Nintendo Finally Releases Official Zelda Timeline!!!

[Clovis15]

SOURCE: http://kotaku.com/5869993/this-might-actually-be-the-official-zelda-timeline

It seems people were simultaneously right about how Ocarina of Time and how it split the timeline, and simultaneously wrong about it in a way they never could have possibly guessed. The 25th anniversary puts the order leading up to Ocarina as: Skyward Sword, Minish Cap, Four Swords, Ocarina of Time. Afterwards it has 3 branch of points, two of which are pretty much exactly what gamers always predicted. However, it's the new information that makes it all finally make so much more sense.

After link defeated Gannon at the end of Ocarina of Time he gets sent back in time, but time in that timeline continues going forward and it's that the "Hero of Time" Link is not there when that Ganon breaks back out of his sealing which causes the Goddesses to flood Hyrule in an effort to stop him. This leads into the events of Windwaker, afterwhich takes place Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks.

The Link from the end of Ocarina of Time that got sent back in time told a young Zelda what Ganon was planning and four court hylian sages, different from the 7 sages of Ocarina of Time, seal Gannon up in the Twilight Realm before most of the events of Ocarina of Time ever happen. Then this Link gets sidetracked into an alternate dimension adventure in Majora's Mask. Much later Ganon would return from the Twilight Realm in Twilight Princess. Sometime after both of these events would occur Four Swords Adventures (Which has a different plot from Four Swords).

Now comes the part no one could have ever possibly expected. In alternate set of events, Link gets to the end of Ocarina of Time AND GANNON KILLS HIM. After this various armies raise up and fight against Gannon in a century of conflict until they eventually help the the seven sages seal away Gannon in the Golden Ream (possibly not the same 7 sages, thus explaining the race issue some people have always noticed), as explained in the opening events of A Link to the Past. After the Hero of LttP kicks Gannon's ass in the Golden Realm, he goes on a series of adventures which first include the Oracle Games and eventually ends with Link's Awakening. Later a different Link would get wrapped up in the Incidents of Zelda 1 and 2 (with 1 ending with Gannon flat out losing the Triforce of power at its end).

[xcalibur]

this is awesome, great find!

it's always fun to pull everything together coherently. But then you have to wonder how this developed - did they know all along, or did they come up with it very late?

[chi_z]

just like CC they tried to fit it together after the fact. seems to have worked a bit better with zelda, but I imagine countless plot holes will be found by fanboys the world over in the coming years.

[Acacia Sgt]

Hmm, makes perfect sense!!!

Nah, seriously, this is interesting. Now we have an official answer to the question of ages! Although I must say the 3-way split was unexpected to me, but it's cool overall. Although judging from the comments on the page it looks like the whole arguments over the time line may not be over.  

this is awesome, great find!

it's always fun to pull everything together coherently. But then you have to wonder how this developed - did they know all along, or did they come up with it very late?

Well, as the article stated, it was rumored the creators had been keeping a time line they wouldn't be releasing to the public any time soon. Well, rumor or not, this now shows that they indeed have a time line that's now been made public.

[Clovis15]

I think it's a bit of 50/50 in planned all along and the result of retcon. The games that came out after OoT long seemed to support a split timeline if you read all the evidence, specifically placing the split at Ocarina of Time, but those logically only supported the first two scenarios. I think it's the third Link got killed by Gannon timeline that they made as a last second retcon to fix most of the loopholes generated by them not building the series in a chronological order.

[Dialga_Palkia]

Now just how the hell can Ganondorf kill Link? Wouldn't that result in a game over? How is that even possible? Lets wait until we finally see the scans to Hyrule Historia. I don't see how this works. Also, shouldn't Four Swords be a prequel to Four Swords Adventures?  Unless Link doesn't really get killed by Ganondorf, just flees Hyrule with the Master Sword into another place. How can one universe exist within the other? In fact, how can the descendants of Ocarina of Time exist in the Adult Time line if the child time line would take affect?

[Clovis15]

In Wind Waker they actually specifically tell you that you are neither the hero of time - who is known of, but mysteriously vanished before Gannon returned - nor descended from him.