The Zelda CHILD Timeline Explained
The Zelda Child Timeline Explained
When Nintendo finally caved to fan questioning and revealed the official timeline for “The Legend of Zelda” in 2011, it came with a few surprises. Namely, that “Ocarina of Time,” with only a handful of games preceding it, caused the timeline to split into three. The Child Timeline is somewhat of a fan favorite section, with its dark, moody entries and, more importantly for our purpose today, unique lore that changed how we viewed the overall series. Welcome to MojoPlays, and this is “The Legend of Zelda’s” Child Timeline explained.
As we know now, “Ocarina of Time” has three outcomes, leading to most of the games in the series. One we don’t get to glimpse as players is what would happen if Link were to lose, known as the Fallen Hero timeline, encompassing the majority of the franchise’s 2D entries. The Adult Timeline is the version of Hyrule that Link leaves behind, with everyone celebrating the downfall of Ganondorf. And the Child Timeline refers to the Hyrule that Link returns to. With knowledge of the future, Link comes to Zelda once again, and the two warn her father of Ganondorf’s treachery, leading to his capture.
With the kingdom safe, Link soon leaves his home for a more personal journey. Zelda gives him the Ocarina of the Royal Family as a memento, and he sets out with Epona in search of Navi, who had helped him so much on his adventure. This leads into the events of “Majora’s Mask,” opening with Link traveling through a mysterious forest. It’s here that he is robbed by Skull Kid, wearing the titular mask, and two mischievous fairy siblings, Tatl and Tael. They steal his Ocarina, his horse, and, when he catches up to them, Skull Kid uses the powers of the mystical mask to transform Link into a Deku Scrub. In the commotion, Tatl is separated from her brother, becoming a much more reluctant companion to Link than Navi.
As Link pursues the Skull Kid, he’s brought into the strange land of Termina. Somewhat of a parallel world to Hyrule, it features many of the same faces Link met in his previous adventure, though living different lives and often under different names. The nature of Termina, how it exists and what it really is, is kept purposely vague and has led to a lot of theorizing over the years. Though, in reality, we know the “Zelda” team had only a year to develop the game, and reusing assets and character models from the previous game saved them loads of time.
Agreeing to retrieve Majora’s Mask for the person Skull Kid stole it from, one of the franchise’s most famously creepiest NPCs, the Happy Mask Salesman, Link faces off against Skull Kid after spending three days in Termina’s central hub, Clock Town. With plenty of the land’s people impacted by Skull Kid’s actions, including his plan to bring the moon crashing down, Link is warned by Tael of how he can stop him. And with memories of Princess Zelda flooding back to him, Link plays the Song of Time after regaining the Ocarina, returning to his arrival in Termina three days prior.
“Majora’s Mask” follows Link, reliving the same three days, and venturing to the four areas outside of Clock Town to bring an end to Skull Kid’s threats plaguing them. And along the way, he learns of this setting’s unique lore. First up is the mask itself, once used in rituals by a now-forgotten tribe, who sealed it away out of fear. Not much is given on its origins. While a side story in the manga adaptation from Akira Himekawa offers an answer, where Majora was a dragon, whose armor the mask is carved out of, it isn’t canon. And so, it has become another point of the game to theorize on.
Termina is normally kept safe by four deity-like Giants, celebrated by the people of Clock Town every year through a carnival. Although, one who probably doesn’t celebrate is the Skull Kid. We learn his turn to villainy grew out of feelings of abandonment. He was once friends with the Giants, but fell into a deep loneliness when they left to fulfill their duty. After meeting Tatl and Tael, Skull Kid’s tricks became much more vicious once he stole the mask. On top of a planned genocide, Skull Kid trapped his former friends in the bodies of monsters, corrupting Termina’s temples, and bringing various plagues and disasters.
Across the game, Link travels to each area, heals the sorrows and troubles of their citizens, and brings peace to each of the Giants. In time, he is able to call them to his aid, stopping the moon from falling. It’s here that Majora’s Mask reveals itself to have been in control, twisting Skull Kid’s playful pranks into acts of terrorism. Link travels inside the very moon itself, where he finds the final piece of the game’s mysterious lore. If Link helped everyone across the game, completing quests to get every mask, he can earn the final one, Fierce Deity’s Mask. Again, while the manga alludes to the origin of the Fierce Deity, its true existence, and why the child wearing Majora’s Mask has it, is kept vague here.
Regardless, Link defeats Majora, and brings peace to Termina. Skull Kid reconciles with his friends. And after Link rides off, everyone in Termina celebrates. Depending on how many side quests you completed, scenes of various NPCs in celebration with their loved ones are incredibly touching. But as we’d come to learn in this timeline’s next entry, 2006’s “Twilight Princess,” the Hero of Time’s life would not exactly have a happy ending. But we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves.
While Link was off in Termina, Hyrule had to figure out what to do with Ganondorf. It was decided that he was too dangerous to be kept alive, and so the Sages attempted to execute him. Sadly, this didn’t work, as the Triforce of Power still clung to the Gerudo King, who swiftly broke free and performed an execution of his own, on one of the Sages. With no other option, the group were forced to instead seal Ganondorf away inside the Twilight Realm, a place whose explanation we’ll have to put a pin in for now.
After some untold amount of time, another incarnation of Link is born in Ordon Village, of Hyrule’s Ordona Province. And one day, the fallout of the Hero of Time’s clash with Ganondorf comes crashing into his peaceful existence. Several children are kidnapped from his village, and in an attempt to follow them, Link is brought into a shadowy, dangerous version of the land he previously knew, where monsters roam freely. He’s transformed into a wolf and imprisoned, where he meets the fan favorite companion, Midna.
At the onset of “Twilight Princess,” Hyrule is under the blanket of Twilight, brought on by an invader from another realm, Zant. Midna, from that very same realm, enlists Link to help her bring his rule to an end. In doing so, he learns of the history of this specific version of Hyrule. Long ago, a group of evil magic wielders tried to enter the Sacred Realm and steal the Triforce. The Goddesses in Hyrule’s creation story, Din, Farore, and Nayru, sent a group of Light Spirits to defend Hyrule, who banished these invaders to the Twilight Realm, Ganondorf’s future prison.
These magic wielders were the ancestors of the Twili, Zant and Midna’s people, who, in time, grew to enjoy their home. At least, most of them did. Midna was their Queen, before being usurped by Zant, who craved more for his people. He turned Midna into an imp, and others into monstrous shadow beasts, using them as his forces when invading Hyrule. He was able to do all of this with the help of Ganondorf, who used Zant as a pawn to take over Hyrule himself.
Along his journey to stop Zant, Link would learn lessons from the Hero’s Shade, a spirit that was heavily theorized to be the Hero of Time before being confirmed. He had died unfulfilled, looking for someone to pass on his legacy. And with another Link, he would naturally find his peace. The Hero of Twilight would face off against both evil kings and come out victorious. And surprisingly, Ganondorf actually died. Hyrule would know peace once again, Midna would return to her true form, as well as to her kingdom, destroying the means of entering, along with our hearts.
Unless you consider the events of “Link’s Crossbow Training” canon, that brings an end to this Link’s story. This version of Hyrule would enter a longtime era of tranquility, until the return of an ancient grudge, one older even than the events of “Ocarina of Time.”
The next and final game in the timeline, 2004’s “Four Swords Adventures” is a spiritual successor to 2002’s “Four Swords,” and thus includes its villain, Vaati. At the end of that game, he’s sealed away inside the Four Sword. And due to both games’ placement in the overall timeline, with “Four Swords” being the chronological third entry right before “Ocarina of Time,” that means he’s been trapped for at least a few hundred years by the time this next game takes place.
At the beginning, Zelda summons Link to the Shrine that holds the Four Sword, out of fear that the seal on Vaati is weakening. A shadowy version of the hero appears and kidnaps Zelda, along with the Maidens who guard the sword’s resting place. Like his predecessor, Link takes up the magical sword, turning into four. But this act breaks the seal, and Vaati is released to bring terror upon Hyrule.
Vaati’s release is only part of a larger plot, again from Ganondorf, albeit a reincarnation rather than a revived version of the same villain, as seen throughout the Fallen Hero timeline. Although, just like other versions, this Ganondorf turned into the monstrous Ganon, too, after stealing an ancient trident guarded by his people, the Gerudo. And once again along with Vaati, suffered defeat at the hands of Link.
With both villains defeated, that brings an end to another Link’s story, as well as the conclusion to the Child Timeline. “Breath of the Wild” and “Tears of the Kingdom,” as we know, includes references to games across the series, with the explanation that they’re so far in the future, that they’ve all become myth. But this timeline, particularly “Majora’s Mask” and “Twilight Princess,” is pretty popular among the fanbase. Would you guys like to see Nintendo revisit it? Which of the three games would you like to see a follow-up on, or spiritual successor of? Share your thoughts in the comments, and we will see you next time!
