Few childhood memories rival that of the family vacation. The journey is most often a rollercoaster of monotony and entertainment from the budding anticipation of packing and planning to the wearisome stretches of highway miles and traffic stops. Despite the inevitability of trifling arguments and minor inconveniences, most families return with sensational tales to share. While every trip is special, few expeditions include 100 siblings, and even fewer can proclaim that the voyage involved interdimensional travel. Although seemingly impossible, one particular character from A Link Between Worlds accomplished both feats in a single journey: Mother Maiamai.
Set in a similar version of Hyrule as its predecessor, A Link Between Worlds has many similar locations to A Link to the Past but with subtle changes. One of the most obvious is a mysteriously barricaded cave located just north of the House of Gales. After disregarding a stern warning from a signpost, Link plants a bomb to gain entrance to the object of his curiosity. Upon crossing the cave’s threshold, we are greeted by an odd creature that resembles an octopus.
Introducing herself as Mother Maiamai, this aquatic creature regales Link with the tale of her travels. The protective matriarch was on a great journey visiting all the worlds when she suddenly lost track of her children. The cephalopod family reunion must be quite a lively event because Mother Maiamai reveals that the number of her missing children equates to a century. That is correct: This poor nautical mollusk misplaced 100 babies!
Recognizing that her vast size would be a hindrance in the recovery effort, Mother Maiamai pleads for Link’s aid. The hero agrees to search for the missing offspring and is rewarded with a map overlay that reveals the number of unrecovered Maiamai babies in a given location. Additionally, Mother Maiamai urges Link to listen for her childrens’ faint cries as he traverses the treacherous lands of Hyrule and Lorule.
Upon exiting the strange creature’s temporary abode, Link immediately notices a muffled noise that sounds like a mouse squeaking in the distance. With the help of Ravio’s Bracelet, the hero frees the first of many lost Maiamai babies from the side of the mountainous ledge.
As Link continues on his quest to save the land of Hyrule, he keeps a close eye (and ear) out for Mother Maiamai’s missing children. With the octopus larvae spread throughout both Hyrule and Lorule, the hero has more than enough search-and-rescue missions to complete.
After collecting an adequate number of crying children, Link decides to reunite the recovered portion of the Maiamai clan with their mother. The hero once again enters Mother Maiamai’s cave and the babies gleefully leap into the pond surrounding their mom. Mother Maiamai is so impressed with Link’s work that she offers a once-in-a-lifetime service.
In exchange for returning 10 of her lost infants, Mother Maiamai agrees to upgrade a weapon of Link’s choice. Upon confirmation of the selection, Mother Maiamai strengthens the hero’s inventory by inhaling the equipment. For example, Mother Maiamai can upgrade the standard Bow to the Nice Bow, which fires three arrows at a time as opposed to one. Reinvigorated by the possibility of a more powerful arsenal, Link is even more incentivized to track down the Maiamai babies.
As Link’s rescue efforts reach the century mark, the hero returns to Mother Maiamai’s cavern one last time to receive the ultimate upgrade: the Great Spin Attack. This powerful blow allows Link to clear entire screens of enemies by violently swinging the Master Sword.
With her family finally reunited, Mother Maiamai bids the hero a sudden yet heartfelt adieu. Her stay in Hyrule was always just an inconvenient stop along the journey to visit every dimension, but as she prepares to say a final goodbye, Mother Maiamai realizes that she does not know the name of the hero who reconnected her precious family. Link reveals his name, and our friend offers her gratitude one last time.
Mother Maiamai’s friendship was always destined to be temporary, and after Link exits the mysterious cave, the octopus ally is gone forever. Although saddened by this realization, the hero can return to discover a surprising twist of fate: One baby Maiamai has decided to stay in Hyrule and create her own legacy as the next great Mother Maiamai.
Although Mother Maiamai’s character is ancillary to the overall experience in A Link Between Worlds, the quest to save all 100 of her babies added a much-needed layer of depth to Hyrule and Lorule. In addition, her character design is nostalgic and resembles the Storytelling Octopus from the original A Link to the Past. Similar to Mother Maiamai’s weapon upgrades, the Storytelling Octopus helps Link locate the Cursed Fairy who offers the final Master Sword upgrade as well as the Silver Arrows.
Finally, many fan theories have surfaced regarding the 72nd Maiamai who stayed behind in Hyrule. Some Zelda communities believe that the Maiamai’s interdimensional travel coupled with the number 72 is an Easter egg reference to Majora’s Mask. The land of Termina is located in a separate dimension from Hyrule, and the gameplay mechanics revolve around a 72-hour timeframe, which seemingly correlates to the Maiamai and the 72nd baby.
While Mother Maiamai’s character might not be central to the plot of A Link Between Worlds, her quest is one of my favorite parts of the game. The clever locations of the hidden Maiamai babies coupled with the incentive to upgrade Link’s inventory made me want to explore every inch of Hyrule and Lorule. Although her visit to Hyrule proved to be a moderate inconvenience, I, for one, am delighted that Mother Maiamai decided to pack her bags and take all 100 of her babies on a family vacation.
