Nintendo reveals the Legend of Zelda series timeline

[Urzu 7]

And we all go "wtf?".

Fans have been trying to create a LoZ timeline for years. Apparently, Nintendo released a LoZ encyclopedia/artbook in Japan with an official timeline. Well, perhaps this is not the official timeline. This is translated from Japanese text, so there is room for error. Also, it isn't totally clear this is the "sanctioned" timeline from Nintendo, but people speculate it is as it is from a book from Nintendo.

The Zelda series starts with a simple progression. The first four games in the timeline, from earliest to latest are:

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

Here's where things get complicated, because Ocarina deals with a leap in time and technically only spells out one of those timelines with its ending. However, if these reports are to be believed, Nintendo has generated three scenarios based on Ocarina of Time.

The first, which we'll call Timeline A, assumes Link actually fails to stop Ganon. How or why this is a logical storyline path is a bit lost on us, because the game resolves that battle, but regardless, here are the games that follow Timeline A:

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

So there's that - many games based on an odd presumption. Regardless, the next path, Timeline B, works from the presented ending of Ocarina of Time, featuring Link returning to live through his childhood. As we all know, Majora's Mask picks up shortly after Ocarina's ending, leading to these games:

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

One more timeline for you. This one starts with Ganon's defeat in the Ocarina of Time era, and progresses from there - from the time that Link advanced and eventually left so he could be a child once again. Here are the games in Timeline C:

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

Read more here: http://wii.ign.com/articles/121/1215301p1.html

[Xacual]

I'm still not entirely sure about the failure timeline does it have to do with just general time travel shenanigans, like when Link picked up the Master Sword did he break that timeline off which led to that timeline happening. Of course then you wonder what about all the going back and forth you did in OoT, is that retconned now or something too?

Also here's the timeline in image form.

[SOGESNAKE]

This timeline.... seems alittle strange to me... wonder what Nintendo is doing seperating it into 3 different endings...

[Urzu 7]

Also, that is definitely not the same Hero (Link) in every game. I read fan speculation at some point in time that Link (the destined hero) reincarnates when there will be a hero needed (maybe destined by the Goddess). And I read Zelda is also reincarnated. Good speculation. Would be fitting for why there are different Links and Zeldas.

[Hiroi Sekai]

Legend of Zelda never needed a solid timeline in my opinion. Sure, they play off of each other plotwise, but each game had such a strong story to itself that they were meant to be played and enjoyed separately.

For example, I never thought Oracle of Seasons would be linked together with Twilight Princess. Seasons was tied for my favourite Zelda game and Twilight Princess was lower on the chart, but without personal preferences, I had never thought those two would be placed under the same timeline at all.

[Xacual]

Originally Posted by papermario13689

Legend of Zelda never needed a solid timeline in my opinion. Sure, they play off of each other plotwise, but each game had such a strong story to itself that they were meant to be played and enjoyed separately.

For example, I never thought Oracle of Seasons would be linked together with Twilight Princess. Seasons was tied for my favourite Zelda game and Twilight Princess was lower on the chart, but without personal preferences, I had never thought those two would be placed under the same timeline at all.

They aren't?

Originally Posted by Urzu 7

Also, that is definitely not the same Hero (Link) in every game. I read fan speculation at some point in time that Link (the destined hero) reincarnates when there will be a hero needed (maybe destined by the Goddess). And I read Zelda is also reincarnated. Good speculation. Would be fitting for why there are different Links and Zeldas.

This has been known for a long time.

[Urzu 7]

Originally Posted by Xacual

This has been known for a long time.

Oh? Was that official from Nintendo? Is it the same Hyrule, or does Hyrule get recreated at times?


PaperMario, the LoZ series and its timeline...it isn't that important. Nintendo doesn't focus on that with most Zelda games. They just focus on making a great Zelda game. It is interesting and amusing to see how they piece together the series, though, especially with how OOT complicates things.

[justsomeguy]

I'm not really a big Zelda fan, but I like to follow the discussions. The speculation about the "Link fails" timeline seems to be that whenever Link time travels, the time period he leaves splits off as if he never returns, with the result of Ganon taking over.

[Xacual]

Originally Posted by Urzu 7

Oh? Was that official from Nintendo? Is it the same Hyrule, or does Hyrule get recreated at times?

Hyrule really doesn't change much between the games, of course even if we have a canon timeline now, we still weren't really told how many years passed between them. Also we have all the stories about the Hero of Time, or insert legend here that is plainly describing a past Link that show up in a lot of the games. Off the top of my head you have WW Link dressing like the Hero at the start of the game.

[SilverSyko]

The way I see the failure timeline, is Link actually failing to stop Ganon all-together in Ocarina of Time, perhaps even being killed by Ganon. With that he uses the complete Triforce to invade the Sacred Realm and turns it into the "Dark World". Though at some point he is sealed inside the Dark World of his own creation and peace returns to Hyrule for several more centuries until the events of ALttP.

What I found the most interesting was that Minish Cap and Four Swords was actually placed before OoT. Until now I was under the impression that OoT was always the "root" game where all the remaining games branched off from with nothing before it. (That is, until Skyward Sword.)

[Hiroi Sekai]

Bah, read it wrong, go me. xD

Still, I'm not changing the fact that I think Zelda never needed an official timeline.

[DingoEnderZOE2]

Originally Posted by justsomeguy

I'm not really a big Zelda fan, but I like to follow the discussions. The speculation about the "Link fails" timeline seems to be that whenever Link time travels, the time period he leaves splits off as if he never returns, with the result of Ganon taking over.

See now that one actually makes the most sense. Who's the say that Link manages to return to the EXACT same timeline he left and not just a totally identical one?

[rogerpepitone]

Originally Posted by Urzu 7

Also, that is definitely not the same Hero (Link) in every game. I read fan speculation at some point in time that Link (the destined hero) reincarnates when there will be a hero needed (maybe destined by the Goddess). And I read Zelda is also reincarnated. Good speculation. Would be fitting for why there are different Links and Zeldas.

The instructions for Zelda 2 (NES) explained this:

Many generations ago, some bad things happened to a Princess Zelda; ultimately she fell into a deep sleep. In her memory, every princess since then has been named Zelda.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by SilverSyko

What I found the most interesting was that Minish Cap and Four Swords was actually placed before OoT. Until now I was under the impression that OoT was always the "root" game where all the remaining games branched off from with nothing before it. (That is, until Skyward Sword.)

Until this was revealed, I believe you were right. Nintendo made a big deal about Skyward Sword being before OoT, because OoT is supposed to be the first one. But if there were two others before it, then that kind of brings down the "omg" factor.

Originally Posted by rogerpepitone

The instructions for Zelda 2 (NES) explained this:

Many generations ago, some bad things happened to a Princess Zelda; ultimately she fell into a deep sleep. In her memory, every princess since then has been named Zelda.

I'd rather use WW as a reference, since if I'm not mistaken Zelda was literally "awakened" from her vessel in that.

[Benoit]

The entire 'failure' timeline is silly. I don't see how the games on it are related at all. Not to mention that A Link to the Past's history contradicts Ocarina of Time, therefore they can't be connected. I know Ocarina of Time started out as a prequel, but that's not what it became in the end.

I like the timeline they started with Ocarina of Time. It gives the games a sense of place and enriches their history. It was especially powerful in Wind Waker.

[Xacual]

Originally Posted by Benoit

The entire 'failure' timeline is silly. I don't see how the games on it are related at all. Not to mention that A Link to the Past's history contradicts Ocarina of Time, therefore they can't be connected. I know Ocarina of Time started out as a prequel, but that's not what it became in the end.

I like the timeline they started with Ocarina of Time. It gives the games a sense of place and enriches their history. It was especially powerful in Wind Waker.

I might not be remembering LttP right but I don't see how it contradicts OoT.

[serenade_beta]

Ah, come to think of it, I think the AVGN mentioned how Zelda fans always debated on that.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Urzu 7

Also, that is definitely not the same Hero (Link) in every game. I read fan speculation at some point in time that Link (the destined hero) reincarnates when there will be a hero needed (maybe destined by the Goddess). And I read Zelda is also reincarnated. Good speculation. Would be fitting for why there are different Links and Zeldas.

so that means Link never gets any form Zelda no matter how hard he works

[Xacual]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

so that means Link never gets any form Zelda no matter how hard he works

I'm pretty sure the only canon Link and Zelda couple would be the Skyward Sword one and maybe, maybe Tetra and Link from WW.

[rogerpepitone]

Zelda and Link kiss at the end of Zelda 2, and they're friends in Minish Cap at least.