Imprisoning War

The Imprisoning War (Seal War in Japan) is an event from the Legend of Zelda series. The Imprisoning War is first mentioned in A Link to the Past. It is covered in detail in the manual, but the American translation differs in several key places from the original Japanese, making it inconsistent with the story told in other parts of the series. Despite this however, it is stated that the event is a war of sorts between Ganon's army and the army of Hyrule. Presumably years after the Hyrulean Civil War, Ganon learned of the mythical Triforce and began recruiting an army to seize control of Hyrule and steal the sacred relic. Learning of this, the King of Hyrule called upon the Knights of Hyrule and Seven Wise Men to protect the Sacred Realm. To do this, the wise men began searching for a hero to wield the Master Sword and ultimately protect the land of Hyrule. While they were doing this, however, Ganon attacked. The Knights of Hyrule fought him off vigorously, and the Seven Wise Men arrived just in time to finish him off; sealing him in the Dark World, Ganon no longer posed a threat to Hyrule. Despite some contradictions, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time seemingly covers the Imprisoning War and the events in the run up to its outbreak, namely the Great Cataclysm. This is highly unlikely due to the fact that the seal placed on Ganon in Ocarina of Time was broken during the events of The Wind Waker.

Continuity Errors and Theoretical Explanations
Most fans believe the events of Ocarina of Time chronicle the Imprisoning War spoken of in A Link to the Past. The main events of the Imprisoning War do seem to occur within Ocarina of Time, such as the opening of the Sacred Realm, the scattering of the Triforce, the Sacred Realm’s transformation into the Dark World, Ganondorf’s imprisonment within the Dark World and the involvement of the Seven Sages (presumably the Seven Wise Men). However, there are several continuity errors that come into question between the games. Some of these errors appear below:


 * The King’s commanding of the Seven Wise Men in the legends of the Imprisoning War, and his presumed death in Ocarina of Time following Ganondorf’s assault on Hyrule Castle.
 * The Seven Wise Men being all elderly, male, Hylians whereas in Ocarina of Time, only two of the Seven Sages are male, and only one of them matches the A Link to the Past description.

While there are several other questionable events, these two prominently stand out since they are present within A Link to the Past, the first game to give an overview of the Imprisoning War and mention the war at all. The exact reasons for these supposed errors are of course not known for sure, leaving many gamers to merely speculate on the differences between the games. Possible theories explaining the continuity errors appear below.

The King of Hyrule
It is not known for sure whether or not the King of Hyrule is killed in Ocarina of Time, although this is heavily implied by his absence following Ganondorf’s siege of Hyrule Castle. Some speculate that the Hyrulean Civil War was fought over the Triforce, as has been implied by A Link to the Past and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. If this is the case, then the King of Hyrule may well have commanded the essences of the Sages (the ethereal Sages of Twilight Princess that may be the possible source of the Seven Sages' powers in Ocarina of Time) to seal the Sacred Realm shut if some evil entity should gain entry into it and cause evil power to start flowing from it shortly after the conclusion of the Hyrulean Civil War (seeing as it caused the previous war). This would be in keeping with the King’s command spoken of in A Link to the Past since gamers are not told explicitly that the King commanded the Sages to seal the Realm at the particular moment of Ganondorf’s invasion of the Sacred Realm.

The Wise Men
The Seven Maidens of A Link to the Past are supposedly the descendants of the Seven Sages of Ocarina of Time, and yet while the Seven Sages are of differing races, the Maidens all appear to be human. This is furthered by the fact that the Seven Wise Men are all depicted as human as well. This all seems to be a form of retcon however, and the A Link to the Past backstory has come to be considered non-canonical by many.

Conflicts with The Wind Waker
The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker makes it highly improbable for Ocarina of Time to be the Imprisoning War because The Wind Waker shows Ganondorf's escape from the sealed paced on him in Ocarina of Time, as well as his death.

Four Swords Adventures
The Legend of Zelda:Four Swords Adventures shares many similarities with the Imprisoning War

1. Four Swords Adventures shows the origin story of the Ganondorf who became the beast Ganon upon taking the Trident of Power

2. The remaining Knights of Hyrule are killed by Ganon during the events of the game

3. Ganon is sealed in the Four Sword and a seal is placed over the Four Sword that is similar to the seal on Ganon seen in Imprisoning War artwork.