I've been very interested in the time period between Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker recently, and I have come up with a possible story for the new Zelda title for the Wii that could explain some of it.
*Please note that this is basically just fanfiction with a few facts thrown in here and there.
*Warning: long read…though you may find it interesting.
*There may or may not be spoilers (to OoT and WW). I am not writing this with that in mind.
My story first started out as a something of a joke in the thread "Placement of New Zelda Title?" I don't remember exactly why I thought of the idea of a direct sequel to OoT, but it might have had something to do with Miyamoto's 'Link is older' quote and Aonuma's 'different era' quote. Of course the first thing I did was check with OoT's ending, and here's what I came up with:
Since I posted that, I kept having insights that supported it (like paralleling Majora's Mask), so it eventually grew out of being a joke and into a serious story (though still just a fanfic, not a theory).
So pulling together information from Ocarina of Time's ending, The Wind Waker's backstory, a few developer quotes on Zelda Wii, with a little help from Bomber Casey Hodges' article on "The Reconstruction Era of The Wind Waker" to pull it all together, I can now present to you my storyline for Zelda Wii:
With Ganondorf defeated and sealed away in the Sacred Realm, the first adventure of the Hero of Time has come to an end. His duties now completed, he "must lay the Master Sword to rest and close the Door of Time. However, by doing this, the road between times will be closed." (Zelda, OoT) This would mean he could "regain [his] lost time" (Zelda, OoT) as a child, but would no longer exist in Zelda's time, the time of a broken and needy Hyrule.
The reason Link must return the Master Sword to the Pedestal of Time is because it acts as the final key to the Sacred Realm, which must be locked so Ganondorf can't escape. However, this is only one of its three main powers. The second power of course, being the Blade of Evil's Bane, is the power to repel evil. Its third, and most interesting, is its control of time. It was able to send Link into the future (or more realistically to keep Link from experiencing the passage of time) when he was too young to become the Hero of Time. It displays this power again in The Wind Waker by keeping Ganondorf's minions frozen in time within Hyrule Castle until Link (the Hero of Winds) removes it from the Pedestal.
Zelda realized that she could use the other time-controlling object, the Ocarina of Time, to manipulate the Master Sword's control over Link's life. Using her magic as a Sage and member of the royal family in the form of Zelda's Lullaby, which as Impa stated had "mysterious power in [its] notes" (OoT), she separated the Master Sword's powers over evil and time from its physical casing and role as the key to the Sacred Realm. These two powers, when separated from the Sword, became the character we see in the concept art.
Link is now able to replace the Master Sword in the Pedestal of Time, allowing the Master Sword from the past, which was still capable of controlling time, to pull Link back to begin the Child Timeline. But the essence of the present Master Sword's time control still existed in the girl, and held Link in the present as well, continuing the Adult Timeline.
There's the intro, and believe me, it was probably much harder to describe than to understand.
Now, with the help of his new companion, Link will have to help rebuild Hyrule. Of course, that would make for a very boring story, so a new antagonist must appear to threaten the reconstruction of Hyrule. I don't really have too many ideas of the actual story of the game; I mostly concentrated on the beginning and ending, as those are the most important parts to tie into the other games.
Hyrule Castle would be the first thing to rebuild (possibly the main focus of the game). I have to give Caseman credit for this one, though I should have thought of it myself:
At the end of the game, with the villain defeated and the new Hyrule Castle constructed, Link must return the spirit of the Master Sword to its casing, now in the hidden room underneath the castle. This will be a very depressing moment, as Link would essentially die at this point (He would cease to exist on the AT.)
Looking at some intricacies of the "road between times," Perhaps Link would not even go back in time at all until after this story. This would relieve some of the confusion of the "Master Sword from the past … pull[ing] Link back to begin the Child Timeline." It would also give young Link the additional knowledge of what happened after Ganondorf was defeated, and relieve some of the negative feelings of Link 'dying,' as his experiences would still be remembered by young Link.
This is really the end of my Zelda Wii story, but it's not everything I have to say about the time period between OoT and WW. So if this is all you can take, then go ahead and stop here, but if you're still interested please read on!
*Please note that this is basically just fanfiction with a few facts thrown in here and there.
*Warning: long read…though you may find it interesting.
*There may or may not be spoilers (to OoT and WW). I am not writing this with that in mind.
My story first started out as a something of a joke in the thread "Placement of New Zelda Title?" I don't remember exactly why I thought of the idea of a direct sequel to OoT, but it might have had something to do with Miyamoto's 'Link is older' quote and Aonuma's 'different era' quote. Of course the first thing I did was check with OoT's ending, and here's what I came up with:
A the end of OoT, Zelda tells Link that he "must lay the Master Sword to rest and close the Door of Time."
"However, by doing this, the road between times will be closed." She then takes the Ocarina and says "When peace returns to Hyrule... It will be time for us to say good-bye." Then she tells Link to go home plays Zelda's Lullaby to send Link back to the past.
Now why did she say that she will say good-bye when peace returns to Hyrule as if it would be some future event? If peace had already returned to Hyrule and Link was leaving now and she was saying good-bye now, why wouldn't she just say "Since peace has returned to Hyrule, it is time for us to say good-bye?"
Also, why can't he just put the Master Sword back in the Pedestal of Time? Why must she use her own magic to send him back?
My answer: If Link were to replace the Master Sword, he would leave the AT, returning to the CT, and Zelda would never see him again("...the road between times will be closed"). I think she wanted for him to "regain [his] lost time," but at the same time didn't want him to be gone forever, either for personal reasons, or because she felt he was needed to continue to return peace to Hyrule, hence saying good-bye at a later time (perhaps it will take a while to rebuild after the devastation, or a new villain may appear).
Her solution was to use her magic (by playing her Lullaby) to split the power of the Master Sword holding Link in the AT from its physical casing (and its role as key to the SR) so Link can replace the sword in the Pedestal and keep the companion shown in the picture for the purpose of keeping him in the AT and assisting him in rebuilding Hyrule.
That would go along with 'Link being older' being such an important 'hint.'
Aonuma also said that TP was a "parallel" story to WW, so what's to stop them from paralleling MM?
Since I posted that, I kept having insights that supported it (like paralleling Majora's Mask), so it eventually grew out of being a joke and into a serious story (though still just a fanfic, not a theory).
So pulling together information from Ocarina of Time's ending, The Wind Waker's backstory, a few developer quotes on Zelda Wii, with a little help from Bomber Casey Hodges' article on "The Reconstruction Era of The Wind Waker" to pull it all together, I can now present to you my storyline for Zelda Wii:
With Ganondorf defeated and sealed away in the Sacred Realm, the first adventure of the Hero of Time has come to an end. His duties now completed, he "must lay the Master Sword to rest and close the Door of Time. However, by doing this, the road between times will be closed." (Zelda, OoT) This would mean he could "regain [his] lost time" (Zelda, OoT) as a child, but would no longer exist in Zelda's time, the time of a broken and needy Hyrule.
The reason Link must return the Master Sword to the Pedestal of Time is because it acts as the final key to the Sacred Realm, which must be locked so Ganondorf can't escape. However, this is only one of its three main powers. The second power of course, being the Blade of Evil's Bane, is the power to repel evil. Its third, and most interesting, is its control of time. It was able to send Link into the future (or more realistically to keep Link from experiencing the passage of time) when he was too young to become the Hero of Time. It displays this power again in The Wind Waker by keeping Ganondorf's minions frozen in time within Hyrule Castle until Link (the Hero of Winds) removes it from the Pedestal.
Zelda realized that she could use the other time-controlling object, the Ocarina of Time, to manipulate the Master Sword's control over Link's life. Using her magic as a Sage and member of the royal family in the form of Zelda's Lullaby, which as Impa stated had "mysterious power in [its] notes" (OoT), she separated the Master Sword's powers over evil and time from its physical casing and role as the key to the Sacred Realm. These two powers, when separated from the Sword, became the character we see in the concept art.
Link is now able to replace the Master Sword in the Pedestal of Time, allowing the Master Sword from the past, which was still capable of controlling time, to pull Link back to begin the Child Timeline. But the essence of the present Master Sword's time control still existed in the girl, and held Link in the present as well, continuing the Adult Timeline.
There's the intro, and believe me, it was probably much harder to describe than to understand.
Now, with the help of his new companion, Link will have to help rebuild Hyrule. Of course, that would make for a very boring story, so a new antagonist must appear to threaten the reconstruction of Hyrule. I don't really have too many ideas of the actual story of the game; I mostly concentrated on the beginning and ending, as those are the most important parts to tie into the other games.
Hyrule Castle would be the first thing to rebuild (possibly the main focus of the game). I have to give Caseman credit for this one, though I should have thought of it myself:
(NOTE: This quote is just referring to the time period, not to its connection to ZW. Casey does not necessarily agree with this placement of ZW.)Casey Hodges said:Since the old location of the castle was turned into a pit of lava, the Temple of Time, the biggest surviving structure, was remodeled into the new Hyrule Castle. This is why the Master Sword is now secretly located beneath the castle in The Wind Waker.
At the end of the game, with the villain defeated and the new Hyrule Castle constructed, Link must return the spirit of the Master Sword to its casing, now in the hidden room underneath the castle. This will be a very depressing moment, as Link would essentially die at this point (He would cease to exist on the AT.)
Looking at some intricacies of the "road between times," Perhaps Link would not even go back in time at all until after this story. This would relieve some of the confusion of the "Master Sword from the past … pull[ing] Link back to begin the Child Timeline." It would also give young Link the additional knowledge of what happened after Ganondorf was defeated, and relieve some of the negative feelings of Link 'dying,' as his experiences would still be remembered by young Link.
This is really the end of my Zelda Wii story, but it's not everything I have to say about the time period between OoT and WW. So if this is all you can take, then go ahead and stop here, but if you're still interested please read on!
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