New "Zelda Timeline" Theories

[lisalover1]

I've been thinking about the video Gametrailers did about the possibility of a timeline for The Legend of Zelda series. I have some new information that can clear things up just a bit. [Note: I'm going to refer a lot to the video in this thread, so you may need to watch it to understand what I'm saying.] I now know for a definite fact that the game Oracle of Ages not only occurs in the same timeline branch as Oracle of Seasons, but occurs immediately after it. The Oracle of Seasons manga says in the back of the book [or front of it, I guess ] that Link goes to Labrynna right after he defeats Onox in Holodrum. Thus, the two games are most certainly not in opposite timeline branches.

Another thing I noticed that I thought would be quite obvious for timeline placement is for the game A Link to the Past. I definitely believe that it is the last game in either timeline. If you will remember, in the very ending of the game, this line was displayed: "And the Master Sword sleeps again... Forever!" That "Forever" should signify that it was never used again, thus the legend was never again fufilled, and it is the end of a timeline.

[equalsign]

There's just one Link.
It all started when the Hero of Time, Link, was born. Or at least, this event was one corner, arbitrarily considered to be the one in the lower left, and consequently, by the rules of English writing, the first. More accurately, this event marked the first convergence of two sides of the Triforce of Time.

In any case, the Hero of Time was born. His mother, Princess Zelda, held ancient future knowledge of the whereabouts of the Triforce of Courage, and her jealous brother demanded it from her. Meanwhile, war broke out in Hyrule. In the strife that followed, she deposited her son with the Great Deku Tree, who raised him as a Kokiri. Zelda herself, as told in the Adventure of Link back-story, was put to sleep by a wizard in her brother's employ. The spell was such that, although the wizard certainly had not planned it this way, Zelda slept backwards through time, rejuvenating as she did so. This will be explained in due time.

Eventually, Ganon came to Hyrule. Link then became involved in the familiar plot of Ocarina of Time. With Ganon sealed in a prison that transcended time, Link was free to relive those seven years in the comfort of the Kokiri woods. In fact, he resided there much longer than seven years, and prolonged exposure to Deku Tree magic, along with the rejuvenating spell of the young Princess Zelda (not the same as the sleeping Zelda) had the permanent effect of causing Link to age very slowly, even after leaving the Kokiri forest.

Link then was lured into Termina by the Skull Kid. There, he saved Termina, and in a feat of dramatic irony completely failed to realize that just as Termina was locked in a time loop to prevent its own destruction, Hyrule was in a much larger time triangle to prevent its salvation. This was not lost on Tingle, as shall be shown.

Due to the unpredictable nature of inter-dimensional travel, when Link left Termina, he found that Hyrule had long ago been destroyed and was now a mere system of islands. (Not that he remembered Hyrule. Link was a chronic amnesiac.) He was adopted by a kindly old woman, who took mercy on this homeless piece of driftwood. He lovingly referred to her as "grandmother" and partook of her excellent soup. Soon enough, Link found himself on a pirate ship on a quest to save his sister. Soon enough after that, he was on a quest to stop Ganon from stealing the Triforce.

The King of Red Lions and Jabun explicitly stated that this Link was not the Hero of Time. Boy were they wrong.

Anyway, Link defeated Ganon, but not entirely. Ganon, the Villain of Time, had the favor of the goddesses. It was their wish for Hyrule to be lost beneath the sea. Here, the time line would have straightened. However, King Hyrule's final wish was for hope for Hyrule. That hope could only be achieved in one way: by repairing the past.

After thinking about how to accomplish this, the Triforce yanked Link from the new land he would have settled and dropped him at the doorstep of a friendly knight of Hyrule centuries earlier. The knight took in the boy with no memory, and Link became fond of him, and called him his uncle.

Unbeknownst to Link, he had arrived in Hyrule just before Ganon had freed himself to wreak the havoc that resulted in the flooding of Hyrule. As chronicled in Link to the Past, Link averted this disaster by preventing Ganon from ever escaping the Dark World. This completed the right-hand corner of the triangle.

Link's uncle became a blacksmith, and on the day he sprouted his first grey hair, Link began to call him "grandpa." Having already forgotten the events of LttP, Link embraced the power of the Four Sword to defeat the upstart wizard Vaati, with the aid of his new ally: The Minish Cap.

I mean...Elzo.

Thereafter, Link began to wonder why he did not age like the other people of Hyrule. As if to prevent him from realizing who he was, the Triforce intervened and sent him on a quest in the distant lands of Holodrum and Labrynna. Distant in the future, that is.

The Oracle games constitute another corner of the Triforce of Time. Had Link not prevented the resurrection of Ganon, Ganon would have again succeeded in straightening the time line, and many a good thing would have failed to happen.

After bending time once more, and forgetting who he was once more, Link used the Four Sword to defeat Vaati again. Twice. The second time, he encountered Ganondorf for the first time. That is to say, Ganon was born on this side of the triangle.

After this, Link engaged in his ancient hobby of sailing. He was summarily shipwrecked. The goddesses had sent a vicious storm in their anger at having their time line turned into a triangle. Their plan failed, however, and Link found himself in the mind of the Wind Fish, where he defeated the Nightmare, as shown in Link's Awakening. The Wind Fish, however, had slumbered for centuries from the point of view of Hyrule, and by the time he awoke, and consequently by the time Link returned to reality, centuries had passed.

Hyrule had changed so much that Link could hardly consider himself a citizen of it, even if he had known who or where he was. His first action here was saving an old woman named Impa from a group of Moblins. He was begged to collect pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom and defeat Ganon, which he gladly did, since he didn't really have much going on at the moment. (The Legend of Zelda)

He then went on to awaken the sleeping Princess Zelda, who after her slumber back through time was a young woman again. (The Adventure of Link)

Link married Zelda and helped rebuild Hyrule, unwittingly becoming his own father.


Note: I did not create this. Found on a neoseeker forum (of all places) some years ago and saved it .

[MrPopo]

Another thing I noticed that I thought would be quite obvious for timeline placement is for the game A Link to the Past. I definitely believe that it is the last game in either timeline. If you will remember, in the very ending of the game, this line was displayed: "And the Master Sword sleeps again... Forever!" That "Forever" should signify that it was never used again, thus the legend was never again fufilled, and it is the end of a timeline.

I honestly don't think that the "forever" line was actually implying a storyline decision, especially considering this was only Nintendo's second console.

[Donjo]

From what I've played and researched, the Zelda games appear to be released in pairs. These "pairs" both feature the same link.
Here are some examples:

LoZ: The Minish Cap --- LoZ: Four Swords and Four Sword Adventures(not a pair, per se, but still likely featuring the same Link)
LoZ: Ocarina of Time --- LoZ: Majora's Mask
LoZ: A Link to the Past --- LoZ: Link's Awakening
LoZ --- LoZ: Adventure of Link
LoZ: Oracle of Seasons --- LoZ: Oracle of Ages
LoZ: The Wind Waker --- LoZ: Phantom Hourglass

That about covers all of the games which cover the story. You might wonder why Twilight Princess isn't in these pairs. The simple fact is that its companion game hasn't been released yet. However, this new one being worked on may be TP's companion.

The Pairs are highly characterized by the first game of the pair ending with a fight with Ganon, and the second game of the pair NOT ending in a fight with Ganon. This is only broken in the Four Swords games and the Oracle Games, which both feature a Ganon fight at the END of their respective journeys, but none at the beginning.

However, we have the tiny problem of what order the darned things go in. Here's my Idea:
----->
WW - PH
/
OoT - FSA - FS - MC <--- Start Here
\
MM - TP? - LttP - LA - LoZ - AoL - OoA/OoS
----->

(I couldn't format this how I wanted to[ie. in a straight line], so sorry you have to deal with the direction changing!)

As you can see, this features the "split timeline" theory that many have developed. Starting with Minish Cap, which is stated in the game to be the first adventure of Link, doesn't feature the Master Sword, nor does it feature Ganon. The sword of choice for this Hero is the Four Sword, which he uses to defeat Vatti not just once, but three times, if you count the original Four Swords as canon. However, the conflicts of Four Swords Adventures bring us to the introduction of Ganon. Uh oh. However, he is defeated using the Power of the Four Sword.

Back when Ocarina of Time was released, Miyamoto stated that it was "Link's First Adventure", meaning that at that time, OoT was the start of the Timeline. Of course, modern times have created the Minish Cap and the Four Sword, but OoT still remains very important. It is here that the timeline "splits", creating two alternate futures. The first is the one Young Link remains in after the defeat of Ganon in Oot. The second is the future which Adult Link leaves after the defeat of Ganon. The first one resulted in no Hero present to battle Ganon upon his return. His victory flooded all of Hyrule, leaving only islands behind. It is these islands that The Hero of the Winds traverses to defeat Ganon once again. Upon his victory, this hero enjoys pirate life with Tetra, until Tetra is, of course, kidnapped, being the princess she is. Thus, Link sets off on a quest to rescue her, as well as save the Ocean King from Bellum, the very, very evil creature that kidnapped Terra. This Link's journey ends with the defeat of Bellum due to the time stopping properties of the Phantom Hourglass.

In the other timeline, Young Link remains as the potential protector of Hyrule. However, his travels lead him to Termina, which he finds in mortal danger. Using hidden powers of the Ocarina of Time, he traverses a Three Day period several times to defeat Majora's Mask and bring peace to Termina. And so, another hero has finished his deeds. Next, we come to A Link to the Past(Possibly named because it takes place before Zelda I and II), believed to take place after MM because of the incredible similarities between the Hyrules in OoT and LttP. Here, Link defeats Ganon once again, marking the second use of the Master Sword by a Link. Upon his victory, Link returns the Master Sword, teaches his Uncle the arts of fighting, and leaves on a fantastic adventure.

Unfortunately, this adventure is cut short by a vicious storm at sea, shipwrecking Link and sending him into an unusually vivid dream. It is found that he is trapped within the mind of the Wind Fish, whom is under attack by a Nightmare, who can take the form of whatever the combatant fears most. Upon confronting this creature, Link at one point finds himself battling a Shadow Agnahim(sorry for spelling), giving further proof that this is indeed the Link of LttP. In the end, Link escapes his nightmare, waking up upon a piece of driftwood.

Our next Link travels to Hyrule to mostly find it a wasteland, ruled by Ganon and his Minions. Having received a message from Zelda, Link set off to recreate the Triforce of Courage in order to defeat Ganon and stop his gastly scheme. Upon his defeat, civilization is once again allowed to thrive in Hyrule. However, disaster strikes! Zelda is put to sleep, and Link's next adventure. His final conflict was a shadow version of himself, and upon his defeat, he was able to restore Zelda back to "awakeness".

Finally, we have Oracle of Seasons and Ages. I really don't think these games occur in a specific order, but they definitely occur back to back. The Link involved here finished one quest, and set off on the second. The fact that the order really doesn't matter can be seen in the unlockables gained upon linking a clear file of one to a file of the second. The Oracle of the first game beaten will assist in the defeat of the final boss, which in both cases, was not Ganon, unless, of course, you are playing a file containing a successful link to another of the games.

I don't exactly know where to place Twilight Princess yet, but I have a feeling that it takes place after MM but before LttP because Ganon was sealed away after the events of OoT, and in TP, he just happens to escape. Whoops. This could be the very place the timelines truly split; a victorious Ganon floods Hyrule and a victorious Link saves it.

Well, sorry for the winded post, but this is the timeline as I see it. Miyamoto has claimed that there is in fact a timeline to all these farfetched adventures, but he hasn't revealed it. Perhaps he never will. Meanwhile, fans will be theorizing well into the future

[vash23n]

I love all the Zelda posts tonight... well only two, but GREAT! I have sided a lot with the split timeline lately as it seems the most logical and the easiest (and science usually reveals that nature always takes the easiest course unless another force is introduced). I have also heard and somewhat sympathize with the one timeline, multiple Link/Zelda theory.

I think both of these can be found on zeldauniverse.net

[blackmagepwns]

Miyamoto himself doesn't know the exact timeline, supposedly.

Though it is rather interesting to hear all the different ideas from the fans, BRILLIANT!

[lisalover1]

Another thing I noticed that I thought would be quite obvious for timeline placement is for the game A Link to the Past. I definitely believe that it is the last game in either timeline. If you will remember, in the very ending of the game, this line was displayed: "And the Master Sword sleeps again... Forever!" That "Forever" should signify that it was never used again, thus the legend was never again fufilled, and it is the end of a timeline.

I honestly don't think that the "forever" line was actually implying a storyline decision, especially considering this was only Nintendo's second console.

People draw conclusions from the first two games, so why not the third? Also, to be fair, Zelda was already a very successful game after even just the first one. Nintendo would have been stupid not to continue it. Surely they at least thought of the ramifications of this line, which is probably why Miyamoto decided to cover himself by saying OoT was the first game in the timeline for the next console entry in the series.

[Incognito D]

I view the Zelda series in a similar way to Final Fantasy - they're all unique games and there is no real continuity (Apart from between games that are clear sequels like Majora's Mask or Phantom Hourglass).

So yeah, I think I agree with the pairs theory, but there is no connection between all the paired-off games.

[Erik_Twice]

Doesn't the Nerd have a video about this issue?

[Filtymcnasty]

Yeah.. maybe that was the video lisalover watched on Gametrailers.com. Love some AVGN