I Have This Theory... (My Timeline)

[Rauru]

First of all i would like to say this is my first time at these forums.. so hello!
...
(ahem)
Anyway..
After puzzling myself I've come up with my theory of the Legend of Zelda timeline, but it's not like much, as i believe the timeline splits 3 times.

AT........./--WW/PH--ST
MC--OoT
CT........|MM--TP
SWT.......\--FS/FSA--AlttP/OoX/LA--LoZ/AoL


First in my timeline, comes Minish Cap. I believe this comes first as there is not mention of Ganon and the triforce seemingly still resides within the sacred realm, as it is in no way mentioned in these games, only symobolically. While this may sound stupid, I believe another reason is Link's gaining of his green hat. I'm not being idiotic witht this hold on..
The BS of MC describes 'the hero of men' saving hyrule, etc etc. Who lacks a hat..
His similar green tunic suggests he is a previous incarnation of link.
At the start of MC you also lack a hat, until you find one. We can assume that each Link is just a reincarnation of the same Link that saves hyrule time and time again. He aquires the hat and from then on each incarnation also shares this theme. This is all speculation and the previous point is a good enough reason for this game to come first anyway.

Next is Ocarina of time. Pretty obvious on this one. The introdoction of Ganondorf and how he became the King of Evil.

But.

Most people believe that after this game, the timeline splits as hyrule is left with no Link at the end of the game, as he is sent into the past, I differ. My reasoning is because of one item in ALttP. The Flute. The similarity to the Ocarina of time is no coincidence. I believe that when Link Opened the door of time he left hyrule to be taken by ganon, and in this world he never returned. So instead, the seal war did. Ganondorf was stopped by the Knights of Hyrule and was sealed by the original sages (see TP, the old men).

The Adult timeline is pretty self explanatory so i wont go much into that.

As you can see in Twilight princess, the temple of time is reduced to rubble and has been overgrown by the lost woods, the same circumstances occured in ALttP. Thats all for the Child Timeline.

Back to the 'Seal War' Timeline. it starts with FS, naturally after MC.. Vaati is sealed in the Four Sword and hyrule is at peace. then comes FSA it gives backstory for Ganondorf obtaining the trident and we can assume he did this before becoming Ganon in the Seal War. ALttP comes next followed by OoX, Twinrova(Still existing in this timeline) trying to ressurect Ganon from his death in ALttP. Then Link's Awakening, fits nicely with the end of OoX dont you think?

Sometime After the SW timeline is Ended with the original LoZ and AoL. Not really much more to say about them, Ganon is somehow revive and gets killed, again.

Well Thats My theory! Feel free to pick holes in it 'til it is nothing more then a worthless memory!

Rauru, Sage of Light.

Wait I almost forgot, i stumbled across a peculiar sentence on Zelda Dungeon that backs up my theory quite well, im not sure if this is really in the game but here it is.
"The flute, also known as Ocarina, makes another appearance in A link to the Past. It once belonged to a Young Boy who set out in search of the Golden Power and never returned."
(oh yeah..)

 

[MrMosley]

I'm not sure I understand here. Your basing an entire other split off of a flute resembling the Ocarina of Time? I don't believe that's a very valid piece of evidence to completely change the already established Split Timeline that we know exists, proven by the games and developers. Theorists just don't simply believe that the timeline splits that way, they know it splits that way because the developers have told us it does and so do the games. The intro to Wind Waker, as well as the explanation for Ganondorf being put to death pre-TP, proves that the ending of OoT was as such: Two timelines created by sending Adult Link back. One, in his child time (being followed up by TP), and another in the world he left behind (folllowed by WW).

There's simply no room or enough evidence to make the timeline branch off anywhere else, especially based on the similarity of two items from game to game. Zelda likes to rehash things. Look at the "White Sword" in MC. There was also the "White Sword" in LoZ. They even looked pretty much like the same sword, but they aren't.

 

[Hero of Time]

I actually really like your timeline I've been trying to find a way that the FSS can not be in the AT, CT or before OoT and you nailed it! This is perfect!

 

[Master Kokiri 9]

First of all i would like to say this is my first time at these forums.. so hello!
...
(ahem)
Anyway..
After puzzling myself I've come up with my theory of the Legend of Zelda timeline, but it's not like much, as i believe the timeline splits 3 times.

Three times? Really? Are you sure?

AT........./WW/PH--ST
MC--OoT
CT........|MM--TP

Agreed, as it is the basic foundation of the currently universally known timeline.

SWT.......\FS/FSA--AlttP/OoX/LA--LoZ/AoL

Another split... the split of OoT doesn't work that way dude. There is possibility for only one split. The Adult Timeline in which Link is pretty much wiped from existance, and the Child Timeline which Link returns to and warns Zelda of the dangers of opening the Door of Time, thus getting Ganondorf sentenced to death and the universally known CT fundamentals of MM followed after a few hundred years by TP happens. There is no opportunity for a third branch of the timeline.

First in my timeline, comes Minish Cap. I believe this comes first as there is not mention of Ganon and the triforce seemingly still resides within the sacred realm, as it is in no way mentioned in these games, only symobolically. While this may sound stupid, I believe another reason is Link's gaining of his green hat. I'm not being idiotic witht this hold on..
The BS of MC describes 'the hero of men' saving hyrule, etc etc. Who lacks a hat..
His similar green tunic suggests he is a previous incarnation of link.
At the start of MC you also lack a hat, until you find one. We can assume that each Link is just a reincarnation of the same Link that saves hyrule time and time again. He aquires the hat and from then on each incarnation also shares this theme. This is all speculation and the previous point is a good enough reason for this game to come first anyway.

The first two points are valid, but the hat thing is completely and utterly invalid. Link gets his clothes many different times in many different ways. In TP, he awakens from his wolf form in the green garb. In WW, he received them from his grandma. In ST, Zelda gave them to him in order to sneak past the guards. The hat thing is the most invalid evidence concerning the placement of MC.

Next is Ocarina of time. Pretty obvious on this one. The introdoction of Ganondorf and how he became the King of Evil.

Agreed, no holes there. The origins of the three main Triforce Bearers and the origins of the split.

But.

Most people believe that after this game, the timeline splits as hyrule is left with no Link at the end of the game, as he is sent into the past, I differ. My reasoning is because of one item in ALttP. The Flute. The similarity to the Ocarina of time is no coincidence. I believe that when Link Opened the door of time he left hyrule to be taken by ganon, and in this world he never returned. So instead, the seal war did. Ganondorf was stopped by the Knights of Hyrule and was sealed by the original sages (see TP, the old men).

A rather sloppy theory. As said before in my post, the timeline only splits into two branches. And the developers proved that there are only two branches of the timeline as well, thus making that theory a suicide mission.

And the Flute is by far the most invalid piece of evidence concerning the timeline I've seen since Link's hat from MC. If that really was the Ocarina of Time from the game so many of us love (most of us far too much, but that's another thing for another thread), then why does the Flute Boy have it? It does seem to possess magical powers, sure, but why would a random boy who shows no apparent connection to the Royal Family have it? Plus, if your theory really was true, the Ocarina of Time wouldn't exist on that timeline still, and there would still only be two branches of the timeline. The sloppiness of that theory is very prevelant. Also, if the original sages of Hyrule seen in TP really did seal him away, then TP wouldn't exist at all. There is no time travel screwiness upon that event to draw another split upon.

The Adult timeline is pretty self explanatory so i wont go much into that.

Self explainatory timeline is self explainatory. I agree, no real need to say much about it (even though I do so myself in my own theories).

As you can see in Twilight princess, the temple of time is reduced to rubble and has been overgrown by the lost woods, the same circumstances occured in ALttP. Thats all for the Child Timeline.

Umm, how does that relate to the timeline? It's obvious what happened. TP happened in which Link drew the MS from the PoT which had nothing but ruined temple around it, he put it back, then a couple hundred years later, ALttP Link gets it in that exact same spot. This in no way relates to the timeline.

Back to the 'Seal War' Timeline. it starts with FS, naturally after MC.. Vaati is sealed in the Four Sword and hyrule is at peace. then comes FSA it gives backstory for Ganondorf obtaining the trident and we can assume he did this before becoming Ganon in the Seal War. ALttP comes next followed by OoX, Twinrova(Still existing in this timeline) trying to ressurect Ganon from his death in ALttP. Then Link's Awakening, fits nicely with the end of OoX dont you think?

The theory of the Seal War Timeline completely invalidates all placements upon which. Although, you give no evidence at all to explain the placement of LA after OoX. Plus, the problem with placing LA after OoX, is that OoX references so many other games in the series. Bosses from the original LoZ come back, characters from OoT and MM appear, etc. etc. There isn't any real way to determine whether or not it's referencing LA to reference it or if it's referencing LA because the two games are connected. There is a much less iffy structure to place LA upon ALttP than on OoX.

Sometime After the SW timeline is Ended with the original LoZ and AoL. Not really much more to say about them, Ganon is somehow revive and gets killed, again.

Again, invalidated by the fact that it's placed on a non existing timeline. But the fact that LoZ/AoL comes after OoX is pretty solid if you ask me.

Wait I almost forgot, i stumbled across a peculiar sentence on Zelda Dungeon that backs up my theory quite well, im not sure if this is really in the game but here it is.
"The flute, also known as Ocarina, makes another appearance in A link to the Past. It once belonged to a Young Boy who set out in search of the Golden Power and never returned."
(oh yeah..)

Um... it's called the Ocarina because that's what it is. There are many different specimens of Ocarina, so what makes you think think that it automatically relates to the Ocarina of Time. Plus, it belonged to a boy who went to the Golden Land in search of the Triforce and never returned. It can't be Link because he did return. Who else does that leave? The Flute Boy who asked you to find the Ocarina for him in the Dark World, who was trapped there and died. Plus, his grandfather said that he went off too search for the Golden Power. Pretty obvious who it belonged to.

 

[Rauru]

I'm not sure I understand here. Your basing an entire other split off of a flute resembling the Ocarina of Time? I don't believe that's a very valid piece of evidence to completely change the already established Split Timeline that we know exists, proven by the games and developers. Theorists just don't simply believe that the timeline splits that way, they know it splits that way because the developers have told us it does and so do the games. The intro to Wind Waker, as well as the explanation for Ganondorf being put to death pre-TP, proves that the ending of OoT was as such: Two timelines created by sending Adult Link back. One, in his child time (being followed up by TP), and another in the world he left behind (folllowed by WW).

There's simply no room or enough evidence to make the timeline branch off anywhere else, especially based on the similarity of two items from game to game. Zelda likes to rehash things. Look at the "White Sword" in MC. There was also the "White Sword" in LoZ. They even looked pretty much like the same sword, but they aren't.

There is reason to believe it is the ocarina of time as it is described to once belong to a boy that went to the golden land and never returned (Link from OoT)
Also, I bet before they announced it, noone had even thought of their being a split, and if anyone did, they would recieve the exact same sceptical comments that I'm getting right now. Maybe with the release of Zelda Wii, my timeline will be the only possible timeline, and Nintendo may announce that it splits three Times.

I actually really like your timeline I've been trying to find a way that the FSS can not be in the AT, CT or before OoT and you nailed it! This is perfect!

Thankyou! It's really hard to place the FSS & ALttP in timelines so i came to this.

Three times? Really? Are you sure?

Yes, Three Times.

Agreed, as it is the basic foundation of the currently universally known timeline.



Another split... the split of OoT doesn't work that way dude. There is possibility for only one split. The Adult Timeline in which Link is pretty much wiped from existance, and the Child Timeline which Link returns to and warns Zelda of the dangers of opening the Door of Time, thus getting Ganondorf sentenced to death and the universally known CT fundamentals of MM followed after a few hundred years by TP happens. There is no opportunity for a third branch of the timeline.

This is probably the foggiest part of my timeline, I understand that. but really, ALttP doesnt fit Anywhere on the CT or AT. There couldn't of been a seperate event for the Seal War because ALttP say he was originally Ganondorf before entering the Sacred Realm, and at the end of TP and WW.. He is Dead. Ganondorf is dead. Unless there is more than one Ganondorf which is extremely hard to believe for me.


The first two points are valid, but the hat thing is completely and utterly invalid. Link gets his clothes many different times in many different ways. In TP, he awakens from his wolf form in the green garb. In WW, he received them from his grandma. In ST, Zelda gave them to him in order to sneak past the guards. The hat thing is the most invalid evidence concerning the placement of MC.

Yes, it's more a symbolic attempt by nintendo is what i meant, not really an ingame thing. it is hinted upon that the 'hero of men' was a previous link, he didn't have a hat. Obviously i could be completely wrong.


Agreed, no holes there. The origins of the three main Triforce Bearers and the origins of the split.



A rather sloppy theory. As said before in my post, the timeline only splits into two branches. And the developers proved that there are only two branches of the timeline as well, thus making that theory a suicide mission.
They never Said THERE IS ONLY TWO SPLITS they just said the timeline... splits. And as i said noone thought of a split in the timeline before that they could easily come out again and say that theres three branches.
And the Flute is by far the most invalid piece of evidence concerning the timeline I've seen since Link's hat from MC. If that really was the Ocarina of Time from the game so many of us love (most of us far too much, but that's another thing for another thread), then why does the Flute Boy have it? It does seem to possess magical powers, sure, but why would a random boy who shows no apparent connection to the Royal Family have it? Plus, if your theory really was true, the Ocarina of Time wouldn't exist on that timeline still, and there would still only be two branches of the timeline. The sloppiness of that theory is very prevelant. Also, if the original sages of Hyrule seen in TP really did seal him away, then TP wouldn't exist at all. There is no time travel screwiness upon that event to draw another split upon.
I found the first thing you said slightly offensive, but i suppose that could of been unintentional as people come off as rash when they debate anyway. The flute boy could have it, because he found it. Young Boys always look for adventures and love digging up things and finding things. Again, the ocarina is sort of vague and i really have no explanation.. but the fact that the game describes three wise men, and even depicts them as such, implies it was the original sages that sealed Ganondorf. Your last Statement Happened to make no sense. As TP is in the child timeline, and that is the timeline where Ganondorf never even enters the sacred realm and is captured and sentenced to death, Which never happened in the past in My SWT. Also, What you said about The ocarina not existing intrigues me.. As really, the ocarina shouldnt exist in the CT either, but its there in Majora's Mask. It may be magical enough to reappear, im not sure.


Self explainatory timeline is self explainatory. I agree, no real need to say much about it (even though I do so myself in my own theories).



Umm, how does that relate to the timeline? It's obvious what happened. TP happened in which Link drew the MS from the PoT which had nothing but ruined temple around it, he put it back, then a couple hundred years later, ALttP Link gets it in that exact same spot. This in no way relates to the timeline.

Im saying they aged in similar ways. But this isn't my only timeline, because i do have one with only one split, but i felt like showing people my controversal one.

The theory of the Seal War Timeline completely invalidates all placements upon which. Although, you give no evidence at all to explain the placement of LA after OoX. Plus, the problem with placing LA after OoX, is that OoX references so many other games in the series. Bosses from the original LoZ come back, characters from OoT and MM appear, etc. etc. There isn't any real way to determine whether or not it's referencing LA to reference it or if it's referencing LA because the two games are connected. There is a much less iffy structure to place LA upon ALttP than on OoX.
OoX could only realy come after 3 games, TP, ALttP and LoZ/AoL, I based it's placement on the boat ending.. I didn't really put that much thought into it.


Again, invalidated by the fact that it's placed on a non existing timeline. But the fact that LoZ/AoL comes after OoX is pretty solid if you ask me.



Um... it's called the Ocarina because that's what it is. There are many different specimens of Ocarina, so what makes you think think that it automatically relates to the Ocarina of Time. Plus, it belonged to a boy who went to the Golden Land in search of the Triforce and never returned. It can't be Link because he did return. Who else does that leave? The Flute Boy who asked you to find the Ocarina for him in the Dark World, who was trapped there and died. Plus, his grandfather said that he went off too search for the Golden Power. Pretty obvious who it belonged to.
.. i sort of have no answer to this. I suppose I'm wrong about the ocarina thing, but i still think the timeline could split 3 times, it could be when Link needed to get the gauntlet from the past, you know.. that theory.

*Comments typed in Bold were written by me.

 

[Master Kokiri 9]

This is probably the foggiest part of my timeline, I understand that. but really, ALttP doesnt fit Anywhere on the CT or AT. There couldn't of been a seperate event for the Seal War because ALttP say he was originally Ganondorf before entering the Sacred Realm, and at the end of TP and WW.. He is Dead. Ganondorf is dead. Unless there is more than one Ganondorf which is extremely hard to believe for me.

Actually, I beg to differ on that. I find that ALttP connect to FSA rather nicely. In that game, Ganondorf went to the Dark World as a human and turned into Ganon there. Many people were being drawn in and evil was spreading through all the Dark World portals. Seven sages (it was very likely to be mistranslated from the Japanese version as Nintendo was still not the greatest in Japanese to English translations at the time) with the help of the Knights of Hyrule (the four Links) sealed him up. Also, in the GBA version of ALttP there is an extra optional dungeon through which you can journey to find a broken Four Sword. The only true iffy part is if the PFS (Palace of the Four Sword) was there, then was it there because of gameplay reasons and because it was bundled with FS, or was it there because of a connection between ALttP and the FSS?

They never Said THERE IS ONLY TWO SPLITS they just said the timeline... splits. And as i said noone thought of a split in the timeline before that they could easily come out again and say that theres three branches.

Actually, if I recall correctly, Eiji Aonuma or somebody said that the timeline splits into two branches: the Adult Timeline Link was wiped from existance in OoT and the Child Timeline in which Link warns Zelda of the dangers of opening the Door of Time and thus getting Ganondorf sentenced to death. I'll try to find that quote.

I found the first thing you said slightly offensive, but i suppose that could of been unintentional as people come off as rash when they debate anyway.

Yeah, that wasn't meant to be offensive. Sorry about that.

The flute boy could have it, because he found it. Young Boys always look for adventures and love digging up things and finding things. Again, the ocarina is sort of vague and i really have no explanation.. but the fact that the game describes three wise men, and even depicts them as such, implies it was the original sages that sealed Ganondorf. Your last Statement Happened to make no sense. As TP is in the child timeline, and that is the timeline where Ganondorf never even enters the sacred realm and is captured and sentenced to death, Which never happened in the past in My SWT. Also, What you said about The ocarina not existing intrigues me.. As really, the ocarina shouldnt exist in the CT either, but its there in Majora's Mask. It may be magical enough to reappear, im not sure.

Firstly, why would the Royal Family have it buried under the ground? I realize that Zelda threw it into the moat in OoT out of desperation (but she probably meant for Link to catch it), but that was out of desperation. Burying it wouldn't do them much good since Ganon's already in the Dark World, and even if it did, why wouldn't they have tried to pick it up after the SW was over with? They couldn't have just forgotten it, having guarded it for centuries, and it's still important. Plus, the Flute Boy couldn't find it because he wasn't alive then (it's quite obvious through the simple fact that the Maidens are descandants that makes it at least a couple hundred years ago meaning the Flute Boy couldn't find it.

Secondly, there are seven sages and not three. Just pointing it out.

Thirdly, if the sages really did seal Ganon away, then TP couldn't happen because he wasn't present to be sentenced to death.

Fourthly, the reason the Ocarina of Time is in Majora's Mask is because Zelda sent Link back to before he got the Ocarina of Time. In your SWT, Link never returned to create a paradox and thus the Ocarina of Time stayed in the AT with Zelda.

 

[Rauru]

Ahh well, My 'Other' Timeline seems pretty much disproven... i thought i was really on to something there. My Original timeline as it stands is below, and now due to some things cleared up by Master Kokiri i pretty confident in it
............./--WW/PH--ST
MC--OoT
.............\MM--TP(OoX)--FS/FSA--ALttP/(OoX)/LA--LoZ/AoL(OoX)--(OoX)
()=Who the hell knows

I think theyre might actually be two Ganondorfs.. probably the Gerudo, after Ganondorf's Death at the hands of TPLink, started naming the boys born every 100 years Ganondorf, they thought he was a bad leader and resented him, SW happens, Knights of hyrule being the four links as Master Kokiri said, and ganon is sealed, AlttP happens, then LA, then somehow in LoZ he is ressurected, not much story in these games so really it doesnt matter, they can go at the end of either timeline i suppose, Lancun(Youtube it) put LoZ/AoL on the AT.
OoX could go after any games where Ganondorf dies. it fits nicely with TP because of he horse link rides at the start, and with ALttP with the boat ending, it could also go after AoL. It could even be its own story because Zelda has to introduce herself to Link! But that could just be a minor inconsistency and it doesnt really matter. (Wern't the OoX games created by Capcom anyway? Why the hell am i, and everyone else making them Canon!)

And LOL Master Kokiri i got confused with the birth of Baby Jesus LMFAO.

.. but i'm still hoping that my fantasy SWT can be resurrected with the release of ZW, which could cause more timeline mess ups.

 

[Bolero of Fire]

Most people believe that after this game, the timeline splits as hyrule is left with no Link at the end of the game, as he is sent into the past, I differ. My reasoning is because of one item in ALttP. The Flute. The similarity to the Ocarina of time is no coincidence. I believe that when Link Opened the door of time he left hyrule to be taken by ganon, and in this world he never returned. So instead, the seal war did. Ganondorf was stopped by the Knights of Hyrule and was sealed by the original sages (see TP, the old men).

Link did return at the end of OoT and Ganondorf never did anything. The Ancient Sages in TP said that they executed because they thought he would do something evil.

 

[Rauru]

Bolero that is not what i meant, i meant the original sages sealed Ganondorf after the SW, and it wasn't the 7 sages from the AT. It was a completely different timeline im speaking of, no the CT. But my SWT has been kind of disproven due to lack of evidence, though there is still a possiblity of it occuring... just very unlikely..

Sage of Light

 

[Master Kokiri 9]

Ahh well, My 'Other' Timeline seems pretty much disproven... i thought i was really on to something there. My Original timeline as it stands is below, and now due to some things cleared up by Master Kokiri i pretty confident in it
............./--WW/PH--ST
MC--OoT
.............\MM--TP(OoX)--FS/FSA--ALttP/(OoX)/LA--LoZ/AoL(OoX)--(OoX)
()=Who the hell knows

I agree with that timeline of yours.

You don't give much evidence explaining why a some of the games are placed where they are (MC, FS, FSA, ALttP, and LoZ/AoL to be exact). Try searching the other timelines and find some, then I'll further elaborate on the placement of those titles.

I think theyre might actually be two Ganondorfs.. probably the Gerudo, after Ganondorf's Death at the hands of TPLink, started naming the boys born every 100 years Ganondorf, they thought he was a bad leader and resented him, SW happens, Knights of hyrule being the four links as Master Kokiri said, and ganon is sealed, AlttP happens, then LA, then somehow in LoZ he is ressurected, not much story in these games so really it doesnt matter, they can go at the end of either timeline i suppose, Lancun(Youtube it) put LoZ/AoL on the AT.

It could very well be that when the original Ganondorf from Ocarina of Time was born, the Gerudo decided to start naming their kings after Ganondorf in his honor because they thought he was so great. But your theory is somewhat plausible too. But I recommend that you be a wee bit more specific in the placements of the games in order to prevent somebody for going "You have no evidence and thus your timeline is not proven". A little more evidence on MC, FS, FSA, ALttP and the LoZ/AoL combo is needed.

OoX could go after any games where Ganondorf dies. it fits nicely with TP because of he horse link rides at the start, and with ALttP with the boat ending, it could also go after AoL. It could even be its own story because Zelda has to introduce herself to Link! But that could just be a minor inconsistency and it doesnt really matter. (Wern't the OoX games created by Capcom anyway? Why the hell am i, and everyone else making them Canon!)

The reason people consider the Capcom games Canon is because Nintendo was just as involved in those games as they were in the others; they just had a little extra help from Capcom. OoX, MC, and I think the Four Sword games were collaborations between Nintendo and Capcom.

Just a little help to narrow down the placement of OoX. If it is a sequel to TP, then Link would have to be an adult in that game which is quite obvious that he isn't. If it was a direct sequel to ALttP, then he should know Zelda which he doesn't. If it was a direct sequel to AoL, then he should know Zelda in that game. I prefer to place it indirectly after LA (which I place after ALttP) because the BS of AoL fits quite nicely with the ending of OoX (A King ruled Hyrule with the Complete Triforce in the BS of AoL, at the end of OoX it seems that Link has the complete Triforce and a romantic relationship between him and Zelda is hinted at with a kiss and Ganon in LoZ only needed the Silver Arrows to defeat).

.. but i'm still hoping that my fantasy SWT can be resurrected with the release of ZW, which could cause more timeline mess ups.

As am I. It would certainly spice up the Timeline debates and definately make the timeline more interesting.