My View on the Timeline

NOTICE !!
I posted this on my site yesterday abit early, there was still alot I wanted to double back to check on and alot of things I wanted to edit. I also wanted to include some images, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

The Split Timeline
This is going to be a pretty large post, so please bear with me here. For awhile, I've been open to alot of different theories, mainly because of my stance on timeline theories in general. My belief is that honestly, there was never meant to be a timeline, and it really shows with all the clashes in the stories and lack of supporting information. I think Miyamoto and Aonuma are just trying to patch a timeline together the best they can because of the demand for one and the fact that they are constantly asked about this; it's one of the hottest topics when it comes to Zelda.

So, after examining game quotes for every single game, playing and beating each Zelda game, here is my stance on a timeline (I also have one other I will share later ... it's quite different and I only wrote it to as an opposition to this one).

Note on discussions : This is my view on a a timeline and what I view the games order as. I'm not trying to give a definite solution or exact set of events. I don't believe you can give an exact without ignoring other important facts, so a timeline is actually redundancy.

Important Notes

I didn't include geography too much as a basis to conclude which games came where. Several times Aonuma and Miyamoto have admitted they focus on gameplay before anything else. Knowing this, there will obviously be flaws in geography.

Please don't use my images for your timeline theory, and please don't directly copy and paste from this. It took quite awhile to write out and alot of investigative work was put into this. Feel free to use it as a starting point or use any of the quotes I have provided inside (which were provided by other people).

If you see this theory elsewhere, please let me know so I can kick the theif in the nuggets.

Here is a quick legend for the way I have colored things in this theory...

* Start of New Section
* Resource Identifier
* Sub-section

The Theory Begins!


Ocarina of Time
First game in the timeline is Ocarina of Time. Ocarina of Time was one of the better games to help determine timeline placements, as it has a good story and the game was full of quotes. Thanks goes to Davogones for his quote and text dumps.

The Great Deku Tree after Defeating Gohma
"A wicked man of the desert cast this dreadful curse upon me...
This evil man ceaselessly uses his vile, sorcerous powers in his search for the
Sacred Realm that is connected to Hyrule...
For it is in that Sacred Realm that one will find the divine relic, the
Triforce, which contains the essence of the gods..."

Let me start by saying the Great Deku Tree tells a long story here, and he also covers the history of Hyrule. So many people use this in their timeline to 'prove' Ocarina of Time comes first, but that is not proof. The games events don't cover the creation and don't tell how long its been since, therefore I will not be using that to base this theory off of. Instead, in the quote above, it mentions Ganondorf is still searching for the Sacred Realm. In many of the games, as Ganon, he has already found or inhabits the sacred realm. This is how I narrowed OoT to early Hyrule.

People from Market
"Legends say that the Temple of Time is the entrance to the Sacred Realm..."

This quote holds alittle importance to me. Before the later events in OoT, where Ganon was able to enter the Sacred Realm, the entrance was sealed off by the Temple of Time. In later games, such as Twilight Princess, the Temple of Time does not lead to the Sacred Realm. This I believe has some importance because it helps distinguish placement when Ganondorf first entered and the effect it had. Ultimately, Link did not travel 7 years in time! Thus, there is no timeline split here.

Rauru After Opening the Doors of Time
"Only one worthy of the title of "Hero of Time" can pull it from the Pedestal of Time....
However, you were too young to be the Hero of Time...
Therefore, your spirit was sealed here for seven years.
And now that you are old enough, the time has come for you to awaken as the
Hero of Time!"

This quote signifies some pretty big importance. The Master Sword exists in several other Zelda games that Link weilds, yet ... no other Link is the Hero of Time. For the Master Sword to exist already pulled from the Pedestal of Time, the Hero of Time must have came before them to do so.

The Time Travel Redux
Now, pulling the sword from the Pedestal did not cause Link to travel in time, it only sealed him there until he was old enough to become the Hero of Time. Each time Link travels back in time, he does not open a new dimension or alternate rift in time, simply because once he lifts the Master Sword back up, he returns right where he left off after being sealed away for seven years once more. It's only when Zelda sends him back that we have a big problem.

I am no expert on physics, and I don't believe anyone can tell you exactly what would happen in a situation like this. The way I see it, the events with Adult Link continued until we reach Zelda. She sends Link back in time, but her time continues. Since Link never returned back to the adult time and continued on to Termina as a child, the Adult Link time seperates itself from what Link presently does in leaving Hyrule. He continues on to save Termina...

And while Link is gone, years down the road, Hyrule needs a savior once again. Since Zelda and the Sages sealed Ganon away in Adult Links time, he has finally broken free and eventually, the goddesses flood Hyrule creating the Wind Waker. Let's give a visual of this...

OoT (AL) => The Wind Waker => Phantom Hourglass
OoT (YL) => Majora's Mask

The developers themselves have even admitted Termina exists in a seperate dimension, and by this I think they were refering to a seperate time dimension. Anyways, let's move onwards, we're still on Ocarina of Time.

Bearded Guy at Market
"That guy riding on the black horse must have been Ganondorf, who is renowned as the Gerudo King of Thieves."

Somewhat of an importance! Ganondorf is not referred to as the King of Darkness or anything like that, he is refered to as the Gerudo King of Thieves. This just further helps support the fact that OoT is going to come before any other Zelda. Note, Darunia also calls him Gerudo thief, and more importantly, after 7 years, Rauru calls him the Gerudo King of Thieves. While this is not concrete evidence, it supports the idea that Ganondorf has yet to evolve into any state other than his Gerudo form and has not yet conquered any worlds, hence no legends have been created around the idea he is an evil tyrant or ruler.

Rauru to Link
"Though you opened the Door of Time in the name of peace... Ganondorf, the Gerudo King of Thieves, used it to enter this forbidden Sacred Realm! He obtained the Triforce from the Temple of Light, and with its power, he became the King of Evil..."

Here we go, now we have confirmation of how Ganondorf became the King of Evil. Because Ganondorf laid hands upon the Triforce, he obtained the Triforce of Power and special powers with it. He used the powers to conquer Hyrule in 7 short years and became the King of Evil.

Ganon Being Sealed into the Evil Realm after Defeat...
"Someday...
When this seal is broken...
That is when I will exterminate your descendants!!"

The quote above really holds no evidence to the timeline, just tossing it in there. It only goes to prove that he is not dead. With that, Princess Zelda returns Link to his childhood creating the split I mentioned above. Hyrule is at peace... for now.

This ends the Ocarina of Time. So for our synopsis...
Ocarina of Time by no doubt, comes early in Hyrule's history. References to Ganondorf pre-ownership of the Triforce of Power and pre-entrance of the Sacred Realm, plus his transformation into Ganon sets the stage for all Zelda games to come. There is alot of important dialogue in Ocarina of Time and some of it was used here, check out Davogones quote faqs at ZeldaLegends.net (when it comes back online).

Now where to go. My definite belief is that Majora's Mask follows next, and I don't think anyone will argue this.

Majora's Mask
The story to Majora's Mask is simple. After Link is returned to his time at the conclusion of Ocarina of Time, he travels off in the woods. His horse is stolen from him by the Skull Kid and he gives chase. He is lured into an alternate dimension where the land of Termina exists and is in peril from a new enemy.

Majora's Mask is the obvious follow up to Ocarina of Time, so I won't get into it too much. I do believe, and I explained this above, that Majora' Mask exists directly after Young Link's adventure in OoT, but before Adult Links. I believe Majora's Mask exists in a time split away from Adult Links, caused by traveling back in time and not continuing forward where he had left off.

However this happened, Aonuma supports and confirmed a split timeline around this. So, what else does he confirm? The Wind Waker continues a hundred years or so after Adult Link defeats Ganondorf / Ganon, while Twilight Princess comes a few hundred years after Link returns to his childhood years, parellel to the Wind Waker. So now we have our timeline...

OoT (AL) => The Wind Waker
OoT (YL) => Majora's Mask => Twilight Princess

I guess thats enough of Majora's Mask, you can't really argue its placement unless you want to tell Aonuma he is wrong. Next, we will follow up with The Wind Waker and then Twilight Princess, since we have already placed them.

The Wind Waker
The Wind Waker is set to follow the events of Adults Link's adventure in Ocarina of Time. Link is sent back after defeating Ganondorf / Ganon in Ocarina of Time, leaving that time period to carry on without a hero.

A hundred years or so later, Ganondorf is back searching for the two other pieces of the Triforce, the Triforce of Courage and the Triforce of Wisdom so he can rule Hyrule. The people awaited the Hero of Time to return and defeat the King of Evil, but he never showed up. The Goddesses had no choice but the protect their people and flood the world.

Fado, Ancient Sage
"I am Fado of the Kokiri tribe. I know I appear to you as a child, but the eyes can oft deceive. I am a most esteemed sage."

In the Wind Waker, we meet two ancient Sages that retain phycial forms from cultures in Hyrule, Ocarina of Time era. We know the Kokiri were a tribe / culture that existed in the days of Ocarina of Time and no longer exist in the Wind Waker. This can be considered good evidence since the tribe was forced into or magically evolved into the Korok.

Ganon's Tower
Another small fact is that Ganon's Tower still exists under the waters of the Great Sea. Since the Wind Waker follows Ocarina of Time, this is actually somewhat important in placing this game to either side of the timeline split. Since Link returned to his original time and Ganon was sealed away in the Adult Timeline, Ganon's Tower still exists in the Adult Link timeline, whereas it never existed in Young Links time.

Anyways, gone on long enough about the Wind Waker, it's already been officially confirmed to follow Ocarina of Time. Since Phantom Hourglass isn't out yet, I can't write much about it, though it is confirmed as a sequel to the Wind Waker, so I will now place that in. Once again, this is what our current timeline theory looks like...

OoT (AL) => The Wind Waker => Phantom Hourglass
OoT (YL) => Majora's Mask => Twilight Princess

Twilight Princess
Really, I don't have much here. The only reason I've already tossed it behind Majora's Mask is because that's where it was confirmed as going by Aonuma himself. Twilight Princess was confirmed to follow a few hundred years after Ocarina of Time events, in the same timeline young Link continued to exist in, which would cause Twilight Princess to happen parallel to the Wind Waker in their seperate timelines.

There really is nothing to go on that tells how Twilight Princess comes into being, since Majora's Mask happens in a land called Termina and Twilight Princess happens in Hyrule. My guess is that Link was able to return to Hyrule after saving Termina to keep his geneology and heritage going.

If Link from Termina was never able to return to Hyrule, the Link in Twilight Princess would have to be unrelated to our OoT Link.

Anyways, that isn't too important, we know where Twilight Princess officially stands. Let's bring the story together. Young Link was sent back to his childhood after defeating Ganon and the sages sealed Ganon away in the Evil Realm (which could be the same realm the Twili were banished to). Link wanders off into the wood and is transported to Termina. Link saves Termina from the moon and Majora's Mask becoming a hero in two worlds. Sometime a few hundred years later, Ganondorf managed to break free of his banishment (which most likely is the Twilight Realm) and the events of Twilight Princess start to unfold.

Twilight Princess was really unclear with alot of information, so all I really am basing this upon is Aonuma's confirmed location in the timeline, and making the best backstory to this as I can to build into the rest of my timeline.

Now where do we go? Well, since we don't have Phantom Hourglass, we can't say for sure where this game leads us, so let's skip down to Twilight Princess. Can we tell what game follows Twilight Princess in the timeline? Honestly, I don't think you can. Twilight Princess introduced so many new things that just doesn't fit too well, so let's jump around to other games.

The Minish Cap
I decided to skip to an important game to the timeline, a game that can throw things off with ease. The Minish Cap is easy to place within the Four Swords series, whoever. The storyline tells of the creation of the Four Sword and introduces us to a new evil; Vaati. Vaati wins a competition in Hyrule, which gives him the right to touch the Picori Blade. The Picori Blade has sealed evil away in a chest for many years, and Vaati seizes this opportunity to destroy the sword and opens the chest, releasing the monsters within. He then turns Princess Zelda to stone and attacks Link. The Sword that can seal Vaati away and break the curse on Zelda is now broken, and the only way to fix it is the have the Minish People themselves reforge it.

Diffecult to place this game because there isn't much in it to support a previous game, but there still are a few things.

"A long, long time ago... when the world was on the verge of being swallowed by shadow... The tiny Picori appeared from the sky, bringing the hero of men a sword and a golden light. With wisdom and courage, the hero drove out the darkness. When peace had been restored, the people enshrined that blade with care. And the force of the golden light, embodied in Hyrule's princess, shone forth upon the lands."

While there is no way to determine the events this quote tells of, we do know that Hyrule was once under threat by dark forces and that Hyrule was saved by a young hero. Throughout all the Legends told in Hyrule, they speak of only few dark forces, which are Ganon/dorf and Vaati. We know this is our first encounter with Vaati, so it must have been Ganondorf attacking Hyrule, narrowing down the fact that the Minish Cap cannot be the first in the series.

For now, let's float it out there and we will work on connecting it once we've connected more games to this one... Our timeline thus far...

OoT (AL) => tWW => PH
OoT (YL) => MM => TP
~ TMC

Four Swords
Four Swords has to come next, for a few reasons. First and foremost, the developers have already officially confirmed that it does. There is no better proof than that (most of the time). Now for some supporting information...

The story behind Four Swords is all about Vaati's return.
"That is the sacred blade I spoke of, the Four Sword. Sealed away in its forged steel is Vaati, the wind mage. Lately I have been sensing weakness in the seal. It worries me. That is why we have come here... Be careful. It is said that the body of one who touches this blade will be shattered to pieces. It has mysterious powers...

Legends say that when mighty Vaati attacked, a hero arose and saved the people from destruction. They go on to say that by using this sword, the one was as four, and the four combined their strength! Let's check the seal...

...My name is Vaati. I am the great wind mage! The seal is broken... so I shall rage yet again!"

There it is. Vaati has already been defeated and sealed away within the Four Sword atleast once before. There is more importance in that quote, however... The fact that Princess Zelda and Link only know what has been told of in legend about the Four Sword and Vaati means they are different people than the Link / Zelda in the Minish Cap.

Vaati
"Welcome to my palace! I never thought you would be so bold as to pursue the maiden, Zelda, until you stood before me. Eh? What's that? That blade you have... Is that not the accursed Four Sword?"

Zelda ... a maiden?

OoT (AL) => tWW => PH
OoT (YL) => MM => TP
~ tMC => Four Swords

Four Swords Adventures
The game that follows Four Swords... Four Swords Adventures. Why? Developers say so and there's a few supporting facts. There's also important clues and events in FSA that pretty much follow Four Swords as well.

Four Swords Adventures Manual
"Long ago in the inner reaches of Hyrule, an evil wind sorcerer known as Vaati began kidnapping beautiful young maidens, one after another. Nobody could stop Vaati, and the people of Hyrule despaired. Then, a brave young warrior carrying only a single sword appeared.

When the young lad took out his sword, he split into four separate beings. The legends say that these four beings worked as one and defeated Vaati.

The wanderer, united once again, imprisoned Vaati deep in Hyrule and sealed the prison with his own sword. This place became known as the Realm of the Four Sword.

After that, a long time passed. Then, the wind sorcerer Vaati broke out of his prison and then snatched Princess Zelda of Hyrule. Zelda's childhood friend, a young boy named Link, claimed the strange power of the Four Sword and fought Vaati fiercely. In the end, he succeeded in sealing Vaati away once again.

And so, peace was restored to Hyrule once again. Or so everyone thought... "

The storyline of FSA pretty much explains the connection to the Minish Cap and Four Swords. It gives you the back history to Vaati and the Four Sword, mentioning the fact that it was 'long ago'. Now it also references to Four Sword in telling how Zelda was once before kidnapped by Vaati and Link saved her using the Four Sword. Now the evil is back again...

Narration in game
"This sword guards the seal on the wind sorcerer Vaati.
If you draw the sword, you must know what will happen."

This just further infers that Link has done this once before, or has experience with this. How would he know exactly what happens if he has never done this before?

Princess Zelda
"The six maidens who guard Hyrule are gathered here in the castle."

Not too important, just pointing out the fact that Hyrule society now includes maidens as a source of protection and guardianship over the lands. This could be somewhat important later...

It's also important that we see Vaati in his beast form in the beginning (and throughout) the game. This helps place FSA at the end of the FS series since Vaati has already undergone his transformation.

There is something on my mind right now. Long ago a Dark Tribe invaded Hyrule and was defeated. They were imprisoned within the mirror and the mirror was secreted away in a temple in the Forest. This almost sounds like Twilight Princess, except for a few things...

1. It is the Dark Mirror, not the Mirror of Twilight.

2. The Dark Tribe was literally imprisoned within the mirror, while the Mirror of Twilight acts as a gateway between two realms.

Alot of people seem to draw a connection between this and Twilight Princess. While it is similar, I think there is no real connection between the two here.

Princess Zelda
"Ganon... This beast was once of the Gerudo... Once human. He was called Ganondorf! King of Darkness, ancient demon reborn. The wielder of the trident!!"

This quote is rather important. Here we are in Four Swords Adventures and Zelda is telling a short bit of history here ... that Ganon was once human (Ganondorf). Now, alot of people stress importance on the 'ancient demon reborn' part of this quote, but I don't believe it holds too much ground; people take it completely out of context and over analyze it. What I believe it to be saying is that Ganondorf was destroyed once before and took on a new look, new form and new powers. The only times we have seen Ganondorf was in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess. In Ocarina of Time he was defeated by Adult Link, and transformed into Ganon. In Twilight Princess, he was defeated by Link, but Ganondorf already was able to transform into Ganon, and visa versa.

Now to complicate things. If Ganondorf was never defeated in Ocarina of Time (Young Link), we can obviously use alittle bit of deduction here to place things. Twilight Princess tells and shows us how Link became a beast, and tells of Ganondorfs tranformations into his beastly state...

Spoken by Faron
"In the land covered in twilight, where people roam as spirits, you were transformed into a blue-eyed beast... That was a sign... it was a sign that the powers of the chosen one rest within you...and that they are awakening.

Look at your awakened form...
The green tunic that is your garb once belonged to the ancient hero chosen by the gods...

His power is yours. His is the true power that slept within you. Your name is Link. You are the hero chosen by the gods."

Link was transformed into a Wolf because he had the Triforce of Courage. I can imagine much of the same happened to Ganondorf since he had the Triforce of Power...

Spoken by Eldin
"To the hero...who was transformed into a blue-eyed beast...in the realm of shadows... In twilight..."

Just another quote about Link's tranformation into his beastly state. We are never really told what causes Ganondorf to be able to transform into his beastly state in the Wind Waker, but I am sure it has something to do with the Twilight, as it did with Link. Whatever the cause, it appears Ganondorf can transform from this state, implying that it isn't a permanent change within himself. With that, I am going to say he was never reborn into a new state, therefore putting FSA events after Ocarina of Times (Adult Link). There was also small bits about the two different forms of Ganon ... In Ocarina of Time he is a large pig-like creature that walks upright, almost seeming to be a more suitable evolutionary state for Ganondorf. While in Twilight Princess, Ganon is left a beast that walks on all fours. The most suitable connection between the two Ganons to FSA would be the upright walking creature that is able to weild weapons.

Now, let's go ahead and alter out timeline a bit...

OoT (AL) => tWW => PH (?) tMC => FS => FSA
OoT (YL) => MM => TP

A Link to the Past
Finally! One of the best Zelda games ... one of the best games ever for that matter. A Link to the Past starts off by telling us the history behind the game with the Imprisoning War ... a controversial event in the Zelda series and timeline.

The games present time story tells of a wizard who was using his magic to kidnap the maidens, decendants of the Wise Men who sealed the Golden Land from Hyrule. He captures 6 maidens, leaving Princess Zelda as the seventh and entering the beginnings of A Link to the Past.

He eventually captures her and breaks the Seal to the Golden Land, which by now is the Dark World where Ganon lives and rules. Let's get down to some business now that we are familiarized with the story... Let's get on to some quotes...

Old Woman in Kakariko Village
"Long ago, a prosperous people known as the Hylia inhabited this land...
Legends tell of many treasures that the Hylia hid throughout the land..."

This came of some importance to me, as it implied that the Hylians no longer live in Hyrule or existed. They refer to the story as legend. Could be of some importance, let's look ahead some more.

Sahasrahla
"Three or four generations ago, an order of knights protected the royalty of the Hylia. These Knights of Hyrule were also guardians of the Pendant of Courage. Unfortunately, most of them were destroyed in the great war against evil that took place when the seven wise men created their seal. Among the descendants of the Knights Of Hyrule a hero must appear."

This seems pretty important. It tells the story behind the Knights of Hyrule who were incharge of protecting the Royal Family of Hyrule. It also mentions their destruction as the Wise Men made the Seal seperating the Golden Land from the 'Light World'.

Let's examine a few things for a moment, since I am leaning to a connection to FSA. For one, FSA doesn't mention a war or the Imprisoning War. However, in FSA Ganon possesses the Trident of Power and he exists in the Light World. He used the Trident of Power in FSA to send the Knights of Hyrule to the Dark World and transform them into evil monsters.

Agahnim
"After all, the legendary Hero cannot defeat us, the tribe of evil, when we are armed with the Power of Gold. Ho ho ho... Now, I must go!"

Now, FSA mentions something about imprisoning the dark tribe with the Dark Mirror. Could Agahnim be of the same tribe or mentioning the same tribe? We really can't say for sure.

Swamp Palace Maiden
"You are the only one who can destroy Ganondorf, the thief-no, Ganon, the evil King Of Darkness!"

This maiden had to correct herself, saying he was no longer Ganondorf the thief, but Ganon the Evil King of Darkness.

OoT - King of Evil
ALttP, FSA, TP - Evil King of Darkness

Oh well. Just an observation. Let's continue.

Maiden in Skull Woods
"...Do you know the prophecy of the Great Cataclysm? This is the way I heard it... If a person who has an evil heart gets the Triforce, a Hero is destined to appear ... and he alone must face the person who began the Great Cataclysm."

Above I defined cataclysm, and now we know what it refers to. Now more from the same Maiden...

"Only a person of the Knights Of Hyrule, who protected the royalty of Hylia, can become the Hero... You are of their blood-line, aren't you? Then you must rescue Zelda without fail."

Maiden in Village of Outcasts
"As the wise men sealed the way to the Dark World, the Knights Of Hyrule defended them from the attacks of evil monsters. I heard that the Knights Of Hyrule were nearly wiped out in that battle...

You are perhaps the last one to carry on the blood-line of the Knights... It is ironic that the last one in the line has the potential to become the Hero of legend. Surely you can destroy Ganon!"

Both of those quotes struck me as important. We dealt alot with the Knights of Hyrule in FSA, and we know that the ones we saw did sucumb to Ganon and his Trident. However, Ganon did not kill them, he instead transported them to the Dark World where they were turned into evil monsters and used to fight alongside dark forces.

She mentioned the fact that not all of the Knights of Hyrule were killed and that Link could possibly be a decendant from a Knight of Hyrule.

While nothing in FSA directly mentions the plot to be based upon the Imprisoning War, I believe it most likely is setting the stage for it. For one, the ALttP manual mentions that many years go by where Hyrule is plagued by drought and disease, so the effect of Ganon gaining control over the Triforce is not immediate. It also tells that the Knights of Hyrule took the brunt of the attack of the war, but it doesn't say all were killed, as is confirmed by the Maiden in the Village of Outcasts. FSA also mentions the fact that not all were killed.

While there isn't much directly connecting evidence, I do believe FSA to be before ALttP. Here is a quick rundown of what I think happened...

Timeline Story Narrative
Ganon created Shadow Link to trick Link into lifting the Four Sword, releasing Vaati from his prison. Ganon had hoped that with Vaati's help, they could turn the world into a land of darkness.

Due to the evil in the land, the Knights of Hyrule were sent off to fend off the evil, but were transported to the Dark World where they were turned to monsters and sent to fight alongside of Ganon's dark forces.

Ganon found the Dark Mirror and along with it, the Trident of Power which gave him the powers of darkness making him the evil King of Darkness.

Link eventually fights and breaks the curse on the Knights of Hyrule, saving and feeing each one. He then rescues each maiden and Princess Zelda. He defeats Vaati and finally fights Ganon. With Zelda's help, they defeat Ganon and seal him in the Four Sword.

They place the Four Sword back into its pedestal and peace if restored for some time.

Time passes. The legend of the Triforce is handed down through the times. People become greedy in their search for the Golden Power. People fight, disease spreads through Hyrule ... all this violence and war awakens Ganon once more. With his new found powers, he breaks free of his prison.

A gang of thieves accidentally find the gates to the Golden Land, but Ganon kills them inorder to take the Triforce for himself. As the new owner of the Triforce, his wish for the world is granted. The Golden Land turns into a Dark World and evil begins to eminate from it.

Knowing the threat of all this, the Wise Men venture off the seal the gate between the Light and Dark World, along with the Knights of Hyrule. Ganon's dark forces colide with the Knights, and while the battle rages on and the Knights are overwhelmed, the Wise Men were able to seal the two worlds from each other.

Now, here's a few quotes to support that...

Red Maiden about Ganon Obtaining the Trident in FSA
"Does your...soul...despise
peace and...thirst for...more?
Does you soul...cry... for...destruction and...conquest?
We...grant you...power to ...ruin...the world. The power of...darkness.
Evil...spirit of magic trident.
You are...the...King of Darkness."

The Knights of Hyrule in FSA
Purple Knight
"Thanks to you, we have been freed from the dark spells that bound us."

Blue Knight
"To my shame, I fell under the sway of dark powers and was transformed into a base creature of magic."

Green Knight about Ganons Plans with Vaati
"Ah! If the one who enchanted me and turned the jewel into a dark portal wanted Vaati restored...
His goal must be to use Vaati to remake Hyrule into a land of darkness."

Red Knight of Hyrule
"Hear now the doom of the knights. We were bested by a foe with a mighty weapon. He cast us into the Dark World, were we and the jewels were lost in shadow. The Tower of Winds vanished, and I...
No, WE servants of the crown were turned into monsters! The man that defeated us is also the same man who created that shadowy imp. A man from the desert wastes... He is not Vaati.
Your dark twin was sent by him to trick you into breaking Vaati's seal."

Let's show our timeline so far...

OoT (AL) => tWW => PH (?) tMC => FS => FSA => ALttP
OoT (YL) => MM => TP

Link's Awakening
The story behind Link's Awakening is simple... Link has fulfilled the Hylian Prophecy of the Legendary hero and destroyed Ganon. Link takes a vacation and is shipwrecked. He awakens on a strange island with familiar people.

I believe Link's Awakneing to be a direct sequel to A Link to the Past for a few reasons. For one, Link fights nightmares, many of which are nightmares of bosses and enemies from A Link to the Past. This would obviously mean that this is the same Link that fought those bosses, in turn meaning he was the Link that fulfilled the Hylian Prophecy and defeated Ganon.

Secondly, I think this is the most popular acceptance for LA to fit into the timeline. There isn't much other evidence offered inside Link's Awakening to accurately place this game elsewhere in the timeline. If you are a geography person, both Hyrule and Koholint share striking similarities in land ... compare two maps for a second...

Enough of Link's Awakneing. Our timeline thus far...

OoT (AL) => tWW => PH (?) tMC => FS => FSA => ALttP => LA
OoT (YL) => MM => TP

Moving on to what I believe is next in the series...

The Legend of Zelda
Let's jump and start with the first Zelda game of them all. The story behind the legend of Zelda tells of Hyrule in the midst of chaos. Princess Zelda split the Triforce of Wisdom into 8 pieces just before she was kidnapped by Ganon. Impa searches the land for a young Hero who can weild a blade and save the Princess.

This game will be hard to place, as there is not many quotes to go on, just story and the rest of the games. There is one thing, however; Miyamoto confirmed it comes before AoL. At one point in time, he also said ALttP is the last in the series... Let's jump over the Adventure of Link real quick and touch on both games placements...

Adventure of Link
After Ganon was destroyed, Impa told Link a sleeping spell was cast on Princess Zelda. She will wake only with the Power of NO.3 Triforce sealed in a palace in Hyrule. To break the Seal, Crystals must be placed in statues in 6 well guarded palaces. Link set out on his most adventuresome quest yet...

So obviously, Ganon is dead and our hero sets out to rescue the Princess. The manual goes on to say..

"At the end of a fierce fight, Link overthrew Ganon, took back the Triforce and rescued Princess Zelda..."

Legend of Zelda?

"What's more, after the fall of Ganon, some of his underlings remained, waiting for Ganon's return..."

This seems like a good quote. It further claims Ganon is dead and gone, and that even most of his followers are gone. But it also mentions Ganon returning.

"Ganon would be revived by sacrificing Link and sprikling his blood over the ashes of Ganon."

As far as I know, the Hero has never been killed and sacrificed to revive Ganon. It has never been spoken of in legend either.

"It is said, that a long ago, when Hyrule was one country... The King too, was child of man, and he died..."

Hyrule is no longer one country? The King is dead?

"They are written in an ancient script that noone can read now... Please Link, unite the Triforce and save the Princess..."

Could it be ancient Hylian? Unite the Triforce? All the quotes above help support the fact that Adventure of Link follows Legend of Zelda and that these games reside somewhere at the end of the timeline.

Let's focus on another clue found in Adventure of Link. Towns are named after the Ocarina of Time Adult timeline sages. I think its safe to say these games belong somewhere in the Ocarina of Time Adult timeline split.

OoT (AL) => tWW => PH (?) tMC => FS => FSA => ALttP => LA => LoZ => AoL
OoT (YL) => MM => TP

Now, what are we left with? Two stains on the timeline ... the Oracle Series.

The Oracle of Seasons
Link was walking through the castle when he came upon the Triforce. It told him he was needed for a quest and was transported to Holodrum. There, the Oracle of Seasons, Din, was kidnapped by Onox, General of Darkness.

Here we go, right away there is a problem with this game. There is almost nothing to work with here ... Din is an oracle of another world and Ganondorf doesn't exist. Oh well, let's get going.

First, each piece of the Triforce is in the Oracle of Seasons, so we know this had to of happened when the Triforce was not seperated into pieces and when Link / Zelda / the King was in possession of the Triforce. That leaves us with sometime after Adventure of Link.

Next, let me provide a quote...

"Thank you, Link. You halted the completion of the rites that would have revived Ganon! Since they could not sacrifice me in their final rite, the powers of darkness could only revive a mindless, raging Ganon. Your power, wisdom and courage were able to prevent Twinrova's plan to resurrect Ganon."

Did she just say that Link stopped them from reviving Ganon but revived a mindless, raging Ganon?! Well now, Princess ...

Anyways, let's jump over to the Oracle of Ages and see what its working with...

The Oracle of Ages
The Oracle of Ages story is similar to the Oracle of Seasons... Link was walking through the forest when he hears screams. As Link approached, monsters fled and recognized the woman being attacked... it was Zelda's nurse Impa. Impa was searching for a singer named Nayru and asked Link to help. Finally, they found her. Impa let out a laugh as a shadow exited her body.

Veran leaped from Impa and into Nayru, now controlling her powers as the Oracle of Ages. Veran plans to distort Labrynna's past with the newfound powers she obtained, its up to Link to rescue her.

The Oracle of Ages and Seasons I believe come after Adventure of Link. The entire premise of the series is three evil minions trying to revive Ganon, who has been dead for some time. However, Zelda is awake and well in the Oracle series while in Adventure of Links he was under a sleeping spell. Adventure of Link is also already noted by the developers to follow the Legend of Zelda.

So, let's observe our final product...

OoT (AL) => tWW => PH (?) tMC => FS => FSA => ALttP => LA => LoZ => AoL => OoS/A

OoT (YL) => MM => TP

Common Arcs
While the entire connection between the games are arguable, I do believe in a few common arcs that are the most likely set of events. The following is not meant to constitute a singular or even split timeline, it is purely for reference and relevant to this timeline. Here they are...

• OoT (YL) => MM => TP
• OoT (AL) => tWW => PH
• tMC => FS => FSA
• ALttP => LA => LoZ => AoL
• OoS => OoA

Most of the above has already been confirmed by Miyamoto / Aonuma in interviews (see below). With most of the above, it is extremely hard to argue against.

Link's Awakening is an exception, as even Miyamoto himself has claimed LA could follow any game after Ocarina of Time (at the time, Ocarina of Time was the latest Zelda game).

The Oracles are another exception. It is by popular belief and support that they could appear at anytime after ALttP.

Alot of people believe tMC could also be the first in the series, even before Ocarina of Time. I believe Ocarina of Time is first due to the events that happen in Ocarina of Time and because of Ganondorf / Ganon's evolution throughout the entire series. See the timeline above...

Which Way Will I Go? Unclear Events, Mysteries & Redundancies
There was alot I didn't touch on above that I should explain here, or question. I know its strange to formulate questions when you are trying to prove something, but I think alot of these questions will just help further prove my theory or support it due to the fact that there isn't enough information to place things in another spot of the timeline.

Majora's Mask => Twilight Princess
My main issue here is that we go from Termina back to Hyrule. We don't know if the Majora's Mask Link returned from Termina or not. We also don't know if the Link in Twilight Princess is from the same bloodline of the Ocarina of Time / Majora's Mask Link. If he is from the same bloodline, Link must have returned from Termina. Either way, its not cruicial to the timeline.

Kaepora Gaebora
Kaepora Gaebora exists in many Zelda titles, yet we don't know who he is or what his representation in the series is about. So far, Kaepora Gaebora exists in OoT, FSA and possibly Link's Awakening.

Four Swords Adventures / A Link to the Past?
When I was placing ALttP, I was reading through FSA quotes. Here is a quote from the White Maiden in FSA...

"In the heart of the forest is a temple. The Dark Mirror can be found there.
Long ago, a dark tribe invaded Hyrule. They were defeated and imprisoned within the mirror. The tribe's mirror prison was then secreted away and hidden in the forest temple to sever its connection to this world."

Now, this sounds alot like Twilight Princess, minus the facts that the Twili didn't attack Hyrule (that we know of) and the Mirror of Twilight was not found or kept in the Forest, it was kept and hidden at Arbiters Grounds. The Twilight Mirror also acted as a portal between two worlds while the Dark Mirror acted as a prison. But oddly, the Ganon's from FSA, ALttP, and TP all desired darkness.

While I believe in Twilight Princess he literally desired darkness, I believe its just a metaphor in ALttP. I don't think the two are connected, but it shouldn't be overlooked. Maybe in the future we will get some more detail about these items.

What was Links Wish?
Now, in the beginning of A Link to the Past it says directly, that Agahnim eliminates the King of Hyrule. Yet in the ending of A Link to the Past the King has Returned. Also, Link's Uncle recovers and the Flute Boy is alive. This makes me really question what Link wished for if the dead are returning. Could Ganon have returned because of this? The Essense of the Triforce says in the end of A Link to the Past that Link has totally destroyed Ganon. Well if he is totally destroyed, how does he come back for more in the next few games in the timeline? I will leave you to wonder and hopefully work on something with this.

Imprisoning War Scripture from the Manual
In the section of the english manual that tells of the Imprisoning War is some detail about the forging of the Master Sword. Miyamoto himself once had an interview inwhich he claimed ALttP was the last in the series, yet here they speak of the Master Sword being forged to fight off Ganon's powers from the Triforce.

Adult Timeline Continuation
One thing I never understood from the split timeline is how the adult timeline could continue. If Link returned to his childhood, there was no Link left to continue in the Adult Timeline, therefore his bloodline could not continue.

Twilight Princess => Four Swords => A Link to the Past
This theory was holding decent ground with me, and is actually understandable to me. As with most stories and legends that are passed down, the story gets twisted a little, so I can see where some minor flaws in the connections could come from. However, I can't say for sure that these games do have a connection until I have more detail either from new games, or if I overlooked something and spot it later.

The second timeline I am writing actually uses this connection. It's more of a 'what if' and 'can this be' theory than this one is. This theory to me makes a bit more sense because I have a bit more information to run this way with it. Hopefully Phantom Hourglass can clear up some issues in the Wind Waker.

Phantom Hourglass
Phantom Hourglass will definetly bring about some good information, but what impact will it put upon the timeline theory? I am hoping that it will help either create a stronger tie to the Minish Cap and the rest of the series or that it will give solid information to eliminate the Minish Cap from following Phantom Hourglass. I have a feeling it won't do much good for either cause, however...

Final Thoughts
Theorizing. What's to gain from it? One can truely never know for sure whether their theory is true and you can never stop anyone from poking holes in it, mainly due to the fault of the development and 20 years time.

I think any given theory can be true and accepted, as long as thats how you truely see the games progressing. The entire concept behind a timeline is to keep interest in the stories and to create a need to dig into even deeper into the games, creating a stronger tie between fans of the Legend of Zelda.

What happens if Aonuma or Miyamoto reveal the true timeline theory? A great portion of the Zelda community would fall out. Even once Aonuma confirmed the split, alot of good theorists fell off the earth. I have a theory why that happened as well.

I believe timeline theorizing is becoming a trend amungst fans to prove their worth and knowledge of the series, and they take such an offensive stance in doing so. When someone tries to poke holes and ask questions, the entire debate turns everyone on the defense. Once the split was confirmed, those fighting for a singular timeline no longer had a defense.

I wrote this theory to figure out what I thought the best set of events were. I know there are plenty of areas where the timeline could jump around, but thats not important. I choose the path and I provided facts and information. I ignored other information. The series can never have a timeline if every single fact was taken into consideration, the legend is aged.

Important Links
The following are important links that I have used throughout this theory. I have tried to group them according to their overall subject, ex. interviews with interviews and guides with guides. If I mentioned anything in the theory above that I neglected to add here, please PM me and let me know so all sources of info. can be accredited where neccessary.

Quote and Text Dumps
Davogones has provided alot of the text dumps and quote faqs for the Zelda games. We owe alot to him. It takes alot of time to gather this information. You can find most of his guides at GameFaqs and Zelda Legends (zeldalegends.net).

Also thanks to whacked_rak (FSA), Mgoblue201 (TP, super huge game script, nicely done), and Crocomire (tMC). All these quote and game scripts provided all the quotes needed.

Other sources were the manual scans of each game and a few members and discussions at Zelda Legacy (mainly the Master Swords / Four Sword discussion).


Miyamoto Interviews

Miyamoto confirms Ocarina of Time is the first Zelda game of the timeline
Miyamoto Shrine: Shigeru Miyamoto's Home on The Web

Miyamoto confirms the order of Ocarina of Time, LoZ, AoL, and ALttP
Miyamoto Shrine: Shigeru Miyamoto's Home on The Web

Miyamoto confirms Minish Cap comes before FS / FSA and tells of Four Sword creation
Hyrule; Land of the Legend.net: Like a plot to take over the world, only much more effective.

Aonuma Interviews

Aonuma Interviewed, confirms Four Swords / FSA near the end of the storyline. At this time, FSA was new (2004). It confirms FSA comes after Four Swords.
A*Legend Of Zelda: The Eiji Aonuma Interview

Aonuma confirms Twilight Princess' existance in the Timeline, after Majora's Mask
The Hylia - Nintendo News, Reviews, Media and More!

Aonuma confirms the Wind Waker a hundred years or so after Ocarina of Time
Games : Developer : Legend of Zelda, The: The Wind Waker

Ok... that was a long post. But I read most of it
This theory seems to be the same as... most of the theories around here. But I must say you really cleared everything out in a good way.

Let's hope PH shows us how the Master Sword is brought back from the ocean (and Ganondorf's head) if it's supposed to be back in ALttP, in the Adult Timeline.

Originally Posted by AzKicker

Ok... that was a long post. But I read most of it
This theory seems to be the same as... most of the theories around here. But I must say you really cleared everything out in a good way.

Let's hope PH shows us how the Master Sword is brought back from the ocean (and Ganondorf's head) if it's supposed to be back in ALttP, in the Adult Timeline.

That's one of the things I am hoping PH can do is clear alot of things up from the Wind Waker.

I looked around and noticed alot of people tend to lean this way on the timeline. I think these set of events are one of the easiest to figure, anything else and you really have to grind everything together.

Just another quote about Link's tranformation into his beastly state. We are never really told what causes Ganondorf to be able to transform into his beastly state in the Wind Waker

That's a puppet.

And I say this theory is correct exept for placing TMC-FS/FSA-ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL-OoS/OOA after PH seeing as there is TONS of evidance for it fitting in the child timeline. (KG, enemies. bosses ect.)

Originally Posted by Pinecove

That's a puppet.

And I say this theory is correct exept for placing TMC-FS/FSA-ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL-OoS/OOA after PH seeing as there is TONS of evidance for it fitting in the child timeline. (KG, enemies. bosses ect.)

The way I see it, there's evidence either way you want to go. The main problem I had when trying to fit it into the child timeline is where exactly it would go. From the order tMC - OoA is, I couldn't place it before Ocarina of Time or before TP.

I can see connections in later games, like ALttP and FSA to TP, but those connections seem marginal.

How would you explain it in the Child timeline?

I can see connections in later games, like ALttP and FSA to TP, but those connections seem marginal.

How would you explain it in the Child timeline?

I can't because it's going to be my bombers theory.

Originally Posted by Pinecove

I can't because it's going to be my bombers theory.

Ah, ok, can wait to read it there then. Didn't mean to put it as Wind Waker above, meant Twilight Princess also.

Anyways, the only evidence I can really see is FSA / ALttP connections with Twilight Princess ... the Dark Mirror, similarities in the dark tribes. I can see it actually working, but I can't see AoL in the same timeline because the AoL town names take those from the awakened sages in Adult Link OoT timeline.

Good luck with your article, will be looking for it.

Good luck with your article, will be looking for it.

Thankyou.