THIS TIMELINE CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS AS IT EXPLAINS ALL THE IMPORTANT EVENTS FROM EVERY ZELDA GAME. PROCEED ONLY IF YOU HAVE BEATEN ALL THE GAMES OR DO NOT MIND IF THEY GET SPOILED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!!
Key
BI= Before The Imprisoning War
DI= During The Imprisoning War
AI= After The Imprisoning War
AH= Alternate Hyrule
Note: First you must understand the Split Timeline before reading the storyline.
The Split Timeline
First and foremost, it used to be a theory. This theory originated by the fact that Ocarina of Time ended two different ways. At first this was an idea that many people had thought up, speculation, you could say. But as time progressed, Nintendo actually came out and said there is in fact two timelines by the end of Ocarina of Time and that there are two timelines going on at once. One timeline takes place after Link came back from his quest, and the other is after Link left in the future after sealing Ganondorf.
However, if you still want to argue the fact that there are two timelines then go ahead, but here is an insert from issue 165 of Nintendo Power when they interviews Eiji Aonuma about the placement of Wind Waker.
"Q: Where does The Wind Waker fit in the overall Legend of Zelda Timeline?
(Eiji Aonuma)
EA: In terms of the storyline, we decided that this takes place 100 years after the events of Ocarina of Time. We think that as you play through the game, you'll notice that the beginning of the story explains some of the events in Ocarina of Time. You'll also find hints of things from Ocarina of Time that exist in The Wind Waker.
There's also a more complicated explanation. If you think back to the end of Ocarina of Time, there were two endings in that game in different time periods. First Link defeated Ganon as an adult, and then he actually went back to being a child. You could say that The Wind Waker takes place 100 years after the ending in which Link was an adult."
This alone pretty much sums up that there is in fact two timelines going on at the exact same time.
(So for the key printed above AH standing for Alternate Hyrule indicates that that section of this storyline takes place after the adult timeline, and anything printed with AI takes place after his child timeline. The timeline that you will read first will take place before Ocarina of Time then you will see all of the timeline with AI dates. When those are finished, the AH dates will be shown next)
Continuity
In the 2012 January issue of Game Informer they interview Eiji Aonuma about the possibility of more Zelda games in the Skyward Sword world. This is his response saying and proving that Skyward Sword takes place first.
Game Informer: Do you see any possibility for more games in the Skyward Sword style or taking place in the same world?
Eiji Aonuma: With Wind Waker, the graphics were suited to handheld gaming. Also the game ended with Link embarking on a journey, so it left open the possibility of what comes after the game. With Skyward Sword, positioning it as the first Zelda game means everything else connects to it and comes after it. It becomes a little bit difficult to do something else within that world and certainly much more difficult to do something that comes before it.
STORYLINE
??? BI: Creation
At the beginning of it, even before words existed there were four goddesses. Din, Nayru, Farore, and Hylia. Din, the Goddess of Power, Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, and Farore, the Goddess of Courage had decided to pour their energy and powers into creating a new world. A world with lush environments, fantastic locales, and many different wonderful people and creatures. Many races appeared from the creation and began naming themselves. After the three of the goddesses were done they departed for the heavens and upon their wake they left behind an ancient relic. Three golden triangles stood at the place where they departed for the heavens and that land became known as The Golden Land, and that relic was the Triforce. The fourth Goddess Hylia had decided to depart for this new earth and she became part of the people in the land, governing and watching them as customs and laws began to form. Hylia appointed three great dragons to govern over the regions of the land. Faron took over the woods and forests, Eldin watched over the Volcano, and Lanayru watched over the lush green plains. All was good.
All the different races began, shortly after creation, to take on places they called their home. The Oocca, chicken-like bodies with human heads decided they wanted to create a race in their image. So they created the humans. Afterwards, the Oocca disappeared into the sky. The Mogma (large looking mole creatures) and Gorons (a creature with two legs and two arms that resemble rocks when they curl up) had decided they love the hot lava and heated lands of the mountain and volcano area. Koroks, with their wood-plank looking bodies eventually decided that they would enjoy the forest region and settled in. Once they got there they planted a tree that they would call their leader. Also the Kikwi had decided to also live with them deep within the woods as they could blend in with their surroundings, since they had plants growing on their backs. The Zora (humans with blue skin, fins, and gills) and the Parella Tribe (a squid-looking race that could speak) were those of the water, so they found their land fast next to a river and a giant lake they named Lake Floria, since it resided next to the Faron Woods. The Minish were tiny creatures that resided within the cracks of the earth. The Ritos (resembling humans but with wings under their arms) had decided that these regions were beginning to feel too crowded, so they took to the skies and flew to other areas around the world. The Twili lived with the humans and lived in the dark as sunlight bothered their dark shadowy skin. The Subrosians took to the underground and the Zuna Tribe lived by an oasis in a nearby desert. And the last race, the Tokay took off and lived on a tropical island and the Anouki moved to the most highest point on an snowy mountain peak.
(Pictures of Races located in The Encyclopdia)
??? BI: Demon Lord Demise
Note: I believe that this war that Demise starts is the same war that both Skyward Sword’s and Minish Cap’s opening scene is explaining.
There was a side-effect of the goddesses creations. Once they breathed all life into the world, some of their omnipotent power slipped through the cracks of time and space, making and creating multiple different realities. One of them was a dark and sadistic place where Demise was born. Demise resembled that of a human, but his hair was the hottest fire that reality could create and his body was made of rock. He called himself the Demon Lord and he wanted to have it all. Hatred flowed through his bloodstream as water flows through rivers and words could not describe the evil and malice he held for the world that the goddess created. Creating a weapon so grand within the depths of the underworld, he etched an upside-down Triforce on his blade symbolizing the hatred and disbelief he had for the deities. Eventually creating his own army of creatures and monsters, Demise fought his way to the surface where he reeked his plot. The destruction of all things that he wished to destroy.
Many races joined forces to fight against Demise and his ridiculous power. Some even went as far as creating robots to aid in their power but all was for nothing as all that stood up fell by his razor wit and sharp blade. Many races fell into decline as the war raged on and many were killed. Because of the carnage, races hide themselves in hoping for a savior of some sort to stop the madness. Hylia answered their prayers from her believers and she created a weapon and called it the Goddess Sword. The Goddess Sword had enough power to not only stop Demise’s powerful army, but enough power to also put a stop to Demise himself, by sealing him underground and sealed away by a stone with the goddess symbols emblazoned on it. Many people were killed and the land was scorched by this as the lush plains then became a desolate desert.
At this point, Hylia had decided that if the seal were to ever break the races would not wield enough power to stop him again, so she broke the land apart and raised a giant rock from it and lifted it into the sky. The humans were willing to live there, but the other races were far too proud and didn’t want to leave their land. She accepted this and with it broke the Triforce apart into 3 pieces and hid it on the island. In addition to that, the humans erected a statue in honor to her. She then appointed a group of elite humans who secretly would watch over all life amongst all of them. They called themselves the Skeikah. She then secretly hid the Goddess Sword inside the statue and decided that she would then take on the form of a human and “live” amongst them, being reborn, with no recollection as for the fear that her knowledge of Demise was too great. To remember this time the Minish had decided that they would create the Picori Sword and every 100 years they would reappear to the humans and celebrate the victory that was against Demise.
310 BI (Millennia After Demon Lord Demise Chapter): The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
This game begins with Link and Zelda being very close friends residing on a floating island known as Skyloft. Skyloft is hosting its annual knighting ceremony where one female student takes on the role of the goddess and other students from the Knight’s Academy take flight throughout the sky and are challenged in flying throughout the sky chasing a bird that a small statue is attached to. Link, of course, ends up being victorious in the game and then gets to experience the ending of the ritual on a personal level with the one girl that represents the ancient goddess every year, and this year it is Zelda. Afterwards, Zelda and Link are flying above the clouds as she tells him that she has always wondered what is truly below the clouds. Just as she says that a giant whale looking creature (later found out that his name is The Imprisoned) bursts from the clouds and takes her below the clouds. Link, being a hero as he is decides that he needs to find her. Just as this is decided Fi, an ancient spirit sent from the goddess seeks Link out and leads him to a giant statue known as the Goddess Statue located within Skyloft. After entering it through a door that wasn’t there before, Link finds the Goddess Sword, a blade that will help protect him as he is then given the task to finding Zelda. Fi informs Link that he has been chosen by this goddess and by wielding the sword must now prove it. Link takes to the skies again only to dive into the world below the clouds, where Zelda is thought to be. After defeating his first task, Ghirahim, he finds out that there is a spring that Zelda has had a ritual in and has already started traveling to the next one. Link then follows her to the Eldin Volcano where he sees a woman standing with Zelda. Zelda tries to explain what is going on as Link looks on confused but is cut short by the woman reminding her of her duties and they both vanish. Finally, after the third trial he finds them both again at what is called the Gate of Time, where Zelda hands Link the Goddess Harp. Zelda and the woman (who reveals her name to be Impa at this time) jump through the gate where Ghirahim tries to stop them. Before he is able to enter, it explodes. After he realizes he couldn’t stop them he hints at Link that there is another Gate of Time and he will find it, because he needs Zelda. Link sets out and finds out that the only remaining Gate of Time left is in an area called the Sealed Grounds within a temple next to it guarded by an elderly woman. She tells him that the only way to activate this gate is by forging the Goddess Sword into the Master Sword. Just then the large whale looking monster breaks from its seal in the bottom of a spiral chasm. Link sets out to re-seal it back again. This is where he finds out that the beast is called The Imprisoned.
After wards, he then finds out he needs to use the harp to open the Silent Realms to prove to Din, Nayru, and Farore (the three goddess who created the world) that he worthy of wielding the Master Sword. At the end of each trial and after finally obtaining the 3 flames of the Old Goddesses, you wield the most powerful weapon, The Master Sword. Link returns to the Sealed Grounds after obtaining the Master Sword and The Imprisoned attacks a second time. Link once again vanquishes the foe. Then, Link strikes the Gate of Time open and walks back to the past where Impa and Zelda await him. Zelda explains to him that she actually is the ancient goddess reborn, named Hylia and that it is her job to keep Demise sealed away forever. She then continues and explains that Demise has tried to break out of the Sealed Grounds already but the only power he could get out of the seal was The Imprisoned, a “beast form” of what Demise is, and Ghirahim needs to use Zelda’s Light Force energy to revive his master, Demise. She then continues and explains that many years ago, Hylia (or her for that matter) fought against he Demon King Demise and only mustered enough power to seal him away. She then goes on and explains that The Imprisoned has escaped the seal twice at this point and if it wasn’t for Link the world would be destroyed. Zelda tells him that the only way to stop Demise from ever coming back he must obtain the Triforce which is hidden away deep within Skyloft. She tells Link she must stay in the past and sleep again, because only then will Demise stay sealed for as long as he has in the present. Heading back through the Gate of Time Link fights against The Imprisoned again and realizes time is running short. After finding out he needs to obtain an ancient song of the heroes only performable on the Goddess Harp will he then be given the path to the Triforce deep within Skyloft. Link is directed to a giant flying whale named Levias (who I believe to be the Wind Fish from Link’s Awakening) and Levias informs him that he only has one part of the song and that Link must retrieve the other three parts from the guardians. After meeting the guardians of the land under the clouds, Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru, he is granted a part of the song from each guardian and goes to play it in Skyloft to go through the final Silent Realm challenge. After defeating the final challenge he is granted an ancient stone that is placed within a statue is Skyloft which opens the final dungeon Link must traverse through to obtain the relic that is the Triforce. After many battles he stands successful and wishes upon the Triforce to seal Demise away forever. The Statue of the Goddess falls from Skyloft and lands in the Sealed Grounds “completing” the seal of such an evil beast and finally bringing it all to an end. Zelda wakes up in the present time and they all begin to celebrate or until Ghirahim finds that Zelda is back and travels back into the past and claims that Demise may be sealed here but he isn’t in the past. He abducts Zelda and takes her to the Sealed Grounds and begins a ritual that harnesses her Light Force ability. Link does finally defeat Ghirahim but not before Demise has been summoned. After a very tough fight, Link defeats Demise and Demise claims that no matter how much hate he has, and no matter how many heroes after Link there will be, Demise will always come back, it may not be him directly, but Demise will always fill hate in all of Link’s descendant’s enemies. (which explains why Ganondorf in all Zelda games is evil, he is truly a hateful character of Demise). At the end Zelda approaches Link and says, “You know when we were kids, I always wondered if there was a world beneath the clouds. And now I know and I kinda like it down here. I think I will live here, what will you do Link?” And he just responds by looking up and smiling. Hyrule is officially born, the Master Sword is placed within a pedestal within the Temple of Time which is east of the Sealed Grounds, and Link and Zelda will always be reborn to stop every reincarnation of Demise that ever threatens the world they started, Zelda always being the Goddess Hylia and having the Light Force, and Link always being the Hero of Time.
300 BI: The Kingdom of Hyrule
Link and Zelda got married soon after and then ten years pass as they decide to reunite everyone together. They, with the help of many people, decided that a kingdom of high rule was to be established. Someone should take charge and decide what logical steps to take if something bad were to happen again. At this point it was recorded that the humans no longer wanted to be called that, they had renamed themselves Hylians in respect to the Goddess that helped them. In addition to this, Lake Floria was also renamed as Lake Hylia.
After Link is elected as King of this land he appoints people who take on the role as sages. Many women were angry that a man was elected as a ruler and not a female, so they decided they didn’t want anything to do with them and took off for the desert to create an all-female group called the Gerudos. The sages then proceeded to building temples, not only to protect the Triforce, but also to protect the Master Sword. After the temples were created, the sages then proceeded in writing what they knew about history, in a book. They called it The Book of Mudora. Zelda, using her divine powers, then creates three magical stones from using a spiritual energy from Link. Since he was able to obtain the Triforce, Zelda decided it would only make sense to protect it even more. So she forged the Spiritual Stones, using Link’s Power, Courage, and Wisdom, which were required before you could touch the Triforce. They also served as keys to the Door of Time which now housed the Master Sword within the Temple of Time. Afterwards some of the remaining people in Skyloft decided to live on the surface, while the ones that remained would call themselves the Wind Tribe as Skyloft began to become a memory.
Link and Zelda soon afterwards have their first kid and name him Gustaf. Everyone was finally happy within the new Kingdom of Hyrule.
280 BI: The Passing
The three great dragons soon afterwards pass away, but their sprits stay within the land of Hyrule always watching over.
200 BI: The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
One hundred years after Hyrule is formed; Hyrule is hosting its annual tournament for those who wish to join. The winner gets to hold the legendary Picori Blade (which at this point was called the Four Sword because of the power the Minish gave to it). Zelda, who wants to see this tournament attends it and watches for the winner. The winner is to be presented with a new sword and to touch the Four Sword. This new sword was being forged by Link’ grandfather, who told him to go and present it at the tournament, which at this point Zelda has already arrived to get him. Vaati, a young mage receives the gift to touch the sword, but at this point, he makes it clear that he seeks the Light Force, which is in Zelda, but be believes it to be in the Four Sword. When Vaati touches the blade, it shatters and hundreds of monsters are released into the world. With his dark magic he casts a spell on Zelda turning her to stone, as a threat that he wants the Light Force or she will never come back, then vanishes from the scene. Confused, the king summons Link to head to the forest to see if the Minish can restore the Four Sword. He agrees to take on the quest and heads to the Minish Woods where he stumbles across a green hat that speaks. The hat claims his name is Ezlo and agrees to partner up with Link on his quest. Link is told in the forest that he needs to retrieve four elements in their respective temples to restore the sword back to its original form. As Link finds the elements, Vaati has found a way to possess the king and uses his resources to locate the power. Eventually Ezlo reveals that Vaati used to be a Minish, and that he was an apprentice of Ezlo. Ezlo tells Link that there is a hat, The Minish Cap, that allows wishes to be granted to anyone that wears it. (I believe it to only grant wishes to Minish, this was not said in the game, but this is why I think Vaati wants it because he is a Minish.) Vaati stole it and turned Ezlo into the cap he is as a curse. Link then finds the remaining elements after this point and travels to the sanctuary deep within the castle. He uses the four elements and the Four Sword is restored and can make four copies of anyone wielding it. After the Four Sword is restored a secret room opens revealing that Zelda has the Light Force. Vaati notices this and plunges Hyrule into complete darkness. Link then fights his way through Dark Hyrule Castle and eventually makes his way to Vaati for a three part dual. The last two parts being the large black ball of energy with one eye form, that he gained mastering his powers. After an epic fight, Vaati falls and is sealed to the Four Sword in a shrine deep under Hyrule. Zelda, Hyrule, and Ezlo all get restored to their original form. Ezlo then presents Link with a green cap and mentions he never has seen him where a hat before this as he was always on his head. Link looked complete, like a familiar hero.
190 BI: Kakariko Village
It wasn’t until after the mess with Vaati that the Skeikah emerge from hiding along with some other races. The Sheikah build themselves a town and call it Kakariko Village.
94 BI- 10 BI: The Fierce War
With new races now within the mix, many people ended up getting angered by the fact that land and territories were not established. None more than the Twili, who began using dark magic to get what they wanted. Eventually the war was no longer about land and conquest, but became about the Triforce and the Master Sword. Eventually, the Twili were taken out of the equation entirely as they were sealed to an alternate reality known as the Twilight Realm. The artifact that they used to channel their dark power was split into four sections and lost throughout Hyrule. A mirror was then created for (if needed) passageway between the Twilight Realm and the real world. Other races, however, continued on wiping many of them out of existence entirely. This was was to last up until year 10 when a woman from Hyrule fled the scene with her son to a nearby forest where the Koroks and the Great Deku Tree would take care of him. On her way back to the castle she was killed. The Great Deku Tree then gave the Koroks the forms of Kokiri so look like Link and make him feel more at home when he would begin growing into a young boy.
The war rages on until eventually the King of Hyrule had decided that enough was enough and met with all the races leaders. The Triforce was not obtainable and all knew that already. Many battles still only raged due to revenge. After agreeing that it was pointless, they ended the war, and peace reigned once again.
0 BI: The Black Tower
The construction of the Black Tower begins in Labrynna.
IMPRISONING WAR BEGINS!!!
0 DI: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
At the age of 10, Link begins to have dreams of the outside world, of an evil man chasing after a girl by horseback out of a castle. The Great Deku Tree tells Link that this man is Ganondorf and that he is trying to obtain the Triforce for himself. Link is given permission to leave and is given The Kokiri’s Emerald; the first of the spiritual stones. Over some fierce battles, Link obtains the Goron’s Ruby and the Zora’s Sapphire and heads back to see Zelda in her garden. By the time he gets there, Ganondorf is chasing her out of the castle by horseback and she throws Link the Ocarina of Time. She tell Link to pull the Master Sword out of the pedestal to destroy Ganondorf. He follows orders, but when he does, the gate between Hyrule and the Golden Land opens for Ganondorf to enter. He touches the Triforce and it splits into 3 pieces being distributed to Link (courage), Zelda (Wisdom), and Ganondorf (power). However, Link doesn’t receive his piece until seven years later when he awakens in the Chamber of Sages, where he lay asleep for seven years after pulling out the sword.
---The future events of this game are in the alternate timeline section, mostly because those mark the events of the beginning of the alternate timeline---
After the events from the future Link returns back to the present by placing the Master Sword back into it’s pedestal. At this time, Navi thinks it is over and bids Link farewell. He also happened to return back before he even met Zelda (which explains her facial reaction at the end of the game after the credits). Link tells Zelda that Ganondorf will be attacking soon and that she needs to ready Hyrule for it. Three months later she finished getting Hyrule ready for the attack and Link wants to find Navi. Zelda feels safer handing the Ocarina of Time to Link, so she does and he heads off.
NOTE: Keep in mind that there is a Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf in the present time, and a Zelda and Ganondorf in the alternate timeframe. In addition to this, there is a Triforce in each section as well. However, because the Triforce needs to have an adult use it and Link doesn’t exist in the alternate timeframe, the Triforce of Courage split into 8 pieces in the alternate timeframe. In addition to this though, because the Master Sword was still pulled, the Triforce pieces still went to their respective carriers in the present time as well, however, they are all unaware of it.
0 DI: Two Months After Ocarina of Time: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
The events of this game take place within Termina. Link finds out that a great evil is attacking the world and causing the moon to crash down, and it will within three days unless someone does something. Link finds out that the Song of Time allows him to relive the same three days over and over again, however, doing so does cause him to age as well. He does eventually defeat Majora and then tries to return to Hyrule the same way he entered. Wandering the forest for a few days Link finds himself at a beach and decides to take to the sea.
5 DI: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Still searching and much older now, thanks to the events of Majora’s Mask and the wandering in the forest, Link finally gets a barring on the whereabouts of Hyrule. On his way back to the land, Link’s ship was struck by lightning and he awakens on an island called Koholint Island, with none of his old belongings. During his events here he had realized that he misses home. He finds a way to wake up a fish, called the Wind Fish and when he does that he awakens on a drifting piece of wood out at sea. Wondering if the events even took place, Link looks to the sky and spots the Wind Fish flying overhead leading him back to land, eventually landing in a country next to Hyrule, known as Calatia.
6 DI: The Legend of Zelda
Link hails from Calatia a year later after posing as Arn and Medilia’s child for a year only to see that he was correct. Ganondorf had already attacked and the kingdom of Hyrule was no more. No castle, city, Gorons, Zoras, or even Zelda. Ganondorf at this time was completely consumed by the Triforce of Power and had turned into Ganon, a fearsome beast. During the war, Zelda had taken her piece of the Triforce and split it into 8 pieces across the region. Link finds all eight pieces and overall has two pieces at this point. Eventually Link finds that Zelda had been captured by Ganon and he awaits Link’s arrival. Link and Ganon have a fight and Ganon becomes weakened. (In the actual ending of the game, Ganon is destroyed. However, due to the fact that it was Nintendo’s first Zelda game, they wanted to end it with closure… in case it wasn’t successful. I believe it that Ganon was just weakened and then lost his Ganon form and became Ganondorf again.) After he transforms back into Ganondorf six sages arose out of hiding and bound him with chains, they then proceeded on banishing him to the Twilight World (source: a cut-scene from Twilight Princess), thus marking the end of the Imprisoning War.
IMPRISONING WAR ENDS!!!
8 AI: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Two years pass and the re-building of everything around Hyrule was going successful. Until one day Queen Zelda (since her father dies in the war, Source: there is a King’s Tomb in the graveyard in this game) fell under a deep sleep. Link recognized this as troubling and went out on an adventure to discover the magic behind it. It turns out that his darker self is the one behind it. Eventually Link makes it to the Great Palace to face Shadow Link. After a gruesome battle, Link awakens Zelda from her slumber using the Triforce’s power. After her awakening rumors began to run wild. People were terrified that Ganon would come back (Source: when you get a game over).
8-70 AI: Prophet Link
After hearing the rumors running wild throughout, Link uses his Triforce of Wisdom to find the Master Sword and the Book of Mudora. Eventually finding both, he places the sword deep within the Lost Woods and becomes transfixed with the Book. Eventually becoming a prophet, he too begins to tell of the coming of Ganon, so he himself adds a new prophecy to the Book of Mudora. “As Long as there be evil, a hero will be there. Every 100 years, a Hero will be born.” These were his last words as he finally passed away at the age of 80.
170 AI: A Hero is Born Every 100 Years
Link and Zelda are reborn as Ganondorf still remains in his binding, until he realizes that he still has the Triforce of Power. Not much is known about the Twili, like how long they live for and exactly what are their rules and regulations. All we know is at one point the Twilight World established their first king, who then had a daughter; Midna. However, when time came to name the next king, one Twili wanted to be picked and was not. This man was Zant. Anger filled his soul as he prayed to the heavens for eternal power. Ganondorf, having the Triforce of Power, answered his prayer, which began his next plot and fulfilling the prophecy of a return. Zant then proceeded on becoming king by force, by changing Midna’s perfect body into an impish looking body and turning the rest of the race into minions. During this time, Midna tried to stop him and he banishes her to Hyrule sending her through a mirror, the only portal between the two worlds. He then breaks the mirror into pieces and proceeds to Hyrule castle to take it over using twilight as a source of magic. Any person stuck within the twilight turned into a wondering soul. So Midna searched frantically for someone that could help her.
186 AI: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Eventually time came that Zant and his army were to attack his home village and when twilight spread across the land, everyone became wondering souls, except Link, he became a fearsome wolf. And he was Midna’s answer. After talking to the guardians of the world, Ordona, Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru, he sought out after the Tears of Light to restore the world. During this time, he collected the missing pieces of the Fused Shadow, the lost artifact from centuries ago. After this point, Zant attacks Midna and places a virus in her that stops her from hiding in the shadows. Not being able to escape from his wolf form or in Midna’s case, the sunlight, they hurry to the castle where Zelda sacrifices herself to heal Midna. Link then proceeds to find the Master Sword hidden deep within the forest as well. At this point the could freely transform between forms. His next quest was simple, he had to find the missing pieces of the broken Twilight Mirror, so Midna could return to her world and help out. They both find all the shards and eventually make it to the Twilight World and find out that Zant is only a puppet in a grand scheme created by his lord, Ganondorf. Zant and Link fight to end Zant’s evil rule and Zant falls to him revealing that Ganondorf had already taken the throne of Hyrule. Link finds his way to Hyrule and makes his way to the throne room where Ganondorf had already seized Zelda’s body and turned it into a puppet. They do battle and Link obviously is victorious. After a few more rounds of different battle strategies that Ganondorf tries, Link stands with the Master Sword deep within Ganondorf’s body. The sages come together to finally destroy Ganondorf, but not quick enough that the evil manifested soul of Ganon escapes with the Triforce of Power and waits within the Evil Realm to gain power. This marks the actual separation of Ganondorf and Ganon, where they are both the same person, but the evil of Ganon had manifested and thinks on his own now. Zelda and Midna are fully restored and everyone bids Midna a farewell as she steps back into her world and shatters the Twilight Mirror, which only the true ruler can actually shatter is as opposed to breaking it, like Zant did. Link places the Master Sword back at it’s rightful place and Hyrule is at peace again.
270 AI: Once Again…
Link and Zelda are reborn. Ganon, who still has the Triforce of Power is still sustaining his power for an onslaught. However, he still wants to hold on to it just a bit longer before he strikes.
280 AI: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
Zelda sends out a telepathic message to Link that he should come and see her. She feels that the seal to Vaati is weakening. When they get to the Four Sword Shrine, they both spot Shadow Link who casts an evil spell to encase all seven maidens into crystal cocoons, these maidens being descendants of the original seven sages. Link takes the Four Sword to split himself into four copies to fight against Shadow Link, but at the same time releases Vaati as well. During these two distractions, Ganon finds his way to the desert to steal a magical trident. He felt it is needed to obtain the two missing pieces of the Triforce he has yet to obtain. Link discovers all the original elements of the knights and it restores the Four Sword to an even higher power. Shadow Link and Vaati are eventually destroyed, but not before Link finds out that they were only running around wild because Ganon used them as puppets. Ganon used the trident against Link in their epic duel but eventually, still having the Triforce of Courage and Wisdom follow in his bloodline, Link was victorious, sealing Ganon to the Four Sword. The sages then removed him from the Four Sword and eventually into the Golden Land where Ganon was to stay.
280 AI: A Few Months Later: Agahnim
Hearing the news of what had happened, Agahnim, a great wizard made himself available for protecting Hyrule. All was great until…
282 AI: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Some strange things began happening around Hyrule. So the king ordered the seven maidens to check the seals of the Golden Land. Agahnim accompanied them and when they were alone, he used his powers and trapped them again into crystal cocoons. Evil began pouring out of the Golden Land and anyone caught in it became a part of Ganon’s army. Agahnim proceeded and kidnapped Zelda and placed her within a dungeon for the time being. Link, soon after, was awakened with another telepathic message to come and save her. Without hesitation he found a way into the castle and found her in the cell. He then brought her to the sanctuary. At this time, Link was told to find the Pendants of Virtue (these were originally the Spiritual Stones passed down from generation to generation). Agahnim kidnapped Zelda again and brought her to the Dark World, which is what the Golden Land turned into from Ganon’s reign. Link uses the power of the pendants and pulls the Master Sword once again. Through great trials and tribulations, Link frees all seven maidens and they open the door to Ganon’s Tower atop of Death Mountain. Link has a desperate battle between himself and Agahnim and is soon revealed that it was Ganon the entire time. Ganon escapes deep within the Pyramid of Power for his final confrontation with Link. Link follows to the pyramid and falls into it only to meet Ganon ready for battle with his Triforce of Power and his Trident. They begin fighting, and Link dodging every blow Ganon can try to lay, Link finally delivers the final shot right in his heart using silver arrows (which some believe to be the same as the Light Arrows from Ocarina of Time). Ganon falls over dead, and the Triforce of Power rises above his hand only to have Link claim it. He touched the Triforce, he is in balance due to the pendants being discovered again, and wishes for everything to be back to normal, no more evil. The Golden Land is restored and the Triforce lay there. Link places the Master Sword back in it’s pedestal, where it sleeps…forever. (see credit of A Link to the Past, it actually says Forever)
382 AI: The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Apparently forever isn't quite long enough. This game takes place many years after the events of A Link to the Past born of a new Link and Zelda. Link is thrown into the fray of a mess when he discovers that a man named Yuga is turning all the beautiful people into paintings in an attempt to make Lorule, a new kingdom, gorgeous again. In this process Yuga ends up taking Zelda and notices that Zelda has the Triforce of Wisdom. Apparently the Triforce split after the events of A Link to the Past's wish and all three pieces once again returned to the rightful lines. Zelda obtains her's, Link has to earn his, and that means that Ganon gets his back, which preserves his spirit from passing on after being defeated at the end of A Link to the Past. After retrieving the Master Swords Link confronts Yuga in Hyrule Castle as Yuga successfully revives Ganon and merges with him giving him a body again. Yuga then flees through a fracture in space and time and enters a new place called Lorule, ruled by a different princess known as Hilda. Hilda sends Link on a quest to obtain all seven sages so they can use their power and bring back the Triforce of Courage for Link to have. After doing so it turns out that Hilda is actually behind all of it because she needs Hyrule's Triforce to restore her world of Lorule (which began to fall apart when she used her power and detroyed Lorule's Triforce). Link faces YugaGanon and defeats him and wakes Zelda back up at the end of the game. Link and Zelda tell Hilda about how she was wrong to try to steal their Triforce and they wish for Lorule's Triforce to be restored so that it can turn back into the prosperous land it used to be and be beautiful again, like Yuga wanted. Link places the Master Sword back to sleep again and the Triforce split apart.
Alternate Hyrule Begins Here
Note: All inhabitants in both timelines are not aware of the other timeline, they all consider the one they live in to be reality.
7 AH: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; Continued
Zelda tells Link to pull the Master Sword out of the pedestal to destroy Ganondorf. He follows orders, but when he does, the gate between Hyrule and the Golden Land opens for Ganondorf to enter. He touches the Triforce and it splits into 3 pieces being distributed to Link (courage), Zelda (Wisdom), and Ganondorf (power). However, Link doesn’t receive his piece until seven years later when he awakens in the Chamber of Sages, where he lay asleep for seven years after pulling out the sword. During these events, Link ends up finding the lost medallions and uses them to restore the bridge between the land and Ganondorf’s Castle. By doing so he faces many challenges and one of them was against Ganondorf’s surrogate mother, Twinrova. When Link defeats them, they promise that they will come back. Link then faces against Ganondorf, who at this point could still freely transform into Ganon and keep him under control, since he just got the Triforce of Power. Ganondorf looses and gets banished to the Evil Realm where he is to stay. However, the Triforce of Power lay with him as well. Ganondorf promises he will come back to exterminate all of Links’ descendants. Zelda told Link to go back and lay rest to the Master Sword and relive his lost childhood. In doing so, he gives her the Ocarina of Time and when he places the Master Sword down the Triforce of Courage splits into 8 separate pieces, since Link no longer exists in this timeframe. Zelda then splits her piece into two pieces, handing one to her father and keeping one for herself.
10 AH: Laying the Spirit Tracks
Three years pass since the events of Ocarina of Time and once again a great evil threatens the land. Malladus, an evil demon king attacks Hyrule. He is successfully thwarted and sealed under Hyrule’s soil using train tracks called the Spirit Tracks, which were connected to the Spirit Tower. However, because of this great evil and during the fight, Malladus successfully began the flooding of Hyrule, killing off many civilians and making the rest of them build homes on islands around the world.
117 AH: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Link lives on Outset Island and becomes of age to be garbed in green. Shortly after doing so he spots a pirate girl being carried overhead by a giant bird. The bird drops her in the forest nearby and Lin goes to investigate. He finds out her name is Tetra and that the bird is trying to find blonde girls, it is said that a blonde girl owns the Triforce of Wisdom. Eventually the bird kidnaps Link’s sister and he is not happy with it. He makes a deal with Tetra and she agrees to have him come along to try to find her. When they approach a fortress afloat on the sea Tetra warns Link and tells him that great evil is here. Link makes his way to the top of the fortress to see that a man named Ganondorf is there giving orders, returning like he promised. Link ends up meeting up with a talking boat that tells him he needs to seek out the orbs to awaken the Temple of the Gods. In this temple is where Link can find out who is really controlling the boat he is riding. Eventually succeeding in this quest, the Temple of the Gods arises and Link opens a gate to a hidden world under the water. Sunken Hyrule lay under the sea, guarded by a magical barrier to allow Link to breathe. At this point the King of Hyrule comes out of hiding and reveals that Tetra is actually Zelda and they combine their two pieces of the Triforce together to re-create the Triforce of Wisdom. Link pulls the Master Sword out of its pedestal in the hidden chamber of Hyrule Castle and is then sent on a quest to fully restore it, which he succeeds at doing. He then is told that there are 8 pieces of the Triforce of Courage around Hyrule, lost when the original Link traveled back to his time. Link sets out to find them and combines the pieces together to get the Triforce of Courage. When he gets back to the castle, Zelda has been kidnapped by Ganondorf. Link then sets out once again and uses the Master Sword to get to Ganondorf’s Tower. When Link finally makes it to Ganondorf he spots Zelda on the floor and that her Triforce piece had already been stolen. Ganondorf exchanges some words with Link and steals his Triforce piece bringing them all together. Ganondorf makes his wish to rule all of Hyrule and just as he is about to touch it the King does and wishes for Zelda and Link to have enough power to destroy Ganondorf. The King then goes on and wishes for a new Hyrule for these two to live in. Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf have an epic match and the two become victorious as Link stabs the Master Sword into Ganondorf’s head. The place begins to flood as the Triforce is beginning to grant the wish. The King stays with his kingdom and passes away as Link and Zelda float to the top, where Zelda transforms back into Tetra. They all sail off together to find new lands.
117 AH: A Few Months After Wind Waker: The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Link and Tetra are still sailing the seas when they stumble across a Ghost Ship. Tetra ends up disappearing on the ship and the ship sails off into thick fog. Link blacks out. Link ends up waking up next to a fairy and she tells him that she can find the ship with the help of the three hidden spirits. After he succeeds at this, he is told by a guy named Oshus that Bellum is the owner of the ship and to get to him he must go through the trials of the Ocean King. But in order to do that, Link needs the help of the Phantom Hourglass or he will die if he stays in the temple for too long. So Link sets out again and retrieves sands for the hourglass and eventually finds three rare metals to forge into his Phantom Sword. When all is said and done, Link finds himself battling Bellum deep under the Ocean King’s temple and the battle takes to the high seas. Link is victorious in defeating Bellum. Oshus reveals himself as the Ocean King and then transforms into a giant whale (some believe him to he the Wind Fish). The three spirits tell Link and Tetra that they need to go back to their world and they both wake up on the deck of the pirate ship. Tetra’s band of pirates sail by and claim they were only on the ship for 10 minutes, but then Link pulls the Phantom Hourglass out of his pocket and watches his friend, Linebeck (who he met during this adventure) sail away.
217 AH: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Old Niko (Niko from Wind Waker; part of Tetra’s crew) tells stories of a time passed. Hyrule is in prosperous state and the waters have receeded, which means people can now travel by train once again. Link heads to Hyrule Castle to get his conductor’s license so he can travel Hyrule on his own. Soon after the ceremony Spirit Tracks begin to disappear around the world and the cause of it is by Chancellor Cole and his right hand man Byrne. They kill Zelda that makes her spirit separate from her body. Cole tells them that they plan to awaken Malladus and that he needs a body to awaken into. Link and Zelda find their way to the Spirit Tower where Anjean, a Lokomo, awaits their arrival. Link is told he must travel to the corners of the world to restore the Spirit Tracks or Malladus will return. After the fourth epic encounter with a beast to restore the tracks, Byrne attacks them in the Spirit Tower, where Link becomes victorious. Fleeing from the tower and scaling the outer wall they all make it to the top where Cole revives Malladus in Zelda’s body. Malladus is furious about Byrne’s failure in stopping the two and uses his only stored up power and blast Byrne even more. Malladus must rest, so Cole summons the Demon Train and they flee to the Dark Realm. Anjean tells Link and Zelda that the only way to stop them now is if they retrieve the Bow of Light and eventually Byrne tells them they also need the Compass of Light to find the hidden entrance to the Dark Realm. So they go through another last dungeon to retrieve the Bow and they also go through the last floors of the Spirit Tower to retrieve the hidden Compass, leading them to the hidden Dark Realm, where the final battles ensue. Following the Demon Train on phantom tracks, Link finally gets the train to stop where he and Zelda climb it. They make it down the cars in time so that Spirit Zelda can grab onto Possessed Zelda. Link pulls out the Bow of Light and fires it at Possessed Zelda releasing Malladus from it and allowing Zelda to return to it with some help from Byrne. Malladus then takes over Cole’s body. Zelda then claims she needs to summon a hidden family’s secret power, so she prays to Tetra. Eventually, after gaining enough Light energy, Link and Zelda play a song together in a trance like arena and it reveals a weak spot in Malladus. Link distracts Malladus and he turns his back to Zelda where she fires the Bow of Light. After a few shots the beast is brought down and Link delivers the final blow in his gem on his forehead. All is well again, and the Lokomo tribe return to the heavens, where Byrne waits for Anjean, who apparently was his old master.
218 AH: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords (The Game Boy Advance Release)
Zelda had come to the realization that she has the hidden Light Force energy and it had led her to a deep underground sanctuary where she and Link found a sword stuck in a stone. Upon approaching the sword, it leans and the seal is broken releasing Vaati. Link pulls the sword out and searches Hyrule for Vaati and Zelda. Eventually after some smaller trials, he finds the both of them in a cloud fortress way above the clouds. After a battle, Vaati is vanquished once again and the sword is returned to its resting spot.
400 AH: The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Ages
(NOTE: These games came out the same time and had the same opening scene. Some believe the opening scene to be two actual canon storylines. Even though that these games start the same say, I believe the opening scene to be just one event, in case if you only bought one game you could still see what happened. In addition to this, there is no real order to when the games take place in terms of which one take place first, so I have placed them in the order in which I played them. Seeing that the only story that matters between these games is when you play them together with the password system.)
Link travels to a hidden temple by horseback only to see that the Triforce lay resting in it. It summons him in further and then sends him to a remote land of Holodrum, where an evil tyrant named Onox is running wild. Using the powers of the seasons he thwarts the evil and then finds out that another region is under attack, this place being Labrynna. He then eventually stops Veran from using the Harp of Ages and travels between the present and 400 years into the past. After this is all said and done, Twinrova (who promised she would be back) is on a search to revive Ganon. Link stumbles across the Master Sword that someone had stored in their basement when they found it one day. Link defeats Twinrova and moves onto Ganon, who is just a shell and is entirely out of control. Link finally puts him down, defeating the manifestation of Ganon. Peace once again reigns.
THE END
