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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteThe Wind Waker takes place in the Adult Era branch of The Legend of Zelda timeline, after Ocarina of Time. It follows the ending in which Link defeats Ganon as an adult before returning to his childhood. Nintendo’s timeline places a flood of Hyrule between those events and The Wind Waker, while producer Eiji Aonuma described the game as occurring 100 years after that adult-ending period.
It is not a sequel to Majora’s Mask. Majora’s Mask belongs to the separate Child Era branch. After The Wind Waker, the same Adult Era sequence continues with Phantom Hourglass a few months later and then Spirit Tracks in a new Hyrule.
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The Wind Waker’s exact place in the timeline
Nintendo’s official history divides the timeline created by Ocarina of Time into an Adult Era and a Child Era. The Wind Waker appears on the Adult Era side. The simplest sequence is:
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- Ocarina of Time reaches its adult-ending period.
- Link is returned to childhood, leaving separate adult and child historical outcomes.
- Hyrule is flooded before the events of The Wind Waker.
- The Wind Waker follows in the Adult Era, with a new Link living in a world where the Hero of Time has become a legend.
- Phantom Hourglass begins a few months later.
- Spirit Tracks follows later in a newly established Hyrule.
Aonuma’s creator interview supplies the interval most often used to describe the setting: he said The Wind Waker takes place 100 years after the ending in which Link was an adult. That is an attributed explanation of the timeline, not a confirmed calendar date for the game’s world. Nintendo’s displayed history establishes the branch and the flood, but does not provide an exact in-world year.
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Timeline at a glance
| Point in history | What it means |
|---|---|
| Ocarina of Time, adult-ending period | The branch that leads to The Wind Waker |
| Flood of Hyrule | Occurs before The Wind Waker in Nintendo’s history |
| The Wind Waker | Adult Era; Aonuma described it as 100 years after the adult ending |
| Phantom Hourglass | Starts a few months after The Wind Waker |
| Spirit Tracks | Later Adult Era story in a new Hyrule |
Why Ocarina of Time creates two branches
The split is not an optional fan ordering or a matter of choosing which game feels like a sequel. It is the direct consequence of how Ocarina of Time ends.
The adult-ending period
During the climactic adult period of Ocarina of Time, Link defeats Ganon. Afterward, Zelda sends Link back to his childhood. The adult-era world therefore continues without that adult Link remaining in its present. Aonuma explained that the history experienced after this adult ending is the one that eventually leads to The Wind Waker.
This is why the game can be set after Ocarina of Time even though its protagonist is not simply the same adult Link continuing his journey. The historical memory of the Hero of Time survives, while the person playing Link in The Wind Waker is a different incarnation.
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The Child Era
The other historical outcome follows Link after he has returned to childhood. Nintendo’s timeline places Majora’s Mask in this Child Era branch. That placement matters because it rules out a single chain in which Majora’s Mask leads directly into The Wind Waker. The two games inherit different outcomes from Ocarina of Time.
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| Branch | Ocarina of Time outcome | Nintendo’s displayed example |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Era | Follows the period in which Link defeated Ganon as an adult | The Wind Waker |
| Child Era | Follows Link after he is returned to childhood | Majora’s Mask |
“Adult Era” describes the historical branch, not a claim that every later protagonist is the adult Link from Ocarina of Time. In The Wind Waker, the old hero is remembered as a figure from the past and a new boy takes up the role.
What happens between Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker
Hyrule is flooded
Nintendo’s official history places the flooding of Hyrule before The Wind Waker. The familiar kingdom is no longer presented as a continuous landmass. Instead, the game’s world is dominated by an ocean and scattered islands. This is the defining historical change that separates its setting from the Hyrule seen in Ocarina of Time.
The flood also explains why the game’s geography should not be read as a normal map of the older kingdom. Islands, sea routes and submerged history are the visible result of that earlier event. The timeline connection is therefore expressed through what has been lost as much as through what remains.
The Hero of Time becomes a legend
Nintendo’s official summary opens “On a small island in the middle of the ocean, where the legend of the Hero of Time is being passed down.” That sentence is one of the clearest pieces of in-game context for the placement. The people of this era do not treat the Hero of Time as a currently active adventurer; they preserve his story as inherited tradition.
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The wording also distinguishes historical continuity from character continuity. The Wind Waker remembers the events associated with Ocarina of Time, but it introduces a new Link whose own adventure begins on the island where those memories are taught.
The 100-year interval
In a creator interview archived by Zelda Legends, Eiji Aonuma said: “You could say that The Wind Waker takes place 100 years after the ending in which Link was an adult.” This is the specific source for the 100-year figure and for the identification of the adult-ending branch.
The statement should be read with its scope intact. It describes the interval from the adult-ending period of Ocarina of Time; it does not establish a day, month or universally numbered calendar year inside the fictional world. The archive page also does not establish the interview’s original publication date, so the attribution is more important than assigning the comment to an unverified year.
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The opening situation gives the timeline placement a human scale. Link lives on a small island where the Hero of Time’s legend is taught. On Link’s birthday, Tetra is carried away by a monstrous bird. Link helps rescue her, but his sister Aryll is kidnapped. That personal crisis sends him into the wider oceanic world.
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The King of Red Lions then becomes Link’s guide. He explains that Ganondorf has returned and is kidnapping girls around the world. This is not a retelling of Ocarina of Time; it is a later crisis that assumes the audience’s world has already inherited the consequences of the earlier one.
Several details work together:
- The island community knows the Hero of Time through a passed-down legend.
- Link is celebrating his own birthday, establishing him as the protagonist of a new generation.
- Tetra and Aryll’s kidnappings provide the immediate reason for the voyage.
- The King of Red Lions identifies Ganondorf’s return as a new threat after the older hero’s era.
- The ocean and islands show the altered world created by the flood.
These details explain why the game feels connected to Ocarina of Time without functioning as a conventional same-character sequel.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What follows The Wind Waker?
Phantom Hourglass
Nintendo states that Phantom Hourglass begins “A few months after the adventures in the Wind Waker.” Link and Tetra leave in search of a new land. This is the immediate continuation of the Adult Era sequence, not a separate branch.
The short interval matters: Phantom Hourglass follows the consequences of The Wind Waker while its events are still recent. It is therefore the next game in the relevant story order even though its setting and central journey differ from the first ocean adventure.
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Spirit Tracks
Nintendo’s timeline display places Spirit Tracks later in the same continuing sequence. Its setting is a new Hyrule, where the tracks that connect the land are disappearing. The phrase “new Hyrule” signals another major relocation rather than a return to the flooded kingdom’s original geography.
For a reader following only this branch, the practical order is The Wind Waker, then Phantom Hourglass, then Spirit Tracks. The games share the Adult Era line, while their protagonists and immediate settings belong to the later history that develops after the flood.
Is The Wind Waker after Majora’s Mask?
No. Nintendo’s displayed timeline puts Majora’s Mask under the Child Era and The Wind Waker under the Adult Era. Both branches originate in Ocarina of Time, but they represent different historical outcomes after Link is sent back to childhood.
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Release date versus story date
Nintendo lists The Wind Waker as a GameCube release dated December 13, 2002. That is the publication history of the game, not the date when its fictional events occur. The story placement comes from Nintendo’s timeline and Aonuma’s explanation of the adult-ending interval.
Keeping those two dates separate avoids another source of confusion. December 13, 2002 tells you when players received the game; the “100 years” comment describes where the events sit relative to Ocarina of Time. Neither source supplies an exact numbered year within the world of Hyrule.
A reliable way to explain the placement
- Start with Ocarina of Time, because its ending creates the split.
- Identify the adult-ending period as the path relevant to The Wind Waker.
- Place the flood of Hyrule between that history and the game.
- Use Aonuma’s 100-year description as an attributed interval, not as an invented calendar date.
- Explain that the Hero of Time is remembered as a legend and that The Wind Waker follows a new Link.
- Continue the Adult Era order with Phantom Hourglass a few months later and Spirit Tracks later in a new Hyrule.
This method preserves both parts of the timeline: the branching structure created by Ocarina of Time and the concrete story evidence presented at the beginning of The Wind Waker.
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