Nintendo's New Zelda Book Reveals Official Timeline

[Et3rnalLegend64]

People are taking it really seriously, aren't they? Especially the ones saying that there is no timeline/the people who take an interest in it are taking it too seriously. I actually had some interest in the timeline and liked catching references to the other games (Wind Waker's stained glass windows for instance). I know not all the games fit neatly (I'm wondering about the supposed "Failure" timeline), but there are references here and there.

You can enjoy the games without knowing even a bit about the timeline.
But if you know the timeline will make you look at some titles from a different angle. Do you really think that A Link to the Past is the same game when you know that Link actually failed in OoT? The title gets automatically heavier and darker just by knowing that.

Except this is a complete retcon, taking away any and all weight. There is no way in hell that this storyline was planned out from the beginning or even after Ocarina of Time. This is a ridiculous hodge podge of pushing square pegs into round holes in some instances.

The only real fact about the Zelda storyline is that it was fine until Ocarina of Time came along. After that it all went to shit and that's when they really started monetizing the concept instead of coming up with new intellectual properties. So instead of being creative they ruined the storyline of a great series.

I wonder how it ruins the storyline so much. The stories are still mostly stand-alone anyway. The Oracle games have to be played side-by-side to see everything, but after that everything is tangential information that adds flavor to the story but doesn't directly impact your enjoyment or lack thereof.
Minish Cap, Four Swords, and FS Adventures clearly take place in the same universe but having played or not played any of them doesn't ruin their stories. Majora's Mask has some call backs to Ocarina, but you don't need to even know anything about OoT to play Majora's Mask. Wind Waker clearly talks about OoT's Hero of Time and has nods to the game as well for the fans who care that much.
It's something fun to do. Video games are our free time anyway, and some like to pursue it more passionately than others. There's nothing wrong with that, is there? If people want to stick to the idea that every game is a retelling of the same legend, then feel free. If you don't give a care about any supposed timeline and look at every game completely separately, go ahead too. You don't have to look down on everyone else though, right? (For the record, I'm not mad. I just have to say it.)

 

[Georgie_Leech]

I'm not liking this one, to be honest. Not for the child/adult split, but from the larger victory/failure split. The "failure" branch seems like an ass-pull, because there's never anything in the games to support it. Existing split timelines go in two directions, with the adult and child lines, because the split is supported in the canon. Yes, these occasionally left holes in how you got from one game to the next, due to large sections of not having story in those places. You know, as if not everything was explained due to only getting discrete stories within an overarching legend. This left room for expansion and more stories to fill the gaps. THIS one, on the other hand, leaves an absolutely massive plothole without offering a reason for it: how does one get from a destroyed Hyrule ruled by a tyrannical Ganon to a largely peaceful Hyrule recently being corrupted by Ganon? In ALttP, Ganon is working through his alter ego Aghanim to kidnap maidens and eventually Princess Zelda herself; why is there a Princess Zelda if Ganon was undefeated? For that matter, why is the ruler of Hyrule working under a false identity?

Tl;Dr, To me, this timeline creates an unnecessary plothole that is not given a satisfactory explanation nor properly accounted for or admitted. Given how often they've flip-flopped on whether there's a timeline or not, I can only hope this will be retconned like all the other positions have been.

 

[Mangue Surfer]

[Spoiler Warning Spoiler Warning Spoiler Warning Spoiler Warning Spoiler Warning Spoiler WarningSpoiler Warning]




Now they need a new story line to explain why Akuma is the main villain in Skyward Sword.

 

[lord.jeff]

If all the games take place in the same timeline then I have one question, I probably have more then one, is someone just renovating the dungeons in between each game or am I just managing find the one useful dungeon each time and completely miss the entrance to the dozen other dungeons that populate each area?

 

[jFr[e]ak93]

How is Majora's Mask in the adult time line? That makes no sense....

Ninja'd!

I think it makes sense, at least for the titles I have played.

Though, one thought... How could Skyward Sword be the first? He's a teen/adult in that game, then a kid in Ocarina?

 

[LordXel]

..... Nope, I don't get it at all. Looking back, this timeline thing is just not worth it anymore. Instead of mixing every game together we should only link up the games that are obviously connected to one another but seperate them from everything else.

I'm now in favour of the Four Swords games being in their own universe. The split timeline used to make sense when it was only two split timelines, not three. Adding another one is just more of a hassle. If we're going to have another split timeline why don't we just have the games in their own universes?

The 3D and DS Zelda games are the only ones that feel connected to one another. For the sake of 'I have nothing better to do', this is what I think the seperate timelines should be.

Zelda > Zelda II

ALTTP > LA

The Oracle games taking place any time after or before one another

TMC > FS > FSA


SS > OOT Then it splits Child Timeline MM > TP Adult Timeline TWW > PH > ST


Its like Final Fantasy occasionally being set in a new world. I need to lie down.

 

[Draconalis]

I like how a timeline where you just suck at OoT and never beat it, is one of the existing time lines...

And I also like how it's the timeline that contains most of the really good Zelda games...



"Like" is that thing were you want to punch people... right?

 

[Vhite]

I always prefered to think that Link, Zelda and Ganon as facees people gave to some hero, princess and villian from stories of which real names were forgotten long ago.

 

[mad825]

In my opinion, this just shows how much we are all suckers and is just a big middle finger in the same sense how Bobby kotick would treat us. Please, Nintendo, do something innovate with the damn franchise as even making Zelda a WOW clone or a TES clone would be new. It's that damn bland.

I've always treated each Zelda game as it's own self-contained story as it never makes sense no matter how you put it. I'm so glad that I can no longer play the games because of it being an exclusive.

 

[Penguin_Factory]

This is good, because now people can finally shut the hell about this. Speculation and making theories about games is all well and good, but the way people get so obsessed with slotting each game into its proper place in the ONE TRUE ZELDA TIMELINE is insane.

 

[Hayden Miller]

This is rather confusing at first, especially with how the childhood/progression timelines are named. But if you ignore the timeline names and look at it for a little bit, you'll realize it makes sense.

 

[Mortons4ck]

The progession timelines make perfect sense, but the "failure" timeline makes me scratch my head a little.

The first timeline occurs when Link explores the Spirit Temple as a child and Nabooru is abducted by Twinrova. After attaining the Silver Gauntlets, Link abandons this timeline and travels back to the future (if that makes any sense). Because Link was unable to save Nabooru, Ganondorf succeeds in conquering Hyrule, leading to the events of A Link to the Past and the Classic timeline.

But wouldn't that still make it part of the victory/progression timeline? There doesn't seem to be any time paradoxes that occur that would split the timeline at that point.

Spoiler: You're not thinking fourth dimensionally!

You're not thinking fourth dimensionally!

 

[imei2011]

Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope. It makes no sense for Link to potentially fail in defeating Ganon when its been his destiny to do it in almost every game. Do not like this timeline. I like the two timeline split theory better.

 

[toapat]

Uhm... you have 4 swords twice... WTF?!

its shear asspull, as non of the Child link series, nor SKyward sword, could occur in the same Hyrule as the first game.

the simple fact is that the original is one of only 3 legend of zelda games that occured, as the first 2 are what link actually does to kill gannon, while each and every game afterwards except for Mejora's mask is link retelling the story as he travels around the world.

 

[Okysho]

Spoiler: Here's the Timeline

Three timelines exist after Ocarina when Link travels through time at two key points in the game.

The first timeline occurs when Link explores the Spirit Temple as a child and Nabooru is abducted by Twinrova. After attaining the Silver Gauntlets, Link abandons this timeline and travels back to the future (if that makes any sense). Because Link was unable to save Nabooru, Ganondorf succeeds in conquering Hyrule, leading to the events of A Link to the Past and the Classic timeline.

Link returns to his own timeline as an adult and rescues Nabooru, allowing him to continue his quest. After defeating Ganandorf, Zelda sends Link back in time to warn the sages, resulting in Majora's Mask and the Child timeline. The world in which Zelda stays behind suffers a great flood, leading to the events of Wind Waker and the Adult timeline.

That's how I see it anyway.

abducted by twinrova?

I'm surprised no one has said this yet.

In OoT Link is put to sleep for 7 years and Ganondorf DOES CONQUER HYRULE. Link defeats him, yadda yadda, but Zelda sends him back to the past to give him back his lost time. The timeline that continues on from THIS point is the same link in Majoras (we all knew that though) Twilight Princess is a continuation from the future that Zalda and the sages saved by putting Link to sleep.

BUT Link is sent back in time and so there's not a parallel Universe where he does NOT become the Hero of time. He's not sealed for 7 years and so never grows into the hero. (This is based on the assumption that once Link grows, he doesn't defeat Ganon again. I like to think he never returns to Hyrule after visiting Termina) And so here is where our "failure" timeline starts.

Simply a fan interpritation, let me know if I've gotten anything wrong

 

[CapitalistPig]

Now let us all listen to the crickets of no one caring. But wait........what else do i hear? the sound of Nintendo being full of BS. My god those animals still wont even release it in the U.S. What will we do? As far as I'm concerned Link beat Majora's Mask then took off on his horse into the woods and saved the princess with the deity mask then lived happily ever after. Thats my timeline because anything after that i couldn't get into. Not when there was "insert any dungeon crawler made after 2002" to go play.

 

[Arseni Serkov]

I was super skeptical about the "official" timeline, thought it was a rumor to appease the fans.
But, ultimately, I'm really satisfied with this outcome (the good translation of the timeline, corrected by the reply above).
Nice touch to make Link to the Past follow Ocarina of Time-Link failed path, cause the games are very similar: we can easily imagine that the Link in LttP needed to complete, basically, the same quest than the Link of OoT.
The first and second Zelda games can easily follow that continuity because when were was only 3 Zelda games out the timeline was very clear: Zelda 1 then Zelda 2 and Zelda LttP serving as a prequel.

Nicely done, didn't think Nintendo was capable of so much.

 

[Hollock]

this is really nice to have.

 

[HellsingerAngel]

Spoiler: Here's the Timeline

Three timelines exist after Ocarina when Link travels through time at two key points in the game.

The first timeline occurs when Link explores the Spirit Temple as a child and Nabooru is abducted by Twinrova. After attaining the Silver Gauntlets, Link abandons this timeline and travels back to the future (if that makes any sense). Because Link was unable to save Nabooru, Ganondorf succeeds in conquering Hyrule, leading to the events of A Link to the Past and the Classic timeline.

Link returns to his own timeline as an adult and rescues Nabooru, allowing him to continue his quest. After defeating Ganandorf, Zelda sends Link back in time to warn the sages, resulting in Majora's Mask and the Child timeline. The world in which Zelda stays behind suffers a great flood, leading to the events of Wind Waker and the Adult timeline.

That's how I see it anyway.

Except if that's the case, he'd create another timeline to follow when going into the well in Kakariko Village as he also needs to go there to get the Lens of Truth, something Adult Link cannot get that he needs to defeat the Shadow Temple, defeat Bongo Bongo and save Impa. By this logic you've presented, there would have to be a success/fail scenario timeline split here as Impa would potentially die.

There are also apparent plot holes like why isn't the world still destroyed in ALttP if Ganon won and why does Ganon need the power of the Triforce to conquer the Light World? Where does Link fail that the "Seven Wise Men" who sealed Ganon in the Golden Realm could potentially be the Seven Sages? Where does the Master Sword end up after ALttP because it never appears in that timeline again with Link using the Silver Sword/Silver Saber (depends how much you believe cover art is important) instead of the Master Sword. How does ALttP link up story wise with Link's Awakening, considering that the simple word on Nintendo is in question here -- which, as far as I recall, is the only thing linking them?

Overall, terrible job at trying to connect the story up when it makes more sense that these are all just fables told and changed by the imperfect method they're told by. Like King Arthur's legend, some things vary and others stay the same. To one person King Arthur got Caliburn, to another he got Excaliber. To one person Link gets the Silver Sword, to another the Master Sword. Why does the story change so much? Well, look at King Arthur and the Knights of Justice. Same story, but with a modern spin. Maybe people in the days that the Minish Cap was told that shrinking into a pixie was considered so amazing only a hero could do it. Overall, this theory holds up better than a streamed timeline any day and Nintendo should really just accept it.