2021 sees the 35th anniversary of Nintendo's flagship The Legend of Zelda series, and fans aren't even close to being tired of the IP yet. An HD remake of Skyward Sword will make its way to Switch consoles soon, and fans will get more news about the sequel to Breath of the Wild later this year. While looking to the future of Zelda games, fans don't keep themselves from looking back on what could have been, either.
Recently, there was news of a cancelled Zelda game set in the darker timeline of the series. This game's story would have followed the last male Sheikah's attempts to stop Ganon from being resurrected, and would have fit right in to the timeline where Link faces defeat at the hands of Ganondorf. As any fan of The Legend of Zelda series may known, the official timeline for the series splits after Ocarina of Time, and can often be complicated to understand. This darker timeline in Zelda lore has a rich and complex history, and encapsulates many games in the series.
The Hero is Defeated
In order to understand the Downfall Timeline, one has to look at Ocarina of Time and Hyrule Historia. Since the series' inception, there was never an official timeline for The Legend of Zelda games. Some were loosely tied to others as prequels or sequels, and some even featured the same Link. With the releases of The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, fans learned that those stories were set in two different versions of Hyrule after the events of Ocarina of Time. When Hyrule Historia was released in 2011 with Skyward Sword, the official timeline was laid down.
The Hyrule Historia revealed that Ocarina of Time didn't just split Hyrule's future into two new timelines, but split it into three. The language is vague, but apparently if Link was to be defeated during the events of Ocarina of Time, the result would lead into the Downfall, or Decline, Timeline. This came as a shock to many fans of the series, not thinking that Nintendo would commit to the idea that Link could be defeated, but it exists nonetheless. While different people interpret Link's "defeat" in different ways, the key is that Ganondorf is able to steal all three part of the Triforce. The following timeline includes all the following games so far:
- A Link to the Past (1991)
- Link's Awakening (1993)
- Oracle of Seasons (2001)
- Oracles of Ages (2001)
- A Link Between Worlds (2013)
- Tri Force Heroes (2015)
- The Legend of Zelda (1986)
- The Adventure of Link (1987)
Since Link is defeated in this scenario, Ganondorf is able to become the monstrous Demon King Ganon. Using the power they have, Zelda and the Sages are able to seal Ganon away in the Sacred Realm, seemingly stopping him. However, in the time between Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past, a huge event called the Imprisoning War happens.
The Imprisoning War
Currently, there is not a detailed account of the events pertaining to the Imprisoning War. This period has been retconned a couple times to help fit the narrative of certain games, but there are some common themes. Some time after Ocarina of Time Ganon is sealed away in the Sacred Realm following Link's defeat, news gets around that the Sacred Realm, or "Golden Land" per A Link to the Past, is home to an immense power that can grant any wish. Those full of greed start fighting to try and get into the Sacred Realm in order to use the power of the Triforce.
According to A Link to the Past, those that found their way into the Sacred Realm became corrupted by Ganon's influence, and were transformed into monsters for Ganon's army. At one point, Ganon's army escaped from the tainted Sacred Realm and began to attack Hyrule. What followed was a fierce war between the evil forces of Ganon and the Knights of Hyrule, and many lives were lost. Eventually, there were seven Wise Men (or Sages), who were able to magically seal Ganon and his army back in the Sacred Realm. Even though he was sealed away, the wish that Ganon makes on the Triforce transforms the Sacred Realm into the Dark World players will see in A Link to the Past.
The Imprisoning War is one of the major events in the Zelda timeline that players have yet to see adapted into a video game, so it is often the source of many fan theories and specualtion. Many players are interested in this era, too, because it kicks off the Downfall Timeline, and is a really dark period in Hyrule's history. If anything, the Imprisoning War would certainly make for a great Hyrule Warriors game, if not a dedicated spin-off title.
The Link to the Past Era
The aftermath of the Imprisoning War lays the stage for the events of A Link to the Past and its subsequent sequels. After a powerful wizard Agahnim wants to open up the sealed Sacred Realm, kidnapping seven maidens to use as a sacrifice, Link is tasked with saving the day. When all is said and done, it is revealed that Ganon is the mastermind behind Agahnim's actions, and a battle ensues. After defeating Ganon, Link actually has the opportunity to wish upon the Triforce himself. He wishes for peace to return to the world, and for the Triforce to return to the Royal Family, and the Dark World then fades away.
Even though Link may have great intentions, peace never lasts forever. Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages are pretty much sequels to A Link to the Past, and feature the witches Twinrova trying to resurrect Ganon. Through the course of these games set in distant lands, Link defeats Twinrova's underlings, Twinrova themselves, and the partially resurrected Ganon. Link tries to sail back home to Hyrule, but ends up shipwrecked from a storm on the mysterious island of Koholint. Link's Awakening continues this story, making this version of Link the one that appears in the most games. While Hyrule Historia positions Link's Awakening after the events of both Oracle games, The Legend of Zelda: Encyclopedia puts Link's Koholint adventure before the Oracle games. More on that later.
This timeline continues, and at some point the Triforce is split to prevent future evildoers from claiming it all at once. Many years later come the events of A Link Between Worlds. The main thematic aspect of this game is with the alternate reality of Hyrule, called Lorule. This place isn't the Dark World, but it's still a sort of mirror version of Hyrule. It is revealed that long ago, Lorule also possessed its own Triforce. Lorule's Triforce was destroyed to prevent people from fighting over the power it holds, but that led to Lorule descending into darkness and ruin. Princess Hilda of Lorule tries to steal Hyrule's Triforce to take back to Lorule, but is convinced otherwise. Princess Zelda and Link are able to use Hyrule's Triforce to restore Lorule to its former glory.
After A Link Between Worlds, the spin-off sequel Tri Force Heroes sees heroes travel to the distant kingdom of Hytopia. These heroes have to save a cursed princess from the witch that cursed her, but otherwise it doesn't have much bearing on the rest of the timeline. Now, all of this finally leads into the era that contain the initial installment in the franchise, The Legend of Zelda in 1986.
The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link
For whatever reason, Nintendo decided to place its first two Zelda games at the very end of the worst possible timeline. Long before the events of The Legend of Zelda, Hyrule was ruled with the Triforce helping keeping peace. However, one king felt his son might not be the best leader, and decided to only pass on part of the Triforce to him. Thinking that the Princess Zelda knew something he didn't, the prince became suspicious of her. At some point, the prince's advisor put this Princess Zelda into an unawakenable sleep. This was not what the prince wanted, and so he locked the sleeping Zelda away in secret in grief. With this, he started the tradition of all female children in the royal family being named Zelda in her honor.
Generations later, The Prince of Darkness, Ganon, steals the Triforce of Power. The current Princess Zelda in The Legend of Zelda breaks up the Triforce of Wisdom into eight pieces, hiding them around Hyrule before Ganon captures her. Link, at the behest of Zelda's guardian Impa, sets out to retrieve the pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom and save the princess. He is able to do so, defeating Ganon in the process. The Adventure of Link continues this story, and sees Link learn about the Princess Zelda that was trapped in a magical sleep many generations before. Link searches for the Triforce of Courage in order to wake this Zelda, and is successful. With all three aspects of the Triforce united again, peace is now restored to the lands of Hyrule.
Implications to the Future Zelda Timeline
So far, that is the entirety of the Downfall, or Decline Timeline, that stems from the hero being defeated in Ocarina of Time. Nintendo has put the most games into this timeline, making it the one most rich in history. It makes sense though, as the main installments, The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past, and A Link Between Worlds are all related to each other. Each of them also have a sequel, or in A Link to the Past's case, three. The Downfall Timeline often grapples with the darker side of human nature, and seems to see Hyrule go back and forth between chaos and peace, full Triforce and broken Triforce.
There are those that theorize that Breath of the Wild takes place in this timeline, and there are fact to back it up. There are also those that see Breath of the Wild as a sort of inevitable future for each of the timelines, merging them back together so Nintendo can move forward. At the very least, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Creating a Champion book from Dark Horse provides a little insight for that. By the time of Breath of the Wild, any other events in Hyrule's history other than the first Calamity Ganon attack can be thought of as myths and legends. So much time had already passed between any established game and the first Calamity Ganon attack, and then another ten thousand years passed after that.
Because of how much Hyrule's history is unaccounted for, Nintendo could keep placing games within parts of the timeline for years to come. Even though the concept of the timeline is more a guideline than hard fact, many fans still enjoy having something official tying all the game together. While no one know for sure where Nintendo will take the franchise in the future, there are definitely more moments to explore in the Downfall Timeline. With its rich and dark history, and the mystery surrounding the Imprisoning War, its no wonder fans speculate so much about it.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 is in development.