Small Theory About 'Downfall Timeline'

[PatheticBarrel]

A lot of people seemed fairly upset with the revelation in Hyrule Historia of the Downfall Timeline following OoT. Most just dislike the idea that so many games in the series rely on Link failing in his battle with Ganon.

What if the ending events of OoT actually have a different ending? Is it possible that after going back to Zelda as a child, Link makes a decision not to leave or fight Ganondorf, but rather to better prepare himself and allow Ganondorf to force his way into the Sacred Realm? This could easily lead to Link becoming a Hyrulean Knight, and to the back story of ALttP. Also allows for that Link to possibly have a connection to OoT Link via his Uncle.

Make sense? Plausible as a less controversial reason for the 3-line split?

 

[Locke]

He defeats Ganon, goes back in time and prepares even more, and then is defeated by Ganon?

 

[A Link In Time]

Link isn't an idle protagonist but one fiercely loyal to those threatened by the forces of evil. I highly doubt he would leave a realm in harm's realm merely to hone his skills and ensure a later victory.

Sorry if this second part doesn't contribute directly to the thread but I personally am a fan of the decline timeline. Initially, I was taken aback by the revelation nearly a year ago however the possibility of Link losing to Ganon in a battle has slowly grown on me. Three is a symbolic number in Zelda and it's no wonder that's how many possible outcomes the final bout from OoT produces. Knowing that Link isn't always successful but rather stumbles across his journey makes him a more believable character. Every hero can't have incessant glory days but the one who reaps the greatest reward is the one who persevere the longest.

 

[Cfrock]

I don't really think Link would just let Ganondorf enter the Sacred Realm, especially after all he did to try to prevent that very thing from happening in the first place. Personally, I don't even believe the fight with Ganon had anything to do with the split itself. The fight and its outcomes, in my eyes, are a result of the split, not a cause.

It makes more sense to me that the timeline splits when Ganondorf touches the Triforce during Ocarina of Time. Allow me to shamelessly quote myself from a few months back in another thread:

Ocarina of Time is the very first point in the chronology that someone claims the Triforce when their heart is not in balance and as a result it splits. The way I see it, the three outcomes represent a 'victory' for each individual piece of the Triforce.

Adult Timeline - Triforce of Wisdom triumphs. After Ganon is defeated, Zelda seals him away and then sends Link back to live out his childhood, leaving only the Triforce of Wisdom in Hyrule. Triforce of Power is sealed with Ganon while the Triforce of Courage ends up lost, scattered across the world.

Child Timeline - Triforce of Courage triumphs. Link defeats Ganon and is rewarded, not so much with his lost time, but with the opportunity to prevent the whole thing from happening in the first place. Link still retains the Triforce of Courage while the other pieces only materialise when Ganondorf and Zelda really need them (i.e. Ganondorf's execution).

Decline Timeline - Triforce of Power triumphs. Ganon defeats the Hero of Time but the Sages manage to seal him away regardless. He breaks out with an army of demons, causing The Imprisoning War. Ganon exerts total control over the Sacred Realm and repeatedly threatens Hyrule.

It comes across to me like this. Ganondorf's heart was not in balance so when he touched the Triforce, it split. He was granted the Triforce of Power while the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage went to Zelda and Link respectively.
Rather than a single Triforce holder being victorious, or indeed one in particular being defeated, the power of the Triforce created three seperate realities, or timelines. This way, all three seperated pieces could emerge victorous, as it were, resolving the events of Ocarina of Time in their own way while keeping some kind of equality between them.

To me, this explanation is makes more sense. Of course, feel free to poke holes in it.

 

[DarkestLink]

What annoys me is why isn't there a split timeline for every game? He could have failed in all of them.

In fact, why isn't there a fourth timeline? What if OoT link was too stupid to use his shield and lost to that Deku Scrub in the Deku Tree? In fact, let's make a fifth timeline. What if Link was too sleepy when Navi woke him up and he ended up tripping and falling off his tree house and breaking his neck?

I would have honestly preferred if they just rolled with the possibility of Skyward Sword having a split timeline and put the games over there. Or maybe made an Alternate Universe Zelda world to put those games in.

 

[SavageWizzrobe]

I guess there could be a timeline split for every game, technically. The Zelda timeline has to expand somewhere, right?

Regarding the Downfall timeline, I am a firm believer of it. It fits the theme of 3 in Zelda; in fact, I like to categorize the 3 splits as Power, Wisdom, and Courage, based on which virtue prevails. That is, in the Downfall timeline power prevails (Ganon gets the Triforce), in the Child timeline wisdom prevails (Link tells Zelda about Ganondorf's plans, leading to Ganondorf's banishing in TP), and in the Adult timeline courage prevails (Link saved the future Hyrule).

 

[alexanderraimo]

I think the reason there's not a timeline for everything like that (besides the fact that there'd be millions of different timelines for every possible outcome) is that it isn't plausible for Link, the Hero of Time, to lose to such a weak enemy or in any weird instance like breaking his neck. However, the battle with Ganondorf is a major event that decides the fate of Hyrule, therefore there are three different outcomes.

Imagine how annoyed everyone would get if there was a timeline for success/defeat for every single game. It just wouldn't make sense or it would become a huge web. I think the split in the middle, with a game as revolutionary to the series as OoT, makes sense.

 

[PatheticBarrel]

I agree that 3 timelines makes perfect sense.

With the idea of Link not going after opening the Sacred Realm himself, this would make a nice ploy for Ganondorf to grab the Triforce by himself, as the time it would in turn take for him to actually open it himself would allow him to become more 'balanced'. Thus you have a Link that is preparing himself and his fellow warriors to defeat a possible threat, while Zelda most likely has been warned about the foolishness of her plan, and is preparing the sages. With Link not needing to go and awaken the sages as we knew them in OoT (because GD hasn't started to corrupt Hyrule), they can be given a physical form (as they could just be taught to be sages) that would need to be protected, sacrificing the Knights a la ALttP.

However, the idea that each current OoT ending is representitive of each Triforce also works with me. As can be seen, a lot of players still don't like the idea of Link being defeated. Which doesn't have to happen if he becomes a knight, fights Ganon in the Imprisoning War, and survives to cement his lineage through to ALttP's Link.

 

[Beauts]

I think it splits on OoT because that's the game of two halves therefore Link could fail twice- first as a child (which is basically canon because it was a mistake to pull the Master Sword and allow Ganondorf into the Sacred Realm) and at the end. But he can also succeed at the end. Therefore there are 3 outcomes, not just 2, unlike in all other games bar SS, but as that's a new game you never know if there could be a split from that in the future

 

[DarkestLink]

OK, now imagine all the 2D games (not counting PH and ST) are declared uncanon. The timeline split is taken away, and Twilight Princess is either placed between OoT and tWW or SS and OoT.

Now doesn't that look so much cleaner?

 

[Cfrock]

OK, now imagine all the 2D games (not counting PH and ST) are declared uncanon. The timeline split is taken away, and Twilight Princess is either placed between OoT and tWW or SS and OoT.

Now doesn't that look so much cleaner?

Not really. Like I said, the official timeline makes perfect sense to me so anything else would just seem odd in my eyes.