Mother Maiamai
Mother Maiamai is a character in A Link Between Worlds.[1] She is a Maiamai who asks Link to find her missing children, in exchange for item upgrades.
Biography
Mother Maiamai resides at Lake Hylia, in a cavern located behind a Bombable wall. When Link encounters her, she explains to him that she was traveling the worlds with her children when she lost all 100 of her babies.[2] She asks the young hero to locate them, informing him that they will be crying out for her.[3][4] If Link accepts, she gives him the Maiamai Map to help locate her children.[5]
In exchange for locating and returning her babies, she gives Link upgrades to his weapons, turning them into "Nice" weapons. For every 10 Lost Maiamai that Link brings back, she will upgrade one item that Link owns himself (as she cannot upgrade items that Link is renting from Ravio's Shop). The upgrades she gives improves the performance and attack ability of the weapons. For example, the upgraded Bow allows Link to shoot 3 Arrows at once, instead of just one. When all 100 babies are returned, she will upgrade Link's Spin Attack to the Great Spin.[6]
When enhancing an item, ten of her babies form a semicircle around her and chant while she inhales the item and spits it back out, upgraded. When all 100 Maiamai are found, Mother Maiamai will inhale Link.
If Link speaks to Ravio after learning the Great Spin and returns to Mother Maiamai, she will say that she and her children are leaving for a different dimension.[7][8] When Link returns to the cave, there is a lone Maiamai left behind, the 72nd one that Link saved.[9] She states that she remained to become her own Maiamai, and asks Link to wish her luck on being as good of a mother as Mother Maiamai was.[10]
Trivia
- Mother Maiamai bares a close resemblance to the storytelling octopus from A Link to the Past, as well to the octopi-shaped targets in the game's Shooting Gallery.
Nomenclature
Her name "Maiamai" comes from the Japanese word マイマイ maimai, meaning "snail". The name is also a play on the phrase "My, oh, my!"
 Names in Other Regions  | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Names | Meanings |
 Japanese | マザーマイマイ (Mazā Maimai)[12] | |
 Dutch | Moeder Maiamai[14] | |
 FrenchCA | Mère Meille[18] | |
 FrenchEU | Big'ornette[13] | |
 German | Mama Maimai[16] | |
 Italian | Mamma maimai[11] | Same as English. |
 Korean | 마더 달삐 (Madeo Dalppi)[17] | |
 PortugueseEU | Mãe Maiamai[14] | |
 Russian | Мама майамайя (Mama mayamayya)[14] | |
 SpanishLA | Mamá maimai[15] | |
 SpanishEU | Mamá maimai[19] | |
| This table was generated using translation pages. To request an addition, please contact a staff member with a reference. | ||
Gallery
-
Mother Maiamai with all her babies
References
- ↑ Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 300 (ALBW)
- ↑ "My, oh, my! What business have you with Mother Maiamai? Forgive me if my spirits aren't flying so high. We were on a great voyage through all the worlds, my tykes and I... Then I lost sight of my little Maiamais! All 100 of my babies, by and by!" — Mother Maiamai (A Link Between Worlds)
- ↑ "Could you find all of them? You'll hear my children crying--calling for their Mother Maiamai!" — Mother Maiamai (A Link Between Worlds)
- ↑ "They call out with such cute, chirping sounds. Yet they must be so sad, missing their Mother Maiamai." — Mother Maiamai (A Link Between Worlds)
- ↑ "Thanks! Mother Maiamai finds you quite a kind child. Here--take this. It will help you know if my tykes are nearby. Oh, yes--upon the Maiamai Map you can surely rely!" — Mother Maiamai (A Link Between Worlds)
- ↑ "I knew you'd be able to help me. Thank you--oh, thank you! You found all of my babies! Please take this from Mother Maiamai! [...] Mother Maiamai can't thank you enough. You found all my Maiamais! You're nice, child, very nice." — Mother Maiamai (A Link Between Worlds)
- ↑ "You came just in time! It's a bit sudden, but we must bid you good-bye. I'm off to a different dimension with my Maiamais! Oh! But Mother Maiamai doesn't even know your name! Ah...Link. What a nice name. There's nothing more I could do to make it nicer, oh, good friend of mine. My darling tykes owe you their lives. May we see you again, by and by." — Mother Maiamai (A Link Between Worlds)
- ↑ "Good-bye! Good-bye! And thank you, Link!" — Mother Maiamai (A Link Between Worlds)
- ↑ "Hello there, Link! I'm the 72nd Maiamai you saved! Thanks for all your help. Mom and the others have gone off. But I--? Well, I stayed behind. Time for me to be my own Maiamai." — Maiamai (A Link Between Worlds)
- ↑ "Hopefully I'll learn to be as good of a mother as my Mother Maiamai. Wish me luck, Link!" — Maiamai (A Link Between Worlds)
- ↑ "Mamma maimai" — N/A (A Link Between Worlds, Italian localization)
- ↑ "ミーはマザーマイマイ
世界を旅するマイマイ族のマザーなのデす" — Mother Maiamai (A Link Between Worlds) - ↑ "Mon nom is Big'ornette. Je suis une maman gorneau qui voyage à travers le monde." — Mother Maiamai (A Link Between Worlds)
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 A Link Between Worlds manual, pg. 7
- ↑ "¿Qué quieres de la mamá maimai? Aunque no lo parezca, estoy triste y cabizbaja." — Mother Maiamai (A Link Between Worlds)
- ↑ "Mama Maimai nennt man mich, und einfach ist mein Leben nicht." — Mother Maiamai (A Link Between Worlds)
- ↑ "저는 마더 달삐
세계를 여행하는 달삐족의 마다입니다" — Mother Maiamai (A Link Between Worlds) - ↑ "Mon nom être mère Meille. Moi être en larmes, comme toi pouvoir le voir..." — Mother Maiamai (A Link Between Worlds)
- ↑ "Soy la mamá maimai, la mamá de la familia maimai. Somos capaces de viajar entre dimensiones." — Mother Maiamai (A Link Between Worlds)