I don't think the Link in Windwaker is meant to be a descendant of the OoT Link, he was judged not to be by Jabun, and thus had to prove himself at the Tower of the Gods and collect the triforce pieces etc if I recall correctly (it's been about 4 years since I played it though)

And Helios presupposes that The Wind Waker is in the Adult timeline. I always thought it was in the child line

Though timeline bickerings would not damage the power of Ganondorf's TWW characterization

Yesterday, I finished ALttP again. Now I can completely focus my Zelda gaming time on OoT 3D

TWRoO: You're right, and yet Ganondorf says he considers Link to be the "Hero of Time reborn." What matters here is what Ganondorf thinks, after all.

Mr Khan: I'm just following developer canon. But you are correct, either way. So, how would you explain Ganondorf's change of character, if we assume The Wind Waker does indeed follow the child continuity?

Might be defined by a Ganondorf who now saw the consequences of his complete victory as it ran in that line. Complete world destruction was not what he wanted, and he eventually got to the point where he was no longer so spiteful as to wish to see the whole world destroyed if he could not have it, though he still wanted it

Link was never declared the Hero of Time in the child timeline; Wind Waker's  OoT-based backstory demands that it take place in the adult timeline.

My utilization of that line was always that Link was never around to stop Ganondorf in the child line (left for Termina), hence Ganondorf's victory while they still recollected that some "hero of time" had been around at some point, since the other side (Twilight Princess) portrays the sealing of Ganondorf

Granted, you have to stretch belief in some way since the sages shown sealing Ganondorf in TP are clearly not the OoT sages, but i chalk that up to artistic license and the fact that you can't really invest too too much in the whole timeline theory (otherwise you have to explain inexplicable things, like how Death Mountain moves around every time...)

Unless Link blew the whistle on Ganondorf in the child line, the sages stop him and seal him, but how does he end up with the Triforce of Power in TP, yet was defeated before he really got anywhere?

Khuutra: Yes, and so does the fact that the awakened Sages (which would not exist in the child timeline) are depicted in Hyrule Castle. Ganondorf's statement that he has "again" gathered the three with the crests, referencing the end of Ocarina of Time, is also worth noting.

Mr Khan: The events that led to Ganondorf's capture in TP are pretty vague - the sages only say they were able to overcome him because of his recklessness. This theory does fit well with the idea of Link forewarning them. Ganondorf presumably already had the Triforce of Power when he was captured, as indicated by the fact that Triforce of Courage is shown on the back of Link's hand at the end of Ocarina of Time.

Regardless of the continuity, I interpret Ganondorf's character in The Wind Waker is as a man disillusioned with the thought of his own power. Time and the defeat has made him both wise and bitter. The reason he doesn't feel any need to kill Link or Zelda is that he has come to see them as mere puppets of the gods. ("I have been waiting for you, boy. For one like you... Yes... For the hero.") It was, after all, the goddesses who made the Gerudo suffer unfairly, they robbed him of his victory when he had earned it justly, and they even "turned" on their own people. ("Don't you see? All of you... Your gods destroyed you!") The Triforce is a way for Ganondorf to seize control of his own fate - just as it became for the King of Hyrule.

Of course, Ganondorf isn't the only one to suffer at the hands of fate - it is a recurring motif of the game, and it applies directly to Link, Zelda, the Sages, the ancients who left Hyrule, and the King of Hyrule, all of whom were forced to sacrifice their past lives so that they may play a part in the struggle between good and evil - but he is egotistical and conceited and, in spite of his milder mannerisms, doesn't care about anyone but himself. The irony of his kinship with the King, and where it leads them both, is centered around that.

So I've finally made it to manhood in OoT. I'm taking my time, but I'm really enjoying fishing out all of the Hylian lore that I didn't pay much attention to when I was playing it all those years ago.

Also, I took a look at this video... and I forgot how effin' creepy and crazy it all was.

I swear that fishing spot. I have no idea what it is about that minigame that just sucks all your time straight up. Hell, that minigame has done for me what real fishing has always failed to do the few times i've dabbled in it. Prove a mundane, relaxing activity that is in its own way uniquely compelling

And they never really managed to recreate its appeal in TP, either

On my end, i finally can verbalize what is wrong with the Water Temple. Not that it's convuluted, but that the water level control system means that if you screw up at any point, then you have to go all the way back to the first area (where Ruto appears), set the water level back to zero, then from there set it back to where you need it (if you need it at 2, but are at 3, you can't just jump back to 2, but have to go through one to 2), which really sucks up your time as you're playing the guessing game that is finding small keys.