how many generations of Link are there in Zelda??

Answer 1

The Legend of Zelda's timeline has been debated for years by everyone. It wasn't until Wind Waker that Shigeru Miyamoto (Link's creator) revealled that there are in fact more than one Link.

Some argue that there are two timelines: one following Ganon, the other following Vaati. The generations broken down...

***WARNING! SOME MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS***

The Hero of Time (Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask): The original Link. OoT is the prequel to everything. Establishes the first break of the Triforce, and Ganondorf's first appearance as the King of Evil.
The Hero of Twilight (Twilight Princess): The second generation Link. Born into a farmer's family, Link learns he is a blood descendant of the original Hero of Time during his adventure. As such, he is entrusted with "the mark of the Hero" (the Triforce of Courage).
The Hero of the Past (A Link to the Past): The third generation Link, a simple boy descended from the Heroes before him.
The Hero of Hyrule (Legend of Zelda/Zelda II): Considered by old-school players as the "true" Link, largely because he started the franchise, this Link is actually the fourth generation. The original Zelda only focuses on two pieces of the Triforce (Wisdom, Zelda's piece broken up into 8 pieces, and Power, Ganon's piece he had already acquired centuries earlier) while Zelda II acknowledges the third and final piece (Courage) belonging to the Hero).
The Missing Hero (????): There is a considerable gap between the others and Wind Waker, with Nintendo the only one who needs to fill in the gap. This would be the fifth generation of Link. Somehow during his adventure, the course of events begins that leads to Hyrule's destruction by the Gods in order to finally kill Ganon.
The Hero of Winds (Wind Waker): The sixth and potentially final generation of this timeline. This Link was born into a flooded world told only of the exploits of a great Hero who defeated Ganon at every opportunity he would return. Due to the events leading to Hyrule's destruction, the Royal Family's bloodline becomes lost (until later revealled that it still exists, just unaware of her true calling) and generations go by without knowledge of who the Hero was nor that there were many others after him (the legend refers to the Hero of Time only). As such, the Hero's Triforce is lost amongst the flooded ruins along with Zelda's, believing Ganon to be truly dead. When he is finally defeated in the climax of WW, the King tells Link to forge a new Hyrule for a new future. This has led to the belief that Wind Waker is the chronological final Legend of Zelda.

The alternate timeline follows a Link's adventures through other worlds battling other enemies including the wind god Vaati (Link's Adventure, The Four Swords, The Minish Cap). All three are occupied by the same Link, connected together by the Oracles of Ages and Seasons. What's odd about these two is that they connect to the middle of the original timeline, with this Link saving the current Princess Zelda from becoming a human sacrifice to resurrect Ganon. This Link eventually defeats Ganon (again) and saves all three worlds (Holodrum, Labyrinna, and Hyrule). The other thing to keep in mind is the upcoming Phantom Hourglass for DS, which supposedly follows the Link from Wind Waker in a brand new adventure but has yet to be confirmed on this.

So to summarize, yes there are technically 6 official generations of Link with one rogue generation that has yet to be fully tied to the rest. So 7 altogether.

Answer 2

maybe 6 or 7?