square a man can be found inside who remarks on how strange it is and wonders when it'll be open for business the store opens up only after link has spoken to the guard blocking off death mountain trail and offered up zelda's letter the guard mentions that his son wants a popular mask sold from the newly opened shop and asks link to buy one for him the next time the hero visits castletown the happy mask shop is no longer empty a gaunt man with a frozen smile stands behind the counter claiming that he deals in masks that bring happiness to everyone he explains that the shop lends out masks to customers who can then sell them on for profit beginning with the keaton mask the one the death mountain trail guard asked about over the course of the game link can rent out and sell the keaton mask skull mask spooky mask and the bunny hoods to characters around hyrule eventually earning himself the right to borrow the goron zora and garudo masks from behind the counter along with the mask of truth a mysterious ancient relic passed down by the sheikah tribe that allows its wearer to see into the minds of others the mask salesman describes link working for him as becoming a happiness salesman and this rings true each of the four masks sold as part of his quest solve a problem for their respective characters like a skull kid buying the skull mask to make himself seem tougher or the graveyard kid buying the spooky mask to make him feel more like his idol dampe for the most part the happy mask salesman maintains his beaming smile and pleasant demeanor but we get a glimpse at a darker side if link returns without masks or rupees his face sours into a terrifying glare as he demands that link pay back the money eerily the salesman never stops smiling even when enraged on the surface there isn't much to the happy mask salesman in ocarina of time though the game does hint at deeper mysteries surrounding him after link pulls the master sword and travels seven years forward in time ganondorf's destruction of castletown means that the happy mask shop is abandoned and inaccessible the salesman is nowhere to be seen but he wasn't killed during the game's end credits we see the happy mask salesman celebrating at lon lon ranch alongside many of the game's other characters meaning that he was most likely in hiding or had fled hyrule during ganondorf's reign from here though he doesn't appear for the rest of this timeline in the adult timeline the version of history that follows on from ganondorf breaking into the sacred realm and obtaining the triforce of power and his subsequent defeat by link the story of the happy mask salesman is entirely unknown but this isn't the case for the two other timelines leading on from this game in the downfall timeline an alternate version of events where the hero of time is defeated by ganondorf the happy mask salesman somewhat inexplicably shows up in la brina in oracle of ages here he again runs a mask shop there's a much smaller role in the game he's involved in the game's item trading sequence when first encountered he'll claim that he's starving and so will trade link the doggy mask in return for some tasty meat lebrina is a distant land from hyrule an oracle of ages takes place long after ocarina of time so it's debatable whether this is the same salesman or a reincarnation akin to the many different appearances of characters like beedle or malon on this note we do see what might be his ancestor in skyward sword rupin is the owner of the gear shop on skyloft where link can buy various equipment as well as obviously being a shopkeeper rupin closely resembles the mask salesman's appearance with an incredibly similar face and haircut and he rubs his hands together in much the same way rupin also mirrors the happy mask salesman's darker side if you put down an item without buying it the smile drops and he'll glare at link and if he's talked to at night he'll make no effort to be friendly like during the day saying that he gets tired of being a smiley shopkeeper considering that skyward sword is the very beginning of the zelda storyline and explores the ancestors both genetic and spiritual of many of the series iconic characters it could be that the happy mask salesman is in some way descended from rupin but regardless up until now the mask salesman seems to be little more than an eccentric shopkeeper intent on bringing people happiness but this all changes with his child's timeline appearance this timeline is the result of princess zelda sending link back through time after ganon's defeat he warns a young zelda about ganondorf's betrayal and by doing so stops the gerudo king from taking the triforce of power and preventing much of ocarina of time from occurring which sends link off on a journey to find navi after her mysterious disappearance the events in hyrule during this time are largely unknown but we do learn that the happy mask salesman left his shop to travel in search of valuable masks just like the mask of truth a priceless ancient chica relic the salesman was fascinated by the rarest and most legendary masks and it was this fixation that led him to the discovery of his most powerful dangerous artifact yet majora's mask itself at some point during his travels the mask salesman went to great lengths to procure an accursed mask once used by an ancient tribe in hexing rituals a mask containing an evil wicked power which it bestows upon its wearer legend has it that this mask was so dangerous that the tribe sealed it in shadow fearing that it would be misused and its great power unleashed but by the time that the mask salesman discovered it the ancient tribe had long vanished and been forgotten and along with them the truth about the mask's power though it can still be sensed the doom of a dark omen brewing shrouds the artifact we don't know exactly where or how the salesman came into possession of majora's mask but before long it changed hands again the happy mask salesman was ambushed in the woods by a skull kid a kind of forest spirit known for mischief the skull kid stole majora's mask and as soon as he put it on its dark powers began to take hold now poisoned by the malevolent influence of majora the skull kid's pranks became increasingly dangerous and twisted sometime later he encounters the hero of time journeying through the lost woods on his search for navi and steals epona and the ocarina of time link pursues his assailant but the skull kid vanishes down a tree trunk into the mysterious land of termina now what exactly termina is and how it relates to the skull kid and majora's magic is a topic for a different video but it seems to be some sort of alternate dimension or other dreamlike world populated with doppelgangers of the people of hyrule termina has its own religions and history to hyrule and interestingly the skull kid himself is a central figure in this land's culture and stories apparently having befriended the godlike giants long ago regardless of the truth about termina though the skull kid and majora's mask transform link into a deku scrub thereby trapping him not only in an unfamiliar world but an unfamiliar body together the forest spirit and the ancient mask wreak havoc on termina and its people threatening to bring the moon crashing down in three days it's here when all hope seems lost that link once again encounters the happy mask salesman in the bowels of the great clock tower he explains that he's been following link ever since he was robbed of majora's mask and begs the hero to recover his lost treasure in return he claims that he's able to return link to his true form though he'll only be in town for three days link lives out these three days in termina until the final hours before the carnival of time begins the moon now hangs only a few feet above the town its face twisted into a sinister grimace majora is within seconds of achieving its goal and desolating termina until miraculously link is able to knock the ocarina of time out of the skull kid's hands and use it to rewind time three days back to the dawn of his first day in termina in the clock tower link once again meets with the masked salesman who seems overjoyed that the hero has recovered the ocarina of time from the skull kid he teaches link the song of healing a melody that apparently heals evil magic and troubled spirits transforming them into masks by playing it link is finally able to shed himself of his deku form catching the deku's spirit and containing it within a mask however when link explains that he hasn't yet recovered majora's mask the salesman erupts violently shaking the hero and crying that terrible things will happen if the mask isn't returned to him link now begins his journey through termina rescuing the four giants and healing the land's people by using the song of time to relive the same three days again and again the mask salesman remains in the clock tower waiting for link to return with majora's mask but will offer insight into any other mask that the hero shows him it's not until the very end of the game after link defeats majora itself within the moon that the mask salesman returns to the story the four giants leave the skull kid is returned to his normal self and finally the happy mask salesman once again holds majora's mask noting that the evil power within has finally gone he bids link farewell saying that he must continue on his travels commenting that whenever there is a meeting there will be a parting to follow but for how long this parting lasts is up to you he mentions that link has made a lot of people happy and with that the salesman vanishes despite how important the happy mask salesman appears to be for majora's mask and its story he doesn't interact with link for the vast majority of the game instead he only plays a significant role at the very beginning and very end but clearly he's incredibly important to link's quest and to termina as a whole the salesman is directly responsible for and fully understands termina's struggle he found and took majora's mask aware of its history and its dangerous power and so majora being unleashed on termina thanks to a meddling skull kid was a direct result of his actions but despite this apparently horrific mistake he remains mysterious and sly reacting to link's terrible fate with a knowing chuckle [Music] he claims to have followed the hero into termina and is apparently aware of the fate that awaits it claiming that he's busy and so conveniently must leave in three days but how link can't leave even once he's regained his hylian form in the ocarina of time in ocarina of time and oracle of ages the happy mask salesman doesn't seem to be anything more than what he claims to be a peddler of masks that make people happy but in majora's mask he seems to exist outside of the game's world and story somehow knowing everything about termina and the fate that his actions have doomed it to in this sense it's hard not to see him as something of a villain though he's caused the problem he doesn't interact with it and doesn't intend to be around when the consequences literally hit home while link is now trapped alongside the people of termina in a world doomed to annihilation the salesman admits that he can and will leave soon but this isn't the full picture though he did cause the problem he gives link the solution the song of healing it's through this song that link gains the ability to fight back against this seemingly unavoidable fate first by reclaiming his original body and later by using the song to heal termina's wounds he even seems to acknowledge that saving terminal will only be possible with the use of time travel claiming that there's no time left but time is not eternal and telling link to believe in his strengths and as his final lines at the end of the game seem to suggest the mask salesman does in fact wants link to succeed on his quest and does appreciate the happiness that the hero has brought to the people of termina if link shows almost any of the game's masks to the salesman in the clock tower he'll comment on them often this is just providing simple descriptions or backstories but he'll also frequently comment that he can sense emotions within the masks related to the people link has helped and healed along his journey the blast mask is earned by saving the old lady from the bombshell and is filled with feelings of gratitude and the gibdo mask contains the love of a father and child this brings us back once again to the salesman's last few lines he mentions that link's masks are filled with happiness a good happiness and that he's managed to make quite a number of people happy while on the surface majora's mask seems to be about preventing the apocalypse and bringing a dangerous mask back to its owner true satisfaction from the game comes from living the same three days alongside terminus people learning about their lives and their problems and using your time to heal them while it seems like all of link's work is undone with each cycle he keeps with him his masks physical manifestations of the good he has done solid hard proof that his struggles were not in vain if majora's mask were a game of dungeons and dragons the happy mask salesman would be the dungeon master he is the cause of all the hardships link faces but isn't directly involved in the game's events he guides and influences link from behind the scenes and while he is equal parts mysterious and unsettling it does seem that the mask salesman is on link's side so it's difficult to define exactly who or what the salesman is majora's mask takes elements from ocarina of time and twists them into something completely new and strange yet still built on many of the same themes like courage and self-sacrifice and the difference in the happy mask salesman between these two games mirrors this he's much more eerie and magical and enigmatic in majora's mask but it does seem that he still fulfills the same role using masks to bring happiness whether his apparent omniscience and impossible powers are truly his or if they're only granted to him by virtue of being in the strange world of termina remains a mystery thanks for watching this video if you liked it leave a like or subscribe if you haven't already for more zelda content cheers guys and i'll see you next time [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Zeltik

Views: 704,235

Keywords: Zelda

Id: SjLn3evriu4

Length: 17min 39sec (1059 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 23 2022