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I am a little confused about the timeline of the Legend of Zelda series. There is a timeline for the series posted on the Legend of Zelda Wikipedia page, which states that the series splits into 3 different timelines after Ocarina of Time. Apparently, Windwaker sits right after OoT, in a timeline where Ganon was defeated and Link is an adult.

However, Ganondorf is in Windwaker as the main antagonist (right?). So, how is he in Windwaker, when he was apparently defeated at the end of OoT?

More generally, I'm a bit confused as to what 'Ganon is defeated/not defeated' means, in the context of the series. I mean, Ganon gets defeated by Link in Link to the Past and in the original LoZ game as well, but then still returns to cause trouble in later installments. Why is his defeat/victory in Ocarina of Time so significant?

(please give a warning if you're going to give significant spoilers!)

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    The LOZ timeline was retroactively written after several games had already been made. It shouldn't be expected to actually make sense.
    – user20574
    Commented Aug 20 at 21:54
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    @user20574 Not to mention that they practically abandoned it after Skyward Sword, given how messily BotW and TotK fit into the timelines.
    – crass_sandwich
    Commented Aug 20 at 21:56

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As you said, Ganondorf was defeated at the end of OoT. However, Ganondorf was not killed - he was sealed away in the Sacred Realm.

Ganondorf is sealed within the Sacred Realm by the Seven Sages, but with Link sent back in time, the world is left without a Hero. This turn of events created the timeline containing The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks.
Source

In Wind Waker, during a conversation with Laruto, the Earth Sage, she mentions:

"After his defeat at the hands of the Hero of Time, Ganondorf was sealed away... but not for all time. He was revived, and he returned to Hyrule in a red wrath."
Wind Waker transcript

Ganondorf's return is explained in more detail in the Hyrule Historia

Hundreds of years passed, and Ganondorf, who should have been sealed at the bottom of the ocean along with Hyrule, was resurrected once again. He gave an order to his minions to attack the Wind and Earth temples, killing the two sages whose prayers gave the Master Sword the ability to destroy evil."
Hyrule Historia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 124

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  • Ok, thanks for your answer. So basically, whether Ganon gets defeated or not in OoT, he ends up getting imprisoned in the Sacred Realm either way, just by different people. So, in Windwaker he escapes from the Sacred Realm, but in LttP, he stays in there and corrupts it?
    – Time4Tea
    Commented Aug 20 at 16:57
  • @Time4Tea I personally have not played LttP, but that does sound accurate
    – Wondercricket
    Commented Aug 20 at 17:26
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    @Time4Tea Ganon ends up sealed away in some way in all three of the divergent timelines that result from OoT, and he does ultimately get out in all three timelines as well, though how and when it happens differs. The indirect implication though in all three timelines is that Ganon is trying to get out regardless, he just approaches the issue in different ways in each of them.
    – Austin Hemmelgarn
    Commented Aug 20 at 19:37
  • Well in the child Link timeline he gets yeeted into the Twilight realm rather than the sacred one
    – IG_42
    Commented Sep 4 at 11:44

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