By Patrick Johnson
As I was reading an article last night about why Link went to go find Navi in Majora’s Mask, I found myself diving into something really complex and just a wee bit confusing with the Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask timeline.
At the end of Ocarina of Time, Princess Zelda sends Link back to his childhood and then Navi leaves, and then Link goes to find her after leaving Hyrule. And then all of a sudden, Skull Kid shows up, and fans know the rest from there. But let’s take a few steps back.
When Link goes back to Hyrule as a child, Ganondorf never takes over Hyrule. Why? There’s no real explanation. But what happened that stopped it from occurring? How do we know it wasn’t just a continued cycle?
I know what you’re thinking: “Link left Hyrule.” Yeah, I got that. But Link actually left Hyrule. Just like he did when he placed the spiritual stones upon the altar of the Temple of Time and entered into the sacred realm.
Now let’s jump ahead to Twilight Princess. In order to obtain entrance to the Master Sword, Link has to get past the guardian of the Sacred Grove, Skull Kid. That means Skull kid is a temple guardian, or sage.
Now let’s go back to Majora’s Mask. After Link “left” Hyrule, Skull Kid shows up. 7 years later, Link wakes up in the Sacred Realm, stating that he was asleep but was still trained in the sacred realm.
What if the entire “Termina” experience was simply a testing ground for the Sacred Realm, and Skull Kid, Guardian of the Master Sword, had to get Link involved? Because at the end of Majora’s Mask, Link leaves Termina, and then according to Ocarina of Time, wakes up as an adult in the Sacred Realm.
Which would then imply that Ganondorf took over Hyrule while Link was gone. Ganondorf never disappeared, and I guarantee you he didn’t stop trying to do so.
So let’s sum this up: When child Link entered the Sacred Realm, the guardian of the Master Sword, Skull Kid, trained Link for 7 years in a constant time traveling cycle, prepared Link to go on the quest to destroy evil, and then Raru tells him all about it when he regains consciousness, by which point, Hyrule is now covered in darkness, and then Link goes to save the day, and happy Zelda fun for everyone.
This is just a hypothesis, I know. And it can only be understood as long as one doesn’t try to tear apart the “Link died in Majora’s Mask” explanation. But I think I may have uncovered something new here. Or at least maybe a reason for a new game, if the time flow of OOT changes with Ganondorf. Who knows what will happen. Let me know what you think!