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A Legacy of Personality: The Characters of the Legend of Zelda

The Happy Mask Salesman (Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask)

by Andrew Brown and Pedro Hernandez - May 20, 2011, 3:35 pm EDT

This mask salesman is anything but happy...

One of the strangest individuals Link has ever come across, the Happy Mask Salesman is a seemingly meek, polite man enamored with collecting and trading masks of various styles and rarities.

He seems normal enough for a businessman, until you notice the fact that all features of his face are comprised of a single, unmoving texture map – perpetually locked in an eerie grin. He just may be wearing a mask himself. Things get weirder when you see him move for the first time... or don't see it, for better understanding. He erratically switches between a series of set motion loops, and you never actually see him transition from one to the next. For example, he could be rubbing his palms together in glee over the prospect of a new mask for his collection – the next instant, thrashing his head about violently, his hands on his forehead in woeful anguish. That's one serious muscular tic he suffers from; it's as unpredictable as his moodswings.

The madness slowly showing itself

In Ocarina of Time, he runs the Happy Mask Shop in Hyrule Town Market, selling and trading masks that Link must collect and advertise throughout Hyrule. If Link sells a mask and turns up shortchanged to pay him back, his face twists into a demonic frown, complete with glowing red eyes, before he angrily kicks Link out of the store.

He plays a central role in Majora's Mask, the titular facial decoration was an ancient tribal mask used in hexing rituals. The Happy Mask Salesman had just accumulated the treasure, when a lonesome and mischevious Skull Kid swiped the relic as he slept, putting it on and unleashing a demonic force within. He helps Link come to terms with a series of cursed masks in his possession, which allow him to take the form of a Deku, a Goron, and a Zora, the three major non-human races in Hyrule.

He made a short cameo appearance in Oracle of Ages, as part of a trading sequence.

Pedro's thoughts: The Happy Mask Salesman might easily be one of the creepiest characters in all the Zelda mythos. Think about it for a second. In Majora's Mask, he is overjoyed that he has obtained a rare mask used in demonic rituals. He also knew about the mask's powers and was very desperate to get it back. Sure, the excuse is that the mask would cause chaos and destruction and needed to be stopped... But, what if HE wanted the power for HIMSELF?

Then there's his personality. Like Andrew stated, when you first meet him he is quiet and polite, but as the story progresses his true nature begins to show. He is very quick to anger and expresses it in the worst way possible.

And then there's the scene that occurs if you fail to save Termina on time. After witnessing the destruction of the world along with Young Link's death, you get a black screen, along with a very disturbing chuckle, along with the following words...

You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?

The fact that he is so calm about your demise makes him very disturbing. He also knows that you have been killed and returns you back to Termina, no questions asked.

And that's why the Happy Mask Salesman is so disturbing. He poses as a charming and eccentric man who loves mask collecting, but underneath lies a cold, somewhat manipulative and even demonic man whose path is ridden with destruction.

It doesn't help that he had an uncanny resemblance to Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto...

Uuuuh...

Images

Talkback

TurdFurgyMay 19, 2011

You got the quote wrong. It's "It's Dangerous to go alone! Take this.", not "It's Dangerous to go alone! Take this!" FOR SHAME!! :)
Anju and Kefei where great characters. It truly was a beautiful moment when they were reunited.

AVMay 19, 2011

I loved that subquest in Majora's Mask. Majora's Mask is an incredible experience

RABicleMay 19, 2011

Will this feature mention perhaps Zelda's most enduring recurring character; Kiki the monkey?

Ryan CannonMay 20, 2011

Heh, Zelda's had some pretty colorful characters...

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterMay 20, 2011

Quote from: Ryan

Heh, Zelda's had some pretty colorful characters...

And this is just starting! Just wait till you see who shows up :p

StogiMay 20, 2011

The Great Fairies?

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterMay 20, 2011

Here is today's character: The Happy Mask Salesman
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/26329

TurdFurgyMay 20, 2011

"It doesn't help that he had an uncanny resemblance to Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto..."
Are you saying that all Japanese look the same? You sir, are a racist. :)
But I have to agree. I was legitimately afraid of that character as a child. The dudes psycho...

Mop it upMay 20, 2011

I think the old man in the original Legend of Zelda is the real hero of the game. Not only does he provide you with three different swords from his personal collection, but he also follows you around and climbs into dangerous spots in dungeons just to give you hints. Sure, he'll charge you hefty fees if you burn his various trees around the world that somehow act as doors, but you should just consider that payment for the all-powerful Magical Sword.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterMay 21, 2011

Quote from: TurdFurgy

"It doesn't help that he had an uncanny resemblance to Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto..."

Are you saying that all Japanese look the same? You sir, are a racist. :)

But I have to agree. I was legitimately afraid of that character as a child. The dudes psycho...

I remember reading somewhere (either Nintendo Power or some other magazine) that the Mask Salesman was somewhat inspired by Miyamoto, hence why I made the comment. If you have learned about Miyamoto, then learn about the Mask Salesman you realize that maybe the development team was saying something about Miyamoto indirectly with this character. Miyamoto HAS been known for kidnapping random people, you know :p .

I also heard that the creepy Link statue from Majora's Mask (the one that appears when you play the Elegy of Emptiness, this statue:http://images.wikia.com/jadusable/images/a/a2/359px-Link_Statue.png) was also inspired by Miyamoto.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterMay 21, 2011

Today brings us our first character from Wind Waker, courtesy of Zach Miller:
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/26330

Killer_Man_JaroTom Malina, Associate Editor (Europe)May 22, 2011

I must congratulate you on the articles so far. By the end of the feature, I think you might convince some of the naysayers who claim that Zelda never has interesting characters to reconsider their stance. Although there's one correction to be made: the abstract for the latest entry, 'Meet Makar, the Earth Sage', is wrong, as he's actually the Wind Sage -- the Earth Sage is Medli, the Rito girl.

Makar gets kudos from me simply because he was responsible for some of the best music in the game. The forest ceremony scene, and the scene where Link, Makar and the spirit of Fado all play the Wind God's Aria one last time to power up the Master Sword are both very memorable, largely because of the amazing little Celtic violin pieces that Makar plays during them.

As for the other characters, all I'll say is that the quest to reunite Kafei and Anju has to be the longest and most convoluted side-quest of any Zelda game, even trumping the various trading sequences. I don't think I ever managed it without an FAQ.

Kudos for including Makar, he's one of my favorites as well.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterMay 22, 2011

Thank you very much for the kind words! Though, Andrew Brown, Zach Miller and Josh Max helped out on this as well, so they too should receive some praise.

I checked the page and the correction has been made. Thanks for letting us know and sorry for the confusion.

Yeah, the Anju and Kafei sidequest is easily the biggest in Majora's Mask, perhaps just as big as the main quest itself. But it is also the one that uses all of the characters effectively and ties itself into the narrative better than the other side quests.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterMay 22, 2011

Here's today character: The Shop Keeper from Link's Awakening:
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/26331

StogiMay 23, 2011

This feature kicks ass. Though it could go on for ages.

CericMay 23, 2011

We all know that Bow-Wow was the most interesting character in Link's Awakening.

TurdFurgyMay 23, 2011

Purlo? That's an interesting choice. I agree with Unagi, this could go on for a while, of course I personally wouldn't mind if every single character was done. :)

AVMay 24, 2011

man i totally forgot about purlo. I loved that clawshot mini-game

StogiMay 24, 2011

Hmmm...I would have picked Jovani from TP (the guy who sold his soul for wealth) simply because of his creepiness and the seriousness of his topic, but purlo's a good choice too.

The Yeti wouldn't be a bad choice either.

CericMay 24, 2011

Agitha.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterMay 25, 2011

Sorry for not updating this, but here you go, today's character:
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/26333

CericMay 25, 2011

Link's Uncle is a good character.  This is the first time Link has Family and I don't think he has any again till Wind Waker, I haven't played most the mobile games so someone can correct me.

TurdFurgyMay 25, 2011

Link's uncle didn't die. At least, I don't think he did. I'm pretty sure I seen him in the credits with link. But up until that point I think we all assumed that he died.

CericMay 25, 2011

Quote from: TurdFurgy

Link's uncle didn't die. At least, I don't think he did. I'm pretty sure I seen him in the credits with link. But up until that point I think we all assumed that he died.

No Pics Didn't Happen :P

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterMay 25, 2011

Actually, you guys are both right. Link's uncle DID die...but was brought back to life using the power of the Triforce.

CericMay 25, 2011

Quote from: NWR_pap64

Actually, you guys are both right. Link's uncle DID die...but was brought back to life using the power of the Triforce.

Spoiler Spoiler....

Mop it upMay 25, 2011

I've always wondered how he would have finished his sentence of "Zelda is your..." Sister? Destiny? Only hope? We may never know... and perhaps that is the beauty of it.

CericMay 25, 2011

Quote from: Mop

I've always wondered how he would have finished his sentence of "Zelda is your..." Sister? Destiny? Only hope? We may never know... and perhaps that is the beauty of it.

"Zelda is your..."
Mother.
Time Travel for the Win.

ToruresuMay 25, 2011

"Zelda is your..."

For some reason I always thought he could've said "sister".

Quote from: Ceric

"Zelda is your..."
Mother.
Time Travel for the Win.

In some timeline, Link is his own father, mother, grandfather and the bartender to which he's confessing the first 3.

CericMay 25, 2011

Quote from: Shaymin

Quote from: Ceric

"Zelda is your..."
Mother.
Time Travel for the Win.

In some timeline, Link is his own father, mother, grandfather and the bartender to which he's confessing the first 3.

I actually trimmed that down.  It was going to say that OoT Link was his father and keep going from their.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterMay 26, 2011

Here's today's character...

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/26334

Ian SaneMay 26, 2011

I always figured Link's uncle was going to say something to the effect of "Zelda is your... responsibility now" or something like that.  At the time I took it to mean that he was entrusting the quest to rescue Zelda to Link.

AVMay 26, 2011

Quote:

In this game, he can be attacked by dropping various seeds down the loo, or even bombed. To make him even creepier, if Link manages to fall down his hole, he does not survive the drop. Was it the smell? Did ??? eat him? Nobody knows.

WHAT !!!!!!! I didn't know that. :cool; :Q

TurdFurgyMay 26, 2011

That hand scared the living doody out of me the first time I saw him. I say "doody" because I was a wee lad at the time. I mean it scared me. Like some demonic soul appeared out of nowhere just to drag me to hell. Now older and somewhat wiser, I can find the strange humor there.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterMay 27, 2011

Here is today's character, from Wind Waker it's Medli!
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/26372

Mop it upMay 27, 2011

Medli is okay but she sure is ugly.

Quote from: Mop

Medli is okay but she sure is ugly.

I always thought her character design was really cute.

CericMay 28, 2011

Quote from: Mop

Medli is okay but she sure is ugly.

I think you're jealous.  Does she show up in any of the other adventures this Link has?

GoldmundMay 29, 2011

Just registered to say: I love this feature. I had almost forgotten about how much in love I was with the characters of Wind Waker, or Zelda games in general. There's been so much fighting about art styles in the wake of Twilight Princess (and Skyward Sword, later on) that what's been drawing me to these games in the first place took a back seat. I could walk around Windfall Island for hours on end. In fact, I will, right now.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterMay 29, 2011

Sorry for the delay of today's character, I was out yesterday and came home to sleep. Here is today's character:
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/26374

TurdFurgyMay 29, 2011

That kid is intimidating.

gbuellGrant Buell, Staff WriterMay 29, 2011

Malo is one of the freakiest Zelda characters ever.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterMay 29, 2011

Since yesterday I was late with the Malo page, here is another page, Aaron talks about the infamous I AM ERROR from The Adventure of Link:
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/26431

TurdFurgyMay 30, 2011

I just beat Fracktail a few days ago and I totally missed that!
But yeah, It's pretty cool how such a small character is so famous.

NWR_pap64Pedro Hernandez, Contributing WriterMay 30, 2011

Well, the final character of this feature has been posted... It's Tingle
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/26444


Before anyone says anything, I decided to write about him because I feel he is one of the few characters in the franchise that has gained so much notoriety. This feature is about how the characters, big or small, can leave a deep impression on the game and the player, and Tingle has done that, regardless if we want to admit it.

TurdFurgyMay 30, 2011

Are you ending this feature already? But you just got started. :(
...anyway, Tingle never bothered me that much, but he most certainly leaves an impression.

StrawHousePigMay 30, 2011

I think Tingle's great. Lettin' it all hang out, drunk as a skunk and rocking some wicked gin blossoms.

gbuellGrant Buell, Staff WriterMay 31, 2011

Tingle's hilarious, and anyone who is truly upset by his existence needs to lighten up.

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