What do you wish Zelda did more of?

[Hyrulian Hero]

That sounds like time travel with extra steps.

Yep, except that the time travel is just Link's spirit being sealed away for seven years and time passing as normal. Like I've never called the hundred years between age of Calamity and Breath of the Wild time travel.

 

[Bowsette Plus-Ultra]

Yep, except that the time travel is just Link's spirit being sealed away for seven years and time passing as normal. Like I've never called the hundred years between age of Calamity and Breath of the Wild time travel.

It is just his spirit being sealed away, but he also travels back and forth down the timestream.

 

[Hyrulian Hero]

It is just his spirit being sealed away, but he also travels back and forth down the timestream.

That's what I've always assumed, but can you show me context that proves this? I suspect I may be missing something from the original Japanese...

 

[Bowsette Plus-Ultra]

That's what I've always assumed, but can you show me context that proves this? I suspect I may be missing something from the original Japanese...

Just from the way he's capable of traveling back and forth in Ocarina of Time. The Master Sword seems to be the vehicle for it.

 

[Hyrulian Hero]

Just from the way he's capable of traveling back and forth in Ocarina of Time. The Master Sword seems to be the vehicle for it.

See, it seems that way, but I can't actually find evidence for that. The reason Link wakes up seven years older is because he's entered the Sacred Realm and time passes normally for seven years. When he puts the Master Sword back in the Pedestal of Time, he reenters the...uh...normal world which returns him to his actual age. Why does this happen? I can't tell you, but I also can't find any proof that the door of time has anything to do with it, except that it separates the sacred realm from the normal world. I just want some facts on this if I can find them.

 

[Bowsette Plus-Ultra]

See, it seems that way, but I can't actually find evidence for that. The reason Link wakes up seven years older is because he's entered the Sacred Realm and time passes normally for seven years. When he puts the Master Sword back in the Pedestal of Time, he reenters the...uh...normal world which returns him to his actual age. Why does this happen? I can't tell you, but I also can't find any proof that the door of time has anything to do with it, except that it separates the sacred realm from the normal world. I just want some facts on this if I can find them.

I mean it happens in game. That'd be my evidence for it. As the player, we see Link's perspective shift from the future to the past and vice versa.

 

[RamboBambiBambo]

To our knowledge, the Temple of Time in OoT is supposedly the same location as the Sealed Temple in Skyward Sword. Evident as we don't see the Master Sword being used UNTIL OoT happens... unless Nintendo makes another game and Dark Horse decides to muddy their loose timeline with even more contradictions and place a game that utilizes the Master Sword between Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time.

But anyway.
The Gate of Time is what is being used in both Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time to travel through time.
In OoT, the Master Sword is more of a key so-to-speak on how to open and close the gate.

How I view it is being sort of like a save-point.
You pull out the sword and it save-points Link in that moment.
His spirit is taken to the Sacred Realm until his body can age properly to an extent that he can wield the Master Sword.
Thus, when we reinsert the Master Sword into the pedestal, it sends Link back in time to the moment he pulled the sword out in the past, allowing us to adventure young Hyrule and complete tasks there.
A mechanic which was necessary at least twice to my recollection -
The Song of Storms paradox.
&
The Spirit Temple requiring half to be completed as a child and the other half as an adult.

Honestly, there should logically be A LOT more timelines considering the amount of times in OoT you HAD to go back to the past and alter events.
But not Oracle of Ages.
The Harp of Ages is a tool that does manipulate time BUT has separate rules to the Gate of Time.

Spoiler: This is how I view the time-altering powers of the Gate of Time vs. The Harp of Ages ---

Mortals that make use of the Gate of Time will cause timeline splits. A drastic change in the past by the actions of mortals will cause a split in the timeline. We have seen this in both Ocarina of Time and Skyward Sword. Link in Skyward Sword goes to plant the Lifeseed Tree and Groose's dialogue shifts to reflect that your actions in the past resulted in a tree to be here in temple since his arrival. Though earlier in the game, it is clear the tree is not there and he even comments on it being a good spot to plant a garden and such.

And in Ocarina of Time, we have we have Zelda, her goddess powers not awakened and just a mere mortal gifted with power; sending Link back in time to relive his childhood; resulting in two timelines - One where Link was gone and Ganon broke free and the land was flooded, leading to The Wind Waker. And another where Link warned Hyrule and had his adventure in Majora's Mask; with Twilight Princess being a sequel.
The only contention is the matter of the Downfall timeline.

Time splits when mortals use the Gate of Time, so your past changes do not cause an alteration to the present you once knew but rather create a separate parallel timeline.
The chart below shows what I mean.
Black timeline exists as the unified timeline. But someone ventures into the past and causes Event Purple in the past, forcing a new timeline to exist parallel to the original. Later on they do it again and cause Event Red in the past.
Now we have three timelines, two of which you abandoned and time continues onward as if nothing happened.





However the Harp of Ages allows you to go back and forth in time and whatever changes you make will retroactively fix the future timeline.
This is evident when you just play Oracle of Ages.
Veran possessed the Oracle of Ages and ventured into the past.
Her influence changed the present and Link was fully aware of what had just happened. Unlike Groose in Skyward Sword, who is oblivious to the shift in history.
Ergo, using the Harp of Ages top venture into the past and change history doesn't create splintering parallel timelines but rather retroactively changes the single present.
The chart below shows what I mean.
The timeline itself can only be singular and events you change in the past cause the timeline to cease as it is and alter itself into a new singular timeline. Event Red cases history from that point on to play out differently than it did in the main timeline, a timeline that either doesn't exist anymore or simply is being rewritten like if you were overwriting a save file.

Basically it is like playing a game like Fallout.
You are trying to get the good ending.
Your choices led to the bad ending of a quest, but you have a save file before you made a key decision.
So the player chooses to reload the previous save and go a separate path, all while overwriting their saves along that failed path to the good ending.
They keep trying this until they get the best ending they want.
To the game (timeline's), it is all one linear path from the game's start to finish as it only knows the progress of your saves (history).
But from the player's perspective we know the truth. We explored a timeline and changed history, overwriting our unwanted save files to create new ones.

The rules of Termina and the Song of Time within it's alternate reality also apply like this.
As every time you play the Song of Time, you are back at the start of the three days. Nothing you did over the last 72 hours actually happened. But the progress stays with YOU.
It is only after A LOT of these three day cycles in this time-loop do you finally achieve victory and reach the timeline where you can progress into day 4.

TL;DR
We can argue all we want about the "official" Zelda timeline.
But the fact remains -
Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time would have timeline splits from mortals using the Gate of Time.
Meanwhile Majora's Mask and Oracle of Ages have no timelines splits as their history alterations are retroactively fixed.

Downfall Timeline from Ocarina of Time is loosely debatable.

Childhood and Adulthood timelines are a given since both Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker pick up from the consequences of both of Ocarina of Time's endings.



--- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Oof. Convergence stinks of some contrivance to me. Feels like the narrative equivalent of pulling the rug out from underneath gamers' feet, especially in a series where chronology has never been anything more than an afterthought.

Honestly?

A timeline convergence would make sense, considering that BotW has concepts and knowledge of things that exist in every one of the timelines.
If they had a game about said timeline convergence being the end result of the story's narrative as a result of the clash between good and evil on certain circumstances; that would be neat.

Although, the Terrako Paradox timeline would just mean we have ~another~ timeline split to worry about.

 

[Bowsette Plus-Ultra]

Honestly?

A timeline convergence would make sense, considering that BotW has concepts and knowledge of things that exist in every one of the timelines.
If they had a game about said timeline convergence being the end result of the story's narrative as a result of the clash between good and evil on certain circumstances; that would be neat.

Although, the Terrako Paradox timeline would just mean we have ~another~ timeline split to worry about.

I think it could be impactful if there were a long-term storyline that made each timeline feel important and distinct while also feeling interconnected, but the series just isn't at that point. The series isn't moving in that direction and nothing about any games in any of the timelines indicates that they are.

BotW has the occasional reference to other games, but it doesn't make any attempt to unify games, nor does it treat those connections with any sort of weight. Zelda isn't at a point where an Infinite Zelda Crisis story would feel anything but forced.

 

[RamboBambiBambo]

BotW has the occasional reference to other games, but it doesn't make any attempt to unify games, nor does it treat those connections with any sort of weight. Zelda isn't at a point where an Infinite Zelda Crisis story would feel anything but forced.

Indeed.
But BotW/TotK take place 10,000 years after the last major crisis with Ganon.
Granted, there may be other crises that occurred between the Hero of the Calamity and Hero of the Wild's stories (Vaati, Maladus, other villains).
But the fact that it has been 10,000 years since the last time Ganon/Ganondorf has been an issue to deal with AND the fact that the details of his portrayal in BotW/TotK don't match up with where we left off with Ganondorf in any of the timelines MEANS that this "timeline merger" I propose is an event that could've happened eons in the past, perhaps millennia prior to the events from the ancient tapestry.

Some people want a timeline.
Currently the timeline we have is one of the closest things we are going to get for a timeline explanation.
But BotW/TotK don't fit neatly into all timelines.
Eiji Aonuma and Shigeru Miyamoto have even stated that BotW "exists in all timelines so to speak".

A timeline merger happening between the events of the zelda games on the timeline and the events presented in BotW/TotK would be a logical method of placing the games on the "canon" timeline.
Even in interviews asking about the relevence of the past games to BotW/TotK, Eiji has stated that the other games are more like legends and myths to the people of this era of Hyrule. They happened so far in the past that they have not much of an impact on the present.
And the fact that things such as Twilight, the Dark World, the Great Sea, and other things that are exclusive to single timelines are common knowledge in world presented to us in BotW is something that muddies the water.

A timeline merger happening at some point between Zelda II, Four Swords Adventures, Spirit Tracks, and the Great Calamity depicted in the Ancient Tapestry would be something to satiate that itch that has been bugging the timeline enthusiasts and answers the question of how things exclusive to other timelines are found referenced in the world of BotW so commonly.

 

[Moblinking5000]

Let's be honest. I honestly don't believe there's any legitimate argument against this: Nintendo never had any timeline for the games. Dark Horse either made up the timeline split for Hyrule Historia or were in touch with developers who made up a timeline split for Hyrule Historia. I'm waiting for the day Nintendo lays a couple of cards on the table and admits that there's no hard and fast rule regarding the "timeline" because it's actually the LEGEND of Zelda. The same story told again and again over centuries which takes on aspects of the culture in which it is told but necessarily exists in no era in which it is told. We'll all be able to call it a legend again and stop picking apart the specifics. I'm hyped for the day when The Legend of Zelda is as legitimate as BotW as Oracle of Seasons as Four Swords Adventures. No more The History of Zelda, bring it back to The Legend of Zelda!

So much wrong with this.

Zelda 2 is a direct sequel taking place after Link defeated Ganon in Zelda 1 and reclaimed the Triforce of Power and Triforce of Wisdom. The intro to the game and the manual both make this clear as day. This game introduces the Triforce of Courage, the fact that Ganon can be revived, and multiple incarnations of Zelda to the lore.

A Link to the Past is a prequel to The Legend of Zelda. The back of the NoA box states that ALttP features the ancestors of Link and Zelda, and the NoJ box says it takes place during a time when Hyrule was still one nation, a bygone time mentioned by Impa in the JP Zelda 2 manual. The JP manual also mentions that ALttP and its backstory sets the stage for The Legend of Zelda(referring to the entire franchise since Zelda 1 had the subtitle of ''The Hyrule Fantasy'' in Japan, and ALttP was the earliest game in the chronology at the time), and there's this quote:

''Indeed, the King of Evil Ganon, the one who has threatened Hyrule so, was born at this time.''

http://www.zeldalegends.net/files/text/z3translation/z3_manual_story.html

This makes it clear that the main antagonist of ALttP, Ganon, is the very same antagonist from the NES era despite Link and Zelda being seperate incarnations from the NES games. Zelda II introduced the fact that Ganon can be revived to the lore, so this doesn't conflict with the fact that ALttP ends in his death. Talking about Ganon, this is the first game to be released that delves into his backstory as a human thief who invades the Sacred Realm and and claims the Triforce. This story would be expanded upon in Ocarina of Time. This is also the first game to be released to feature the Master Sword, as well as the Creation myth(although the goddesses would remain nameless until OoT revealed their names). This game introduces multiple Links to the lore, too.

Link's Awakening had no confirmed placement at the time of its release per say, but there were some things we knew:

-It took place after an incarnation of Link defeated Ganon

-The Nightmares took the form of Agahnim

-Places like Turtle Rock appear in the dream, places Link visited in ALttP

Placing it after ALttP with the same Link seemed like the best bet; Zelda 1 already had a followup game, and Zelda 1's Link never fought Agahnim. Funnily enough, this placement was confirmed in 1998, when LADX came out:

ZELDA‚Ì“`à

''Having regained peace in Hyrule from the evil king Ganon's demonic clutches, Link set out on a journey of training in preparation for a new calamity before he could enjoy the peace he had obtained.'' Followed by a clip of the end of the fight with Ganon in ALttP.

So there you go. So far, the timeline is:

Creation-Imprisoning War-A Link to the Past/Link's Awakening-Tragedy of Zelda-Ganon is revived; he steals the Triforce of Power/The Legend of Zelda/Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Ocarina of Time is a prequel to A Link to the Past. It deals with elements of the backstory, such as Ganondorf entering the Sacred Realm and touching the Triforce and the Creation story while expanding upon them.

''The story in Ocarina of time isn't actually original, it deals with the Sages' Imprisoning War from the Super Famicom's ALttP. Because of the relation, I thought it would be right to leave a part of the pigginess in.''

Ocarina of Time Development - Ganondorf

The original interview can be found in its entirety at <a href="http://www.1101.com/nintendo/nin1/nin1-6.htm" target="new">1101</a>. Translation thanks to <a href="https://www.glitterberri.com/ocarina-of-time/1101-interviews/ganondorf" target="new">Glitterberri</a>

www.zeldadungeon.net

The games ends with a split in the timeline; we know this to be the case because we witness the future continuing to exist after Link is sent back(the party at Lon Lon for example). Majora's Mask is a direct sequel to Ocarina of Time, not in the world where Ganon was defeated and sealed away, but in the world where Link lived out his childhood after being sent back. Proof of this is in the fact that the intro to the game makes it crystal clear, as well as the fact that Link has the OoT and the Kokiri Sword, with the description for the KS saying it's the same one he got from Kokiri Forest in OoT.

The Oracle games are somewhat tricky; they take place in an era where the Triforce is unified and in possession of the Royal Family and Ganon is dead(NOT sealed). Some people tried placing them after ALttP and before LA with the same Link due to Link leaving on a boat at the end, but not only does Zelda not recognize him, but he has a Triforce birthmark that ALttP/LA Link doesn't have, and the point of the Oracle games was to test Link(which would be odd if he was already a hero), and he only becomes a hero at the end of the game according to Zelda. Therefore, the Oracle games could've only gone either after ALttP/LA and before the era of the NES Games, or after the era of the NES games.

Four Swords was the first game in the timeline according to Aonuma:

''Aonuma: The GBA Four Swords Zelda is what we’re thinking as the oldest tale in the Zelda timeline. With this one on the GameCube [(FSA)] being a sequel to that, and taking place sometime after that.''

History of the Zelda Timeline/Timeline Quotes

Creator Quotes are commonly studied in the Zelda Timeline discussion by theorists attempting to interpret the Nintendo-intended path of the storyline. The precise meanings and relevancies of these quotes are commonly debated, and often raise more questions than they answer. After Ocarina of Time...

zelda.fandom.com

This places it as first in the timeline during this period.

The Wind Waker is a sequel to Ocarina of Time in the world where Ganon was defeated by the Hero of Time and sealed away by the sages. Not only was this confimed ingame due to the multiple references to characters and events from OoT, but there's also interviews:

Q: Where does The Wind Waker fit into the overall Zelda series timeline? Aonuma: You can think of this game as taking place over a hundred years after Ocarina of Time. You can tell this from the opening story, and there are references to things from Ocarina located throughout the game as well.Miyamoto: Well, wait, which point does the hundred years start from? Aonuma: From the end. Miyamoto: No, I mean, as a child or as a... Aonuma: Oh, right, let me elaborate on that. Ocarina of Time basically has two endings of sorts; one has Link as a child and the other has him as an adult. This game, The Wind Waker, takes place a hundred years after the adult Link defeats Ganon at the end of Ocarina.

History of the Zelda Timeline/Timeline Quotes

Creator Quotes are commonly studied in the Zelda Timeline discussion by theorists attempting to interpret the Nintendo-intended path of the storyline. The precise meanings and relevancies of these quotes are commonly debated, and often raise more questions than they answer. After Ocarina of Time...

zelda.fandom.com

The Minish Cap obviously takes place before FS due to providing the origin for the FS and Vaati, so it becomes the first game.

Twilight Princess is centuries after Ocarina of Time in the world where Link lived out his childhood:

–When does Twilight Princess take place?Aonuma: In the world of Ocarina of Time, a hundred and something years later.–And the Wind Waker?Aonuma: The Wind Waker is parallel. In Ocarina of Time, Link flew seven years in time, he beat Ganon and went back to being a kid, remember? Twilight Princess takes place in the world of Ocarina of Time, a hundred and something years after the peace returned to kid Link’s time. In the last scene of Ocarina of Time, kids Link and Zelda have a little talk, and as a consequence of that talk, their relationship with Ganon takes a whole new direction. In the middle of this game [Twilight Princess], there's a scene showing Ganon's execution. It was decided that Ganon be executed because he'd do something outrageous if they left him be. That scene takes place several years after Ocarina of Time. Ganon was sent to another world and now he wants to obtain the power...

History of the Zelda Timeline/Timeline Quotes

Creator Quotes are commonly studied in the Zelda Timeline discussion by theorists attempting to interpret the Nintendo-intended path of the storyline. The precise meanings and relevancies of these quotes are commonly debated, and often raise more questions than they answer. After Ocarina of Time...

zelda.fandom.com

Phantom Hourglass is an obvious direct sequel to TWW; Tetra is in it, and the beginning recaps it.

Spirit Tracks is about a century after TWW/PH; Niko is still alive, and Tetra is mentioned.

Skyward Sword is an obvious prequel to the entire series; it explains the origins of the Master Sword and Hyrule Kingdom.

So, even before the Historia and Encyclopedia, almost every game had an obvious placement besides FSA and, to a lesser extent, the Oracles. Pretty good track record if you ask me.

Also, just because it's called ''The LEGEND of Zelda'' doesn't mean anything. The LEGEND of Korra is still a part of the same continuity as Avatar: The Last Airbender despite having legend in its name. It's just an epic sounding name.

 

[RamboBambiBambo]

I agree

We do have definitive timeline knowledge to an extent.

Skyward Sword is the origin of the Master Sword as it is and the origin of the Curse of Demise. It takes place definitively first

The Minish Cap is obviously followed by Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures to some extent, but how much time passes between is albeit a bit vague.

Ocarina of Time had two clear endings that we had explored with direct sequels saying it outright in the games.
Link defeats Ganondorf and Zelda sends him to the past after sealing Ganondorf away. But since Link is not there when he breaks free, the sea is created to flood the world and keep Ganondorf away from the Triforce, leading into The Wind Waker that obviously is followed by Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks.

And then on the other OoT ending scene -
Link, having been sent back in time, warns of Ganondorf's deception. He takes the Ocarina and leaves Hyrule to keep Ganondorf away from accessing the Sacred Realm.
This leads into Majora's Mask.
Ganondorf's execution fails and he is sent into the Twilight Realm with the Triforce of Power in his possession.
Causing Link's reincarnations to be in possession of Farore's piece and Zelda's bloodline in possession of Nayru's piece.
The Hero's Shade is OoT Link's spirit.

The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II are direct sequels, with A Link to the Past being a prequel.

The Oracles games are clearly the same incarnation of Link.

A Link Between Worlds and Tri-Force Heroes possess the same incarnation of Link and takes place after

The only issue really is determining which order these chained-Links go into.
Oracle of Ages/Oracle of Seasons, and Link's Awakening never explicitly stated (at least to my knowledge) in the game manuals that the Link you play as is the same Link as ALttP.
Nintendo and Dark Horse could've just decided that the timeline order for those games could have them tied to Zelda I and II's incarnation of Link, having all the 8-bit games be the same incarnation.
In which case, the timeline for this incarnation of Link could've been -
Link's Awakening -> The Legend of Zelda -> Zelda II -> Oracle of Seasons/Oracle of Ages.

Honestly, the only reason I think that Dark Horse put The Minish Cap and Four Swords between Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time is because of the mention of the Picori Blade coming form the Wind Picori in the sky.
If anything, the timeline for these games could've been following after Zelda II's events.
Ganon is defeated and dead.
His monsters sealed away into a chest through another quest by the Hero of Hyrule.
Then it would go The Minish Cap -> Four Swords -> Four Swords Adventures in the Downfall Timeline.

We know some games logically go in order, but these chains of games can go in a couple different orders to complete the puzzle.

Downfall timeline makes sense, though not how Dark Horse Comics proposed it.
Should Link have abandoned a timeline by way of time travel to complete the Spirit Temple, THAT would make sense as to why we would have a downfall timeline.
Ganondorf has no hero to oppose him.
And is sealed away.
Leading into A Link to the Past.

Timelines are annoying and fun and confusing and enticing to speculate on.
Like it or not, we have a Canon timeline.

And honestly, it doesn't really restrict game design that much.
We could have a game about the Hero of Men that was featured in the prologue of The Minish Cap.
We could have that Twilight Princess sequel be salvaged and made into being instead of being in the development vault.
We could have new games after all the games on the three timelines after Zelda II, Four Swords Adventures, and Spirit Tracks.
Only time will tell.
...
Maybe I could fast forward and check to see what Nintendo does in the next few years.
*pulls out Ocarina of Time and plays the Song of Double Time
> > A A v v

 

[Hyrulian Hero]

So much wrong indeed.

Miyamoto on OoT 1999:

On the importance of story and continuity between games:

Right now our highest priority is to create an interesting game, first and foremost. Sometimes that means not worrying about the joints not lining up perfectly, which is inevitable anyway. Excluding really obvious, big breaks in continuity, we ignore the little inconsistencies.

For that reason I've often been accused of not caring about the story, but when I consider the medium of video games, above intra-series continuity it's far more important to me that the player is left with a satisfying "aftertaste" once the experience is over.

And only to that extent do I care about continuity, in that huge breaks with canon or previous games would make players feel betrayed. And we don't want that.

These are not the words of a developer with a timeline, this is a man who developed a game with the intent that it not contradict the other games in the series in major ways.

Corporate Nintendo's response to Ocarinahero10:

"There isn’t a true frame or reference or time line possible for the series.”

It's explicit that some games were direct sequels, that is not a timeline nor was it meant to be. After OoT, it seems they put more thought into an overarching timeline as the developers began discussing the split, but if you can see beyond your nose, even up through Twilight Princess, the developers were talking about a two timeline split (read: no downfall) in OoT. This is indicative of a lack of a set timeline. Here's the clincher, from Aonuma:

"With this game, {BotW} we saw just how many players were playing in their own way and had those reactions I just mentioned. We realized that people were enjoying imagining the story that emerged from the fragmental imagery we were providing. If we defined a restricted timeline, then there would be a definitive story, and it would eliminate the room for imagination, which wouldn't be as fun."

Note the "a" and lack of "the" before "timeline". At the very least, I hold that not all of the games are related by a unified timeline because the timeline codification was for the fans, not the developers, and it was a poor choice. It will be interesting to see what Nintendo does with the "timeline" in their future games.

Also...
"Stories of Ganon were passed down from generation to generation in the form of legends and fairy tales."
Deny The Hyrule Fantasy all you want, it's a story told, not fact as it is.

 

[RamboBambiBambo]

I honestly hope that we start seeing something dark released on what I like to call
" The Forsaken Timeline "

Basically the timeline Link accidentally abandoned in Skyward Sword when he went to plant the Lifefruit Tree in the past.

A downfall timeline where the races are subjugated by the tyrannical Demon King Demise.
Link is eventually reincarnated again and has to finish what his past life had accidentally failed to do.

Spoiler: EDIT - To explain it in further detail :

In Skyward Sword we made use of time travel and altered the past. In the present, Lanayru the Thunder Dragon is dead. The Lifefruit Tree needs to grow its fruit in order to save him from his fate.

Link takes the seed to the Sealed Temple. Here you can speak to Groose about a spot in the temple that would be perfect for a garden, cluing players in on where to plant the Lifefruit Tree. Link ventures into the past via the Gate of Time and plants the seed; making a permanent irreparable change to the past.

Link then goes back to the present... but it is not the same timeline.
Timeline A - Groose is still wondering about what kind of plants could make the alcove in the temple brighten up and look appealing.
Timeline B - Link arrives to the present and finds the Lifefruit tree all grown and the fruit ready for harvest. Link can speak to Groose and find that his dialogue has obviously changed. Since you planted this fruit in the past, in this timeline this tree has been in the sealed temple since his arrival to the surface world a few chapters prior. And his dialogue shows this.

The game continues down Timeline B and Demise is defeated. The other games follow this sequence of events.

Timeline A however is one where Link accidentally abandoned the timeline. He stepped into the Gate of Time but did not return.
The Imprisoned breaks from his seal and has no resistance preventing him from reaching the Sealed Temple.
Zelda/Hylia is consumed and The Imprisoned returns to his true form: Demise.
Demise is now free to shape the world as he sees fit. Though it is doubtful he locates the Triforce. So he instead would reasonably becoem a demonic tyrant and rule over the world, enslaving the races and subjugating the peoples, all while still searching for the Golden Power he seeks.

In time, the Spirit of the Hero would reincarnate once again.
Perhaps Link in this life would be able to finish his task and destroy the Demon King?

 

[Hyrulian Hero]

To our knowledge, the Temple of Time in OoT is supposedly the same location as the Sealed Temple in Skyward Sword. Evident as we don't see the Master Sword being used UNTIL OoT happens... unless Nintendo makes another game and Dark Horse decides to muddy their loose timeline with even more contradictions and place a game that utilizes the Master Sword between Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time.

But anyway.
The Gate of Time is what is being used in both Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time to travel through time.
In OoT, the Master Sword is more of a key so-to-speak on how to open and close the gate.

How I view it is being sort of like a save-point.
You pull out the sword and it save-points Link in that moment.
His spirit is taken to the Sacred Realm until his body can age properly to an extent that he can wield the Master Sword.
Thus, when we reinsert the Master Sword into the pedestal, it sends Link back in time to the moment he pulled the sword out in the past, allowing us to adventure young Hyrule and complete tasks there.
A mechanic which was necessary at least twice to my recollection -
The Song of Storms paradox.
&
The Spirit Temple requiring half to be completed as a child and the other half as an adult.

Honestly, there should logically be A LOT more timelines considering the amount of times in OoT you HAD to go back to the past and alter events.
But not Oracle of Ages.
The Harp of Ages is a tool that does manipulate time BUT has separate rules to the Gate of Time.

Spoiler: This is how I view the time-altering powers of the Gate of Time vs. The Harp of Ages ---

Mortals that make use of the Gate of Time will cause timeline splits. A drastic change in the past by the actions of mortals will cause a split in the timeline. We have seen this in both Ocarina of Time and Skyward Sword. Link in Skyward Sword goes to plant the Lifeseed Tree and Groose's dialogue shifts to reflect that your actions in the past resulted in a tree to be here in temple since his arrival. Though earlier in the game, it is clear the tree is not there and he even comments on it being a good spot to plant a garden and such.

And in Ocarina of Time, we have we have Zelda, her goddess powers not awakened and just a mere mortal gifted with power; sending Link back in time to relive his childhood; resulting in two timelines - One where Link was gone and Ganon broke free and the land was flooded, leading to The Wind Waker. And another where Link warned Hyrule and had his adventure in Majora's Mask; with Twilight Princess being a sequel.
The only contention is the matter of the Downfall timeline.

Time splits when mortals use the Gate of Time, so your past changes do not cause an alteration to the present you once knew but rather create a separate parallel timeline.
The chart below shows what I mean.
Black timeline exists as the unified timeline. But someone ventures into the past and causes Event Purple in the past, forcing a new timeline to exist parallel to the original. Later on they do it again and cause Event Red in the past.
Now we have three timelines, two of which you abandoned and time continues onward as if nothing happened.
View attachment 67129




However the Harp of Ages allows you to go back and forth in time and whatever changes you make will retroactively fix the future timeline.
This is evident when you just play Oracle of Ages.
Veran possessed the Oracle of Ages and ventured into the past.
Her influence changed the present and Link was fully aware of what had just happened. Unlike Groose in Skyward Sword, who is oblivious to the shift in history.
Ergo, using the Harp of Ages top venture into the past and change history doesn't create splintering parallel timelines but rather retroactively changes the single present.
The chart below shows what I mean.
The timeline itself can only be singular and events you change in the past cause the timeline to cease as it is and alter itself into a new singular timeline. Event Red cases history from that point on to play out differently than it did in the main timeline, a timeline that either doesn't exist anymore or simply is being rewritten like if you were overwriting a save file.

Basically it is like playing a game like Fallout.
You are trying to get the good ending.
Your choices led to the bad ending of a quest, but you have a save file before you made a key decision.
So the player chooses to reload the previous save and go a separate path, all while overwriting their saves along that failed path to the good ending.
They keep trying this until they get the best ending they want.
To the game (timeline's), it is all one linear path from the game's start to finish as it only knows the progress of your saves (history).
But from the player's perspective we know the truth. We explored a timeline and changed history, overwriting our unwanted save files to create new ones.

The rules of Termina and the Song of Time within it's alternate reality also apply like this.
As every time you play the Song of Time, you are back at the start of the three days. Nothing you did over the last 72 hours actually happened. But the progress stays with YOU.
It is only after A LOT of these three day cycles in this time-loop do you finally achieve victory and reach the timeline where you can progress into day 4.
View attachment 67130

TL;DR
We can argue all we want about the "official" Zelda timeline.
But the fact remains -
Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time would have timeline splits from mortals using the Gate of Time.
Meanwhile Majora's Mask and Oracle of Ages have no timelines splits as their history alterations are retroactively fixed.

Downfall Timeline from Ocarina of Time is loosely debatable.

Childhood and Adulthood timelines are a given since both Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker pick up from the consequences of both of Ocarina of Time's endings.



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Honestly?

A timeline convergence would make sense, considering that BotW has concepts and knowledge of things that exist in every one of the timelines.
If they had a game about said timeline convergence being the end result of the story's narrative as a result of the clash between good and evil on certain circumstances; that would be neat.

Although, the Terrako Paradox timeline would just mean we have ~another~ timeline split to worry about.

But again, the Door of Time doesn't seal Link (as far as we know). I think there might be a discrepancy here between the door of time and the gate of time which seem to be similar but separate objects. Also, I think the timeline split is asinine and is unnecessary, not to mention it makes zero sense. Fight, but I'm wondering why the harp of Ages wouldn't cause more timeline. Splits. Whether or not it works on different principles, it's still manipulates time. Then again, I may have missed something about what you were saying.

 

[YoungGanon23]

I want the Zelda franchise to return to most realistic graphics like Twilight Princess