How Could There Be An Entire Seven-Game Timeline Based on Ganon Killing Link?! Maybe Link was TriForced to Lose!

The true timeline of the Legend of Zelda games is a debate as ancient as the games themselves.  The actual order of the games has been on many fans’ minds over the years. I myself am guilty of heavily mulling over the history of Hyrule, searching through the internet and the games themselves for answers.  Things were further complicated when Ocarina of Time was released and time travel was introduced.  It was not until the Wind Waker that we fully realized the effects of our time-traveling hero. Fortunately, Nintendo released Hyrule Historia to give us the definitive canonical version of the timeline of Hyrule. However, when I got my hands on Hyrule Historia for the first time, I did not get the answers I was expecting. To my surprise, and to the surprise of many other fans, the chronology was split into not two, but three timelines.  Even more surprising was that a large chunk of the timeline was based on an alternate reality where Ganon kills Link. Yet this was a fact I had a hard time coming to grips with.

Hit the jump to find out more.

Link was a hero I had come to believe in.  I had spent many hours searching through dark dungeons by his side to help him become the true hero of Hyrule.  Link is so named because he is supposed to be the ‘link’ between the player and the adventure itself.  So when I discovered there is an alternate timeline based on his downfall, I felt like I was being told it was my own downfall.  I felt like it was my fault, that I had failed as the hero to save the land of Hyrule because, after all, I was Link.  How could I have let the evil King of Darkness win, without ever knowing about it or even having a chance to intervene? However, after thinking more about it, I think there may be a better explanation.  What if our hero only failed because it was the Triforce itself that forced him to?

Disclaimer: The final ending to most of the games in the series are discussed here.  If you don’t enjoy spoilers for the games you haven’t played, just know you have been warned.

The Timeline Splits

We know from Hyrule Historia that the timeline splits into three parts during the events of Ocarina of Time. It was also during this time that the Triforce was split into three parts. The Triforce of Courage went to Link, Wisdom went to Zelda, and Power went to Ganon. Is it just a coincidence that the Triforce splitting into three coincides with the timeline splitting into three? What if the cause of the timeline split was due to each piece of the Triforce granting its bearer their own (timeline)? Now each owner of a piece of the Triforce is granted an alternate reality where they become the champion and focus.

It’s important here to note the differences between reincarnation and resurrections.  Within the games there are multiple incarnations of Ganondorf, Link and Zelda. The original trio is seen in Skyward Sword.  The original Demon King, Demise, swears that his rage and vengeance will never rest until the Goddess Hylia is defeated.  This is the starting point for multiple reincarnations of the Demon King (usually seen in Ganondorf), the Goddess Hylia (in the mortal form of Zelda), and the Goddess’ courageous hero Link.  Once these characters live a full life and meet their end, their spirit is reborn in a new incarnation, usually about every 100 years. In contrast, a resurrection is when a particular incarnation does not fully meet their end. Instead of being reborn into a new life-form, their current fully-grown state is brought back to life, powers in tact. While there are many reincarnations in the series, there is also a whole timeline that is ravaged by one single incarnation who is continually resurrected.

The Child Timeline

The ‘child’ timeline is defined as the one where Link reverses time and is able to reveal Ganon’s evil plot, thus stopping the terrible events of the future from happening. Through his heroic efforts in the future, Link faced insurmountable odds to stop Ganon after seven years of the Demon King waging war on Hyrule.  Link then goes back in time to bravely stand up and prevent the terrible events of the future from ever happening. Before Ganondorf is able to execute his plan he is arrested for treason and imprisoned in the Twilight realm.

Link then goes on to save an entirely new land, Termina, from complete destruction while still being just a child.  Finally, we see that his courage continued to bear fruit by training yet another champion many years later.  In Twilight Princess we discover that Ganondorf tricked the Twili, Zant, into doing his bidding.  Ganondorf attempts to use his new puppet to invade Hyrule but his plans are again thwarted by a new incarnation of Link, aided by the shade of the Hero of Time. This new Link becomes victorious in saving both Hyrule and the Twilight Realm. Link defeats the Ganondorf of Time incarnation once and for all.  We see that a wholly new reincarnation of Ganondorf attempts to rise to power at the end of Four Swords Adventures (the last game of ‘Link’s’ timeline) but is yet again defeated.  It is for this reason that I think the Triforce of Courage granted Link his own timeline to prove his unending courage and to become the champion by defeating the Ganondorf of Time.

The Adult Timeline

The ‘adult’ timeline shows Zelda saving the day by using her Wisdom and successfully sealing the Ganondorf of Time away in the Sacred Realm at the end of Ocarina of Time. Many years later, the Ganondorf of Time is finally able to break free from his seal and begins to terrorize Hyrule once again. With the Hero of Time returned to his ‘child’ timeline, Ganondorf reigns unopposed and the Gods are forced to flood Hyrule in a last attempt to seal him away. It is here that we begin to see Zelda in a new light as the rest of the timeline focuses on Zelda and her wise actions.

 

Zelda gets to break out of her Princess persona to become a brave traveler herself.  Instead of being bound by the castle, she is finally free to become an adventuring pirate.  She gets a significant amount of focus in Wind Waker as we see her reawakened as the Princess and helps a newly reincarnated Link take down the Ganondorf of Time. This Ganondorf makes his last attempt to take over Hyrule but is finally struck down by Link and Zelda.  Ganondorf’s  body, now frozen in stone, is left behind in old Hyrule to be forever washed away.

Zelda returns to her adventures on the high seas as a pirate during Phantom Hourglass and later becomes a true champion by establishing Hyrule in a new land.  Her descendants then finally take up their reign as Princess in this new Hyrule. In Spirit Tracks, Zelda even becomes an invaluable spirit-partner throughout the entire story, where we see her in the most action in the series by far.  This is why I believe the Triforce of Wisdom allowed Princess Zelda to have her own timeline to display her incredible wisdom in the most desperate of times in Hyrule’s history.

 

The Fallen Timeline

Finally, the ‘fallen’ timeline only really makes sense when it is the Triforce of Power that grants Ganondorf his own victorious version of reality. Hyrule Historia introduces this timeline as ‘The Decline of Hyrule and the Last Hero’.  It goes on to say:

“Of all possible outcomes, Link, the Hero of Time, faced defeat at the hands of Ganondorf.  The thief obtained the three pieces of the Triforce, transformed into the Demon King, Ganon, and continued to threaten the world in future eras. The conflict surrounding the Triforce continued without end, the blood of the gods weakened, and the kingdom of Hyrule shrank to a shadow of its former glory.”

In this reality, Ganon is able to defeat Link at the end of Ocarina of Time.  Ganon is again sealed away in the Sacred Realm but this time he retains the full Triforce as well as his Demon King form and powers.

In the beginning of a Link to the Past we see that Ganon has transformed the Sacred Realm into a dark and twisted version of Hyrule called the Dark World.  It is not until the end of the game that we see a newly reincarnated Link take down this incarnation of Ganon.  However his demise was not permanent.

Not only do we see a version of Ganon haunting Link’s dreams in Link’s Awakening but in the end of the linked ending for the Oracle games we see the first attempt to resurrect Ganon, the Demon King.  Twinrova sacrifice themselves in an attempt to resurrect the fallen Ganon and while his power is in tact, his intelligence is not.   A new reincarnation of Link is able to defeat this form of Ganon yet again.

Sometime later we see another set of parallel worlds in danger.  In A Link Between Worlds, Yuga is wreaking havoc on both Hyrule and Lorule.  In the end we discover that he has in fact been trying to resurrect Ganon yet again in order to gain access to his power.  Yuga is successful in merging with him to become Yuga-Ganon, albeit somewhat briefly before being destroyed by yet another incarnation of Link.

Centuries of peace ensue yet this incarnation of the powerful Ganon still had not seen his last days.  Just before the events of the Legend of Zelda his minions are searching for a way to resurrect the Demon King once more.  This time Ganon is seemingly revived and it is up to a new Link to save the day.  The entirety of this game is spent dealing with this newly reincarnated version of the old Demon King.  He is once more defeated only to rear his ugly head one final time.

The last place we see this incarnation of Ganon is during the events of the Adventures of Link.  In this game Link is racing against time to get to the final Triforce piece before Ganon’s minions do.  They are attempting to resurrect Ganon one final time and are hoping to acquire Link’s blood to complete the resurrection process.  This is shown most interestingly through the Game Over screen showing that Ganon was successfully resurrected.  However if the player is successful Link is once again able to defeat this seemingly undying form of Ganon, the Demon King.

Needless to say, this ‘fallen’ timeline is one ravaged by a beast of immense power.  Which is why I present to you my theory that, if nothing else, helps me sleep better at night.  The Triforce of Power granted Ganon his own timeline which is the only way a reality exists in which he could have killed Link.