Random: Zelda: Majora's Mask Debug Feature Reveals Ages Of Link's Forms

I can understand why Darmani was furious with his death. The guy was a living legend at only 30 years old, and just happened to die in the lamest way possible. Not only ruining the lifetime of accomplishments ahead of him, but also giving his legend a very weak ending.

I’d be more inclined to think the Deku Scrub is 5 and Link is 12.

Seems more like it's just random junk data, between default Link being as off as he is and there not really being any establishment whatsoever of Zoras being super long-lived pre-BotW.

@Snakesglowcaps that'd actually make sense as you start the game out as the Deku. Then you become link and the rest follow.

@Lizuka wasn't the Zora king super old in OOT?

"That first number is odd so just ignore that (must be a placeholder), but the other ones likely hold real significance..." I have a hard time following this train of thought.

@Fizza majoras mask is best played at your own pace. Don't try to rush and complete everything at once. Just take your time to learn the world and it's characters. Then go from there.

@Fizza The idea of it is much more intimidating than its actual presence in the game, much like what @patbacknitro18 said. It's a very interesting and rewarding game for sure!

@Fizza

It's not as bad as it sounds. Just interact with the scarecrows for a hint about slowing down time and you'll never be in a rush. Then be the slightest bit strategic about time management. Like, if you're on the third day and you just discovered a dungeon, maybe restart the cycle and warp back to the dungeon entrance. (That's why the fast travel mechanic is available from early on.) The only part that's really stressful is the intro cycle, because you can't slow down time yet and you're just learning the layout of Clock Town. But it's a pretty compact place, it's not exactly Novigrad in The Witcher 3. Do the usual talk-to-strangers extrovert routine from Ocarina of Time and you'll figure out what you're supposed to do quickly enough.

@Snakesglowcaps You may be right. I haven't played Majora's Mask yet, but I remember reading in an old interview that Young Link's age kept getting retroactively younger than it was when they designed him. With that in mind, in game files would be out of date when Nintendo has made him younger.

Edit: I might be misremembering this, and they might have been making him slightly older over time instead.

This is the reason that games and all versions should be preserved, I remember having the UK version of the game both n64 and GameCube but never heard of this version, I've played the game many times so I won't indulge but it's nice to see what is preserved from this released version 🤔🤔

I would have placed Deku at 5, Natural at 12, Zora at 17, Goron at 30, and Fierce Deity at 78.

@ZanZib no, Zora's looking good despite their old age makes sense. Remember that Sidon was a toddler before link took his century-long nap, and when link woke up, Sidon turned into... big Sidon... 😳

@Lizuka in Oracle of Ages you cure a King Zora in the distant past to let him survive into the present, so there’s precedent. It’s likely Nintendo always intended for them to be long lived, but didn’t really have a reason to directly state it in-game until BotW.

If 5 is a mistake, my money says that it and 12 are actually swapped values. I can see Young Link supposed to be 12 years old and Deku Link supposed to be 5 years old.

I think this is just a hold over from Ocarina of Time, where Link's age actually changes. 5 and 17 were used in its debug menu too.

"5" isn't a mistake, it was just the idea for young Link's age before the the concept was finalized. (Young Link's canon age bounces around 9 - 12.)

Likewise "17" isn't Oni Link's age, it just come from the fact that he was originally going to still be adult Link.

The ages for the Deku, Goron and Zora Link are probably there just to fit the debug menu. Those numbers could have been chosen for any number of reasons, such as for data organization. They could be their original intended ages, but i don't think there is enough evidence to say that for sure.

It has been well documented, that OOT Young Link is 7 years old and that OOT Adult Link ist 14 years old.

That in mind does not match with MM Young Link being 5 years old. He is either 7 oder 8 years old. Facts.

5 and 17 respectively are placeholders from earlier development in earlier Ocarina of Time builds. It's well-known at this point that the story of OoT shifted a lot during development. With the numbers somewhat matching the ages that the character could've been, it's probably still somewhat relevant in discussion as they don't seem to be random.

Majora's Mask, with its shorter development cycle has more reason to believe these ages for the new forms, but the chance of them just being placeholders born from remnants of older story beats and not being fully accurate is there.

I would say Young Link and Deku Link values have been mistaken for each other. Deku is probably 5 years old and Young Link is 12.

@Fizza I finally sat down with it (the N64 original) a few years ago, and I really enjoyed it.

I've always loved the movie Groundhog Day, so I think the three-day mechanic is really cool...but it did get me a few times, where I would try to tackle a dungeon or something at day 2 or 3, and had to restart it all over again >__<

I haven't tried the 3DS remake yet, but I hear the changes are kind of a mixed bag.

@MaxlRoseGNR I have never heard 7 and 14 for OOT. Where exactly is this documentation you speak of.