Official Zelda timeline explained.

(source)

So basically, the first segment is:

1. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
2. The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap
3. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
4. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Which I think many has guessed, but then it splits not into two, but into three - the failure timeline, victory/child timeline and victory progression timeline.

Fail timeline:

5. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
6. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Oracle of Ages
7. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
8. The Legend of Zelda
9. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Victory/child timeline:

5. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
6. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
7. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

Victory/progression timeline:

5. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
6. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
7. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

So what do you think? Personally I'm confused about why the failed timeline exists.

Whoa! it's actually an official timeline? I can't believe no one else has commented on this cuz fans have been submitting their own interpretations on these for years!  

Hey did you notice that all the failure timelines are from the original games that the game directors probably never even thought about having a long run story timeline in mind while making them?  Nintendo could just be making a joke by calling it the "failed" timeline, but I kind of garnered that it might also be because in those games, Link has to fight in worlds already overrun by Ganon, he's gotten the triforce, or he's about to take over the world.  That needs to be flushed out abit but thoughts? 

I think the logic behind the failed timeline is that when Link goes back and forth with the Master Sword in Ocarina of Time he is jumping between two timelines and when Zelda sends him back a third is created. In the one where Zelda sends him back, Link has time to warn the king about Ganondorf while the old young Link timeline leads into the Imprissoning war.

On the other hand, I feel like this timeline contradicts a lot of "evidence" we've been using when creating our own timeline. Like the interview where Miyamoto said that the first three were released in chronologic order and LA could take place anywhere in between. In the failed timeline (or decline timeline as it is called in the Zelda wiki), LoZ and AoL comes after ALttP. The oracles games come after ALttP even though the Master Sword is in them and the end of ALttP said the MS was put to rest forever.