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Zelda Timeline Theory (Ocarina of Time)

Joined
May 30, 2020
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Male
It's been many years since Nintendo released the ever debatable Zelda timeline. Of course the most confusing aspect of this is the inclusion of a third timeline. So we have the Child Link Timeline, Adult Link Timeline, and Fallen Hero Timeline. All three timelines come from Ocarina of Time. We know Child Link Timeline comes from when Link was sent back in his own time after defeating Ganon. The Adult TimeLine comes from the absence of the Hero when Ganon returned. But the last one has always confused a lot of people and has left many fans with questions and theories about how the the third timeline would occur. Obviously it has to do with the Hero of Time being defeated but all of us who has played the game know that even if we're killed we get another chance and try again, so there's no perma-death for us to experience. However there's always been a recurring question of mine that has been forever been in my mind since the release of the Zelda Timeline. I have formulated a theory about Ocarina of Time and how the Fallen Hero Timeline would be possible. So here's my question and then I will give my theory behind it.

What if Link was never sealed away with the Master Sword for seven years?

Here's my theory:
So at the very beginning of the game we see Link asleep as always, and we see a dark dream of Confronting Ganondorf for the first time. Ganondorf stares at him menacingly and charges up his magic attack, blasting away our young hero. Fast forward a bit, after obtaining all three spiritual stones, we go back to Hyrule Castle only to witness the dream become reality. Luckily Link survives the encounter. But the game does pretty much tell us that Link is no match for the Gerudo King at his current young state. Even the Master Sword knew that if Link were to confront Ganondorf again with the Master Sword while still being a child, he would have perished in the fight. Thus the Sword made the decision to seal Link away for seven years until Link was old enough and strong enough to defeat Ganondorf. As we progress farther in the game we get to do a little bit of time travel and eventually, get sent back to Link's childhood at the end of the game. So we have time travel which is what has caused the split in time, Child Link, Adult Link, and Fallen Hero. My theory suggest that the Fallen Hero timeline is the original timeline that the games would have followed if time travel wasn't involved in Ocarina of Time. If there were no time travel, Link would have met his early demise at the hands of Ganondorf. Remember, as soon as the Master Sword was pulled, Link opened the door to the sacred realm in which the Triforce resided in. And Ganondorf knew that Link held the keys to open that door. When the master sword was pulled for the first time, we are greeted with Ganondorf's sinister appearance, thanking Link for doing the work for Him. But because Link had already been sealed away with the sword, Ganondorf couldn't touch him. If the sword hadn't sealed him at that moment, Link would have no choice but to fight Ganondorf at that same moment and perished. Leaving the Triforce unguarded. And since Link was dead, the Triforce couldn't split itself into three separate parts as it did when Link was sealed. Thus confirming the story that was told in the beginning of A Link to the Past.

Any thoughts??
 

Spiritual Mask Salesman

CHIMer Dragonborn
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Hyrule Historia states that Link died in battle with Ganondorf, there isn't anything to theorize about unless you dislike this explanation. Of course in game there isn't a perma-death, you have to be able to beat the game, otherwise what was the point in buying it? The fact that you do see a Game Over screen in OoT entertains the notion that from an in-game perspective, Link really did die.

Besides, it's a huge stretch to theorize that Link wouldn't be sealed away by the sword, and I'd go as far as to say this interpretation of events isn't a possibility. Supposedly certain aspects of OoT were predestined to happened, and one of those predestined events was that a Hero would be able to wield the Master Sword to it's full potential and travel through time with it. Thus, your theory of how Link might die isn't plausible.
 
Joined
Jun 15, 2020
Location
Canada
That's pretty much my explanation as well.

Link beats Ganon thanks to being the Hero of Time. The only reason he wins is by using time travel a whole bunch to set things up in his favour—freeing the sages so that they could seal ganon at the end. Throughout the game Link travels through time a lot; the part at the end where he is sent one final time into the past is the last of many trips in which Link breaks history. Who knows how many branch timelines Link caused over the course of the game, but all of them result in the Fallen Hero Timeline *except for* the final two created by Link's eventual defeat of Ganon at the end of the game with the help of the sages and Zelda. Makes sense to me.
 

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