Legend of Zelda Timeline Discussion

[Spire]

Remember: the sages must be awakened in order for the failure line to even make sense. Consider the town names from Adventure of Link. Only Link could awaken the sages. He was necessary for that. The failure line must branch from Link's duel with Ganon in Ocarina of Time.

If Link was not needed for the sages to be awakened, it wouldn't be called the failure line. If Zelda could presumably do so, Link would never have been used.

 

[ZIO]

I don't understand what's so hard to get about that fact.

The back story of A Link to the Past notes that many lives were lost of the Knights to give the Sages enough time to seal Ganon in the Sacred realm.

Since Legend and story is obscured over time, of course the scale of the event may have been blown up and exaggerated. But it's not hard to piece the the words together and gather that Link had to have fallen in the final battle.

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

I read a post about how the timeline split into 3 when the triforce split, with each of the holder's shaping the future of their respected timelines.

It could very well be a possibility, and the only reasonable one for Link failing to defeat Ganon

 

[Spire]

That certainly makes sense. Considering the series is largely based around the archetype of three, with the Triforce the pinnacle of that concept, it's no wonder they opted for a tri-split timeline. Also, seeing as how the Triforce is split prior to Link awakening the sages and battling Ganon, it does not interfere with these necessary clauses.

 

[etecoon]

that's a really interesting observation, don't know whether or not I believe that the split occurred in that way but at the very least I do think that it being a 3 way split was purposely chosen as a metaphor

 

[ZIO]

The more I look at the translated timeline, the more I feel all the choices were deliberate.

It's something we never considered beforehand, and it seemed alien when it released, but it all seems to come together. I'm interested how they take it, and whether Nintendo decides to change it in the future or not.

 

[Spire]

The third split was not alien to me! At the beginning of this year, I created two pieces of fan art based around a "what if" timeline where Link fails in the battle against Ganon in OoT. Granted no game came after that—the idea was to create my own fictional timeline based on OoT and all the events prior to it without interfering with anything else. Oh well, guess that's out the window.

 

[ZIO]

Nothing is stopping you from doing so, but, like, branching from SS inconsistencies. I'm sure somewhere in there we could say the game created 2 distinct timelines.

At least at that point, you could literally do anything since that is the very beginning (until Nintendo says that the next game is the actual, factual beginning . . . again).

 

[Spire]

Heh, it's alright. It's an old idea that I doubt I'll revisit in a literal sense. I may appropriate concepts into a future project (potentially Jam's new group project) so we'll see.

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

Yeah I've kinda grown fond of the tri-split. I love the "I read a post about how the timeline split into 3 when the triforce split, with each of the holder's shaping the future of their respected timelines." idea

 

[Spire]

Think about it. The Triforce is always broken down in this order: power, wisdom courage (and Din, Nayru, Farore by the same leaf). It's always described in that very order. The timelines are described as: failure, childhood, adulthood. In that same order, power, wisdom, and courage prevail. Ganon's grasp on the Triforce of Power led to the failure line. Zelda's control of the Triforce of Wisdom led to the childhood line. And Link's embodiment of the Triforce of Courage led to the adult line. It's all plain as day in this classic order.

 

[GwJ]

I read a post about how the timeline split into 3 when the triforce split, with each of the holder's shaping the future of their respected timelines.

It could very well be a possibility, and the only reasonable one for Link failing to defeat Ganon

That doesn't make sense. We already know the exact reason for the first two out of the three splits. Using your idea would have to retcon the split and make the time-travel and master sword irrelevant to the split.

 

[Spire]

That doesn't make sense. We already know the exact reason for the first two out of the three splits. Using your idea would have to retcon the split and make the time-travel and master sword irrelevant to the split.

That's not the point. The Triforce does not directly enable it, rather acting as a metaphor for why the tri-split was the course that time took in the series.

Think of it symbolically.

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

The most random one, I think, is 4 Swords + Hyrule Adventure being in the child line.

I'm wondering if they have any plans to use that in the future. Maybe they plan on having Vaati in a later game (Even though he was resurrected in it, he probably died in it too - I haven't played the game)

 

[Jam Stunna]

Now here's a timeline that makes sense, except I would switch the positions of Skyward Sword and Link's Awakening with Wind Waker and Majora's Mask:

 

[etecoon]

Good concept but my god the ordering of games at the end is awful, PH better than TP and the Oracles? Disgusting

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

Now here's a timeline that makes sense, except I would switch the positions of Skyward Sword and Link's Awakening with Wind Waker and Majora's Mask:

Haha too good.

I'd switch WW and MM with Link's Awakening and OoT. As long as WW and MM are in the amazing category

 

[ZIO]

Reminds me of them street fighter flow charts

 

[theeboredone]

Lol, now I need to find these SF charts.

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

http://www.zeldainformer.com/2012/0...ZeldaInformer+News+Feed)&utm_content=FaceBook

 

[etecoon]

I like that it plainly spells out that Link is defeated and not "alternate timeline is created again". The idea of each split representing a piece of the triforce and the person that identifies with it most is great...but one has to wonder, would Ganondorf ruling over Hyrule unchallenged be the ultimate end of the Din arc? Currently it ends with Zelda II which DOES have story implications to its game over screen...

 

[GwJ]

By the way, the Hero's Shade is OoT Link and is an incarnation of his regret, not him himself.

 

[Spire]

His regret of never actually doing anything, just serving Hyrule as a knight until death and burial beneath the graveyard tree.

Edited some of those scans:

Oracles Ganondorf:

Rito Concept Art (origin of Zant?):

Unused Wind Waker Enemies (origin of Fyrus?):

 

[Llumys]

Just read through the last couple pages after seeing the official timeline on Koktaku, and I'm wondering...

How can any of you contest or suggest room for debate when you're dealing with an official, canonical timeline released by Nintendo? Though the official timeline isn't my favourite, your theories are wrong, and I think you should get over it. <_<;

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

That's quite... passive aggressive. Sigh.

Anyways, Spire. I like the doodles they did for the big enemy, haha. Gives it all that much more life.

 

[Luigitoilet]

Just read through the last couple pages after seeing the official timeline on Koktaku, and I'm wondering...

How can any of you contest or suggest room for debate when you're dealing with an official, canonical timeline released by Nintendo? Though the official timeline isn't my favourite, your theories are wrong, and I think you should get over it. <_<;

The author (or in this case, the programmer/developer) is dead.

 

[GwJ]

Just read through the last couple pages after seeing the official timeline on Koktaku, and I'm wondering...

How can any of you contest or suggest room for debate when you're dealing with an official, canonical timeline released by Nintendo? Though the official timeline isn't my favourite, your theories are wrong, and I think you should get over it. <_<;

At this point all we can do is argue about WHY things are where they are except for obvious inconsistencies.

By obvious consistencies, I mean the debacle of the Four Swords Trilogy.

 

[Spire]

Aonuma did say that he wanted to one day fit all the Zelda games into one timeline. Doesn't mean it was the right choice, but time will tell. Odds are, they'll start making games that appease the current timeline, filling in gaps (such as Ganon's resurrection prior to LoZ).

I would have loved to see FSA take place prior to LoZ because it'd explain why Ganon is suddenly back.

Something big happens between Link's Awakening and LoZ. Ganon comes back somehow. Twinrova failed (and died) in the Oracles (I ****ing love that they're the same Koume and Kotake from OoT), so someone else has to bring him back. Also, seeing as how Vaati is alive and well-sealed in the failure and adult timelines, he could potentially return in future games based in those lines.

 

[etecoon]

I'd love to see more games in the Din arc but somehow I doubt it, I'd almost dub it "the forgotten timeline", it's like they just decided "these games are old and we don't want to deal with them anymore, lets put all of them over here". The post LA game would be interesting, not only is Ganon back in LoZ but south Hyrule is a ****ing wasteland, you just have people hiding in caves and like the only thing that survived was the goddamn cemetery...

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

http://www.zeldainformer.com/2012/0...ZeldaInformer+News+Feed)&utm_content=FaceBook

 

[Spire]

Rauru is Kaepora Gaebora? Gaepora is not Kaepora Gaebora? What? Maybe Rauru is a reincarnation of Gaepora... After all, Kaepora Gaebora is said to be the reincarnation of an ancient sage, so Gaepora could be that ancient sage. The owl could just be the physical embodiment of Rauru within the Light World.

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

^Likely.

Probably just the same bloodline. Zelda+Link probably started Hyrule, with Zelda's family as the royal family. Rauru looks like most of Hyrule's kings looked (think WW king) and is probably somehow related to the royal bloodline.

 

[Phantom7]

It's interesting to me that Gaepora, who looks like Rauru, is Zelda's father. That pretty much confirms Rauru's connection with the king of Hyrule from TWW. I've always thought it strange how similar they looked.

 

[#HBC | ZoZo]

http://www.zeldainformer.com/2012/0...a-month-resulting-in-epic-timeline-essay.html

 

[WindMajor]

That's an excellent read. I only made it about 20 pages in, but it's a must read for anyone here.

*continues reading*

 

[Diddy Kong]

The time line on that picture makes sence to me, but am not gonna read that all.

Personally, I'd like a game to happen with a sort of Impa time line split. A split in the time line, at the very beginning and then see where it goes from there.

 

[GwJ]

I think I'll just print it out and read it at school.

 

[MuraRengan]

Question: The Zelda in Zelda 2 is the same one from Zelda 1 right?

 

[GwJ]

I'm not TOO sure, but I feel like they're not.

 

[Masky]

They're not the same person