gate of time

how many years have passed since the gate of time

a lot

1000. I believe.

Zelda says "thousands of years". Nothing specific.

I have a feeling the correct answer would be in the Japanese version of the game.

"a long time"

How was Zelda even in the game before the end since she sealed herself in a crystal 1,000 years before Link was even born?

Originally Posted by wntrmt

How was Zelda even in the game before the end since she sealed herself in a crystal 1,000 years before Link was even born?

Because that was Zelda's future.

Originally Posted by wntrmt

How was Zelda even in the game before the end since she sealed herself in a crystal 1,000 years before Link was even born?

Zelda's perspective:

(Present Time)
Is born alongside Link
Grows up in Skyloft
Tornado
Purification
Through Gate of Time to the past
(Present self in the Past)
Explanation to Link
Seals self in Crystal for 1000's of years
(Present Time)
Woken up by Link

That sound about right guys?

Less than the lifespan of a Skeikah.

Originally Posted by Vandy

Less than the lifespan of a Skeikah.

The old lady at the temple only survived through sheer will power. Either that or she was a ghost.

Originally Posted by Topaz Mutiny

Zelda's perspective:

(Present Time)
Is born alongside Link
Grows up in Skyloft
Tornado
Purification
Through Gate of Time to the past
(Present self in the Past)
Explanation to Link
Seals self in Crystal for 1000's of years
(Present Time)
Woken up by Link

That sound about right guys?

Oh god, it's like the Terminator/Skynet paradox all over again.

Thousands of years according to Zelda

Originally Posted by marioguy

The old lady at the temple only survived through sheer will power. Either that or she was a ghost.

Considering how she faded away at the end it's likely she was a ghost of some sort.

Originally Posted by The Goron Moron

Oh god, it's like the Terminator/Skynet paradox all over again.

How is that a paradox? It's not really that confusing.

Originally Posted by Topaz Mutiny

Zelda's perspective:

(Present Time)
Is born alongside Link
Grows up in Skyloft
Tornado
Purification
Through Gate of Time to the past
(Present self in the Past)
Explanation to Link
Seals self in Crystal for 1000's of years
(Present Time)
Woken up by Link

That sound about right guys?

Seems legit.

Originally Posted by Kostya

Considering how she faded away at the end it's likely she was a ghost of some sort.

Or it could just be some Yoda/Jedi-like disappearance death

How is that a paradox? It's not really that confusing.

I think The Goron Moron is right about the paradox. Zelda had to sleep in order for the seal to be sustained. From Zelda's perspective (as described above), no Zelda was sleeping in the temple before she went back in time and yet if there is no Zelda sleeping then the Seal would have been broken much earlier than it did.

It's a paradox because the effect (Zelda sleeping in the crystal) is already there, even though the cause (Zelda's time-travel) hasn't yet occurred.

Originally Posted by zeldafan1982

I think The Goron Moron is right about the paradox. Zelda had to sleep in order for the seal to be sustained. From Zelda's perspective (as described above), no Zelda was sleeping in the temple before she went back in time and yet if there is no Zelda sleeping then the Seal would have been broken much earlier than it did.

It's a paradox because the effect (Zelda sleeping in the crystal) is already there, even though the cause (Zelda's time-travel) hasn't yet occurred.

That's not a paradox.

The effect exists because she travels back in time. Look, when time travels involved the rules of cause and effect get all flipped around and effect can quite easily precede cause which is exactly what happened.