Summary

• Tears of the Kingdom events recall past Zelda games, raising timeline questions. The Imprisoning War appears confusingly in both Ocarina of Time & TOTK.
• TOTK's dual Imprisoning Wars hints at the series' cyclical timeline as the Zelda series repeats core characters and events.
• It's possible TOTK takes place so late on the timeline that OoT's Imprisoning War is just a legend to the people of Hyrule.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is set directly after the events of Breath of the Wild as its sequel, but aside from that, its position on the larger timeline for the franchise is unclear. Of course, this isn't unusual when it comes to Zelda games, considering how convoluted even the official timeline is, especially since it splits into three branches. But there are some events included in TOTK that raise questions about how they might affect the events of other games.

Tears of the Kingdom takes place across thousands of years, featuring both present day Hyrule and the time period when the first king and queen of Hyrule lived. The segments regarding the distant path are seen through Zelda's Dragon Tear memories, which Link collects around the map using the locations of geoglyphs. However, having the narrative split across such a long time period combined with the names of events that happened during them could potentially muddle similar events that are mentioned in other games.

The Imprisoning War Event In Zelda's History

The War Occurs In Both Ocarina Of Time And TOTK

The Imprisoning War is an event that appears more than once in Zelda's history. Its first reference appears in A Link to the Past, and it talks about the time that Ganondorf was sealed in the Sacred Realm, which he then corrupts, turning into the Dark World. Ganondorf is sealed as a result of the Imprisoning War, which occurs after the events of Ocarina of Time in the Fallen Hero timeline, in which Link is defeated, so the Sages resort to sealing Ganondorf away to keep him from destroying Hyrule. Of course, that might not have been a great idea, since he then corrupted the Sacred Realm instead of destroying Hyrule.

In Tears of the Kingdom, the Imprisoning War is somewhat similar in of what happens. It still refers to an event that led to Ganondorf being sealed. However, this time, Ganondorf is sealed under Hyrule Castle instead of in the Sacred Realm, and he remains there until Link and Zelda find and free him while exploring the ruins under the castle. This event already leads to timeline questions in BOTW and TOTK alone, because there would technically be two Ganondorfs existing at once in Zelda, which shouldn't happen since the Gerudo are supposed to have only one male alive at any given time.

How Two Imprisoning Wars Affect The Zelda Timeline

Is There A Ganondorf Conflict In TOTK & Ocarina of Time?

There are multiple ways that having two events with the same name can be seen. The book Creating a Champion, which talks about the design of BOTW, says that the game is set so far in the future from other games that the events of those past games have been largely forgotten and turned into legends by that point. By that logic, the Imprisoning War in TOTK could use that name based on what might be seen as no more than a legend to the people of Hyrule. Therefore, it doesn't necessarily contradict the Imprisoning War from the era of Ocarina of Time.

Alternatively, the same name could've been used to show that the timeline is cyclical, or that it doesn't matter in the end. Zelda's official timeline is full of contradictions and notoriously convoluted. Because of that, it wouldn't be out of the question for the developers to ignore the official timeline and make games in a way that they can be proud of without worrying about how the events they include in the story might impact the overall story told across the timeline.

Since it's unlikely that another official timeline will ever be created, questions about how new events impact the overall timeline may never have a real answer revealed.

The Legend of Zelda, as a series, focuses on the central characters of Link, Zelda, and usually Ganondorf, as they're reincarnated over and over to play the same roles. Having a set-up for the core characters that revolves around them fulfilling the same roles, it isn't surprising that events also end up being repeated multiple times at different points in the timeline. It might be a coincidence, or it could be intentional, since both Imprisoning Wars are about Ganondorf being sealed away. In the end, it's unlikely that the events from OoT end up de-canonized by the Imprisoning War that's featured in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.