I just wanted to say that I'm pretty sure that this was the original intent of OoT...
Ocarina Of Time definitely aligns nicely with most aspects of the imprisoning war. It´s just that it could never wholly conform with the premise of Ganon acquiring the whole Triforce before being sealed. To allow for Link´s victory made for not only a better story, but a better game. I applaud Nintendo for acknowledging that Ocarina of Time could never be the precise events that preceded A Link To The Past, instead of retconning the game.
Anyways, is there really any explanation of the whole "failed" aspect in the book? If not, it could be several things (Link was defeated at the end of OoT which would mean Ganon acquired the full Triforce and made his wish which put him in the Dark World, or Link never came back after opening the Sacred Realm in the first place, etc). Honestly I understand why they'd toss in a third branch in the timeline tree though with all the games that came out after OoT, Wind Waker in particular probably causing a lot of issues.
I'm thinking the word "failed" is just being taken in a different way than was intended, most likely. Wouldn't be the first time this sort of thing has happened.*cough*Light invented Irregular Virus*cough*
It´s hard to say without translation of the text, but the page that precedes the imprisoning war story from A Link To The Past´s intro shows Link in a heated battle with Ganondorf:
Presumably it is this page that explains the matter. That's not to say Link died, Ganondorf could have just extracted the Triforce without killing them (as he did in Wind Waker). But, even though this premise explains how all the Sages awakened (to make Adventure of Link's town names) and how the knights line continued, this creates a minor contradiction with Twinrova's defeat and return in Oracle.
One interesting little theory I read, which I thought was fun to play around with, is the notion that the 'Link defeated/failed' line would provide a basis for Zelda and Link's foreboding visions of the future: those prophecies allowing time to take a different course.
Posted on: December 27, 2011, 04:45:08 PM
http://i43.tinypic.com/21mssi1.pnghttp://i44.tinypic.com/2nrohls.pngTranslation should be coming soon. Also, looks like they modified the image of Link vs. Ganondorf.
Posted on: January 02, 2012, 03:14:38 PM
And there we go:
http://forums.zeldainformer.com/threads/hyrule-historia-translations.8624/also:
http://i42.tinypic.com/2i6laa9.pngLink, the descendant of the Hero of Time
リンクが初めてトワイライトに足を踏み入れた際、手の甲に勇気のトライフォースの紋章が輝いて獣の姿になり 、人間に戻った際には勇者が着ていたという縁衣をまとっていた。リンクは、先祖である時の勇者の亡霊から奥 義を教わる。彼は子ども時代に戻って以降、勇者として名残せかったことを無念に感じていた。それゆえリンク に「息子よ」と語りかけ、勇気の証と奥義継いだのだ。
When Link first set foot in the Twilight, the crest of the Triforce of Courage shined on the back of his hand; when he returned to human-form he wore clothes the hero wore. Link is taught mysteries from the ghost of the hero of time. Since he returned to his childhood, he'd felt regret that he would leave his name as hero. Therefore, the "son" of Link speaks proof of the courage he inheirited mysteriously.