Wait, Does The Zelda Timeline Have Two Ganondorfs After TOTK? – Armessa Movie News

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom doesn’t add any clarity to the convoluted timeline of the series, and might even add confusion surrounding its villain, Ganondorf. Players might walk away from TOTK with more questions about how and where the game’s events fit in the overall Zelda timeline. Some questions might revolve around Ganondorf, the iconic villain of Zelda, and if TOTK means that there have been two versions of him existing at the same time throughout the timeline.

[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.]

Tears of the Kingdom shows two different time periods in Hyrule. The first time period is the present where Link is preparing to fight Ganondorf, who was beneath Hyrule Castle and has been freed from his seal. The second time period is the distant past, where Zelda ended up after vanishing when Ganondorf was freed. While it’s interesting to see the founding era of Hyrule, the events of that era lead to multiple questions about BOTW and TOTK, particularly regarding how they fit into the Zelda timeline.

The First Ganondorf On The Zelda Timeline

The information given in the Dragon Tear memories in Tears of the Kingdom regards the founding era of Hyrule and the unsuccessful fight against Ganondorf that lead to him being sealed. This time period being the founding era implies that it takes place before the majority of Zelda games with the possible exception of Skyward Sword. But if TOTK shows the establishment of Hyrule, then the version of Ganondorf who ends up sealed beneath Hyrule Castle should still be there throughout the events of following games like Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker.

While there’s a running theme of Ganondorf and Ganon being essentially immortal in Zelda, it seems that there could be multiple points where at least two versions of him exist at once. The book about BOTW‘s creation, Creating a Champion, says that BOTW is set so far after other games in Zelda, that their events have become myths. So, even with BOTW and TOTK being at the end of the timeline, Zelda being sent to the founding era would put her at or near the beginning of the timeline. Which would mean that the Ganondorf seen in TOTK has been present beneath Hyrule Castle during other games.

Tears Of The Kingdom Might Not Show Hyrule’s First Founding

Since BOTW is set so far after the events of other Zelda games, that could mean that the founding era shown in TOTK isn’t the first version of Hyrule. If the events of previous games have become myths by the time BOTW takes place, it’s not far-fetched to believe that the original Hyrule has fallen at some point in the timeline, and that the Hyrule established in TOTK isn’t the first Hyrule Kingdom. This would be a clean way – by Zelda timeline standards – to include BOTW and TOTK on the canon timeline without creating paradoxes like two versions of Ganondorf.

The Imprisoning War in Tears of the Kingdom already causes timeline placement issues because it’s different from the Imprisoning War where Ganon is imprisoned in the Sacred Realm between the events of OoT and A Link to the Past in the timeline where Ganondorf defeats Link. If the Hyrule in TOTK is one that was established long after the previous Hyrule fell, it would make sense that the characters would only know one Imprisoning War, and it would be Rauru sealing Ganondorf. The Imprisoning War after OoT would likely have been lost to time, which also means that there wouldn’t be a Ganondorf under Hyrule Castle during the events of most games due to the memories included in TOTK.

The Possibility Of A New Zelda Timeline

Perhaps the cleanest inclusion of BOTW and TOTK on the timeline would be to place them on a new, separate timeline, essentially creating another parallel universe. The series doesn’t need more branches or timelines, but with how convoluted it already is, it could be a reasonable option to have a separate timeline for the new games and the different lore about Hyrule they bring with them. While a new timeline doesn’t seem like the most likely explanation for the placement questions brought about in BOTW and TOTK, it isn’t impossible for this to be the case.

The Official Zelda Timeline Doesn’t Actually Matter

The canon timeline for Zelda doesn’t answer every question, and in some cases, it raises even more questions about events and how they might be related to each other, if they’re related at all. As a result, it feels like Nintendo isn’t trying to make a series where every game fits together to create a cohesive timeline, even if there are players who enjoy having a set timeline. Instead, Nintendo seems more interested in creating entertaining games that have more importance on the story the developers want to tell instead of the story that would be the best fit for the greater timeline.

In the end, it seems like Nintendo doesn’t care about the official Zelda timeline or about making new games fit on it, and that’s not exactly a problem when the games are enjoyable. Maybe there was a Ganondorf sealed beneath Hyrule Castle for the majority of events on the timeline, even when the castle was under the ocean due to Hyrule being flooded. Considering it seems like there are two Ganondorfs already since there’s no explanation for Calamity Ganon’s origins, it wouldn’t be too unusual to have a Ganondorf beneath Hyrule Castle aside from him not being discovered until the beginning of Tears of the Kingdom.

Like any new Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom and its predecessor Breath of the Wild lead to questions about the official timeline, especially since there are events like a second Imprisoning War and Ganondorf being sealed during the founding era of Hyrule. It can be fun to speculate if Ganondorf has been sealed throughout the majority of events of other games, or if the founding era players saw glimpses of was the second founding of Hyrule long after the original kingdom fell. In the end, the official timeline isn’t too important, neither is how the events change based on what players see in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom as long as it’s an experience players enjoy.