Yes, I agree with this. So much of the Zelda story is post-hoc. Although there have been a couple of cases where Nintendo have sought to produce “direct sequels”, it’s better to think of each game as being a self-contained experience; it’s not as though Nintendo plotted out the story well in advance or anything like that.

It’s quite literally been a case of building the plane while flying it. They’ve always put gameplay mechanics first, and have often had little regard for story continuity or anything like that.