The only flaw in this theory is that the Hero's shade has a seemingly adult form. So Link wouldn't have died while he was young. You could argue that link has grown up and then is sent to purgatory as young link, but then you'd have to ask why? Termina is most likely just another place in the world considering skull kid has a history with that region.
And the fact that his body's buried in a grave in the Hyrule Castle courtyard, which implies that he eventually returned to Hyrule and performed deeds worthy enough for the Royal Family to bury him there.
I actually think the fact we play as child link kind of makes the theory a little darker Link didnt die as a child but as an adult Through all of link's trauma he clung on to the hope he could find his only mentor his only friend His guide in navi Link never gives up he survives wandering the lost forest until he is an adult He appears as a child in majora because he symbolically never grew up he couldnt let his childhood go The hero's shade says that he regrets how he never was able to pass on his skill This is because his entire life he couldnt let go of navi and what she represented
I always interpreted the 5 stages of grief in Majora's Mask to be about Link learning to accept that his friend Navi is gone and learning to move on with his life rather than him being dead.
I played wrong this game years ago, as an old Zelda fan, I was just clearing temples to get to the end, never pay attention to the sidequest, never finished a lot of them, now thanks to the internet I got that the game was the sidequest, for that reason I was mad when I finished the game because there was no Navi, I was hoping for her to return at the end, I skipped grief.
Wait until Mat Pat learns every single link is technically a different character according to Nintendo. But also, Hero's Shade specifically has info saying he "lamented being sent back to his childhood and unable to pass on his teachings since no one remembered him". But he's an adult, which means he didn't die in Termina.
No certain links do go on multiple adventures oot and mm, loz and 2, link to the past link goes on 4 adventures with lttp, ooa, oos, and la, and link between worlds and triforce heroes and more.
I feel like Link doesn't experience "Death" like we do. The Deku tree protects the Hero. He went looking for Navi n got lost in the woods n his version of death is the deku tree testing his spirit...n if he fails he becomes a Evermean and eventually an Ogretree. Cause the koroks are lost children who spread the deku tree's magic. BOOM!
@catdownthestreet Termina can be a dream world because Koholint and The World of the Ocean King exists. It's not though, it's a separate dimension or the other side of the lost woods outside of hyrule's borders because it's the same Skull Kid from OOT. It's definitely a different dimension though because nobody in Hyrule ever mentioned the moon in Twilight Princess.
Hahahaha I came here to say the exact same things (replying comments)! You are everywhere at once! Always first to comment before any of us!! Mumbo Here! Where else?! I’ve seen you eslewhere!
@@watchfthe worst part is that he doubles down on a theory that was proven wrong and that he knows is wrong and have admitted in other old videos that this theory is of the worst he ever did
Problem with this is that Twilight Link is directly related to Ocarina Link meaning he'd have to have lived to adulthood and had a child. Yeah Ocarina Link is dead in Twilight, but that's much further along that him dieing in Majora's. He likely signed on as a royal knight but still regretted no one knowing the deeds he has done.
i think he moreso regretted that he never taught his skills to future generations, since he seems at rest once he finishes doing that. but yeah, i think snowpeak ruins was probably his house or his military outpost in his adult years (pre snow of course)
@@hioman I think it's a mix of both but more likely what you said. As for his base, no clue. In my headcanon he shacked up with Marlon and lived at the ranch which became Ordon village and that's why Twi-Link works there like it's a family farm etc.
He cant be a knight cause he misses the war with Ganondorf in tp thats why Ganondorf gets sealed in the twilight realm and not the sacred realm like at the end of oot
Yeah except the shade is an adult. The shade is also the ancestor of TP's link. The shade is also a seasoned warrior with many techniques. MM does have a lot of themes of death but also a lot of themes of growing up and losing innocence. It's more likely that the stages of grief are related to the loss of Navi, which is why he's in Termina in the first place. Link returns from Termina, having accepted the losing his friend. Because Ganondorf was taken down before the events of the adult timeline take place, a war erupted with the Gerudo. Link became a knight who eventually died in the war, possibly, like his mother, in the lost woods, becoming a Stalfos. Also to add that because TP's Link is a farm hand, OoT/MM Link possibly married Malon.
They could also represent Link’s loss innocence and the fact he has to accept the fact he’s the hero which means he has to be the one to deal with the suffering that comes with that fact.
MatPat casually bringing back his old theory of “Link is Dead” from the Majora Mask game. Now using supporting evidence from Twilight Princess to be like “When did he die?” News flash: Link dies a lot. That’s why he keeps getting reincarnated
Also note that canonically, the Link that defeats Ganon in OOT also dies to him in OOT. Unless we have parallel universes, we can't have all 3 timeline splits with the same definition as implied in the lore supplement texts. Maybe the Downfall timeline is from the original timeline, since Link disappeared for 7 years after getting hit with Ganondorf's magic, which would technically count as a defeat. Since he goes back and forth at least once, that original timeline is not the same as the one he defeats Ganon OR the one he returned to, so Ganon never gets rematched, so he succeeds by default.
After defeating the mask, the last talk with the mask merchant, he says that link should go back home, he also says that whatever there is a meeting, there is a parting, but the parting dont need to last forever, if the parting will last long or short, that is up to you. This implies that link can leave and return to termina when he wants
One problem with that. Link had a family. He was a CHILD when he went to Termina. Just because Termina comes from the word, "terminal," it doesn't mean "predicted to lead to death." It could ALSO mean, "the end of a transport route" or "a point of connection for closing an electric circuit."
@@Anti-HyperLink You never played Twilight princess have you? Link from that game is a direct descendent of OOT Link. In fact Both Links appear in that game.
Problem1: Why is the hero’s shade adult sized when Link in Majora’s mask still a child? Problem2: TP Link is a descendant of OoT/MM Link. How is MM Link supposed to have fathered a child when he hasn’t gone through puberty yet? Problem3: The hero’s shade teaches TP Link advanced sword techniques. MM Link doesn’t know any advanced sword techniques besides the “Spin Attack.” How does a dead Link learn advanced sword techniques AFTER death?
The problem is that this game isnt about Link's death, but Navi's. That is why we don't see Majora's Mask Link with Navi and why he was in the Forrest at the beginning of the game. The stages of grief are also experienced by your loved ones if you die too afterall.
When the happy mask salesman tells Link "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" He isn't referring to him being dead. He's more than likely referring to how Link has been trapped as a Deku Shrub and isn't able to go back to being human (At that point in the game)
I mean this would be PERFECT (and was back in the day too when you first talked about it)...if it weren't for the fact that IN GAME it suggests HEAVILY that Termina was MADE by Skullkid using Majora's power to cope with the Giants leaving him
Termina is a real place that the giants and skull kid are from. He uses Majora’s Mask to call the moon down upon Termina out of spite because he thought the giants had stopped being his friend because of the Terminians.
there is just one problem though, he landed on a deku flower and deku flowers completely negate fall damage, so it is impossible for the fall to have killed him.
Link dying and becoming the Hero's Shade is common fact at this point, however, he did not die in Majora's Mask. For some quick background info, adults who die in the Lost Woods become Stalfos (which is what the Hero's Shade is), while children become Skull Kids when they die in the Lost Woods. If Link died in Majora's Mask, then he would be a Skull Kid in Twilight Princess due to the fact that he was a child in Majora's Mask. Also I would like to point out that this is just a retread of one of his older theories.
Also note that he's neither Skull Child nor Stalfos (he's a spectre of some sort), meaning his death was not caused by getting lost, but was most likely from a fatal wound from a battle.
well I agree with you... but what if the lost woods could "read" that he was an adult... maybe the lost woods is "magical", and could tell if a person was an adult at one point, maybe it gave link "the body he should have" when he died... after all they were in the lost woods in the opening of Majora's mask. and Link while being in a child's body, was technichally an adult due to what happened at ocarina... I still don't know though... I find it odd that he's missing an eye in ocarina, I think that is probably related to his death, but I find it odd. And I don't know if there is something in Majora implying something of a "missing eye". other than a metaphor, "you can't see the full picture" assuming he died in Majora but was implied.
@@liamvinck8705 But his specter has a hyrule soldier armor and it shows that he lost and eye. When he was in the future he still had his eye and he doesn't have the armor. Also Aonuma confirmed that Termina is an alternate world. So the theory that he died in Majora doesn't make much sense.
also in the new game tears of the kingdom when you first go on the ground and in the village the villager says” LINK IS THAT YOU?” so he has been dead also we learns about him being a dragon😂
Except they already said he wasn't. He was essentially Groundhog Dayed in another universe. The Hero's Shade(try to throw him. I dare ya.) is also not a child. No, Link grew up. He just didn't pass on his skills while alive. He also started talking, which is also weird. Have you noticed that Links who aren't the main character are awfully chatty?
I suspect that we don't hear link speak because we are somehow deaf to ourselves. 😅 You can tell from the dialog that link can and does talk in many of the games. We are just not given the exact words.
@@rachelguderjahn2231 True. But it feels implied that the playable Links are measured in their speech, only saying what's necessary. That stoicism is played on the most in Breath of the Wild so far. But between the Hero's Shade and the old man in Link Between Worlds who's implied to be an old Link(thus why being able to battle him is an achievement), they do talk quite a bit.
@@rachelguderjahn2231 Not sure. As such, please take my POV with a grain of salt. Is it possible it was a sarcastic comment? I'm not sure of the context, so it's important to verify.
You think I don't know that? He's just leaving RUclips, it's my opinion on how I feel about it all. I know he isn't dying we're all just gonna miss him a lot
If anything, I'd say that Majora's Mask is symbolic of losing Navi. If you need to find a symbol in a Zelda game that is lol. But if you just switch everything to being about Navi's death/loss of her, that makes a lot more sense to me than it being about Link's own death. The whole story is supposed to be about Link searching for Navi but in the end he never finds her. And from the ending of the game I'd say that Link has accepted the loss of his friend.
I love hearing the analysis on all of the ways Majora's Mask relates its themes to death and shows it throughout the game, but it really just doesn't make sense for Link to have died. It's way more likely he came back without ever finding Navi, came to terms with it, and become a normal knight of Hyrule considering the Shade's appearance. Plus TP Link is his direct descendent and a farmhand, so he likely ended up with Malon as well.
If he did his research he might have found out that just the fact that Link become a Stalfos completely invalidate this theory. Because only adults who die in the forest become Stalfos, children become Skull Kids.
Link is neither a Stalfos nor a Stalchild because he didn't die by getting lost in the Lost Woods, he was felled in battle before he could teach his children his sword techniques. He's some sort of spectre, since he retains his sentience, memories, regrets, and the capability to transform into a wolf.
Oh boy here we go again! According to Hyrule Historia TP Link is a descendant of OoT Link so unless he somehow reverted back to a kid upon death it doesn't make much sense
Despite the fact Link also canonically got trapped in the very forest he was traversing, IE literally what the Historia says, he'd have had to have him somehow before he left, which gross and near impossible, since they're both ten, or, the historia is wrong.
@@matthewsimon6170 ok thought process, maybe he just has childhood trauma and reverted back to a child when he died or whatever, it'd make sense since PTSD and all that
I remember watching the full video on this the day my dog died oddly enough it actually really helped me get over it over the coming weeks thank you may pat you are truly my goat
Matpat is really trying to get us to believe this crackpot theory, even though the very book he's citing to prove his "theory" contradicts the entire theory.
Well Link is a new character in almost every game and there are often long timespans between the games. So basically everytime a new game starts the previous Link has died which makes the title "Link is DEAD" a bit obsolete, because dying and getting reincarnated are kinda his thing.
@@SameSeam Thats why I said that he is a new character in "almost" every game. There are other exeptions, like Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass or Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom which have the same Link each. This doesn't change that for every game that isn't at the start of the timeline, there is at least one Link that has already died.
not sure if this vid released before, but after watching matpats goodbye video, these theories just hit differently, knowing i wont get to hear the same voice i have heard my entire childhood from these videos for much longer. thank you so much matpat for all of the theories, i wish you the best of the rest of your life, your fame is completely deserved. 😔❤️ also i did not think of the stages of grief represented by the bosses and the town, majora's mask was such a strange game i still dont understand why i didnt think much of its wierdness 😅
Are we still doing this? The very next page in the HH says that only _adults_ become stalfos. If link died as a child he would become a skull kid, not a stalfos.
And also, the Hero's Shade isn't actually a Stalfos. He has ghostly "flesh" on him, which Stalfos (even in Twilight Princess) don't have. This means that Link probably didn't even die in the Lost Woods, making this make doubly less sense.
The only problem with this is that it would mean Link died as a child and never grew up, therefore the adult skeleton we see in twilight princess doesn't make sense. That being said I think that's unintended. The whole "timeline" thing came about after the fact. Though it's basically confirmed that majora's mask is about death and that Link is dead in that game
A possible solution to this would be if he died he reverted to his inner child, maybe he went off to search for Fi when he was older but when he died he was so emotionally stunted (which would be understandable) that his spirit simply couldn’t handle it and set it through the eyes of a child.
That’s a shame, I’ll have to find this interview in case there’s anymore lore! Still fun to find ways to defend theories to the death, but if the creator directly says so nothing I can do.
And then he grew to adult form while dead, had a kid while dead(since the hero of twilight is descended from him), got that armor, and lost an eye, all while dead. My guy has done more in death than I have in life. Not to mention going through the five stages of grief while dead. Normally, that burden is for the living. You know, like a child who has lost most if not all of his friends, who is on a mission to find someone, and never does.
Fun theory but the hero shade is a stalfos if link would have died as a kid he would have turned into a skul kid so he would have had to have gotten lost in the lost woods as an adult and than died to become a stalfos not to mention that in the hero shade's model he's missing an eye so that suggests that he had to go on past majora and had more battles we didn't see
Plus spirits are seen to not age in the Zelda series after they die (that would be kinda stupid anyway lol) so link would not be an adult regardless. Additionally, if link dies by falling into Termina then the Skull Kid and Majoras Mask are still out there causing havoc somewhere because they are seen in the real world of Hyrule before Link “dies” and that is clearly not the case.
It surprisingly has an answer. In the Zelda lore, if your spirit is strong enough, your body will live on and continue to grow, as a Stalfos, or well, whatever your skeletal form can be called. That more or less just implies he's been dead a while.
By the way tp link is one of the few link incarnations that is related by blood to the previous one, it being oc link, so the theory is disproven so easily when you realize that he had to grow a family that would eventually grow another family AND MAYBE ANOTHER FAMILY then die in the middle of the process and his soul incarnates one of his grand children
@@freshthemeemer4266 except for the fact he initially got trapped in the Forest, meaning that shouldn't have even been possible. They retcon the damn lore so much I dont even like the timeline existing in the first place.
I challenge the Link is Dead theory. Each of the major regions of Termina DOES coincide with the Five Stages of Grief, but this is Link grieving for Navi being lost to him, as well as the grief Skull Kid shares for losing his friends. That, and Majora’s Mask created Termina from Skull Kid’s memories and regrets.
Why would Majoras Mask created a new world just to destroy it when it could have try to do whatever it wanted to do in the Hyrule Realm or that dimension or whatever. But I do agree with the Navi theory. I think the real question isnt who is mourning who but whether Termina is real or just in someone's imagination
I follow the idea that the intro cutscene is link dreaming after turning into a Deku. He wakes up when his dream recreates his transformation. After saving Termina, this link returns to hyrule to live out his days in peace. This prevents the can of worms called the Hero of Twilight's Ancestry from messing with the theory. He needs to have had a child before his death.
I heard a theory that after the events of Majora's mask, he came back to hylia. He grows up to an adult and goes into the lost woods to try to find Navi, but gets lost and turns into a stalfos
He dies in battle, and he isn't a stalfos, he is a shade, but yes he does return to hyrule and have a kid with maron and that sires the linage for twilight princess's link, and none of this is a theory anymore it was all proven years ago.
Maybe, but the goron who gives you the Don Gero's mask mentions how the rock comes from Dondogo's Cavern, which is only seen in Hyrule. That being said, I still think this theory is absurd.
Lately he just do Fnaf stuff, Mario cause the movie (soon will toss some more reused sonic stuff cause the Knuckles show); let alone those glorified ads for mobile games he's getting sponsored... So missing sponsored stuff, allready beated to death mario for follow the #mario trending he have to dig on past stuff
Matpat said himself that his theories are just to make you think from another perspective even if it has some holes , you know it's just a THEORY a GAME THEORY
This makes me wonder something. Are all the Links and Zeldas related? I know they get reincarnated when they die, but are they all part of the same family, or different ones?
Oh I have an answer! Kind of. From what I understand every Zelda is descended from the Zelda in Skyward Sword, the powers are passed through the bloodline. Which makes sense when each Zelda is considered to carry “the blood of the goddess”. Link I don’t think they’re related. Maybe some of them are, but with Link “the spirit of the hero” and ability to wield the master sword attaches itself to someone or turns into a new being? Idk how exactly it works, but Zelda is a descendant and Link is plain old reincarnated.
The Link from TP is a direct descendant from the Link in OoT I think, but that's it for the Links. Each of the Zeldas are all related though since they're all a part of the royal family and share the blood of the Goddess Hylia.
But, if you go to somewhere in Breath of the Wild (I can’t remember where), you can find a 1:1 statue of Darmani III, meaning that the Gorons from Termina must’ve gone through the Portal and into Hyrule, and then shared their legends with the Hyrule Gorons. (Credit to Masked Nintendo Bandit)
Wind waker is a different timeline to majoras mask. Wind waker takes place in the timeline where Zelda sent link back to being a child, so he no longer exists in that timeline. That’s why he wasn’t there in wind waker.
@@jark06 Oh interesting. I thought that it was the same timeline because she sends him back to being a child and he's a child in MM so I kinda just figured after the events of OOT he was off in Termina and at some point the events in the WW story happened and that was why he was gone, because he literally couldn't be there again.
The heroes shade a adult meaning he actually saved termina and continued to age untill he is older than the hero of twilight because he is taller than a injury causes him to lose his eye either when he died or sometime before
I would really appreciate it if you could make a game theory episode summing up all we have learned about The Legend of Zelda. The timeline and all the different paths it takes. It could be an hour long and I would still watch it. By the way, Love your theory’s
It’s a classic theory and does make some sense but the Heroe‘s Shade is an adult and wears an unfamiliar armor, so I think Termina is just an out-of-universe allegory instead of a in-universe one. Link probably became a soldier and dies on the battlefield later as an adult. That would explain his height, armor and missing eye
The only flaw in this theory is that the Hero's shade has a seemingly adult form. So Link wouldn't have died while he was young. You could argue that link has grown up and then is sent to purgatory as young link, but then you'd have to ask why? Termina is most likely just another place in the world considering skull kid has a history with that region.
That and he refers to TP Link as a descendent.
And the fact that his body's buried in a grave in the Hyrule Castle courtyard, which implies that he eventually returned to Hyrule and performed deeds worthy enough for the Royal Family to bury him there.
I actually think the fact we play as child link kind of makes the theory a little darker
Link didnt die as a child but as an adult
Through all of link's trauma he clung on to the hope he could find his only mentor his only friend
His guide in navi
Link never gives up he survives wandering the lost forest until he is an adult
He appears as a child in majora because he symbolically never grew up he couldnt let his childhood go
The hero's shade says that he regrets how he never was able to pass on his skill
This is because his entire life he couldnt let go of navi and what she represented
Sigh i all most pity him
333rd like!!
I always interpreted the 5 stages of grief in Majora's Mask to be about Link learning to accept that his friend Navi is gone and learning to move on with his life rather than him being dead.
Yeah same here
I’m pretty sure it is because majoras mask is not in the fallen line
I played wrong this game years ago, as an old Zelda fan, I was just clearing temples to get to the end, never pay attention to the sidequest, never finished a lot of them, now thanks to the internet I got that the game was the sidequest, for that reason I was mad when I finished the game because there was no Navi, I was hoping for her to return at the end, I skipped grief.
@@MarcoBayod_MB sigh.
Yeah. Never played Majora's Mask, but i know the lore
bro just summoned zeltic to make a 50 minute video on why this is flawed💀💀
Fr😂😂😂😂
Seriously?! Sounds like a must watch.
That dudes channel is bleh
But like the whole point is that there are a bunch of different links
@@timonobel615It is not
Wait until Mat Pat learns every single link is technically a different character according to Nintendo. But also, Hero's Shade specifically has info saying he "lamented being sent back to his childhood and unable to pass on his teachings since no one remembered him". But he's an adult, which means he didn't die in Termina.
No certain links do go on multiple adventures oot and mm, loz and 2, link to the past link goes on 4 adventures with lttp, ooa, oos, and la, and link between worlds and triforce heroes and more.
@@ujingamer I meant those without continuity but I get your point.
He obviously knows that based on this theory involving two Links.
@@ujingamer botw and ToTK
oot link and tp link are related
Matpat: Link is dead
Everyone: How many times do we have to teach this lesson to you old man?
I mean, since Link keeps getting reincarnated. He's technically not wrong.
i mean he is dead the question is when he died.
is not the same link in all the games is just different generations of the hero
@@Dont_click_this_profile-v8j cool but like who asked
Lol
It's actually Navi that does, and this is Link overcoming his grief
I agree.
Yeah. That was the entire plot of MM. But Termina isn't a dream world, otherwise I believe Lorule would have to be as well.
yeah I'm guessing mat pat forgot that Navi died
I feel like Link doesn't experience "Death" like we do. The Deku tree protects the Hero. He went looking for Navi n got lost in the woods n his version of death is the deku tree testing his spirit...n if he fails he becomes a Evermean and eventually an Ogretree. Cause the koroks are lost children who spread the deku tree's magic. BOOM!
@catdownthestreet Termina can be a dream world because Koholint and The World of the Ocean King exists. It's not though, it's a separate dimension or the other side of the lost woods outside of hyrule's borders because it's the same Skull Kid from OOT. It's definitely a different dimension though because nobody in Hyrule ever mentioned the moon in Twilight Princess.
Next video MatPat is gonna gaslight everyone into believing we are dead
I'm not matpat but I came here to tell you that ur ded
you. are. everywhere. how.
HOW CAN YOU BE EVERYWHERE ??!
Hahahaha I came here to say the exact same things (replying comments)!
You are everywhere at once! Always first to comment before any of us!!
Mumbo
Here!
Where else?! I’ve seen you eslewhere!
Most of us are dead inside already.
One MAJOR problem: The Link from Twilight Princess is confirmed to be the Hero of Time's descendent.
Noooo, link clearly got it on when he was 10 years old.
@@Cat-_-Cat 🤣🤣🤣
Obviously Majora's mask is just a fever dream or a Lorule situation. Oops wandered into a second world
@@Cat-_-Cat Why would you write that?
link consistently is able to come back from death so i don’t think that matters he probably just found a way out
Bro started a war with the actual Zelda community
Clearly, MatPat needs to revisit the timeline. In detail. It'll be a nice break from FNAF. 😂
Yup 😂
E
I like how Matpats break from confusing timelines is more confusing timelines
Bruh this video was 9 years old.
@@watchfthe worst part is that he doubles down on a theory that was proven wrong and that he knows is wrong and have admitted in other old videos that this theory is of the worst he ever did
Problem with this is that Twilight Link is directly related to Ocarina Link meaning he'd have to have lived to adulthood and had a child. Yeah Ocarina Link is dead in Twilight, but that's much further along that him dieing in Majora's. He likely signed on as a royal knight but still regretted no one knowing the deeds he has done.
i think he moreso regretted that he never taught his skills to future generations, since he seems at rest once he finishes doing that.
but yeah, i think snowpeak ruins was probably his house or his military outpost in his adult years (pre snow of course)
@@hioman I think it's a mix of both but more likely what you said. As for his base, no clue. In my headcanon he shacked up with Marlon and lived at the ranch which became Ordon village and that's why Twi-Link works there like it's a family farm etc.
@@hioman I can see it now. Link: now son this is you do the helm splitter. Son: but dad I don’t wanna do that I just want to raise horses.
you trying to tell mister mat "i ignore important facts to construct my theory" pat to care abouts facts
He cant be a knight cause he misses the war with Ganondorf in tp thats why Ganondorf gets sealed in the twilight realm and not the sacred realm like at the end of oot
Yeah except the shade is an adult. The shade is also the ancestor of TP's link. The shade is also a seasoned warrior with many techniques. MM does have a lot of themes of death but also a lot of themes of growing up and losing innocence.
It's more likely that the stages of grief are related to the loss of Navi, which is why he's in Termina in the first place. Link returns from Termina, having accepted the losing his friend.
Because Ganondorf was taken down before the events of the adult timeline take place, a war erupted with the Gerudo. Link became a knight who eventually died in the war, possibly, like his mother, in the lost woods, becoming a Stalfos.
Also to add that because TP's Link is a farm hand, OoT/MM Link possibly married Malon.
honestly everything you said, other than the shade being an adult, serves to back up the theory even more lmfao
@@oystersaucee_ahh yes ten year olds having children backs up this theory.
@@insertnamehere9975 did you never consider link can grow up?
@@oystersaucee_ but | thought he died at 10?
They could also represent Link’s loss innocence and the fact he has to accept the fact he’s the hero which means he has to be the one to deal with the suffering that comes with that fact.
MatPat casually bringing back his old theory of “Link is Dead” from the Majora Mask game. Now using supporting evidence from Twilight Princess to be like “When did he die?” News flash: Link dies a lot. That’s why he keeps getting reincarnated
Also note that canonically, the Link that defeats Ganon in OOT also dies to him in OOT. Unless we have parallel universes, we can't have all 3 timeline splits with the same definition as implied in the lore supplement texts. Maybe the Downfall timeline is from the original timeline, since Link disappeared for 7 years after getting hit with Ganondorf's magic, which would technically count as a defeat. Since he goes back and forth at least once, that original timeline is not the same as the one he defeats Ganon OR the one he returned to, so Ganon never gets rematched, so he succeeds by default.
@@IndigoTeddy Ganondorf doesn't die in OoT
@@papalevan I didn't say Link killed Ganondorf, only that he defeats him. After the "final blow", the 7 Sages seal him in the Sacred Realm
@@IndigoTeddy apologies, misread that first part
So link is hank from madness?
Small problem... Eiji Aonuma has specifically and clearly stated that this isn't true and just a coincidence.
But, your statement is just a theory, A GA-
@@Shimpy-ME Theory
@@minecramat_yt It’s not just about you bro
Along with the fact the shade has an adult body
Also the game manual says Link falls into an alternate world.
After defeating the mask, the last talk with the mask merchant, he says that link should go back home,
he also says that whatever there is a meeting, there is a parting, but the parting dont need to last forever, if the parting will last long or short, that is up to you.
This implies that link can leave and return to termina when he wants
Claim a veterans badge if you remember this being a full video back in the day. Bonus points remembering it was a collab
More accurately, a collab with Peanut Butter Gamer 😌
I remember... What great times those were, with so many memories and treasures.
Here here!
@@brofistbro I’ll drink to that
Except I’m thirteen
Eh I’ll just buy too much Mountain Dew voltage
I got a badge! No bonus points, though...
One problem with that. Link had a family. He was a CHILD when he went to Termina.
Just because Termina comes from the word, "terminal," it doesn't mean "predicted to lead to death." It could ALSO mean, "the end of a transport route" or "a point of connection for closing an electric circuit."
Hyrule historia even says that the reason it’s called termina is because it’s like an airport terminal. A hub world
He didn't have a family, that's completely false. And what does him being a child have to do with anything?
Maybe try actually making sense.
@@Anti-HyperLink You never played Twilight princess have you? Link from that game is a direct descendent of OOT Link. In fact Both Links appear in that game.
@@Anti-HyperLink ruclips.net/video/Uf1KaB0XGGg/видео.html 14:55 you were saying tp link is the Descendant of oot link cope
@@Anti-HyperLink Him being a child is an issue because the Hero's Shade is visibly a grown man.
He just condensed his entire video that got me into game theory in a few seconds.
Problem1: Why is the hero’s shade adult sized when Link in Majora’s mask still a child?
Problem2: TP Link is a descendant of OoT/MM Link. How is MM Link supposed to have fathered a child when he hasn’t gone through puberty yet?
Problem3: The hero’s shade teaches TP Link advanced sword techniques. MM Link doesn’t know any advanced sword techniques besides the “Spin Attack.” How does a dead Link learn advanced sword techniques AFTER death?
The problem is that this game isnt about Link's death, but Navi's. That is why we don't see Majora's Mask Link with Navi and why he was in the Forrest at the beginning of the game. The stages of grief are also experienced by your loved ones if you die too afterall.
What? Navi leaves link to go back to the forest at the end of OOT
@@melody3741except that’s not the case cause the only reason Link ends up in Termina was to find Navi
guess he should have hey, listened...
Umm well idk about you but I don’t think your gonna be grieving over your own death anyway
@@bruteboi73Hey Listen did you know that if you backstep you can go across the map faster because the angle of vertical fo-
When the happy mask salesman tells Link "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" He isn't referring to him being dead. He's more than likely referring to how Link has been trapped as a Deku Shrub and isn't able to go back to being human (At that point in the game)
When Link falls down the shaft, he lands on a deku flower, which, IIRC, negates fall damage, meaning he shouldn’t be dead.
I didn't even know that
I mean this would be PERFECT (and was back in the day too when you first talked about it)...if it weren't for the fact that IN GAME it suggests HEAVILY that Termina was MADE by Skullkid using Majora's power to cope with the Giants leaving him
But the giants are from termina not hyrule
Termina is a real place that the giants and skull kid are from.
He uses Majora’s Mask to call the moon down upon Termina out of spite because he thought the giants had stopped being his friend because of the Terminians.
@@Flapalapagus This is the actual answer.
Imagine defeating Ganondorf then dying when you trip over
personally i’d never take that kind of disrespect, but that’s just me
@@stormywalnutwhat wold you do stab the ground
@@lio1shibossi*Dark fountain appeares*
@@CyberDucke Zeldarune
Is MatPat trying to convince us that OoT Link got busy as a child?
OoT?
No you're just nasty
@@endersquiddyyoutube7999 [O]carina [O]f [T]ime
Oh yeah he does skip over the fact twilight princess link is his descendant
link tranzante 🫡
I'll get the popcorn as Matpat is roasted by actual Zelda fans.
Yo give me some of that popcorn I want to watch to
GIMME SOME
"actual"
@@Schale.kivotos ?
Damn, roasted by fatasses who haven't went to the gym or touched a girl since 2020? Wow. So savage of them.
I thought the one that was actually dead for the end of Majora’s Mask was Navi, and the whole story is link trying to get over his grief of losing her
Link would be having a party over that😂
Where are you getting that from?
there is just one problem though, he landed on a deku flower and deku flowers completely negate fall damage, so it is impossible for the fall to have killed him.
Literally fits perfectly with the denial stage
@@chrismeyer9300 well when it’s an actually game mechanic and the heroes shade is and adult AND tp link is oot links ancestor it’s not very concrete
Link dying and becoming the Hero's Shade is common fact at this point, however, he did not die in Majora's Mask.
For some quick background info, adults who die in the Lost Woods become Stalfos (which is what the Hero's Shade is), while children become Skull Kids when they die in the Lost Woods. If Link died in Majora's Mask, then he would be a Skull Kid in Twilight Princess due to the fact that he was a child in Majora's Mask.
Also I would like to point out that this is just a retread of one of his older theories.
Also note that he's neither Skull Child nor Stalfos (he's a spectre of some sort), meaning his death was not caused by getting lost, but was most likely from a fatal wound from a battle.
@@IndigoTeddy More specifically, a blow to the stomach, bcs of how the armour looks the most destroyed there
well I agree with you... but what if the lost woods could "read" that he was an adult... maybe the lost woods is "magical", and could tell if a person was an adult at one point, maybe it gave link "the body he should have" when he died... after all they were in the lost woods in the opening of Majora's mask. and Link while being in a child's body, was technichally an adult due to what happened at ocarina... I still don't know though... I find it odd that he's missing an eye in ocarina, I think that is probably related to his death, but I find it odd. And I don't know if there is something in Majora implying something of a "missing eye". other than a metaphor, "you can't see the full picture" assuming he died in Majora but was implied.
@@liamvinck8705 But his specter has a hyrule soldier armor and it shows that he lost and eye. When he was in the future he still had his eye and he doesn't have the armor. Also Aonuma confirmed that Termina is an alternate world. So the theory that he died in Majora doesn't make much sense.
also in the new game tears of the kingdom when you first go on the ground and in the village the villager says” LINK IS THAT YOU?” so he has been dead also we learns about him being a dragon😂
Except they already said he wasn't. He was essentially Groundhog Dayed in another universe. The Hero's Shade(try to throw him. I dare ya.) is also not a child. No, Link grew up. He just didn't pass on his skills while alive. He also started talking, which is also weird. Have you noticed that Links who aren't the main character are awfully chatty?
I suspect that we don't hear link speak because we are somehow deaf to ourselves. 😅
You can tell from the dialog that link can and does talk in many of the games. We are just not given the exact words.
@@rachelguderjahn2231 True. But it feels implied that the playable Links are measured in their speech, only saying what's necessary. That stoicism is played on the most in Breath of the Wild so far. But between the Hero's Shade and the old man in Link Between Worlds who's implied to be an old Link(thus why being able to battle him is an achievement), they do talk quite a bit.
@silversonic1 True. But I thought in Wind Waker or Link to the Past, that someone commented that he sure liked to talk. 🤔
@@rachelguderjahn2231 Not sure. As such, please take my POV with a grain of salt. Is it possible it was a sarcastic comment? I'm not sure of the context, so it's important to verify.
@silversonic1 I don't remember clearly, so it is possible that it was a sarcastic comment that I took too serious.
To come back at this: Why is the skeleton adult sized then?
Why is he even a skeleton? He should be a Skull Kid-
Thank you for everything matt....you will be in our hearts forever
He's not dieing bro
You think I don't know that? He's just leaving RUclips, it's my opinion on how I feel about it all. I know he isn't dying we're all just gonna miss him a lot
bro u rlly had to come hear💀
If anything, I'd say that Majora's Mask is symbolic of losing Navi. If you need to find a symbol in a Zelda game that is lol. But if you just switch everything to being about Navi's death/loss of her, that makes a lot more sense to me than it being about Link's own death. The whole story is supposed to be about Link searching for Navi but in the end he never finds her. And from the ending of the game I'd say that Link has accepted the loss of his friend.
And then that Link by whatever reason has a child in Twilight Princess
It's his descendant. Not his son.
@@zachtwilightwindwaker596 but in order to have a descendant he needs to have a child.
@@Confron7a7ion7 Yeah, but since Twilight Princess happened around a hundred years or so later it would not be his son.
@@zachtwilightwindwaker596 ok, but he's like... 12 during Majora's Mask...
I love hearing the analysis on all of the ways Majora's Mask relates its themes to death and shows it throughout the game, but it really just doesn't make sense for Link to have died. It's way more likely he came back without ever finding Navi, came to terms with it, and become a normal knight of Hyrule considering the Shade's appearance. Plus TP Link is his direct descendent and a farmhand, so he likely ended up with Malon as well.
Malon > Zelda.
If he did his research he might have found out that just the fact that Link become a Stalfos completely invalidate this theory. Because only adults who die in the forest become Stalfos, children become Skull Kids.
Link is neither a Stalfos nor a Stalchild because he didn't die by getting lost in the Lost Woods, he was felled in battle before he could teach his children his sword techniques. He's some sort of spectre, since he retains his sentience, memories, regrets, and the capability to transform into a wolf.
Oh boy here we go again!
According to Hyrule Historia TP Link is a descendant of OoT Link so unless he somehow reverted back to a kid upon death it doesn't make much sense
Despite the fact Link also canonically got trapped in the very forest he was traversing, IE literally what the Historia says, he'd have had to have him somehow before he left, which gross and near impossible, since they're both ten, or, the historia is wrong.
@@matthewsimon6170 ok thought process, maybe he just has childhood trauma and reverted back to a child when he died or whatever, it'd make sense since PTSD and all that
@@chaoticdetectivepeach ….that’s not how PTSD works bud
I remember watching the full video on this the day my dog died oddly enough it actually really helped me get over it over the coming weeks thank you may pat you are truly my goat
Matpat is really trying to get us to believe this crackpot theory, even though the very book he's citing to prove his "theory" contradicts the entire theory.
I mean it's just a theory, believe on it or not, that's up to you. Now, I know nothing about Zelda so I just pretend like- whatever.
@@BSIHRI It’s kind of funny because he mentions the Hyrule Historia which directly addresses this theory and says that it is not true.
@@BSIHRI A theory with more holes than Swiss cheese and can be disproven.
You really gonna die on that hill buddy 😂
"Link is dead"
*yea that's like the begining of each Zelda game..."
Theroists trying not to make a theory of the main character being dead: Level Impossible
Well Link is a new character in almost every game and there are often long timespans between the games. So basically everytime a new game starts the previous Link has died which makes the title "Link is DEAD" a bit obsolete, because dying and getting reincarnated are kinda his thing.
Nope, Link from Majoras Mask and OOT are the same person, and Twilight princess is his descendant
@@SameSeam Thats why I said that he is a new character in "almost" every game. There are other exeptions, like Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass or Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom which have the same Link each. This doesn't change that for every game that isn't at the start of the timeline, there is at least one Link that has already died.
not sure if this vid released before, but after watching matpats goodbye video, these theories just hit differently, knowing i wont get to hear the same voice i have heard my entire childhood from these videos for much longer. thank you so much matpat for all of the theories, i wish you the best of the rest of your life, your fame is completely deserved. 😔❤️
also i did not think of the stages of grief represented by the bosses and the town, majora's mask was such a strange game i still dont understand why i didnt think much of its wierdness 😅
Are we still doing this? The very next page in the HH says that only _adults_ become stalfos. If link died as a child he would become a skull kid, not a stalfos.
And also, the Hero's Shade isn't actually a Stalfos. He has ghostly "flesh" on him, which Stalfos (even in Twilight Princess) don't have.
This means that Link probably didn't even die in the Lost Woods, making this make doubly less sense.
@@JustAnotherJames3He was also buried in hyrule castle making triple less sense
The only problem with this is that it would mean Link died as a child and never grew up, therefore the adult skeleton we see in twilight princess doesn't make sense.
That being said I think that's unintended. The whole "timeline" thing came about after the fact. Though it's basically confirmed that majora's mask is about death and that Link is dead in that game
A possible solution to this would be if he died he reverted to his inner child, maybe he went off to search for Fi when he was older but when he died he was so emotionally stunted (which would be understandable) that his spirit simply couldn’t handle it and set it through the eyes of a child.
No, it's confirmed via interview that Link is not dead in Majora's Mask, one of the few theories that Nintendo has actually shot down personally
That’s a shame, I’ll have to find this interview in case there’s anymore lore! Still fun to find ways to defend theories to the death, but if the creator directly says so nothing I can do.
Also he had to have children since The Hero of Twilight is his descendant so definitely not a child for that to happen.
In game, the King of Ikana tells Link that this place is not for one as full of life as him so no he was never dead.
Very sad to see MatPat is getting his "termina" here in RUclips, we wish you the best Matthew
And then he grew to adult form while dead, had a kid while dead(since the hero of twilight is descended from him), got that armor, and lost an eye, all while dead.
My guy has done more in death than I have in life. Not to mention going through the five stages of grief while dead. Normally, that burden is for the living.
You know, like a child who has lost most if not all of his friends, who is on a mission to find someone, and never does.
The Hero’s Shade is a Stalfos, and only adults become stalfos sooooo
Nintendo disproved this theory officially.
Zelda fans: “which link ?”
Fun theory but the hero shade is a stalfos if link would have died as a kid he would have turned into a skul kid so he would have had to have gotten lost in the lost woods as an adult and than died to become a stalfos not to mention that in the hero shade's model he's missing an eye so that suggests that he had to go on past majora and had more battles we didn't see
Not only that, link reincarnates every death and majora’s mask is in botw, which is, by a lot of theories, the merging of the 3 timelines
Plus spirits are seen to not age in the Zelda series after they die (that would be kinda stupid anyway lol) so link would not be an adult regardless. Additionally, if link dies by falling into Termina then the Skull Kid and Majoras Mask are still out there causing havoc somewhere because they are seen in the real world of Hyrule before Link “dies” and that is clearly not the case.
The flower link lands on breaks fall damage, neat detail
*Fallen down by Toby fox starts playing*
"Lol" the fandom said
"LMAO"
Matpats retreading some CLASSIC GT for this one
Bro knows secrets that the developers themselves didn't know
Game theory rule #1: When in doubt, say purgatory and 5 stages of grief
If he's dead how do we meet him as an adult skeleton in twilight princess? We tend to stop growing when we die.
It surprisingly has an answer. In the Zelda lore, if your spirit is strong enough, your body will live on and continue to grow, as a Stalfos, or well, whatever your skeletal form can be called. That more or less just implies he's been dead a while.
Because Hylian magic.
Because "the plot said so"
By the way tp link is one of the few link incarnations that is related by blood to the previous one, it being oc link, so the theory is disproven so easily when you realize that he had to grow a family that would eventually grow another family AND MAYBE ANOTHER FAMILY then die in the middle of the process and his soul incarnates one of his grand children
@@freshthemeemer4266 except for the fact he initially got trapped in the Forest, meaning that shouldn't have even been possible. They retcon the damn lore so much I dont even like the timeline existing in the first place.
@@matthewsimon6170 when did he get trapped in the forest?
Matpat never fails to make anything from my childhood seem dark
Majora's mask is already pretty dark
@@diamondmemer9754 fr
So true lol as the logo implies!
“Ruining childhoods since 2011!” Lol.
You didn't realize this from the tombstone in Final Fantasy on the elf village? That tombstone always cracked me up, lol.
Lmao Matt really reduced, reused, and recycled ♻️ this theory again
I challenge the Link is Dead theory.
Each of the major regions of Termina DOES coincide with the Five Stages of Grief, but this is Link grieving for Navi being lost to him, as well as the grief Skull Kid shares for losing his friends.
That, and Majora’s Mask created Termina from Skull Kid’s memories and regrets.
Gametheory: Finally a worthy opponent, our battle will be legendary
so you just confirmed what he said its purhitory wherre you live out grief untill acceptance
Why would Majoras Mask created a new world just to destroy it when it could have try to do whatever it wanted to do in the Hyrule Realm or that dimension or whatever. But I do agree with the Navi theory. I think the real question isnt who is mourning who but whether Termina is real or just in someone's imagination
Throwback to the first theory I saw of yours! Aweosme
I follow the idea that the intro cutscene is link dreaming after turning into a Deku. He wakes up when his dream recreates his transformation. After saving Termina, this link returns to hyrule to live out his days in peace. This prevents the can of worms called the Hero of Twilight's Ancestry from messing with the theory. He needs to have had a child before his death.
“Falls down in a pit of flowers underground*
MEGALOVANIA STARTS PLAYING
i say that it would be fallen down not megalovania
@@MelonTheProtogen ik
"WELLCOME TO THE UNDERGROUND-"
h o w a r e y o u r b a l l s
I heard a theory that after the events of Majora's mask, he came back to hylia. He grows up to an adult and goes into the lost woods to try to find Navi, but gets lost and turns into a stalfos
He dies in battle, and he isn't a stalfos, he is a shade, but yes he does return to hyrule and have a kid with maron and that sires the linage for twilight princess's link, and none of this is a theory anymore it was all proven years ago.
There are things that still don't add up. Such as how Darmani's face is carved into Goron Village in Breath of the Wild.
Maybe, but the goron who gives you the Don Gero's mask mentions how the rock comes from Dondogo's Cavern, which is only seen in Hyrule. That being said, I still think this theory is absurd.
One of my favorite old theories from the channel
This guy is so smart when he plucks bee's wings and tell it to fly and it can't, he concludes that it's deaf
I remember playing majoras mask for like 50 hours in a week when i first got it. I loved that game so much
Matpat redoing old Theories as Quick Vids. Thats one way to do a remake
One giant problem: in the Manga, a bonus story is featured with skull kid in it.
The manga aren't canon, but Matpat's still majorly wrong, thanks to Twilight Princess.
@@ryndor2899 oh
Wait there's a manga?
Where can i get it?
@@diamondan5721 I got it at my local bookstore.
What in the 2012 Zelda theory is this? Are we just, reusing theories now?
Lately he just do Fnaf stuff, Mario cause the movie (soon will toss some more reused sonic stuff cause the Knuckles show); let alone those glorified ads for mobile games he's getting sponsored...
So missing sponsored stuff, allready beated to death mario for follow the #mario trending he have to dig on past stuff
Rip legend. Gone but never forgotten ❤️❤️🩹
hes not dead
Oh, MatPat reenacts his old theories!
After all these years, Mat is still clinging on to his "Link is dead" Majora's Mask theory lmao
Matpat said himself that his theories are just to make you think from another perspective even if it has some holes , you know it's just a THEORY a GAME THEORY
This makes me wonder something. Are all the Links and Zeldas related? I know they get reincarnated when they die, but are they all part of the same family, or different ones?
Oh I have an answer! Kind of. From what I understand every Zelda is descended from the Zelda in Skyward Sword, the powers are passed through the bloodline. Which makes sense when each Zelda is considered to carry “the blood of the goddess”.
Link I don’t think they’re related. Maybe some of them are, but with Link “the spirit of the hero” and ability to wield the master sword attaches itself to someone or turns into a new being? Idk how exactly it works, but Zelda is a descendant and Link is plain old reincarnated.
The Link from TP is a direct descendant from the Link in OoT I think, but that's it for the Links. Each of the Zeldas are all related though since they're all a part of the royal family and share the blood of the Goddess Hylia.
But, if you go to somewhere in Breath of the Wild (I can’t remember where), you can find a 1:1 statue of Darmani III, meaning that the Gorons from Termina must’ve gone through the Portal and into Hyrule, and then shared their legends with the Hyrule Gorons. (Credit to Masked Nintendo Bandit)
"according to the Hyrule Historia..." *goes on to show he BARELY read said text* 🤣
Because of how many theory's MatPat made he could make a theory on a singular potato and itll be one of his greatest uploads
Also! In Windwaker they mention the Hero they had once relied on was nowhere to be found when they needed him again. So oop, he ded.
Wind waker is a different timeline to majoras mask. Wind waker takes place in the timeline where Zelda sent link back to being a child, so he no longer exists in that timeline. That’s why he wasn’t there in wind waker.
That's a separate timeline from Twilight Princess and Majora Mask. The Link that saved that timeline went back to his timeline(timeline 2).
@@jark06 Oh interesting. I thought that it was the same timeline because she sends him back to being a child and he's a child in MM so I kinda just figured after the events of OOT he was off in Termina and at some point the events in the WW story happened and that was why he was gone, because he literally couldn't be there again.
Zelda: when is that mo## coming back bro he went for his fairy and now hes gone.
F in chat for link
F
F
🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡
Matpats voice when he says "and I know how it happened" is so reminiscent of "nener nener nener" 😂
The heroes shade a adult meaning he actually saved termina and continued to age untill he is older than the hero of twilight because he is taller than a injury causes him to lose his eye either when he died or sometime before
Well done you figured out the piece of Zelda lore that's extremely obvious and practically given to you.
This was my favorite theory back in the day. Introduced me to Zelda and PBG. Gonna miss Mathew Pathew
Matpat:Link is dead and i know how
My brain:Ben Drowned
I would really appreciate it if you could make a game theory episode summing up all we have learned about The Legend of Zelda. The timeline and all the different paths it takes. It could be an hour long and I would still watch it. By the way, Love your theory’s
I think the only Zelda theory he's mad that makes sense to me is that BotW takes place in the downfall timeline.
Matpat... Stop ruining my childhood...
That tombstone in final fantasy is making sense now
Matpat:"Link dead" Me:Link is not dead *pulls out a gun and starts shooting matpat in between the eyes*
I remember the full length video you did on this subject some years back
HE’S NOT DEAD IN MY HEART
There is a lot more like termina being a dream helping link with his problems like depression of navy leaving with no explanation
The skull emoji in the title 💀
It’s a classic theory and does make some sense but the Heroe‘s Shade is an adult and wears an unfamiliar armor, so I think Termina is just an out-of-universe allegory instead of a in-universe one. Link probably became a soldier and dies on the battlefield later as an adult. That would explain his height, armor and missing eye
He could be climbing stairs on his way out yk and that’s why there’s a sky