Time-Travel?

[MattWalker]

Hey guys.

I'm not at all disputing the split-timeline theory (although, I must admit, I'm not entirely convinced...), but here's something I'm trying to wrap my head around.

It Kid Link withdrew the Master Sword, and then was Adult Link, several years later, I'm not so sure it's safe to say he 'moved forward in time.'

Theoretically, if I were to, say, time travel to the year 2021, I would the same age I am now, right? I wouldn't be 28. I would be 18, if I just moved forward in time.

In Ocarina of Time, Kid Link withdraws the Master Sword... and then he finds himself as an adult. So... he didn't time travel, right? He must have... slept or something?

Forgive me if I seem a bit naive. I've only played through Ocarina of Time twice, and it's been a while. But it makes sense, right?

 

[JuicieJ]

No, he didn't time-travel. He was sealed in the Chamber of the Sages for 7 years, until he was old enough to be the Hero of Time. There's no time-travel in OoT. The split occurs when Zelda sends Link back the same way he would have if he had put the Master Sword in its pedestal, but she did it through the Ocarina of Time. In a sense he was sent back in time, but he also wasn't. A split was made at that point because the time he left behind still existed. Really, the AT is where the events in OoT took place, and the CT is the split that happened when Link was sent back. However, before the split and the CT are the "true canon", as it contains all the original games. (In theory. There's a contradiction with Ganondorf dying at the end of TP, but they can't go on the AT due to WW, so that leaves them with the CT. Plus, Ganondorf can still come back after TP, as the ToP is still out there.)

............./WW--PH--ST
SS--OoT
.............\MM--TP__ALttP/(OoX)/LA--LoZ/AoL

-(?)MC--FS/FSA

OR, you can look at it like this:

SS--OoT--WW--PH--ST
............\MM--TP__ALttP/(OoX)/LA--LoZ/AoL

(?)MC--FS/FSA

(But that's a little confusing.)

The point is, no actual time-travel was in OoT, and there's a split at the end of the game. That's confirmed by Nintendo themselves. (Sorry if that was confused you.)

(In fact, the only time actual time-travel has been implemented in Zelda is OoA. Even in MM, he was just rewinding time.)

 

[Demise24680]

I dont think he time travled either

 

[TwilightDeku]

No, he didn't time-travel. He was sealed in the Chamber of the Sages for 7 years, until he was old enough to be the Hero of Time. There's no time-travel in OoT. The split occurs when Zelda sends Link back the same way he would have if he had put the Master Sword in its pedestal, but she did it through the Ocarina of Time. In a sense he was sent back in time, but he also wasn't. A split was made at that point because the time he left behind still existed. Really, the AT is where the events in OoT took place, and the CT is the split that happened when Link was sent back. However, before the split and the CT are the "true canon", as it contains all the original games. (In theory. There's a contradiction with Ganondorf dying at the end of TP, but they can't go on the AT due to WW, so that leaves them with the CT. Plus, Ganondorf can still come back after TP, as the ToP is still out there.)

Cant really explain it better that that. Link took a good long nap. What still confuses me is that, after resting for 7 years, your muscles would have disappeared. So how could Link preform at peak physical ability?

 

[felipe970421]

This doesn't explain how he 'travelled' back whenever placing the Master Sword back in it's pedestal.

Easy, pull sword out: long nap, put sword back in: time-travel

 

[Rafa1996]

It's not Time Travel. It's like "time rewinding". When Link pulls out the sword for the first time, he just gets stuck there for 7 years, probably under som protection so he wouldn'yt lose physical ability (?), then when he puts the sword back, time rewinds, so Link also gets young (but he's aware of it); everything would be exactly the same as when he pulled the sword out. And when he puts it back again, time probably fast-forwards to the point where he was.

 

[Locke]

It's not Time Travel. It's like "time rewinding". When Link pulls out the sword for the first time, he just gets stuck there for 7 years, probably under som protection so he wouldn'yt lose physical ability (?), then when he puts the sword back, time rewinds, so Link also gets young (but he's aware of it); everything would be exactly the same as when he pulled the sword out. And when he puts it back again, time probably fast-forwards to the point where he was.

What you're describing is the A-Theory of time. Link's present is fixed, and the B-Series of time (sequence of relative events) slides along his fixed A-Series (past-present-future). This can't work in OoT because rewinding and reliving time would erase the things he's already done in the AT. According to A-Theory, the future is not 'real', so it cannot be preserved.

The alternative B-Theory is what allows the events of OoT take place as they do. The B-Series is fixed, and the A-Series (Link's perspective - past, present, future) moves along it. When Link draws the MS, time isn't "fast-forwared" to the future in the sense that it moves into Link's present; Link's present moves into the future. When he replaces the MS, his present moves back to the past. This is the only way that he can jump back and forth while still maintaining a solid timeline of events (not having to redo everything as an adult every time). The magic beans can be viewed as counter-evidence to this, but they are directly contradicted by the Song of Storms paradox anyway, so there's going to be that contradiction no matter which view you take. The important point is that Link doesn't have to re-awaken the first 3-ish Sages when he returns to the future after completing the child portion of Spirit Temple or Bottom of the Well.

So what happens is that you have a fixed sequence of events, and Link's consciousness jumps back-and-forth between them. A person who is travelling along the B-Series normally might witness young Link touch the MS after gathering the Spiritual Stones, only to immediately turn around (with, miraculously, more health, rupees, etc.) and head to the Bottom of the Well. Same when he returns from that - grab the sword, let go and go to the Spirit Temple. Then finally he'd return to the sword and be sealed until he wakes up as an adult, and the same phenomenon continues.

So yes, there is time travel, but of the consciousness, not the body. However, this means TwilightDeku's concern applies (some also raise concerns such as how Link's outfit changed, including earrings). I'd call this a minor plot hole/gameplay decision, others may invent strange fanfiction involving Rauru...