Zelda Timeline
Its FACT there is two timelines. The one from Links childhood in Oot that starts with Majoras Mask... And the one from Link adulthood in Oot that. But the fact is... Ganondorf has died more than two times. In Alttp, he died. In TP he died... In Loz, he died, was revived in AoL, and died again... Was also revived in the two gameboy color oracle games... and died. and he also died in Ww. How do you make this work?
Spoilers ahead!
Zelda timelining is more an art than a science,. There is a continuity... of a sorts... but it is vague and almost contradictory.
It is not helped by flat-out contradictions made by the game makers. LTTP clearly states it is a prequel to the original LoZ, and the designers said so at the time. Biut since, some designers have made out it was not.
Meanwhile, the 'split timeline' theory long advanced by many fans was given unexpected credence by one of the game makers during Wind Waker's cycle who spoke about Ocarina of Time having two endings and WW being a sequel to one of them. Eeek!
Here are some generally useful guidelines
1. Don't get too worried about Ganondorf dying and coming back; he's a weird supernatural creatue and drama states that these things come back after seemingly being 'killed'
2. Hyrule's geography is almost entirely random and it is not worth trying to build anything out of that- though there are some interesting parallels between Twilight Princess and ALTTP in that area
3. We can make some assumptions/deductions- some stronger than others biut none totally unreasonable- that help us put this into context
Here are those assumptions/deductions:
A. The Minish Cap, has elements that suggest they are before the existence of the Master Sword, the Triforce and the concept of the recurring Link hero. The last of those three- the green-capped Link who will be echoed throughout the Ages- may come into being at the end of MC. So it is not objectionable to say that this is some kind of pre-prequel, looking at some origins (the direct relation between the Golden Force and the Triforce of other games is unclear; the writer spoke of the Golden Force being an ancient, and maybe related, legend but a separate thing. Judging by appearance, many fans took it for granted that the Golden Force is the basis of one third of the Triforce)
The Four Swords games, though written earlier, clearly come after TMC (beginning as it does with the bad guy released from the imprisonment that occurs at the end of TMC) but presumably MUCH later as Ganon turns up there as well.
B. Ocarina of Time is the easiest to out into continuity, both for story elements and because no game designers have ever contradicted or confused the issue. The Master Sword already exists (possibly foretold by Minish Cap), inside the Temple of Time, likewise the Triforce is solidly in place. Link is already green-capped but the concept of the recurring Link has not yet become well known, though it may already be happening- Link is the mysterious Human boy in a village of faries, after all, already out of place. Ganon(dorf) is the Thief-King of the Gerudos, and during the course of the game becomes empowered by the Triifoce, becomes the bg demony thing we tend to generally associate him with being, and gets sealed off in the Sacred Realm at the end by the Sages (re-named to Sages rather than 'wise men' because... well, some are female) jist as the rest of continuity has established.
Majora's Mask directly follows on from OOT- easy. However, Link seems to have lost his triforce; Wind Waker makes an obscure comment suggesting it got shattered at this time.
C. Wind Waker happens centuries (or 'a century'? This issue has become complicated by designers) after the Adult ending of OoT, (or just THE ennding if you think there is just one) where the land was battered and broken and ravaged, but Ganon was locked away in the Sacred Realm. Hyrule has been flooded
Spoiler:, the existence of Link (but not a recurring Link) is well known; at the end, the whole lot is sealed up again.
to prevent Ganon escaping as his seal weakens
The Phantom Hourglass will sequel this but likely won't mess around with continuity elements, though we will see
D. Twilight Princess is an arse to quantify. It's post Ocarina, certainly. The geography, as I say, has certain resemblances with ALTTP. The Master Sword is in the old grounds of the Temple of Time, now broken down and abandoned (but still connected by Time to its old self), and the area around the Master Sword is becoming analagous to the Grove in which you find it in in ALTTP. The original Link is well known of, new Link has a Triforce, it all fits between those two stools. So that bit's easy.
The tricky bit is, although the evil Ganondorf is well known of, there is no reference to him being banished to the Sacred Realm (though the Sacred Realm is referred to heavily relating to the Twili, and the creation of the Twilight Realm), the Sages exist but seemed surprised he was in possesion of a Triforce, it;'s hard o make out if it is pre-flood or pos-lfood or in the same continuity as the flood... who the Twili were is a mystery (could they have been the Gerudo? Soe of Midna's speeches could be interpreted to make out that Ganon was once their King, but nothing definite- regardless, the Gerudo have stopped existing)... the Zora and Gorons are still there, but the Kokiri seem to have buggered off... all a mystery, that one. Some speculate this comes after the child ending of OoT... but it's hard to be sure of anything
E. A Link to the Past DEFINITELY comes after all of those. Ganon has turned the Sacred Realm into a land of evil, and the descendants of the Sages are those he kidnaps as the seal weakens and he threatens to escape, before new Link stops him, possibly the final time the Master Sword is used (as I say, taken from a grove not unlike the area in TP was becoming). How Hyrule became unflooded, or if it became refounded, and how Ganon weaklened the seal when flooded... none of this is known (or was even relevant when the game was made).
Link's Awakening comes after this directly, and I THINK the Oracle games do as well, but I've never played them and have no real clue.
F. Plenty to be unsure about, so now the final puzzle is the original two games. Link's Adventure, of course, comes after Legend of Zelda. But is LoZ before or after ALTTP, and if before, where before? Hyrule is a wasteland, though that might be artistic licrense considering how old the game is. Only one third of the Triforce is known of, and is shattered; the second third is focussed on in Adventure of Link. Much logic say ALTTP preceeds these games- not least the back of the LTTP box- but then you wonder when the triforce shattered, certainly when Wind Waker suggests it happened back at the time of Majora's Mask... but it's back by Twilight Princess...
...
Ah, it's a mess. make of it what you will.
The split timeline theory says that one Hyrule dates from the one Ganon destroyed in OoT, that Link was an adult in, and got sent home from at the end (becoming a legend). The other is the timeline he returned to, where (presumably) Ganon never came to full power and Link lived out his normal life.
Like it or lump it, it is gaining credence. But SO little is certain about any of this, and they are clearly winging it at Nintendo, just come up with whatever you like
As far as TP's connections with OoT, I'd like to just add my ideas about it. Keep in mind that it's spoilerrific speculation, supported by various elements in OoT and TP. As far as I'm concerned, it's the simplest, most logical way to set the timeline, though as I'm not Miyamoto it's simply my thoughts.
Reminder: This post contains SPOILERS.
TP comes after the Child ending of OoT, which, looking at the ending, puts Link back at the point where he first meets Princess Zelda. In other words, before he gathered the Sacred Stones, played the Ocarina, and pulled the Master Sword to open the gate to the Sacred Realm. I believe this mainly because if it were any other way, then the game would be a pointless loop because nothing would have changed: Ganondorf would still have entered the Sacred Realm and made his wish, making all Link's efforts for naught and leaving Zelda looking rather foolish.
Now, it would be sensible that Link, after returning, tells Zelda what happened. Thanks to her own dreams and the influence of the Triforce of Wisdom, she'd have no choice but to believe him. Zelda and Link then convince the King that Ganondorf is up to no good, and one way or another Ganondorf is captured before his plans come to fruition.
At some point after, Ganondorf is sentenced to death, and that sentence is carried out by the Sages - the "original" group of Sages, all of whom Ganondorf (after Link pulls the Master Sword) killed except for Rauru; this is pretty much fact as it's the entire reason Link had to awaken a new group of Sages. Anyway, these original Sages sentence Ganondorf to death, and carry the sentence out with an enchanted sword. Ganondorf dies... and then almost immediately comes back to life, fueled by a "gift from the Goddesses" - the Triforce of Power.
Hang on - when did he get that? If Link stopped Ganondorf before he even got started, the Triforce should still be safe in the Sacred Realm, right?
Not exactly. Looking at the child ending of OoT again, both Link and Zelda's Triforce marks are glowing - something Ganondorf himself said happens when two holders of a part of the Triforce are near each other. Link came back from the future still bearing the Triforce of Courage. And the evidence from the game's ending supports the possibility that the Triforce split, and the other two pieces passed to the people that most represented the respective qualities: Wisdom and Power.
Since Link would have done this unknowingly, no one, possibly not even Ganondorf, would have known that the Triforce of Power was hidden inside the King of the Gerudo. Suddenly, it does make sense that the Sages didn't know Ganondorf was gifted with the power of the gods. How could they?
Furthermore, Ganondorf, after he returns in TP, acknowledges neither TP Link's garb nor his sword, beyond a snide comment. One would think that, if TP involved the same Ganondorf that the Hero of Time had sealed with the Master Sword, he would likely notice the same clothing, and definitely notice the same damned sword that had destroyed him years ago. Given this evidence, it would seem that this Ganondorf had not met Link at all, and had never seen the Master Sword.
So that's my two bits, really. Again, almost entirely speculation, but you have to admit it's more sensible than many theories.
My theori:
Minish Cap comes first. It just fits well to.
The Ocarina of Time.
Then, it splits from childhood and adult.
WindWaker and Alttp is fact to come after the adult part.
Majoras Mask is fact to come after the childhood part.
Ganondorf should with ease escape a sealing, BUT NOT DEATH.
Deaths:
1: He was killed in the original Legend of Zelda, revived in AoL, but killed again.
2: He was killed in Alttp.
3: He was revived in Oracle of Seasons/age and killed.
4: He died in Wind Waker and cant by ane means be revived form that death If the coming Phantom Hourglass dont states otherwise?
5: He dies in Twilight Princess
Thats the bricks i works with.
But my theori normally changes
By linking and playing both Ages and Seasons, Link discovers that the Twinrova's plans were to cause despair in both Holodrum and Labrynna as part of a ritual for reviving Ganon. The next step required Princess Zelda as a sacrifice, but Link saved her, causing the ritual to bring back Ganon as a mindless beast instead of his former self. Link then defeats this form and Ganon remains dead.
And Lord Rock, where does it absolutely state that Ganondorf died at the end of Wind Waker? Turning to stone certainly seems more like being sealed than like being killed. The Master Sword's express purpose is to seal Ganon's power, after all.
Speaking of the Master Sword, why is it that in different Zelda games it has two different variations entirely? Let me elaborate: In Wind Waker you have to restore power to it, similar to LTTP, while in OoT it has a "technical" superior weapon, the Biggron's Sword. Wouldn't this bring view two possible Master Swords? The Four Sword was unique as well, Four Swords, and Four Swords Adventures.
Oh, sure, let's not be fun, Spooony. 😛
Did you have to restore power to the Master Sword in ALttP? I thought I remembered that you just had the trouble of finding it, but after that it was perfectly fine. Really, restoring power to the Master Sword is the odd one out. It's fully powered in ALttP, the Oracle games, OoT (barring the fact that the Biggoron Sword is stronger), and TP.
The Four Sword/Picori Blade is a different sword, but it seems to serve the same sort of purpose. I don't remember Four Swords Adventures, did it act as a seal in that one? It was a seal in FS and MC.
Though technically, there'd have to be two Master Swords thanks to the two timelines, I suppose.
Biggoron's sword is hardly reducing the significance of the Master Sword. The MS is a good sword, for sure, but its schtick is that it repels evil, not that it is the most powerful blade that ever existed.
You upgraded it rather than recharged it in ALTTP. Which goes to show that it was not necessarily Death Star dangerous to start with.
Some people like the idea that the Oracle games tell of the same event happening but in the two different time lines. But the fact that they combine into one single plot buggers that up, I feel.