Zelda Timeline, saved from /v/

Which Zelda game comes before the other? Is there a different Link in each Zelda game?

Hey, here's my interpretation. Keep in mind that the game creators are human and make mistakes too just like everybody else, so this probably isn't something exact and nailed down in stone. I get the lingering feeling that they are making this up as they go, or are not particularily careful, as the landmarks in Hyrule like the Lost Woods, Spectacle Rock, Death Mountain seem to change with everygame as if just to be included in the game not to give true physical landmarks. Having played all but the 4 swords games and read their manuals I sometimes hear that the official timeline contradicts what was written/packaged with the game, so here I write how I see the chronology.

Come... dork with me and let's see if we can figure this out.

Zelda 1 (NES): There are only two triforces known at the time, even though they call them TRIforces, Wisdom & Power and Zelda herself splits Wisom into 8 to hide them from Ganon but Link (of Catalia?) puts em together again and KILLS Ganon with Silver Arrow. First game in the series, early for videogames and long before the time of 'when will there be a sequel'-mentality that's prevalent in today's industry, no sequel planned therefore no need to Ganon him alive or whatever, he is DEAD. Can't remember where I heard this Link was from Catalia(sp?) wherever that is, but might as well bring it to the table so we have something to call this guy.

Zelda 2 (NES) the Adventure of Link: Same Link as Zelda 1, now he's older at 16. Ganon's not the end boss, Link's Shadow is, the only time you see Ganon is in the Game Over screen because Ganon's minions use your dead body/blood to resurrect Ganon because he is DEAD.. not in some Golden Land/Sacred Realm/other dimension, his ashes are in the 'real' world somewhere. Impa looks like an old hag, the mark of the Triforce appears on Link's hand WITHOUT a triforce in possesion, Impa puts his hand on a magic door to open it. Zelda's under a sleeping spell, Link's gotta go on a quest to put 6 sacred jewels in 6 statues in 6 temples to open a barrier to the palace where the newfound triforce of courage is kept. Can't remember the end but Zelda's supposed to wake up, things are happy and since Ganon is DEAD I place this chronologically at the end. Ganon is DEAD and that's the reason for me.. of course Nintendo could pull some BS out of their ass 12 years after they wrote he died, like Ganon can't die unless he's got the master sword stuck in his head or he resurrects every 100 years like Castlevania's Dracula but their not saying anything like that so far. I put this at the end.

Zelda A Link to The Past (SNES): ON the back of the box it says you play as the predecessor's to the original Link & Zelda, hell the subtitle alone 'A Link to the Past' pretty much screams to me that yeah this is a prequel. But if you kill Ganon in the end how does he live for the later quests?? Wish I could have a scan ready for this but if I remember correctly the players guide to A Link to the Past says something like you won't be able to kill him, just trap him again (even had an illo of a ghost like Gannon confined in some weird see through pyramid) but I also read that as a kid 10+ years ago, can anybody confirm? My only explanation, pretty loose I know. Anyway its a prequeal to the original NES Zelda's to me. Also says in both the manual and the title screen movie that Ganon has been in the Sacred Realm for a long time, he was imprisoned there by 7 sages long time ago, has to resort to using his puppet Agahnim(sp) to do stuff in the light/real world like kidnap Zelda. YOu with the help of the ancestors of those 7 sages break a important seal then later you kill Ganon, again with Silver Arrows and powered up Master Sword. So yeah, obviously a sequeal to the events of Ocarina of Time. I think this Link is known as Link of Hyrule

Link's Awakening: can't really place the chronology here, obviously Ocarina of Time & Wind Waker not created yet so it's impossible for Nintendo to have based this Link on at this point in time, but I've seen some fans put some interesting theories explaining just that. Personally I put this off to the side and don't try to explain it since there's little anchoring this dream in reality, but this Link appears to be visually based off SNES version. Hell there are Mario Bros Goomba's, Mario World Feather and even a Mario-lookalike here. Kinda feel they don't care about the 4th wall sometimes.
Zelda The Ocarina Of Time (N64): Ganon starts human, gets triforce for first time (or atleast just the essence of the Power Triforce), gets sealed away by 7 sages, gets imprisoned saying I'll go after your descendents. Obviously comes first, but its alitte weird in that you defeat Ganon in the future, get sent to the past where Ganon should still be alive and well causing havok.. but apparenlty not. Guess this Link is Link of Kokori being he was raised as one.
Zelda Majora's Mask (N64): comes after Ocarina of time, same model for Link and Termina is a alternate world of Ocarina of Time's Hyrule, goes without saying its the same Link.
Zelda Oracle of Ages/Season (GBA): yeah..Nintendo's been very loose keeping the timeline straight but these games just prove to me that just release these games and care about the storyline in afterthought or not at all. Not only do none of these games take place in Hyrule (away from the very legends and landmarks to chronolize it with), this new version of Impa is big and fat and healthy, Zelda looks virtually identical to her N64 versions, Twinrova from the chronologically first Zelda game appears here and according to
http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/gbc/b/zeldaa_b.htm
http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/gbc/b/zeldas_b.htm
the Ganon you fight isn't Ganon, but a mindless shell of. He's dead and Twinrova's planning on using Zelda as a sacrifice to resurrect Ganon's dead ass. But Twinrova sisters should be dead themselves by the time Ganon is either Dead or trapped in the Sacred Realm, in ANY timeline. So yeah.. by looks alone its probably the Link from the N64 versions, released before these so its natural to think they're based of it, but the timeline just seems to be wack so I don't know where to put it. Seems more like a fun side story with the reocurring main characters than any carefully thought out piece in the timeline.

Wind Waker: also wack to me, don't know where to put it except after the N64 versions but before the NES versions. ONly thing to really mention is that at the very end Tetra(Zelda descendent) being in a world that seems like endless oceans says something like "we can find it, the land that will be the next hyrule!" where the Red King replies "but that land won't be Hyrule, it will be _your_ land"
>_< don't know where to put it. Discuss.
Oh yeah, don't forget these game creators are human and whatever, from what I hear the Zelda games are created with gameplay in mind then a story is created around that. Also, just to throw something in the mix hear before Ocarina of Time came out it was told to be the last Zelda, that definetly changed. There was also talk of a _4th_ triforce.. all that's left of that is the upside down triangle on Link's shield as it seems to have gotten cut from Ocarina of Time Along with the beam sword & Triforce (which I hear you can see under Hyrule Castle with a glitch).

One of the ways Nintendo could explain the paradox is as follows:

Link grabs the Master Sword and is sealed away for seven years while Ganondorf rapes Hyrule.  Ganon is later sealed with the physical Triforce within the Sacred Realm by Zelda.  Zelda then sends Link back in time, and the Sages are released from the Sacred Realm (thereby revealing that the Kokiri could indeed leave the forest should they so desire).  This is what we all agree happened.

First I’ll explain the easy stuff.  Link would of course remember all the events because he had the Master Sword and traveled through time by himself.  Zelda could because she is not only a sage, but also possesses the essence of the Triforce of Wisdom.  The Sages would because they're the Sages, like Zelda.

Now for the interesting part.  It's possible that Zelda didn't seal the Ganon of the future, but rather the Ganon as he entered the Sacred Realm in the past.  As in as soon as Link took possession of the Master Sword.  In other words, Zelda sealed the opening to the Sacred Realm as soon as Ganon entered.  Ganon fading away could be interpreted as his future self disappearing because time healed as the ruined Hyrule timeline vanished.  Yet with the essence of the Triforce of Power, he too would remember those seven years of rule, as well as his defeat.  The Sages returning to Hyrule could also be interpreted as time healing itself to close any possible rifts.  After all, if Ganon was never able to leave the Sacred Realm, then they would never have entered.

However, because Link was himself a temporal anomaly (while he DID grow-up for seven years after first removing the sword, he later caused and created events only possible by traveling between the past Hyrule and the ruined Hyrule), he wouldn't simply fade away like Hyrule would (to be replaced with a future Hyrule without ever being ruled by Ganon).  So, Zelda sent Link back in time, reverted as a child, to live-out the life he should have.  Zelda wouldn't have to worry about herself though, because as a resident of the future timeline being destroyed, she'd simply vanish.  In this scenario, child Zelda would remember Link simply because of the essence of the Triforce of Wisdom (as the final shot of Link re-visiting Zelda possibly indicated), or Zelda MAY remember everything via precognitive dreams that informed her of the now-destroyed alternate reality.

You may have noticed how I brought-up time healing itself to prevent paradoxes.  This is something the game strongly hinted at.  An example would be the Music Man in the windmill.  His future self taught Link the Song of Storms, which Link used seven years in the past, directly causing the events in the future that lead to the Music Man teaching Link the song.  This in itself is a paradoxial loop.  However, time allowed it because it could not cause any damage to Time itself. 

So what it boils down to is this: If Zelda closed the portal to the Sacred Realm as of 7 years after its opening, then Hyrule is fucked thanks to Time Paradox.  If, however, she closed the portal as soon as Ganon first entered, then no paradox would occur.  Rather, a possible future timeline would simply vanish, and sending Link back in time (as the only who who is a time paradox in himself due to his time-traveling) would ensure that the alternate timeline wouldn't have a possibility of being re-opened.