This Zelda Location Isn’t as Disconnected From the Rest of Hyrule as It Seems

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is generally seen as an unusual game when compared to the rest of the Zelda series as it often feels like a horror game. Instead of being set in Hyrule, like most games in the series, Majora’s Mask takes place in Termina, a land with Clock Town at the center and residents who bear an uncanny resemblance to people Link encountered around Hyrule in Ocarina of Time. Canonically, Termina is one of many parallel worlds, explaining why it shares many similarities to Hyrule, but there are a few small details hidden in the game that seem to imply that it’s easier than you expect to travel between these worlds.

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Set immediately after Ocarina of Time in the timeline where Zelda sends Link back to his childhood, Majora’s Mask starts with Link setting off to search for Navi, the fairy companion assigned to him by the Great Deku Tree, who left at the end of OoT. Naturally, this search for Navi isn’t smooth and Link ends up in Termina, a world that shares a lot of features with Hyrule but is different enough to have a unique atmosphere. Now, Link works to save Termina from the falling moon.

There Are Multiple Paths Between Hyrule and Termina

Starting off, we know that at least three people have traveled from Hyrule to Termina at least once: Skull Kid, Link, and the Happy Mask Salesman. When it comes to the Happy Mask Salesman being able to travel between worlds, he generally seems like a character with a lot of secrets–such as how he got Majora’s Mask in the first place–so it’s not exactly surprising if he has a way that lets him freely go to various worlds.

Then, you have Skull Kid and Link, who both seem to travel to Termina through a path in Hyrule’s forests. However, Skull Kid might’ve traveled between Termina and Hyrule more than once. Part of Termina’s past includes Skull Kid being friends with the Four Giants, but it seems like Link encounters him in Hyrule, if not on the border of these worlds, which happens after Skull Kid feels like the Giants abandoned him. Additionally, Skull Kids are children who end up trapped in the Lost Woods, a location in Hyrule. Altogether, these bits of information start to show deeper connections between Termina and Hyrule.

Aside from these three characters, Link comes across a few NPCs who mention locations or races you find in Hyrule, but don’t seem to exist in Termina as far as the game shows. First, you have a Goron who mentions Dodongos, which could imply he’s been to Dodongo’s Cavern in Hyrule, or that they also exist in Termina. Interacting with Tingle shows stronger implications that he’s been to Hyrule, as he recognizes Link as a Kokiri, whose existence you don’t hear about in Termina except when speaking with Tingle.

What Does it Mean to Have Multiple Paths to Termina?

As far as implications go, having more than one path that lets somebody travel between Termina and Hyrule is nothing more than an interesting footnote in Zelda’s larger mythos. It would be possible to explore these connections in another game, maybe similar to A Link Between Worlds, but it’s likely that these speculations will never be more than that. However, it’s fitting to keep Termina’s nature and how to enter it unclear, as it adds to the overall mystery that enshrouds Majora’s Mask.