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00:12As most fans can tell you, the timeline of The Legend of Zelda is a little messy.
00:17That tends to happen when you try to assign chronology and structure where there previously was none.
00:23After years of debate, Nintendo tried to tie everything together with an official timeline in 2011.
00:28It revealed that Ocarina of Time caused a split into three separate realities,
00:33and the Fallen Hero timeline, which has received more updates than any other since the timeline's release, requires a bit
00:40more explanation than the rest.
00:42Welcome to MojoPlays, and this is Zelda's Fallen Hero Timeline Explained.
00:54But before we dive in, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe and ring the
01:00bell to get notified about our latest videos.
01:03At the end of Ocarina of Time, Zelda sends Link back in time to relive the childhood he missed.
01:09While some fans correctly assumed this action led to two different realities, the one Link returned to and the one
01:16he left behind,
01:18most were surprised to learn about the third outcome, the world as a result of Link's failure.
01:30If Link were to fall and battle to Ganon, the villain would obtain the full Triforce.
01:36In a last ditch effort, the Sages would trap him in the Sacred Realm along with the Triforce.
01:41Ocarina of Time was already a prequel and slight retcon to the history of A Link to the Past when
01:47it was released.
01:53The first game set in the Fallen Hero timeline, it explains how the existence of the Sacred Realm and the
01:59Triforce it held led many to seek it.
02:02But with the Sacred Realm corrupted into the Dark World under Ganon's influence,
02:06all who set foot there turned monstrous, adding to his forces.
02:10In order to stop Ganon's army from invading Hyrule, the Sages sealed the entrance during an event known as the
02:17Imprisoning War.
02:18Although the Sages were successful, the Knights of Hyrule that defended them suffered heavy losses.
02:24Ganon was gone, and the kingdom was at peace, until it was time for a new hero to appear.
02:36The version of Link seen in A Link to the Past is a descendant of the original Knights of Hyrule.
02:41It follows him as he tries to stop Aghanim, a wizard who overthrows the king and kidnaps the descendants of
02:47the Seven Sages,
02:48sending them to the Dark World in an attempt to break the seal on Ganon.
02:52Along his journey, he proves himself worthy of the Master Sword, just like his previous incarnations,
02:58and uncovers that Aghanim is a manifestation of Ganon himself.
03:02Following him into the Dark World, Link meets each challenge head-on,
03:05freeing the Maidens and Princess Zelda, and bringing an end to Ganon.
03:16One of the most groundbreaking titles on the Super Nintendo comes to a close with the Triforce and the kingdom
03:22safe.
03:23And with the retrospective knowledge that this version of Hyrule was born from some fairly dark events,
03:28there's a nice extra layer to Ganon's defeat.
03:32With Hyrule safe, Link then travels overseas to train in other lands.
03:36While doing so, he's caught in a storm and washes ashore the strange Koholint Island.
03:48Link's Awakening follows the hero in search of a way home as he digs into the history of the mysterious
03:53island.
03:53Along the way, he defeats monsters known as Nightmares,
03:57eventually coming to learn that they, along with everyone else,
04:00are creations in a dream of a powerful deity known as the Wind Fish.
04:05Although Link must wake it from its slumber in order to return home,
04:08the island and its people vanish.
04:15Link wakes at sea as the Wind Fish soars through the sky,
04:19happy to be free but only able to drift towards home.
04:22Once Link returns safely to Hyrule,
04:24he finds that peace, unfortunately, doesn't last very long.
04:28The next games in the timeline, Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons,
04:32take place concurrently.
04:34They follow a plot set in motion by Koume and Kotake,
04:37twin witches and the surrogate mothers of Ganon, trying to revive him.
04:41This is where things are a little messy,
04:44as Koume and Kotake died and became angels somehow in Ocarina of Time.
04:49Although, they did tell Link they'd come back to haunt him,
04:52so that'll have to serve as explanation enough.
05:00In order to complete the ritual to revive Ganon,
05:03Koume and Kotake light three mystical flames,
05:06all born out of widespread acts of villainy.
05:10They send General Onyx to the land of Holodrum to kidnap Din,
05:14the Oracle of Seasons,
05:15causing the seasons of the area to rapidly fluctuate.
05:18They send their other minion, the sorceress Varen,
05:21to the land of Labrenna to kidnap Nehru, the Oracle of Ages,
05:25letting her change events in the past to gain power.
05:28Link, summoned by the Triforce, travels to both neighboring kingdoms
05:32and defeats both Onyx and Varen.
05:39But by then, it's too late,
05:41as their actions have caused the flames of destruction and sorrow to be lit.
05:46By linking your saves on the Game Boy Color,
05:49you'd learn that Koume and Kotake lit the third,
05:52the Flame of Despair, by kidnapping Princess Zelda.
05:55With them all lit, they need only sacrifice her in order to revive Ganon.
05:59But, as always, Link was there to stop them.
06:06Although Zelda was saved,
06:08the witches sacrificed themselves in order to see Ganon return.
06:11But, since the ritual hadn't been completed,
06:14Ganon returned as a near-mindless, albeit absolutely rageful beast.
06:19Link, once again, had to put Ganon down,
06:22bringing peace to both lands and the world at large.
06:32And, as far as we know, that is the end of this Link's saga.
06:37The next game in the timeline, A Link Between Worlds,
06:39follows a new incarnation of the hero some untold amount of time in the future.
06:43Its history tells us that, at some point after the Oracle duology,
06:48the Triforce split for the first time since before Ocarina of Time.
06:52The Triforce of Wisdom went with the Royal Family,
06:55the Triforce of Power somehow still clung to Ganon,
06:58and the Triforce of Courage stayed with Link.
07:01A Link Between Worlds followed a new threat in the form of Yuga,
07:04a sorcerer from Lorule, a dark, alternate world to Hyrule.
07:14Yuga used his magic to trap descendants of the Seven Sages in paintings,
07:18once again a plot to revive Ganon.
07:21Like his predecessor, Link took up the Master Sword
07:24and followed the sorcerer into Lorule.
07:26Although Yuga was successful in merging with Ganon to gain the Triforce of Power,
07:30it was then that Link met Princess Hilda and learned of her kingdom's plight.
07:34Lorule was, in many ways, like Hyrule.
07:37Except, in order to stop the constant war over its version of the Triforce,
07:42the rulers decided to destroy it, causing the land to fall into ruin.
07:46After freeing the descendants of the Sages,
07:48Link would learn that Yuga's invasion of Hyrule was Hilda's plan.
07:52She sought the kingdom's Triforce to save her own world.
07:55And with a Triforce of Power with Yuga,
07:57and having stolen the Triforce of Wisdom from Zelda's painting,
08:00she only needed the Triforce of Courage, which, of course, had been paired with Link.
08:12Thankfully for the good people of Hyrule, this Link proved worthy of defending it.
08:16Even when Yuga betrayed Hilda using two pieces of the Triforce against Link's one,
08:21the hero was victorious.
08:32Not only was his world saved, but he and Zelda used their Triforce to restore Lorules.
08:38And with both kingdoms safe, Link would set out to find adventure elsewhere.
08:42The next game in the timeline, Triforce Heroes, is one most fans choose to disregard.
08:47Which is fair, it's simply okay.
08:51But it follows the hero from A Link Between Worlds as he ventures to Hytopia,
08:55a neighboring kingdom obsessed with fashion.
08:58The princess Stila has been cursed by a witch to be stuck wearing a drab, brown jumpsuit,
09:03and her father, the king, has called for aid from any who prove worthy.
09:11With more focus on multiplayer than most other entries,
09:14the game follows Link, splitting into three, to stop the witch's forces
09:18and return Stila to her fashionable self.
09:22Clearly no big deal after his previous adventure, Link restores the kingdom's joy
09:26and is celebrated as its savior.
09:29That is currently where that version of Link's story ends.
09:32Another incarnation of the hero is born sometime later in Southern Village,
09:37as seen in Echoes of Wisdom.
09:44He begins taking on the role of the hero when rifts start appearing in Hyrule,
09:48swallowing up citizens.
09:50And he even sets out to rescue Princess Zelda when she's kidnapped by Ganon, seemingly returned.
09:55But he would not be the hero of the story, as he himself would be swallowed by one of these
10:01rifts.
10:07Saving the kingdom would instead fall to Zelda.
10:10As rifts grew widespread, even kidnapping and producing an evil doppelganger of her father,
10:16Zelda set out to solve the problem.
10:18Along with her was Tri, a fairy-like creature that granted her the ability to produce echoes of objects and
10:23monsters.
10:24The addition of Echoes of Wisdom came with a fairly big retcon to some established lore.
10:29As many games before had told us, the world of Hyrule, along with the Triforce, was created by three goddesses.
10:36Din, goddess of power.
10:38Nehru, goddess of wisdom.
10:40And Feror, goddess of courage.
10:42However, in Echoes of Wisdom, Zelda communicates with them.
10:46And she learns that when Hyrule was created, it was to seal away Null,
10:50a primordial being that consumed any and all life that developed around it,
10:55out of a desire to be the only thing in existence.
10:58Null is behind the rifts, for which Tri and its kind were created to seal.
11:03In its attempt to break free of imprisonment, Null seeks the Triforce, becoming only the owner of Din's Third.
11:09After freeing Link, Zelda and the hero bring an end to Null's plot, restoring the kingdom in the process.
11:15And thus, another era comes to a close.
11:27The Fallen Hero timeline ends with the original two games in the series, with the next events being found mostly
11:34in their manuals.
11:35The backstory of Zelda II tells us that the royal family began using the full Triforce to help govern and
11:41protect the kingdom.
11:42But at a certain point, one king felt unsure about his son, should he come to rule.
11:48Before his death, he split the three pieces, hiding the Triforce of Courage until one who was worthy appeared.
11:54His son, furious at only receiving two thirds of the Triforce, was led astray by a wizard, who told him
12:01the prince's sister Zelda knew where to find the missing piece.
12:04In the ensuing argument, the wizard cast a powerful sleep spell on Zelda, so powerful that he died in the
12:10process.
12:11The prince, overcome with guilt, placed his sister in a chamber and declared that all women born in the royal
12:17family would henceforth be named after her.
12:21Seemingly unaware of the many previous Princess Zeldas born throughout history.
12:28Sadly, the royal family, which had used the Triforce to rule for so long, found itself unfit to do so
12:34without it.
12:35Thus, the kingdom became divided, with many of its corners falling into ruin.
12:40The backstory of the original game tells of Ganon, who, as we now know, had been revived, though through unknown
12:46means, and struck when Hyrule was at its weakest.
12:50He stole the Triforce of Power, but failed to claim the Triforce of Wisdom when a new incarnation of Zelda
12:55broke it into eight pieces and hid them across Hyrule.
12:59She then sent out her nursemaid Impa to find a hero worthy of taking on Ganon's forces.
13:04And who she found was Link.
13:08Thus begins the first game in the series, released in Japan in February of 1986.
13:15After hearing Impa's story, Link sets out to collect the pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom.
13:19He does so before bravely venturing into Ganon's hideout, defeating his minions, and laying waste to the villain.
13:26He saves Princess Zelda and brings the Triforces of Power and Wisdom together again.
13:31But there's still the matter of the third piece, the one that, in future games, would become intrinsically linked to
13:38the soul of the hero.
13:44Although the only person who knew the whereabouts of the Triforce of Courage lay under a spell of endless sleep,
13:50a hint towards its location appeared six years after the first game's events, its image shown on the back of
13:57Link's hand.
13:58It was then that Impa told him the sleeping Zelda's story, and showed him a scroll left behind the king
14:04who hid the third Triforce piece away.
14:06This led him on a journey to restore the full Triforce, braving the hidden palaces designed as tests,
14:12all while being hunted by Ganon's minions, who needed his blood to revive their master.
14:23Link would prove himself worthy time and time again, even facing himself as a final challenge.
14:29With the Triforce restored, the princess woke from her long slumber, and the kingdom once again was at peace,
14:35bringing an end to the Fallen Hero timeline.
14:38Ever since the timeline was revealed in 2011, the Fallen Hero section has received more updates than any other.
14:45As we know, all three seemingly, eventually, lead to the Era of the Wilds, as seen in Breath of the
14:51Wild and Tears of the Kingdom,
14:52where it's so far in the future all previous games are simply seen as myth.
14:57But, if Echoes of Wisdom is to continue as a Zelda-centric series, or if Link is to appear in
15:03another smaller 2D adventure,
15:05we may not yet be done exploring this portion of the timeline.
15:09We may get further updates on certain eras, or even overall mythos as we saw with Null.
15:14Only time, and Nintendo, will tell.
15:24Which Era do you want to see more of?
15:27Share your thoughts with us in the comments, and we will see you next time.
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