Every time you leave a comment about me mispronouncing Navi, it only makes me stronger - - - - - Sorry for the long gap between Hyrule Histories lol, hopefully it won't happen again. Also Cuccolover and I came to identical conclusions about the Bhuddism relationship, but his theory predates mine by quite a few years so go check it out here zeldadungeon.net/forum/threads/zelda-mm-theory-fierce-deity-who-was-he.47907/page-3#post-989433

the idea mentioned that he may have chosen to wear the mask permanently would actually give a reason to why the hero's shade is also excessively tall when next to link in TP.

The mask's own description eludes to that the Fierce Diety is a dark, violent God, not a savior. Majora probably just wanted to try eliminating him and Link at the same time.

Kudos for the attention to detail, it never occurred to me that the stripes on his face were similar to the Hylian shield.

My headcanon is that the fierce diety was the original link, a predecessor to every other link, even the one in skyward sword, just like every form of Ganon is a reincarnation of demise, every incarnation of link is a reincarnation of the fierce diety

I always liked the idea that the fierce deity is the embodiment of all heroes throughout time and worlds.

I actually prefer the theory that Fierce Deity to Link is as the same as Hylia to Zelda and Ganon to Demise. Being a mortal reincarnation of a god. The three constantly locked in battle since the beginning when Demise attempted to overthrow the Sacred Realm. Hylia and Fierce Deity teamed up together to fight off Demise and were only able to defeat him by giving their immortal lives to do so. Therefore, the reincarnations Link and Zelda always work together against Ganon.

My head cannon is.. - Zelda is the reincarnation of Hylia - Gannon is the reincarnation of Demise - Link is the reincarnation of the Fierce Deity Its not a stretch in my mind, that the goddess Hylia's chosen protector was also a god. Or a least, as the 'Fierce Deity' is not named, a lesser god.

This is probably the most understandable and best theory on Deity Link I've found yet, and I've been going through many theories as of late. It also makes sense, Buddhism is the second largest religion in Japan next to Shintoism, and with the creators' being from Japan, it wouldn't surprise me that they would make one of the strongest characters from their own source of religion. But who knows. Great work.

1:00 - "Nav-eye" Ugh made me cry

In the Majora's Mask manga the original Fierce Deity also killed a demon and carved Majora's Mask from its carcass

I like the theory however in a bit of a bigger context. Zelda always has loved the number 3. The triforce. Zelda,link,Gannon etc. I would guess this would applies to gods in there world. So you have the goddess. We can refer demise to be another god. A god of darkness. Then the fierce deity would be the third god. Each of the gods representing a person. Zelda with the goddess. Gannon with Demise. Link with the fierce diety. I know this was already kinda implied with your video but I wanted to put this in. And let’s be honest it would be really bad ass if link had a god as a backer or was blood of a god.

I think the symbols on his chest are supposed to be alchemical symbols. The triangle means fire and the moon means silver. The moon representing silver would match his colour scheme. The moon could also be buddhist because it would signify Link's enlightenment as the Fierce Diety.

Actually I recently learned in One Piece that the crescent moon facing the opposite side (with the crescent side on the left) is a symbol of rebellion meaning the Fierce Deity Link is rebelling against Majora which is why he can be seen as the bad guy to Majora. Also he is viewed as a powerful being almost as bad as Majora meaning the crescent moon is an indication of him rebelling against the gods in Termina. But thats just what I thought after watching one piece recently so take how you will.

I’m gonna be real, you’re just right on that theory. It’s literally in the name, quite LITERALLY in the name.

I heard that the Fierce Deity mask represents the happiness and gratitude of everyone in Termina that Link helped which is a requirement to even obtain the mask. Fits in with the Buddhism theory about compassion you were talking about. Link always helped people despite the 3-day time limit and he also played and gave masks to the children of the moon. The courage and kindness allowed him to balance the dark power of the Fierce Deity mask giving him the power to defeat Majora with ease.

I've always thought that Fierce Deity is the result of the triforce of courage when it's out of control, in the same way that Ganondorf is the result of the triforce of power out of control.

Imagine how cool it would be if they made a game with the fierce deity as the protagonist, antaganist, or even just a boss fight

Personally, I always thought that majora represented the sun while the fierce deity represented the moon mainly because of majora’s attacks and the presence of the moon on fierce deity link’s armor. And something else that I recently thought of is when it comes to origins, likely the same tribe that created the majora’s mask created the fierce deity mask as a bit of a safety measure.

tbh fierce diety is my fav loz character of all time i wish we got to see him more

Honestly I think details like his boots and hat might just be from the fact that the deity is inhabiting Link. All of his transformations have features gained from Link, despite the original spirit the mask came from not having those features. (Look at the difference between Goron Link and Darmani for example)

Very good observations and theories! I've got another one - since the entire "adventure in Termina" is taking place - or so I remember reading - inside a dimension created by Majora out of the memories of Link - explaining why it has races and counterpart/lookalike characters (Romani = Malon, etc), so in a sense... all of Majora's Mask is KINDA like a dream. One interpretation I've toyed with is the idea is that the Fierce Deity mask represents Link reclaiming the might he wielded as an adult. The Hero of Time only showed his greatest might as an adult, but having been sent back to his childhood this effectively 'never happened'. What became of that experience, that peak he had reached when he was ready to face down Ganondorf? Link was, in that moment, a hero chosen by fate - you could almost say he was ALREADY the closest thing Hyrule had to a guardian deity who could DO something... so, perhaps that mask is a representation of the Link who fought Ganondorf, once again ready to bring down a great evil. It has the aspect of darkness because it is a lost, forgotten thing from a future that 'never was' (at least in Young Link's perspective), and carries with it all of the loss and trauma he experienced on his adventure. In fact, when you look at just how tragic his tale actually is, is it any wonder that a world created using his memories as a base is full of people struggling with loss, and on the brink of ruin?

When you showed the model of the sword it looked to me as representing the fusion of link and the fierce deity. As the colors of the helix are green and the bluish color of his new tunic. The green representing link and the blue the deity fusing together to into a single being. Great theory and video btw!

The reality is that Fierce Deity was just the creator's way to repurpose the Adult Link mask that was cut from the final game, hence why it's just Adult Link with a face lift

Personally i think he represents the spirit of the hero, but the spirit's Terminian counterpart.

I think the fierce deity mask brings out your max when you wear it. If fierce deity’s are a fierce source of enlightenment I think it enlightens you and you become the feirce deity

That Buddism culture theory was super well crafted! Great job with it. You've sold me.

Fierce Deity Link is so special to me, it has this werid, mystic aura that makes it so mysterious, I can't explain how werid it is, so powerful and scary yet I can't help but to fell safe looking at it. I like it so much

I hope the Fierce Deity reappears in the series in a new game someday. It's one of my favorite armor sets in BotW.

One way I've seen it is that the Fierce Diety is the embodiment of Roghteous Fury, since you get the mask from trading every mask that is born from a happy memory. Let me ask you: what emotion would YOU feel if the happiness you helped to create (like in a lot of the missions in Majora's Mask) would be wiped away from the annals of history, with inly the mask of that memory to remain. Those people you care for, those problems you solved; removed from time and replaced with utter misery. I believe that, in the context of the game, The Fierce Diety could be Link's frustration with having to undo the good he's experienced with everyone he's met every time he has to turn back the clock. That, or maybe this: maybe the Fierce Diety is a God like Hylia, a defender of the weak and downtrodden. A warrior who sees their fear, sorrow and misery at the hands of evil and Rages against the darkness. What if he was a god that followed Hylia into reincarnation, with Link's inner will to destroy evil and save good being derived from him?

my favorite link ever in the whole series. great video btw, very specific and understandable also THANK YOU for mentioning oni link. so many people leave that out when it's actually important.

The moon on the fierce deities chest plate is in the opposite direction as the ones on the blocks and stuff it's a rune and runes change meeting depending on how you place it and what you place it next to so could it mean the one on the block is to lock your way and when it the mean the one on his chest means to unlock something to unblock something maybe this is Link's power all along maybe this is link 0000 and in his reincarnation cycle.

10/10 impressed. Right when I think there's nothing more to learn about MM. I expected far less info considering the tiny amount of info you had to work with. Well done!

i think the connection to Buddhist fierce deities makes perfect sense as a metaphor for what Aonouma said about it being "all the people in Termina". as if all the ppl you helped throughout the game are channeled into this protective spirit. and as you said, it needs to be a dark power in order to contest Majora, right? so maybe that gives extra meaning to how dark some of the character quests in the game can be, if those characters kind of get channeled into helping Link against Majora. you know the dark zides to life in Termina

You're onto it!

if you take a look at celtic/ gaulic mythology in line with the Buddhist teachings the celts and gauls had 3 different types of divines; gods who served as creators, deities who served as guardians of the weak, and the dark gods who only wish to destroy. Its a really cool look at the way the fierce diety plays out in MM. Also, even just looking at his name Fierce Diety the etymology for diety orginally just meant a guardian god, a god who protected an aspect of humanity or the balance of the world.

my headcanon is that the fierce deity is an alternate link from a differing timeline where instead of having the triforce of courage he had the triforce of power because the kid wearing majora inside the moon said "lets play good guys against bad guys you can be the bad guy" Idk maybe i just like the quote "absolute power corrupts absolutely "

Great video!! Loved all your animations and theories! The connection to Buddhism is nicely explained and easy to see. Can't wait for the next video!

Some thing weird is how the game shows the final fight is like a dream or memory or its bad frame rate

I always figured fierce diety is the original hero of that reality, except instead of getting the triforce of courage, he got the triforce of power. That's why majora saw him as the bad guy.

In my head cannon I think the Fierce Deity is Hylia chosen hero that fought Demise all those years ago before skyward sword

This has to be the best video that gives a very convincing theory, as to what exactly is the fierce deity. Very well researched and explained. Is very interesting to know, and what Buddhism elements have inspired the creation of this character.

The form link takes when he puts the fierce deity mask on is most likely specific to when he wears it as the other mask transformations look like a mix of link and the spirit in the mask.

What if the Fierce Deity is Hylia's counterpart. Would make sense, both are generous and yet dangerous. Most importantly, both are gods who are warriors

I was _really_ pleasantly surprised with how much this video stuck to the facts. Few things: - In East Asian Buddhism, Fierce Deities are typically wrathful avatars of Boddhisatva's or Buddha's. This could imply the mask looks like Link because it's _his_ wrathful avatar, though that would imply Link attained enlightenment. - You missed some sources on the mask that could be worth mentioning, namely a gossip stone mentions it contains the merits of all masks, and Eiji Aonuma stated the best way to think about it is that the memories of all the people of Termina are inside of the Fierce Deity Mask. - Link is not just referred to as "Oni Link" because that's an alternate interpretation of the kanji, it's also because the kid wearing Majora's Mask in the Japanese version of the game challenges him to a game of "Onigokko", or as we know it, tag, where the Oni is "it" and chases the rest. It's in the Japanese mask description as well, "You got the Kishin Mask! Is this an Oni Mask an Oni wears?"

Mask wearing link, Ocarina of Time Link, and the hero's shade in Twilight princess are literally the same Link!

I saw a theory years ago that said the Fierce Deity was Termina's version of Hylia but instead of Zelda's incarnation it was Link's

this made me love him SO MUCH MORE thankyou so much for this explanation!!

It's such a depressing shame that this form never get expanded upon. Yeah yeah "mysterious appeal, less is more" all that shit, but where is the 'more' exactly? The last canonical, timeline, 'relevant' appearance was it's own debut, a 20 year old game. That's it, that's 20 years of complete fuck all beyond easter eggs and callbacks. That's all he is now, just a nostalgia baiting, reference fodder. Like what the fuck? Such a popular badass and cool design just thrown completely to the wayside for no reason other than Nintendo loving the same old triforce trio story all over again. I swear Majora's Mask is like the 'Super Mario Land 2' of Zelda games. Like they still clearly remember this thing right? So what happened? We never even got a concrete conclusion to it, what did OOT Link or Hero's Shade do with it? Does Nintendo have no idea what to do with it? Do they not care about it? What's the deal?

A freaking 1 video. I dont think I have ever seen the connection made between fierce deity link and Buddhism. Honestly awesome and inspiring video. The summary of Buddhism really gave me some stuff to think about

i feel that there is intersting that Zelda, Link and Ganon have "God" like ancestors, Zelda has Hylia the goddess, Ganon has Demise the demon king and Link has the Fierce deity, maybe Fierce deity and Hylia once had to team up to end with demise. before Skyward Sword. a future game hopefully

I liked to think that Link kept the Fierce Deity Mask. Because it literally makes him the second strongest and most powerful Link. Within the Legend of Zelda timeline.

I always thought that the red and blue on his face could be related to the stage make up typically done in Kabuki theater. Red symbolizing that he's the hero and Blue being the malevolence/Demon that is the fierce diety mask.

I believe that the Fierce Deity is a culmination of the emotions and spirits of Termina and that whoever crafted the mask was someone who knew it would fall into Link's hands, which is why it looks like him...he may be the sole wielder of it and it is his duty to use it to vanquish Majora and the other evils that bring sorrow, pain, and suffering to the world.

Nice channel, nice video, nice everything bro, i love the fierce deity

This is by far the best theory on the fierce deity mask I've ever seen

I'm totally on board with the similarities to Buddhism but it makes me wish there were other deities that could be channeled to achieve more than just improved strength

Wait hold up who the hell does not know who is Fierce Deity Link?

This is a great video but you forgot to speak about the majoras mask manga where we get some background on the fierce deity

Maybe the Fierce Deity is the spirit of courage in link's reincarnation physically formed mask.

Great vid! Thank you!

This is an amazing video 🔥🔥

I’d say Fierce deity link was what link was originally before reincarnation in order to stop demises reincarnation

Fierce deity just him self is just a really really cool idea I think it just old link turned into a fierce ruler taking the power tri force piece instead courage

Something that struck me after watching this video and thinking about the game some more...why do the copies that are created after Link plays the Elegy Of Emptiness not look like the form he's assuming, but instead look like the people he got the transformation masks from? My theory on this is that Link, as a Deku, Goron, or Zora, doesn't look like how the player views him, with the green hat, tunic, and gauntlets. He looks like the people whose spirits are contained within the transformation masks. This is supported throughout the game when characters mistake you for the person whose form you're occupying (the Gorons outside Darmani's grave mistaking you for Darmani, the Indigo-Gos mistaking you for Mikau when you go into their rooms, even the Deku butler saying you remind him of his son). We only see Link with the green hat and tunic for our benefit as the player, so we'll have something familiar and recognizable in the new forms instead of the game just forcing us to play completely different characters whenever we put on the transformation masks (or the forms the player sees are how Link views himself in the different forms). What's this got to do with the Fierce Deity? What if the Fierce Deity we see in the game isn't the Fierce Deity's *true form*? The Fierce Deity is a transformation mask, which means that it *must* contain a spirit, if we're keeping in line with the other transformation masks. The other transformation masks were granted to you as a final, dying wish: that you would finish their unfinished business for them. Eiji Aonuma says that the Fierce Deity mask contains "the memories of all the people of Termina"; what if the spirit inside the Fierce Deity's mask is the culmination of every Terminian citizens' wish to finish their unfinished business? Their desperate want to live? Their base survival instinct? The other transformation masks have a HARD time fighting Majora, because those masks were created via the wishes of a single person. Against Majora, a single person is almost powerless. But a mask-entity created through the collective wishes of an entire nation would probably result in something that could rival Majora, or even surpass it. The people of Termina want a hero, and Link, who *is* the Hero of Time, assumes that role, thus imparting the familiar aspects to the Fierce Deity's appearance like he did with the other transformation masks; the facepaint that's reminiscent of the Hylian shield, the tunic, the boots, gauntlets and hat, and the adult form that came to be recognized as the Hero of Time. What would the Fierce Deity's Elegy statue look like?

Not sure if this account or anything is active, but in breath of the wild its said to be an ancient hero, so it is indeed the link of termina and the mask looking like link instead of something else shows that it's not a fusion, but actually what he looks like Me and my sister said that majora coming from a sun, and a npc line saying that the moon wasn't hostile and had blue eyes, makes it seem the fierce deity was the moon god and protected the people from within that moon, his realm being an empty field, though it seems both at some point got sealed in a mask, though since majora got a host, she seemed to have taken over his realm and now wants to destroy his world with his own realm, since he doesn't let her "play" or hurt the people

Why on EARTH this has so few views is beyond me. This is absolutely fantastic, and by FAR the BEST Fierce Diety video I have ever seen. B R I L L I A N T.

I like to think of the Fierce Deity being the Termina version of The Spirit of the Hero, rather than Link. The Hero's Spirit represents light. It is kind and oftentimes merciful, while the Fierce Deity represents darkness. It is wrathful and merciless most of the time. However, both of these figures inhabit the body of a courageous boy, and ultimately fight against evil.

I always thought it was just future link

The title "Master of Masks" is so fucking cool!

My theory is that Fierce Deity Link was Termina’s version of Link. Possibly in Termina, Link was an ancient Evil that Majora Sealed away, explaining how the child has the mask

The symbols on the chest plus your description of how he s more militaristic, what of Fierce Diety is a sort of apocryphal Link in which he has Hylian features but he's also Gerudo. Or maybe a future where hylians and gerudos are true allies, as in Ganon is good or some force causes them to work together. Ganon Link fusion.

He's the hero Hyrule deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A Fierce Deity

Cool topic! I love OOT & MM and FD Link! I would like to se you cover the Zelda mangas and the MM manga that has the story about FD link. I know its not cannon but its still fun.

Great video. I'd say that the resemblance to the Hylian shield tells us that the deity is of Hylian origin. Without Zelda (who physically helped Link in the final fight against Ganon), Link has relinquished his masks (weapons) and has no help against Majora's Mask. So he could use help, and no one can reach the dimension where Termina is except for goddess Hylia, present through the mask, able to garnish all the power of Termina's inhabitants (which copy Hyrule's) to defeat evil.

Link is neutral. He simply holds the triforce of courage. That doesn't require link to be particularly good or bad, though perhaps it does give him a responsibility to do good. The triforce of wisdom and power are a bit different. Wisdom can show the way in the worst of situations, and thus represents the light in times of darkness. Power corrupts, and manifests darkness in the hearts of even those with the best intentions. Courage is inherently neither good nor bad. So link is allowed to be the most human in that regard. We are lucky that Link is on the side of Zelda rather than the side of ganondorf, but unfortunately, Ganon will always see other triforce wielders as threats and wielders of power he wants to possess instead, and not as allies, thus is the curse of holding the triforce of power. So Link will always be his enemy, regardless of how much 'edge' that incarnation of Link has.

AWESOME VIDEO BRO! I hope we can still use the Fierce Deity in BOTW 2.

The fact that we'll never get an official answer, saddens me

It be cool if they could make game or story center around the fierce deity link

He might just be a what if scenario of link having the triforce of power

This really awesome

Theres a interview with eiji aonuma the director for zelda when majora 3ds dropped in the interview they asked him whos soul was in fierce deitys mask and this was his awnser Aonuma: The best I can give you is just a suggestion. The best way to think about it is that the memories of all the people of Termina are inside of the Fierce Deity Mask.”

this video deserves wayyy more views than it has rn

Always remember: fierce does not imply evil

I Love this Series even though I just got into it back in March 2017 here’s my little story… At a low point in my life BoTW legit saved my life and I would not be hear without this beautiful game so it has a special place in my heart so much so I have a necklace of the a Heart Container. Since BoTW I have played any and every Zelda game I could that was on Switch. Dislike 2 with a freakin passion man sorry if that offends anyone. And to be 100% honest my favorite Zelda game so far is *Links Awakening* I absolutely adore that game. And am currently falling in Love with Skyward Sword and get this I got lucky the other week as I went to Walmart for supplies at 6AM and decided to stop by the Nintendo aisle and low and behold the Skyward Sword Joy Cons were there 2 pairs!! I was freakin ecstatic but it was too early and Electronics were not open so I waited there for an hour cus I knew if I did not get them there I’d never get them as they’ve all been scalped! I’m not a dick so I only bought a pair for myself and left the other one there and hope another Zelda Fan got it and not a scalper. Since I just in a way got started with Zelda the games I’ve been wanting to play the most are Ocarina of Time (Really want to avenge my younger self and put Mido in his place) , Majoras Mask, & Twilight Princess as they are regarded as the GOATS in the Legend. So i really hope Nintendo Ports them over cus I would buy them all instantly and I do not care if they are all sold separately for $60 as long as they release in the first place! Right now I am currently playing Ocarina of Time on my Series X and it’s a lot of fun and surprisingly really responsive to Xbox Controls. Plan on moving to MM and then Twilight Princess next. Rather them be on my Nintendo legit. Have countless hours in BoTW have nearly all armor sets with my favorite being the OoT armor I like to mix that with Epona and a Hylian Shield plus my upgraded Master Sword and it’s like I’m playing OoT hahaha. Same with Twilight Princess I’ll wear the armor set and maybe put on midnas helmet and run around with Wolf Link by my side all game as it makes it fun to head into battle and after find a quiet place to rest , relax , cook and eat to replenish both of our hearts. Only downfall is Wolf Link does not like Stealth at all. So many instances I try to sneak up on a group only for him to bark and then start the battle completely wasting an opportunity to get them all in 1 strike. Or alerts them when I’m in the middle of the group and it’s “Uh Oh Spaghetti-Os” Still fun as hell though especially when he helps you take out Lynals and if we do get over run then I just simple shoot a Ancient Arrow at the enemy and it like deletes their genetic code or some shit hahaha. Anyways that’s my story on why I love this series so far even though I’ve only been here since March of 2017.

I enjoyed doing the Fierce Deity Link Glitch. The only drawback is if you go back into Clocktown, you cannot leave again, same goes for the Stock Pot Inn strangely.

im a bit late but i like the idea that the manga for majoras mask was true with the special part at the end showing a man who looked almost identical to the deity just with different attire who killed the monster that was the source of majoras power and that that's the reason he majora hates the deity being that he was the one who carved the mask out of a monstrous daemon's carapace and either brought the mask to life or trapped the daemon's mind into it

If they made a zelda game where the feirce deity gets a lot of lore and story built around him, that would be really awesome, especially since he would be outside of the typical zelda formula.

What was the outro song again? Amazing theory!! I enjoyed it a lot and it's really plausible in my opinion!

I wish they'd give him another, proper canonical appearance. It's such a cool design to be wasted on a one and done small appearance.

It's been quite some time since I've played any of the old Legend of Zelda games, and I was wondering what the piano playing at the beginning was.

I always figured the fierce deity was if link had the power piece of the tri force instead of courage

fun fact, the fierce deity form is simply link's adult character model reskinned and scaled up roughly a time and a half give or take 5 percent.

YO that theory made so much sense

Young link was robbed and humiliated

Hero’s shade is OOT link?? I always thought that he was SS link, since he teaches said game’s moves..?

"You play the bad guy." I think its either a fusion of Link and Ganon and/or what would happen if Link had the power triangle instead of courage. I would lean towards since he has Ganon's peoples' crest on one side of the cuirass and one triangle piece on the other breast. Link, Ganon and the power piece forming a "tri-force" of their own in keeping with the 3 motif, but not specfically having each represent a piece of it.

Calling him Oni Link is interesting considering there is a story where a monk (who was an asshole) put on an Oni mask during a festival but could not remove it and became in Oni

11:59 this is funny that they say that in french we say puissance des fée wich mean Power of fairy as we say dieu démon wich mean devil god

I always wondered what link would be like with the triforce of power. Maybe this is what it's like.