From Kotaku:
“Note that the “split” is due to Ocarina’s time differences and assumptions based on different ways that story could have ended and branched off from his two ages: the Link to the Past split is Link failing, the Majora’s split is Link defeating canon and branching off from his boyhood and the Wind Waker split is Link defeating Ganon and branching from his older years.” —> That’s some Inception stuff right there.
