Child Era
Four Swords Adventures
2004 · Nintendo GameCube
Centuries after Twilight Princess, Hyrule is at peace with the Gerudo. When dark clouds gather, Princess Zelda fears the seal on Vaati inside the Four Sword is weakening and calls Link to stand guard while she and six Shrine Maidens open the way to the Four Sword Sanctuary. Shadow Link, a dark copy of Link, carries off the maidens. Link draws the Four Sword to stop him, splits into four and releases Vaati.
The Four Sword and its sanctuary come from The Minish Cap and Four Swords, much earlier in the chronology. Shadow Link was made with the Dark Mirror, a relic that once imprisoned a dark tribe. Hyrule Historia compares it with the Mirror of Twilight in Twilight Princess. The Dark World also appears.
In Hyrule Historia and Nintendo's chronicle, a new Ganondorf is born among the Gerudo in this era and becomes Ganon. It is the last game in the child timeline and Ganondorf's last appearance in it.
Starring
- Hero
- Link
- Princess
- Princess Zelda
- Villain
- Shadow Link and Vaati
Where to play it
- Nintendo GameCube2004 · the original
Its place in history
Also connected
- Four Swords (2002)Vaati escapes the Four Sword again and Link splits into four again
- The Minish Cap (2004)Where Vaati and the Four Sword first appear
Sources
- Hyrule Historia (2011; Dark Horse EN 2013)
- Nintendo official Zelda chronicle (JP, updated Sep 2026)
- Zelda Wiki — Zelda Timeline
- Zelda Wiki — Four Swords Adventures