Think There's A Bloodline of Legendary Heroes? Think Again!
By: Skwurt
   

The theory sure sounds reasonable. Ganondorf steals the Triforce of Power and Princess Zelda. Then Link shows up and destroys the Gerudo's evil plans, and everyone lives happily ever after until their death. After a couple hundred years, everyone is reborn and the process repeats itself. Sounds pretty promising, right? Wrong. The idea, although it closes many plot loopholes, is not entirely true.
     The first game in the timeline is Ocarina of Time, where Link begins his "Neverending Story". I know some of you out there didn't like the ending of this game. (I personally wasn't too thrilled with it either.) However, as the timeline continues you will see the reasoning behind returning Link to his younger self.
     The second game is Majora's Mask. This is where it starts to get tricky. Remember that Termina exists within another dimension, and time flows differently than in Hyrule. After saving the world from the moon, Link travels back to Hyrule to discover that hundreds of years have passed! He meets up with Zelda's descendant, whom out of respect has also been named Zelda. And for the ladies out there, sorry, but this eliminates the idea of Link and Zelda ever getting hitched. (I know I'm disappointed too.)
     The timeline goes straight into A Link to the Past. Link goes to live with his uncle, (I don't know how Link would see him as an "uncle", since the man is a descendant of his father's brother. Wouldn't they be more like cousins?) and Ganondorf returns. I have no clue whether this is a descendant of Ganondorf or he just now finally escaped from the Sacred Ream.
     After beating Ganondorf again, Link is desperate for some peace and quiet. At the same time he's growing older naturally as nature intended. But once again Ganon comes and causes trouble. Zelda splits the Triforce of Wisdom into eight pieces before she is captured. And thus begins The Legend of Zelda. (Will Link ever get to rest?) He collects the eight pieces and defeats Ganondorf AGAIN.
     Shortly afterwards, Zelda is cursed, and falls into an unnatural sleep. By this time Link has reached the age of 16. Zelda's nursemaid, who has been named Impa out of respect for the ancient Sage of Spirit, comes to Link and tells him he needs to save Hyrule once again. While sailing the ocean blue looking for the crystals needed to awaken Zelda, Link's ship is struck by lightning and he winds up on Koholient Island. After awakening the Wind Fish, he comes to his senses and finishes his quest to collect the crystals and save Zelda.
     To sum up this confusing timeline, there is actually only ONE Link, not a generation as previously believed. As you can see, if Link had stayed an adult in Ocarina of Time, then he would have never travled to Termina, and he would have never been able to save Hryule hundreds of years in the future. Don't believe me? Look it up yourself at the official Zelda website at www.zelda.com.