302: Ocarina of Timelines

[Quiet Stranger]

To me, the prequel for the whole series (or the start, whatever) is Link to the past

 

[Lordpils]

Stop trying to find a timeline in all of this you will lose your mind!

 

[Serving UpSmiles]

Yeah, I love geek trivia contests as much as the next, well...geek, but honestly I just don't think Nintendo cares about the Zelda timeline that much. They're probably amused by all the fan speculation on the matter. As long as they don't do anything too crazy with regards to plot twists in the Zelda games, the fans will likely never figure it all out.

you mean like this?

Spoiler

Midna is the twilight princess!!

 

[Speakercone]

I always figured it was like the Final Fantasy series where each game was a new and entirely disconnected thing from all previous and future games. So what if there are 10 games with a guy called Cid? That just means the writers are lazy

 

[ranger19]

Fun article, I remember being blown away the first time I watched a video about the Zelda timelines.

For those who think it's a waste of time to try and figure out the timeline, just remember that people are doing it for fun. You know, the thing that we play games for in the first place? And there's enough connection between games to at least not be ridiculous with the whole thing.

 

[ZeroMachine]

I said it before, and I'll say it again. You are supposed to make your own Legend. Do these games fitting together like this make sense to you? Then that's your Legend.

Think about it, I think it's what Miyamoto wanted from the start. Sounds like him.

EDIT:

Yeah, I love geek trivia contests as much as the next, well...geek, but honestly I just don't think Nintendo cares about the Zelda timeline that much. They're probably amused by all the fan speculation on the matter. As long as they don't do anything too crazy with regards to plot twists in the Zelda games, the fans will likely never figure it all out.

you mean like this?

Spoiler

Midna is the twilight princess!!

Er... you didn't see that coming?

 

[FoolKiller]

I always just viewed them as different unless stated by Nintendo. I just see the three characters as archetypes for the storyline. Now if anyone could explain the Castlevania series, it would also be amusing.

 

[ryo02]

I just assumed Link reincarnates Link has his adventure during the game wins eventually dies of old age generations pass and he reincarnates when needed or maybe every generation. (possibly something to do with the tri force)

so in wind waker when Link hears about Link from centuries ago he's hearing about a past incarnation of himself.

so its him every time but also a new him.

 

[Waaghpowa]

I personally believe that the one that Game Trailers did to be one of the most accurate. Minish cap is the beginning because it tells the story of the Hero of Man, and the split timeline A and B. I'd go into detail, but a lot of you have already done it.

 

[zehydra]

I have a feeling that they initially did not care about story continuity, then cared about it, and now they're trying to force it together with some makeshift story that probably never had existed originally.

I think the Legend of Zelda makes the most sense as a series of non-connected games, and each game is a different interpretation of "The Legend of Zelda", in a similar way to the different versions of the legends of king arthur.

 

[FogHornG36]

more stupidness where is the Mario time line? metroid time line? how about final fantasy time line, IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE!

 

[oldtaku]

Guys, aside from a few actual sequels like MM, Zelda games are just the same game over and over again with some tweaks. Even if they are major. Think parallel universes, reboots, and re-imaginings, not coherent single timeline.

 

[Flailing Escapist]

GAH! There is no story continuationity thingy! Except for like 2 of the games the rest are not sequels, prequels or any other kind of quels. They said, "Hey Legend of Zelda 1 sold pretty good lets make another. Just a different time, different place and different scenario." THE GAMES DON'T GO TOGETHER!

Note: I'm only very energetic about this because a friend of mine WON'T SHUT UP about the friggen Link storyline. Poon

 

[Iron Glorfindel]

Let's get the basics.

Skyward sword -> Ocarina of Time Adult Link -> Wind Waker -> Phantom Hourglass -> Spirit Tracks
'-> Ocarina of Time Young Link -> Majora's Mask -> Twilight Princess
We can all probably agree on this. Other games fit within this timeline, or after it. Sorry for all the singular-timeline theorists, the split timeline makes more sense in my opinion.

Different pieces of timelines.

Zelda 1 -> Zelda 2
Oracle of Seasons/Ages, depends on order of play.
Minish Cap -> Four Swords -> Four Swords Adventures [Not sure which comes first, FS or FSA, never played them]
Can we all agree on this?
That leaves Link's Awakening and ALttP and the placement of previously mentioned timeline segments. I am tired so I will just leave this here for the community to play with.

 

[Jesus Machuca]

Has anyone thought of it being multiple time lines instead of just one? You could say there is the main time line that broke down the line and branched off into different ones.

 

[Sylocat]

This article doesn't even touch on the entry that, to me, raises the biggest questions about chronology: Oracle of Seasons/Oracle of Ages.

Granted, maybe those "don't count" since they were actually developed by Capcom (meaning they could be considered "fan games"), but the sheer number of references to other Zelda games (unprecedented in any Zelda game made wholly by Nintendo) makes it tricky to reconcile with the other games. The presence of Impa (and Malon and Talon) would seem to place it in the Ocarina of Time branch, but there are several references to other games as well.

 

[Saelune]

This is the second article about an article....why? Seems redundant.

 

[acosn]

Never understood the need to turn this into a math problem. I always just considered the games to be generally self contained.

In a sense Nintendo re-releases The Legend of Zelda in a way similar to how Disney re-releases old movies after remastering them. It's ultimately the same story occurring over and over again. The actors and the stage might be different but the core workings are always the same.

 

[Somtaaw]

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask /The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess /The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords /The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
The Legend of Zelda
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link


After ocarina of time it spilt into two timelines one following marjoras mask down and the other is windwaker - spirit tracks

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

As far as I am concerned its the same story told differently with each new iteration of it. There is no time line, the cake is a lie!