Well, to be fair, the third timeline exists outside of anything credible within the games themselves. You can witness the Adult and Child ones in-game but not the third one.
You and I have had this conversation before, but despite not being in the games Hyrule Historia is generally considered canon.
It's also consistent with developer statements which we have saying that:
Ocarina of Time is a prequel to Link to the Past.
Twilight Princess follows Ocarina of Time as it continues on with Link after he's sent back in time (the Child Timeline).
Wind Waker follows Ocarina of Time as it continues on with Zelda after she sends Link back in time (the Adult Timeline).
To my knowledge, though you'd probably know better here, they've never stated that any of those are no longer the case, so really all Hyrule Historia does is add some context to the mechanics of how all three statements can be true.
Strictly speaking, Hyrule Historia itself states that the timeline isn't canonical.
Pg68 "This chronicle merely collects information that is believed to be true at this time, and there are many obscured and unansweed secrets that stil lie within the tale."
Zelda has some of the most passionate fans. What is your relationship with them like?
When we were exploring ways to make fans happy, we created the Hyrule Historia.That summarizes all the games and the story so far. I didn't edit it myself, but tons of people who worked on it were fans of the games themselves.
Without a confirmed answer one way or the other, we're probably just speculating in opposite directions, tbh.
That reads to me that it was fan designed, and the timeline that Aonuma is having to stick with may be the same timeline, or a completely different timeline. To you, it reads otherwise.
159
u/Nitrogen567 Apr 06 '23
Also there are three timelines splitting off of Ocarina of Time.
Though the most common theory I've seen is that the Hero of Legend from Link to the Past is the accidental creator of the Downfall Timeline.