Every Time The Legend of Zelda’s Triforce Was Split (& Why)

The sacred Triforce capable of granting the wishes of its owner is perhaps the most well known and mysterious artifact in The Legend Of Zelda series, and it is has repeatedly split into pieces throughout Hyrule’s history. According to the franchise’s lore, the Triforce is stored in the Sacred Realm in hopes of protecting it from the evil-hearted. However, if the Triforce successfully falls into the clutches of evil it will split into pieces, leaving the original founder only a single portion and an insatiable thirst for the remaining parts.

Although the true origin of the Triforce was revealed in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, the Triforce doesn’t gets split up since Demise never actually manages to acquire even a single piece. Link and Zelda successfully thwart Demise’s plans, which makes Ocarina of Time the first game in which the Triforce splits. Ganondorf tricks Link and Zelda into opening the gates to the sacred realm so that he can steal the Triforce, but in the process he made the legend of the Triforce come true. Ganondorf kept the Triforce of Power and Link and Zelda claimed the Triforce of Courage and Wisdom respectively. The game ends after Link and Zelda seal Ganondorf away in the sacred realm, along with his Triforce of Power.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s ending causes the Zelda timeline to split into three alternate realities, and the next Triforce split happens in the adult timeline’s The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Ganon breaks free of his seal with the Triforce of Power in hand, and Zelda’s royal bloodline has passed down her Triforce of Wisdom through many generations. Since the spirit of the hero was ripped from this timeline after Link was sent back to live his childhood in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the Triforce of Courage was broken into chunks and distributed across the sea, which the new Link later acquires. In The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker’s climax, the King of Hyrule uses the Triforce to permanently flood Hyrule, and the pieces soar out in the distance never to be seen again (in this timeline).

Zelda’s Triforce Has Been Broken Many Times

The child timeline, in which Link returns to relive his childhood, scarcely mentions the Triforce. It’s ignored in The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, and even the bombastically-epic The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess doesn’t acknowledge it much . It’s clear that the new Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess each start the game with their piece of the Triforce, since they each possess the glowing triangles on their hands, but the sacred artifact is in the background of the game’s story. Likely, the Triforce split carried over to the child timeline, and the goddesses of Hyrule assigned the pieces to those chosen by destiny, making this split the same from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

In the downfall timeline, Link is defeated at the end of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which allows Ganondorf to claim the full Triforce and become the demon king. Once again, he ends up getting sealed in the sacred realm, which then becomes the dark world under his twisted influence. This is where the events of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past begin, but the Triforce is in its complete form for the entire game. Link defeats Ganon and uses the Triforce to reverse the damage he’s done.

In The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds the Triforce has been split again, with Ganon and his Triforce of Power being sealed after The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Seasons, Zelda holding the Triforce of Wisdom, and the sages protecting the Triforce of Courage. The details of this split are unclear, but what is for certain is that it happened in between The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.

The final split occurs in the first two The Legend of Zelda games, The Legend of Zelda and The Legend of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. After the Triforce was taken countless times, the kingdom realized that it was extremely important to keep the pieces of the Triforce separate, so the Triforce of Courage was stored in the Great Palace, and the Triforce of Power and Wisdom remained in the royal family’s possession.

In the first game, Link collects the eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom so he can save Zelda and defeat Ganon. In the second game, Link receives the Triforce of Courage from the Great Palace so he can save Zelda from a sleeping spell. The Legend of Zelda’s timeline (and its Triforce) can be difficult to piece together, but its epic stories carried over multiple generations help make Hyrule a distinct and historically-rich video game world.

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