Theory: Zelda: Twilight Princess is a direct sequel to Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask

[Miles Tormani]

Ok... here goes... And remember, even if it seems like I'm trashing you, I'm not, I just find a lot of things wrong with almost every single one of your points.

That's the sign of a good debate. No trashing.

There are two very important piece of evidence that you overlooked that makes this entire theory wrong.

1. Right after the prologue text, you here the sound that Navi made while floating around. This makes it really fucking obvious that he was looking for Navi.

Even though you said don't think about pulling the amnesia card here, I will do so anyway. That is, my amnesia. I don't remember hearing the "fairy fly" sound in the beginning of the game. That said, both Tael and Tatl were nearby at the start of the game, so it could just as easily have been them.

2. You even pointed this out yourself. If they were such good friends, and if Link was going through that much to look for him, why did the Skull Kid, at the end of the game, say "You smell familiar" like he didn't really recognize him, and then ask "Can we be friends?" (which even explains why they end up making that carving at the end, they became friends after the fact) I've never asked someone I'm already friends with if we can be friends. And don't even think about pulling out the amnesia card. Not only that, but you are the only person I've ever heard say that, so the fact that you're saying it as though it's a well known fact is pretty ballsy of you.

I'd say it's because the skull kid didn't expect to find Link in Termina, and figured it was someone different. Besides, there are plenty of people in Termina who happen to look like people from Hyrule, and Majora may very well have simply screwed with his head a bit.

I said it as if it was a well-known fact? Oops. That wasn't my intention at all. I just meant to say it seemed obvious to me.

Re: Art style/voice, I'll let that slide, I even admitted those were a huge stretch myself. But as for the wolf, there's a pretty good reason for that. Link turning into a wolf was a major plot point for Twilight Princess, not Ocarina of Time. The magic that turned him into a wolf wasn't shown in Ocarina of Time, therefore he didn't turn into a wolf. Pretty simple.

This is what comes from me making asinine comments, but at the same time I find it questionable that magic that was unlocked within Link's own body by the Great Fairies (not drawn from an outside source, like some kind of summoner or warlock), would suddenly be inaccessible to him.

Before you bring up the whole thing that he was drawing power from the Great Fairies, who are now "dead" as of Twilight Princess, I'd like to go back into your theory. There's still one Great Fairy (that shed tears all over the place, apparently), and last I recall, one Great Fairy is enough to grant Link magic power. Even so, if most of the Great Fairies are dead as of Twilight Princess, how come there are so many in Wind Waker, which, again according to your theory, is way later than TP?

Wrong. It is never implied that it is a prequel to ALTTP. In fact, the Ganondorf that said that is the Ganondorf from Wind Waker, which is the "Hyrule B" timeline. And this is obvious, as the pictures of the same exact sages from OOT are seen in the stained glass windows around the Master Sword. This means that the next time Ganondorf shows up in future-Hyrule, the Goddesses flood it. Not ALTTP.

Yes, it is. For fuck's sake, the late-game story of Ocarina of Time is damn near identical to the legend stated at the start of a Link to the Past (that is, when you let the game sit at the title screen, or start the GBA version). The only difference, quite literally, is terminology. However, I believe the terminology was changed to reflect Ocarina of Time's in the GBA version. The facts are right there.

As I already said, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess also bring up the legend of the Hero of Time, acting as if those are the sequels where the hero in this case is a descendant of the Hero of Time. This is where, in my opinion, any attempt to bring everything into a single timeline, or even a split timeline, ends in tears.

I raise you a simple question on this regard, though: if the stained-glass windows are the proof that Wind Waker is the sequel to Ocarina of Time, in the "Hyrule B" timeline as you call it, then why is the statue of the previous Link done in the NES Link's style? Before you argue that it's not NES Link, look at his hair. Sticks out like NES Link's does in that game's official art.

Like the wolf, the Magic Armor wasn't introduced until Twilight Princess. Again, pretty simple.

Again, Link to the Past. If my memory is serving poorly, then it was another game. May have been the very first Zelda game. All I know for certain, is that it's in a previous Zelda game. Rupee powered and everything.

1. Guardian Fairies of the Kokiri, of which Navi was one, are all blue. Generic fairies are pink. Tatl is yellow. You were only right about Tael. The fairy seen in Brawl is blue.
2. It makes the sound you hear at the beggining of Majora's Mask.
3. Why the fuck would Nintendo put a random fairy there when everyone knows that Link had a companion fairy, Navi?

1. I'd like to point out color-blindness on my part here. That said, I remember the only pink fairies being the ones that full-heal hearts and magic power, when you play the Song of Storms in Ocarina of Time.
2. I believe at this point that's the sound of any fairy flying around.
3. Because not many people actually like Navi? I sure as hell don't.
3.a. Why are we debating whether a random fairy in a completely unrelated game is Navi or not?

This I mostly agree with, but part of my theory (just to BS things through, I'll admit) is that he grew slightly weaker through lack of real practice. Like I said, my theory was a stretch, but it's just something I enjoy.

Your suggestion fails to explain the sudden lack of a slingshot in Majora's Mask. Though, on the contrary, so does mine now that I look at it again.

And I'll just say that last paragraph was quite funny. But seriously, think through your ideas more, and don't claim I don't know what I'm talking about without making sure you've done your research.

It's hard to really go straight into my research materials (that is, the games themselves) when I don't have current and easy access to them. I don't have a Wii, someone stole my Gamecube's memory card and controllers (I have the Collector's Edition disc), the N64 is in a box and a pain to hook up with my current setup, same with the SNES, and I don't have either Twilight Princess or Link to the Past anymore. So as of present, most of my stuff is coming from memory, so forgive certain inconsistencies. Also, Wikipedia fails in certain regards.

I do remember the Ocarina of Time/Link to the Past connection quite clearly, though, and stand by it entirely.

I forgot to mention that Link is found sleeping in Rose Town in Super Mario RPG, which is most definitely not in Hyrule. Which Link is that? (I think you can find Samus sleeping somewhere in that game as well.)

EDIT:

Random thought.

How do you know he isn't looking for Saria?

Link knows exactly where Saria is, which is one of two locations.

1. Lost Woods, or in the Kokiri Forest otherwise. She can't exactly leave, lest she lose her life. Think that's how it was with Kokiri.

2. Temple of Light. The only other place she could be after becoming the Sage of the Forest.

Simple.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Guess what? The Escapist showed that no time-line exists [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/93128-Nintendo-Lays-To-Rest-Zelda-Timeline-Mystery].

 

[ZeroMachine]

This quote is gonna be HUGE by the time we're done, thanks for cleaning it up XD but anyways...

Ok... here goes... And remember, even if it seems like I'm trashing you, I'm not, I just find a lot of things wrong with almost every single one of your points.

That's the sign of a good debate. No trashing.

There are two very important piece of evidence that you overlooked that makes this entire theory wrong.

1. Right after the prologue text, you here the sound that Navi made while floating around. This makes it really fucking obvious that he was looking for Navi.

Even though you said don't think about pulling the amnesia card here, I will do so anyway. That is, my amnesia. I don't remember hearing the "fairy fly" sound in the beginning of the game. That said, both Tael and Tatl were nearby at the start of the game, so it could just as easily have been them.

Normally, I'd say "sure", but to make sure there was a distinction, they made Tatl and Tael sound fairly different from Navi. Not going to imbed it, but here ya go, just to double check for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1_B9P2b2jg
God I love that game

2. You even pointed this out yourself. If they were such good friends, and if Link was going through that much to look for him, why did the Skull Kid, at the end of the game, say "You smell familiar" like he didn't really recognize him, and then ask "Can we be friends?" (which even explains why they end up making that carving at the end, they became friends after the fact) I've never asked someone I'm already friends with if we can be friends. And don't even think about pulling out the amnesia card. Not only that, but you are the only person I've ever heard say that, so the fact that you're saying it as though it's a well known fact is pretty ballsy of you.

I'd say it's because the skull kid didn't expect to find Link in Termina, and figured it was someone different. Besides, there are plenty of people in Termina who happen to look like people from Hyrule, and Majora may very well have simply screwed with his head a bit.

That still seems way to far fetched for me. Plus, in the video I sent, re-check the opening. "A friend whom he parted ways with when he fulfilled his heroic destiny". He never travelled with the Skull Kid.

I said it as if it was a well-known fact? Oops. That wasn't my intention at all. I just meant to say it seemed obvious to me.

No biggie.

Re: Art style/voice, I'll let that slide, I even admitted those were a huge stretch myself. But as for the wolf, there's a pretty good reason for that. Link turning into a wolf was a major plot point for Twilight Princess, not Ocarina of Time. The magic that turned him into a wolf wasn't shown in Ocarina of Time, therefore he didn't turn into a wolf. Pretty simple.

This is what comes from me making asinine comments, but at the same time I find it questionable that magic that was unlocked within Link's own body by the Great Fairies (not drawn from an outside source, like some kind of summoner or warlock), would suddenly be inaccessible to him.

Before you bring up the whole thing that he was drawing power from the Great Fairies, who are now "dead" as of Twilight Princess, I'd like to go back into your theory. There's still one Great Fairy (that shed tears all over the place, apparently), and last I recall, one Great Fairy is enough to grant Link magic power. Even so, if most of the Great Fairies are dead as of Twilight Princess, how come there are so many in Wind Waker, which, again according to your theory, is way later than TP?

The way I look at it, the magic was neither dormant nor drawn from the fairies. He was given the ability and, as with all things, if you don't work at it you could lose it. Because he didn't use his magic abilities for probably 7 years, he lost it. A stretch, but what isn't in this thread, eh?

Your second comment there leads me to believe you don't understand the Split Timeline theory. At the end of OOT, when Zelda sends Link back to his own time, a split is created. Child Link's time goes on with MM and, in my theory, TP, while Adult Link's time continues on with no Link at all. The second he left, the Triforce of Courage split and was sent all across the land. Ganondorf eventually broke out of the seal the sages placed on him and recked the place, so the Goddesses flooded Hyrule, sealing Ganondorf in it until the events of Wind Waker.

In other words, I don't think WW takes place a long time after TP. In fact, they could very well take place at the same time. Just in different versions of the same universe. Wouldn't it be fucking epic if Ganondorf was killed simultaneously in both timelines? This also defeats the idea of ALTTP being a sequel to the Adult Link's Hyrule. The legend spoken of at the beggining of WW speaks of two appearances of Ganon. One where he was defeated by the Hero of Time, and one that ended up with the flooding of Hyrule.

I raise you a simple question on this regard, though: if the stained-glass windows are the proof that Wind Waker is the sequel to Ocarina of Time, in the "Hyrule B" timeline as you call it, then why is the statue of the previous Link done in the NES Link's style? Before you argue that it's not NES Link, look at his hair. Sticks out like NES Link's does in that game's official art.

Because the art style Miyamoto wanted to use for WW was what he originally intended the original Zelda's art style to look like. It's never really been debated much that Majora's Mask is the first game after OOT in Hyrule A and WW was the first in Hyrule B...

Like the wolf, the Magic Armor wasn't introduced until Twilight Princess. Again, pretty simple.

Again, Link to the Past. If my memory is serving poorly, then it was another game. May have been the very first Zelda game. All I know for certain, is that it's in a previous Zelda game. Rupee powered and everything.

http://www.zeldawiki.org/Magic_Armor
Nope. Sorry. It was only in Twilight Princess, and Wind Waker in the form of a Gem.

1. Guardian Fairies of the Kokiri, of which Navi was one, are all blue. Generic fairies are pink. Tatl is yellow. You were only right about Tael. The fairy seen in Brawl is blue.
2. It makes the sound you hear at the beggining of Majora's Mask.
3. Why the fuck would Nintendo put a random fairy there when everyone knows that Link had a companion fairy, Navi?

1. I'd like to point out color-blindness on my part here. That said, I remember the only pink fairies being the ones that full-heal hearts and magic power, when you play the Song of Storms in Ocarina of Time.
... Ok, now I feel bad.
2. I believe at this point that's the sound of any fairy flying around.
Except for Tatl and Tael, yes.
3. Because not many people actually like Navi? I sure as hell don't.
She was from the most praised Zelda game of all time. Plus, Nintendo loves her. That's why they made the fairy in Phantom Hourglass speak like her.
3.a. Why are we debating whether a random fairy in a completely unrelated game is Navi or not?
I warned you it was a stretch

This I mostly agree with, but part of my theory (just to BS things through, I'll admit) is that he grew slightly weaker through lack of real practice. Like I said, my theory was a stretch, but it's just something I enjoy.

Your suggestion fails to explain the sudden lack of a slingshot in Majora's Mask. Though, on the contrary, so does mine now that I look at it again.

... You know... You're right... then maybe Zelda sent him back to before he went to the Deku Tree? Then, in my "theory world" we could just say that Ganondorf killed the Deku Tree while they were trying to apprehend him, like he did the Great Fairies.

And I'll just say that last paragraph was quite funny. But seriously, think through your ideas more, and don't claim I don't know what I'm talking about without making sure you've done your research.

It's hard to really go straight into my research materials (that is, the games themselves) when I don't have current and easy access to them. I don't have a Wii, someone stole my Gamecube's memory card and controllers (I have the Collector's Edition disc), the N64 is in a box and a pain to hook up with my current setup, same with the SNES, and I don't have either Twilight Princess or Link to the Past anymore. So as of present, most of my stuff is coming from memory, so forgive certain inconsistencies. Also, Wikipedia fails in certain regards.

That is a damn shame, man. Pick up an emulator or something!

I do remember the Ocarina of Time/Link to the Past connection quite clearly, though, and stand by it entirely.

I forgot to mention that Link is found sleeping in Rose Town in Super Mario RPG, which is most definitely not in Hyrule. Which Link is that? (I think you can find Samus sleeping somewhere in that game as well.)

Yep, you can find Samus! And plus, you could argue the forest near Rose Town is another part of the Lost Woods

EDIT: Oh... and I liked Navi

 

[ZeroMachine]

How do you know Link didn't know? He didn't say "I didn't know that", and he accepted his duty quite easily. When he heard he was the "Hero of Time" in OOT, he reacted with a look of shock.

And as for OOT/MM's Hyrule being a restored TP's, that wouldn't make much sense. OOT can basically be looked at as "The Origin of Ganon", so that means before that there was no Ganon. LTTP couldn't be before it.

But it still begs the question as to why he needs to be explained everything again. If it's a direct sequel, why not just go "FYI, Hyrule is boned again. Go get your stuff together and save the world". No, instead he has a trippy dream sequence in which he comes to realize that he's meant for something greater in life. One explination of Hyrule's forgotten history per incarnation. It's like a golden rule!

Until a revelation much later in the game (which we all expected) Link thought it was a different foe, Zant and the Twili. That's why he needed an explanation.

 

[Vacancie]

Dude, you're reading too much into this. It's just a separate story made by the same people, so it will have many of the same traits. Don't overthink it.

 

[ZeroMachine]

Guess what? The Escapist showed that no time-line exists [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/93128-Nintendo-Lays-To-Rest-Zelda-Timeline-Mystery].

Dude, you're reading too much into this. It's just a separate story made by the same people, so it will have many of the same traits. Don't overthink it.

Again, I know Nintendo (not Miyamoto) denied it, and I know I'm overthinking things. I don't give a flying fuck what Nintendo says nowadays, and I fully realize I'm reading to much into things. I enjoy reading to much into things like this. I don't do it with everything, but with things I enjoy as much as this, I do! I'm one of those wack-jobs that think Cloverfield and Lost are connected. I love this shit! I eat it up! So stop trying to stop me. I'll never stop! *evil laughter*

... I'm getting tired now.

 

[toapat]

even though Nintendo said that one doesn't exist.

yeah, it doesn't exist. If there was a timeline, they couldn't keep releasing the exact same story with different minor characters every 3 years. You have zelda, and zelda 2, and then everything else is zelda again.

except that what they never reveal is that the master sword is only made at the end of the original Zelda. so even if there is no direct storyline, every zelda comes after Zelda 2 (gannondorf can take on a form similar to the true Gannon, but can not attain the size or strenght) the reason why link has such trouble killing gannondorf is he doesnt actually wield the 3 pieces after the first game, having reforged the wisdom piece, and always having the courage piece embedded in his hand, when he attempts to kill Gannon, Gannon mistakenly attempts to stop link with his Left hand, granting Link the strenght piece, allowing him to both slay the dark god and to forge the master sword in one blow. Gannon's soul is trapped inside the blade, where his mind and soul are cleansed of evil and self, creating the power of the blade. if link was ever to reobtain the wisdom piece, he would be able to truely use the power of the blade.
Strenght gives the blade its edge, and seals the blade. if the strenght peice was shattered, the sword would be be completely useless, as all of its power would be lost. True Gannon could not revive though, as he would no-longer exist. if there was a single game other then the original where you can obtain the full triforce, the blade would transform link into a god.
Wisdom seals its power, allowing only those with the power and purity to unlock its total power. unless gannondorf actually manages to kill Zelda, we will never see the upper limits of the master sword.
Courage binds the sword, and this is the piece which if broken, renders the sword almost useless. it is also required to take up the sword.

 

[Miles Tormani]

This quote is gonna be HUGE by the time we're done, thanks for cleaning it up XD but anyways...

Normally, I'd say "sure", but to make sure there was a distinction, they made Tatl and Tael sound fairly different from Navi. Not going to imbed it, but here ya go, just to double check for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1_B9P2b2jg
God I love that game

Yeah, fair point. Though all the other fairies kinda sounded similar to Navi.

That still seems way to far fetched for me. Plus, in the video I sent, re-check the opening. "A friend whom he parted ways with when he fulfilled his heroic destiny". He never travelled with the Skull Kid.

Point. This is just how I interpreted it, as well as my brother, the very first time we played the game to the end, as it became less and less likely that it'd be Navi. Especially since, if the quest was to find Navi, Link clearly failed.

No biggie.

Cool.

The way I look at it, the magic was neither dormant nor drawn from the fairies. He was given the ability and, as with all things, if you don't work at it you could lose it. Because he didn't use his magic abilities for probably 7 years, he lost it. A stretch, but what isn't in this thread, eh?

I don't think it's possible to completely lose the ability to do something. Get rusty, sure, which could be shown through less mana for Link, but not be completely unable to cast spells. Unless you're thinking along the same lines as the Merlin movie where magic fades because no one believes in it.

Your second comment there leads me to believe you don't understand the Split Timeline theory. At the end of OOT, when Zelda sends Link back to his own time, a split is created. Child Link's time goes on with MM and, in my theory, TP, while Adult Link's time continues on with no Link at all. The second he left, the Triforce of Courage split and was sent all across the land. Ganondorf eventually broke out of the seal the sages placed on him and recked the place, so the Goddesses flooded Hyrule, sealing Ganondorf in it until the events of Wind Waker.

This still fails to consider Link to the Past, which, as I've said, has clear connections to Ocarina of Time, most of which can be easily seen by playing them back to back and making sure to read all text in-game, preferably playing Ocarina of Time first.

In other words, I don't think WW takes place a long time after TP. In fact, they could very well take place at the same time. Just in different versions of the same universe. Wouldn't it be fucking epic if Ganondorf was killed simultaneously in both timelines? This also defeats the idea of ALTTP being a sequel to the Adult Link's Hyrule. The legend spoken of at the beggining of WW speaks of two appearances of Ganon. One where he was defeated by the Hero of Time, and one that ended up with the flooding of Hyrule.

And this is why I gave up on trying to figure out how the timeline worked after Wind Waker came out. Before, the timeline was easily argued as Ocarina of Time -> Majora's Mask -> Link to the Past -> NES Zelda -> Adventure of Link. Nowadays it's just a massive clusterfuck.

I prefer not to go into split timelines, because the only series I've played that, in my opinion, does a decent job at split timelines is the two Chrono games. Even those games give me a headache at times trying to figure it all out, too.

Because the art style Miyamoto wanted to use for WW was what he originally intended the original Zelda's art style to look like. It's never really been debated much that Majora's Mask is the first game after OOT in Hyrule A and WW was the first in Hyrule B...

First part, I agree with. The second part, again, ignores Link to the Past, which irritates me because that was one of my personal favorites, and I hate seeing it being ignored after so many years of seeing many people accepting that Ocarina of Time was Link to the Past's prequel.

http://www.zeldawiki.org/Magic_Armor
Nope. Sorry. It was only in Twilight Princess, and Wind Waker in the form of a Gem.

I said it was somewhere, didn't I? Arguably the Magic Armor in Wind Waker is Nyrou's (sp?) Love in Ocarina of Time, from a practically standpoint, anyway.

... Ok, now I feel bad.

Is fine.

Except for Tatl and Tael, yes.

Fair enough.

She was from the most praised Zelda game of all time. Plus, Nintendo loves her. That's why they made the fairy in Phantom Hourglass speak like her.

On the contrary, seeing the fairy in Phantom Hourglass made me react in a similar fashion to Scott Ransoomair: http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=246

I warned you it was a stretch

You did. xx;

... You know... You're right... then maybe Zelda sent him back to before he went to the Deku Tree? Then, in my "theory world" we could just say that Ganondorf killed the Deku Tree while they were trying to apprehend him, like he did the Great Fairies.

What about the Deku Tree Sprout in late Ocarina of Time? Wouldn't that one not exist, causing the Deku Tree in Wind Waker to not exist? My head hurts.

That is a damn shame, man. Pick up an emulator or something!

Don't say that too loud or the mods will come for you. Besides, I'm lazy.

Yep, you can find Samus! And plus, you could argue the forest near Rose Town is another part of the Lost Woods

Would certainly explain why they have the same crossroad pattern, and I think the direction you go in the Forest Maze and the Lost Woods are similar.

I had some other crazy ideas in mind, but I forgot them while I was writing all this up.

That said, now it's time to make this a real interesting debate. Let's try to fit the cartoon and CDi games into the canon!

 

[Twilight_guy]

Whatever sinks your sub, buddy. Have at it. While you're at it, find out who really killed JFK, I've been dieing to find out. Ice bullets, meat bullets, or something else? They have conveniently misplaced his brain and I smell cover-up!

 

[Nieroshai]

First, Link's uncle asks Link during the game's first dialog, "You've never been to Hyrule, right?" to hint that this is this Link's first adventure. His uncle's name? Rusl. The same name as the uncle in LTTP. Also, the Temple of Time is in ruins and overgrown with forest. Just like in the hundreds-of-years-after-OoT Zelda game Link to the Past, which refers to Ganondorf entering the Golden Land CENTURIES ago. Then as a sign that LttP is a sequel to another zelda game, Zelda telepathically calls out to Link and talks with him as though they met before. They did meet before. During the twilight crisis. Also, you remember in TP that the great spirits refer to Link as the inheritor of the Hero of Time's power? Inheritor. There's the Hero of Time Link from OoT, Majora's Mask, the Oracle games and (in my opinion, don't quote me on this) Minish Cap. The Hero of Winds was chosen by the ghost of the King of Hyrule to take up the mantle in Wind Waker a thousand years later. And that leaves us with our middle avatar, TP Link.

P.S. I believe there's another split timeline theory, but here's the difference. Say for the sake of argument that Minish Cap Link is OoT Link who just returned from Termina. He's befriended Zelda since they both remember the OoT incident. The split timelines run parallel up until the end. In the canon ending, Vaati is utterly conquered. In the other, he is sealed into the pedestal by the four sword. That reality is where the Four Swords games take place.

 

[atol]

I don't believe there's any timeline, whatever Word of God has to say about it. Still, I like this idea. It makes much more sense than what other people have postulated.

 

[MiserableOldGit]

The Legend of Zelda is supposed to be taken much like a mythology - the same story told and retold with a single composite character at it's centre, and a series of recurring and interchangable characters in addition. If you want to think about this stuff at length you might want to get into the Greek Classics- at least you can get a paying job out of the fucker...

 

[ZeroMachine]

First, Link's uncle asks Link during the game's first dialog, "You've never been to Hyrule, right?" to hint that this is this Link's first adventure. His uncle's name? Rusl. The same name as the uncle in LTTP. Also, the Temple of Time is in ruins and overgrown with forest. Just like in the hundreds-of-years-after-OoT Zelda game Link to the Past, which refers to Ganondorf entering the Golden Land CENTURIES ago. Then as a sign that LttP is a sequel to another zelda game, Zelda telepathically calls out to Link and talks with him as though they met before. They did meet before. During the twilight crisis. Also, you remember in TP that the great spirits refer to Link as the inheritor of the Hero of Time's power? Inheritor. There's the Hero of Time Link from OoT, Majora's Mask, the Oracle games and (in my opinion, don't quote me on this) Minish Cap. The Hero of Winds was chosen by the ghost of the King of Hyrule to take up the mantle in Wind Waker a thousand years later. And that leaves us with our middle avatar, TP Link.

P.S. I believe there's another split timeline theory, but here's the difference. Say for the sake of argument that Minish Cap Link is OoT Link who just returned from Termina. He's befriended Zelda since they both remember the OoT incident. The split timelines run parallel up until the end. In the canon ending, Vaati is utterly conquered. In the other, he is sealed into the pedestal by the four sword. That reality is where the Four Swords games take place.

First, Rusl is never stated as Link's uncle in Twilight Princess or anything else. Ever. http://zelda.wikia.com/wiki/Rusl

Second, Link's Uncle from ALTTP is never named. (The link to it's page on that wikia won't work, look it up)

As for the Minish Cap thing, I had come up with an idea to explain to this guy

*loads and loads of stuff we don't need to go over*

that could work with your idea.

It's fairly obvious that the timeline thing isn't set in stone, so you can take it however you please. But, there is only one thing that is set in stone... Ocarina of Time causes a split. After that, it's all up in the air, and everyone needs to have their own interpretation. Such as mine (each arrow points in a seperate timeline in the split):

Twilight PrincessPhantom Hourglass

You see, the way I look at it, these games are in their own contained universe. While this would be a mix of Nieroshai's and Mile's timelines (Nieroshai's being on the left, Mile's being on the right) that we've etched out so far:

??????

So basically, it's all about what you think could fit where and why. Whatever makes the story cooler for you. As I said earlier, I think this is what Miyamoto wanted in the first place, which is why he kept saying "there is a timeline, we just aren't revealing it yet". Those who now run Nintendo, though, have completely fucked up that way of looking at things.

 

[ZeroMachine]

The Legend of Zelda is supposed to be taken much like a mythology - the same story told and retold with a single composite character at it's centre, and a series of recurring and interchangable characters in addition. If you want to think about this stuff at length you might want to get into the Greek Classics- at least you can get a paying job out of the fucker...

I fuckin' wish I could get paid for this stuff XD

 

[Ashtovo]

nintendo probably would not have thought of making it this complex. however i wonder what would happen if they were to read this.

 

[Hotfoottfox]

i think your looking into it a bit too much.
I could understand getting like it over OoT, because we needed the back story with that one, like why he came to live in Kokiri Forest and so on, but TP, just another Zelda game, no link to the others.

No pun intended, right?

Anyway, I just have to say that this does make a lot of sense. Sure, it's just speculation and Nintendo confirmed there isn't a timeline blah blahbulshitblah... But I do not care. And I hate the Ice Temple.

 

[Hotfoottfox]

Nintendo issued a statement saying there is no timeline other than Minish Cap (The best game in the series, play it now!) being first and Phantom Hourglass being last.

Minish Cap is awesome. I'm playing it now, acually.

 

[laura3lizab3th]

i think your looking into it a bit too much.
I could understand getting like it over OoT, because we needed the back story with that one, like why he came to live in Kokiri Forest and so on, but TP, just another Zelda game, no link to the others.

No pun intended, right?

Anyway, I just have to say that this does make a lot of sense. Sure, it's just speculation and Nintendo confirmed there isn't a timeline blah blahbulshitblah... But I do not care. And I hate the Ice Temple.

Opps, yeah sorry, no pun intended!

I used to be the same though when it first came out, looking for tiny little clues that it might be linked to other games and such.

p.s i hate the water temples on all zelda games.

 

[Hotfoottfox]

i think your looking into it a bit too much.
I could understand getting like it over OoT, because we needed the back story with that one, like why he came to live in Kokiri Forest and so on, but TP, just another Zelda game, no link to the others.

No pun intended, right?

Anyway, I just have to say that this does make a lot of sense. Sure, it's just speculation and Nintendo confirmed there isn't a timeline blah blahbulshitblah... But I do not care. And I hate the Ice Temple.

Opps, yeah sorry, no pun intended!

I used to be the same though when it first came out, looking for tiny little clues that it might be linked to other games and such.

p.s i hate the water temples on all zelda games.

It's okay, I've done it before.

The Water Temples are indeed evil. Underwater wasn't enough, no, then they froze the water and filled it with snow just so I died even more. Yep.

 

[Danpascooch]

Wow you took this WAYYYY too far

Yeah, I bet Nintendo said "Hmm, the game obviously needs to be easy because secretly this is the same link as before"

Hell, Nintendo SAID that it wasn't a time-line, what the hell more do you need than that? They are the storytellers, if they say that's how the story is, that's how it is

Stop rationalizing it with increasingly complex and ridiculously far-fetched "secret evidence"

There's no conspiracy, they are different, Nintendo just thought that the old link looked better, so they used his model

I'll explain it again, I do this sort of thing for fun. As a hobby. I'm not saying my word is law, I just like putting things together in a way that makes sense to me so I can look at it and say "wow, this could be a huge epic story".

I realize that that's not what Nintendo was thinking and, frankly, I don't give a damn what Nintendo was thinking. I haven't exactly had much respect for them lately.

EDIT: And I think that this is the sort of thing Miyamoto would have wanted. A work of art that other people added to. It encourages complex thought and speculation about certain things that happen throughout the games. The entire series is supposed to be taken the way the player wants it to be in order to make it as fun for them as possible. And I like it this way.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that no theory will be the same, everyone will have different one, and everyone should just enjoy theirs, for it is neither right nor wrong.

Ok, I have to give you credit for that one, Nintendo has been pissing off its whole old fanbase lately, if you want to think Zelda is one big timeline, be my guest, we all have to enjoy the story in our own way right?