I feel like AVGN on the issue. Just enjoy the games individually without overthinking the timeline. It's something very similar to philosophy, the meaning of/reason for existence and the like. If you get too deeply into your thoughts trying to figure out all the answers, you may never return (cue Zelda II sinister Ganon game over laugh). I don't think anyone at Nintendo even knows for sure anymore, if Shigeru & Company ever even bothered with a timeline past a certain point in the series.
With each new game they make, the supposed "timeline" has to be altered for that game to fit within the overall story. And Anouma stated that they don't really think of where each game fits in the timeline, they focus on the core gameplay elements first and foremost.
Minish Cap AND Skyward Sword Four Swords Adventures Wind Waker Phantom Hourglass Spirit Tracks Ocarina of Time (3D) Majora's Mask The Legend of Zelda Zelda II A Link to the Past Link's Awakening Oracles Twilight Princess
Revised:
Toon Story: Minish Cap Four Swords (Adventures) Wind Waker Phantom Hourglass Spirit Tracks
Original Story: Skyward Sword Ocarina of Time (3D) ----> Majora's Mask A Link To The Past The Legend of Zelda Zelda II Oracles Twilight Princess
1. Just because the graphics are the same, doen't mean they're in the same timeline. 2. Wind waker has to come first in its timeline because there was no link to save hyrule, and they refer to the last thing with link in it is OoT
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Do people really worry this much about the timeline? Just enjoy each game on it's own and don't think about it. It's not like alot of the games are directly connected anyway.
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Minish Cap AND Skyward Sword Four Swords Adventures Wind Waker Phantom Hourglass Spirit Tracks Ocarina of Time (3D) Majora's Mask The Legend of Zelda Zelda II A Link to the Past Link's Awakening Oracles Twilight Princess
Revised:
Toon Story: Minish Cap Four Swords (Adventures) Wind Waker Phantom Hourglass Spirit Tracks
Original Story: Skyward Sword Ocarina of Time (3D) ----> Majora's Mask A Link To The Past The Legend of Zelda Zelda II Oracles Twilight Princess
Wind Waker is clearly sequel to OOT, as is Twilight Princess (in parallel). There are references to OOT in Wind Waker, not to Minish Cap.
Do people really worry this much about the timeline? Just enjoy each game on it's own and don't think about it. It's not like alot of the games are directly connected anyway.
The fact that we'll never know for sure/it doesn't matter makes it fun to speculate.
Minish Cap, Four Swords, and Four Swords Adventures could take place almost anywhere in the timeline, so I'm leaving them out.
Saying that we never know for sure is there a timeline, is a bit ignorant. The storylines in newer games (minus four sword thing) clearly connects. I have a hard time believing that Aonuma and Miyamoto would lie about it repeatedly. IGN has a new interview from Aonuma today, where he once again confirms that there is a timeline document in his computer. I can't paste a link but go see for yourself. (Actually this is useless. Maybe i should start to argue that there is no timeline in Tolkien's works. Makes just as much sense.)
All I know is that The Wind Waker Takes place a 100 years after Ocarina of Time. And that the Phantom Hourglass takes place shortly after Wind Waker. Spirit Tracks takes place 100 years after Phantom Hourglass. And that this is part of a split timeline in where Link never existed, and that Majora's Mask is part of timeline A, in where link was sent back in time by Princess Zelda to relive his lost childhood. And that timeline B is a timeline in where Link never existed, and that's why Ganon came back, and why Hyrule is underwater, since that was the only way to permanently imprison the Gerudo Prince. And we all know that Skyward Sword is the first one.
So, here's a timeline to clarify: Timeline: Skyward Sword, Minish Cap, Ocarina of Time Timeline A: Majora's Mask, Link's Awakening, The Legend of Zelda (Original One), Zelda II, Four Sword Adventures,, A Link to the Past, Oracle of Seasons (?) Timeline B: Twilight Princess, Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, Oracle of Ages(?)
I'm an enormous Zelda fan and I do subscribe to the split timeline theory, but it's not really something I ever think about, let alone actively attempt to piece together. More power to the people who derive enjoyment from trying to figure this all out, but where each entry fits in the overall tale has never been terribly important to me, I guess.
I just try to enjoy each new game as its own separate entity (I try; my peskily lofty expectations can get in the way at times), along with the callbacks to the previous games that always come with them.
Until I see a video of Shigeru Miyamoto saying what the timeline is, nothing besides the games, their instructions manuals, or comments directly from Shigeru Miyamoto are canon
SuperLink wrote:
I guess I could start off by asking if you are a linearist or a splitist. And if you have something to say about the timeline that has or has not been said already, then by all means, say it. If you have a certain video that explains everything and stands by your belief in the timeline, then post it. I know ocarinahero10 has a good explanation for the timline, if you want to check that out, here:
Keep in mind, these videos were made more than a year ago.
So, say whatever your opinion is on the order of the timline. and who knows, some people might get into some seriously heated Zelda arguements xD
First off, on his first timeline, this guy can't pronounce half the names right (and yes, I will get on him for it, his pronunciation is really distracting on some words), second, his information is outdated, and some of it is even incorrect, due to developer comments that directly contradict his theory, such as TP coming 'several hundred years' after Ocarina of Time, making it impossible for those two Links to be father and son, also, he seems to consider Ganondorf and Ganon to be two seperate beings, this is simply not true, for the reason that he Ganon has transformed back and forth between humanoid and beast form, retaining the same mind and same consciousness.
Now for his second timeline, he is ABSOLUTELY right that the Picori Blade is not the Master Sword, however, just incorporating that into his timeline is just as good as believing it. Second of all, Twinrova showing up in other games after being killed in a previous game, this happens with almost ALL main characters, Zelda, Ganon, Link, and many other characters are the same from game to game, as time goes on they are reincarnated, same can happen with Twinrova. However, maybe he'll end up getting his new timeline right.
That being said, here's how I've worked out my timeline:
First off is Skyward Sword, this was already stated by Aonuma to be the earliest game in the timeline, so we have that as a starting point. We also know Ocarina of Time follows sometime in the future, now, some people like to put Minish Cap here in the timeline, however, the problem with this is that in Ocarina of Time, a line from the Deku Tree Sprout telling Link his origins refers to the war 'before the King of Hyrule united this country', meaning that the Zelda in Ocarina of Time was the FIRST Zelda to be Princess Zelda of Hyrule, therefore, Minish Cap MUST succeed Ocarina of Time in one of the timelines.
Now, we do know that the timeline splits, this has been confirmed, and is fact. For the adult timeline, Wind Waker is almost certainly, beyond doubt, the direct successor to Ocarina of Time, as the prologue to Wind Waker states that the events in the future of Ocarina of Time directly cause the flooding of Hyrule when Link returns to the past, and is no longer around to protect Hyrule from Ganondorf when he breaks free of his prison in the Sacred Realm. This causes Hyrule to flood, yada yada, Wind Waker, now, Phantom Hourglass has been confirmed to be a direct sequel to Wind Waker, same Link, same Zelda/Tetra. Spirit Tracks, this has also been confirmed to be a successor to Phantom Hourglass, about 100 years into the future from Phantom Hourglass, so far, these are the only games I believe to be in the adult timeline (however, there are still a handful of games I have not found a concrete place for, and some of them could go after Spirit Tracks).
Now, child timeline: We know that Majora's Mask is the same Link from Ocarina of Time, from developer comments and the in game prologue, as well as the flashback to leaving Zelda and her entrusting Link with the Ocarina of Time as he departs (this is the only other game with the Ocarina of Time). And as Majora's Mask takes place in another world, its events don't greatly impact the timeline, save for the fact that they DID happen. Moving on, I believe the next logical game in the timeline is Twilight Princess. In the child ending of Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf is imprisoned in the Twilight Realm, and breaks out with the help of Zant, and is slain by Link, this is the end of the first Ganondorf (yes first, I know most people believe in the one Ganondorf, multiple Links/Zeldas, but it's two Ganondorfs, as I shall explain).
Now, next up would be The Minish Cap, which tells the creation of the Four Sword, I believe this to be in the child timeline because the four swords arc is necessary to set up the events of A Link to the Past (as I will soon explain), after The Minish Cap is Four Swords, the next battle against Vaati, the common enemy in the Four Swords arc of the child timeline, and while Four Swords doesn't have much to tie it to other games in terms of plot, the Four Sword itself is directly tied to The Minish Cap, and Four Swords Adventures (which it most certainly takes place before), therefore Four Swords must be placed between The Minish Cap and Four Swords Adventures, now, next up is Four Swords Adventures, this game speaks of the second Ganondorf I mentioned earlier, stealing the Trident of Power (seen in later games in this timeline), and causing the events of this game, including controlling Vaati. Now, this causes a second, permanently beast form Ganon (as he is mutated by the Trident of Power), Ganon is sealed away in the end of this game, this leads me to believe that Four Swords Adventures, NOT Ocarina of Time, is the imprisoning war mentioned in A Link to the Past. Going on that assumption, A Link to the Past is the logical successor to Four Swords adventures, this game HAS to be placed in the timeline after any game featuring the Master Sword, as the end of A Link to the Past states that: "The Master Sword sleeps again-Forever!" Continuing, here's where things get a little confuzzled, several games can be considered to be sequels to A Link to the Past, either the Oracle games, Link's Awakening, or both, personally, I believe Link's Awakening is the only one that is a successor to A Link to the Past, as this Link has prior knowledge of Princess Zelda (due to his mistaking Marin for her).
Now, from here, we go to the original Legend of Zelda (one of the only games left, and we know it precedes Zelda II: Adventure of Link), this is the death of the second Ganon, at the hands of the silver arrow, and this Ganon never shows up in the timeline again (given further credence by his followers trying to kill Link to revive him in Adventure of Link).
Now, the reason I believe the Oracle games exist separately is that when Zelda is rescued in a linked ending, she acts more like she is meeting Link for the first time (which would not be the case had they met in A Link to the Past), therefore I believe the Oracle games exist with a separate Link and Zelda, and can honestly fit several places in either timeline, however the most likely places for them to exist are A: After Spirit Tracks (as the oracle games are another attempt to revive ganon), B: After Twilight Princess, but before a new Ganondorf shows up in Four Swords/Four Swords Adventures, or C: sometime at the end of the child timeline. Twinrova does manage to revive, via sacrificing themselves, Ganondorf, however, it's not clear which Ganondorf this is, given however, that the second Ganondorf required the blood of Link himself to be revived, it is most likely the first Ganondorf, in either timeline. Therefore, the most logical places to put the Oracle series is either after Spirit Tracks, or after Twilight Princess but preceding the Four Sword arc of the timeline.
If you're reading this, congrats, I'm amazed you stuck with me this long. And yes, I have no life. Any questions? Confusions? If I wasn't clear on something, lemme know and I'll clarify
Until I see a video of Shigeru Miyamoto saying what the timeline is, nothing besides the games, their instructions manuals, or comments directly from Shigeru Miyamoto or Eiji Aonuma are cannon
SuperLink wrote:
I guess I could start off by asking if you are a linearist or a splitist. And if you have something to say about the timeline that has or has not been said already, then by all means, say it. If you have a certain video that explains everything and stands by your belief in the timeline, then post it. I know ocarinahero10 has a good explanation for the timline, if you want to check that out, here:
Keep in mind, these videos were made more than a year ago.
So, say whatever your opinion is on the order of the timline. and who knows, some people might get into some seriously heated Zelda arguements xD
First off, on his first timeline, this guy can't pronounce half the names right (and yes, I will get on him for it, his pronunciation is really distracting on some words), second, his information is outdated, and some of it is even incorrect, due to developer comments that directly contradict his theory, such as TP coming 'several hundred years' after Ocarina of Time, making it impossible for those two Links to be father and son, also, he seems to consider Ganondorf and Ganon to be two seperate beings, this is simply not true, for the reason that he Ganon has transformed back and forth between humanoid and beast form, retaining the same mind and same consciousness.
Now for his second timeline, he is ABSOLUTELY right that the Picori Blade is not the Master Sword, however, just incorporating that into his timeline is just as good as believing it. Second of all, Twinrova showing up in other games after being killed in a previous game, this happens with almost ALL main characters, Zelda, Ganon, Link, and many other characters are the same from game to game, as time goes on they are reincarnated, same can happen with Twinrova. However, maybe he'll end up getting his new timeline right.
That being said, here's how I've worked out my timeline:
First off is Skyward Sword, this was already stated by Aonuma to be the earliest game in the timeline, so we have that as a starting point. We also know Ocarina of Time follows sometime in the future, now, some people like to put Minish Cap here in the timeline, however, the problem with this is that in Ocarina of Time, a line from the Deku Tree Sprout telling Link his origins refers to the war 'before the King of Hyrule united this country', meaning that the Zelda in Ocarina of Time was the FIRST Zelda to be Princess Zelda of Hyrule, therefore, Minish Cap MUST succeed Ocarina of Time in one of the timelines.
Now, we do know that the timeline splits, this has been confirmed, and is fact. For the adult timeline, Wind Waker is almost certainly, beyond doubt, the direct successor to Ocarina of Time, as the prologue to Wind Waker states that the events in the future of Ocarina of Time directly cause the flooding of Hyrule when Link returns to the past, and is no longer around to protect Hyrule from Ganondorf when he breaks free of his prison in the Sacred Realm. This causes Hyrule to flood, yada yada, Wind Waker, now, Phantom Hourglass has been confirmed to be a direct sequel to Wind Waker, same Link, same Zelda/Tetra. Spirit Tracks, this has also been confirmed to be a successor to Phantom Hourglass, about 100 years into the future from Phantom Hourglass, so far, these are the only games I believe to be in the adult timeline (however, there are still a handful of games I have not found a concrete place for, and some of them could go after Spirit Tracks).
Now, child timeline: We know that Majora's Mask is the same Link from Ocarina of Time, from developer comments and the in game prologue, as well as the flashback to leaving Zelda and her entrusting Link with the Ocarina of Time as he departs (this is the only other game with the Ocarina of Time). And as Majora's Mask takes place in another world, its events don't greatly impact the timeline, save for the fact that they DID happen. Moving on, I believe the next logical game in the timeline is Twilight Princess. In the child ending of Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf is imprisoned in the Twilight Realm, and breaks out with the help of Zant, and is slain by Link, this is the end of the first Ganondorf (yes first, I know most people believe in the one Ganondorf, multiple Links/Zeldas, but it's two Ganondorfs, as I shall explain).
Now, next up would be The Minish Cap, which tells the creation of the Four Sword, I believe this to be in the child timeline because the four swords arc is necessary to set up the events of A Link to the Past (as I will soon explain), after The Minish Cap is Four Swords, the next battle against Vaati, the common enemy in the Four Swords arc of the child timeline, and while Four Swords doesn't have much to tie it to other games in terms of plot, the Four Sword itself is directly tied to The Minish Cap, and Four Swords Adventures (which it most certainly takes place before), therefore Four Swords must be placed between The Minish Cap and Four Swords Adventures, now, next up is Four Swords Adventures, this game speaks of the second Ganondorf I mentioned earlier, stealing the Trident of Power (seen in later games in this timeline), and causing the events of this game, including controlling Vaati. Now, this causes a second, permanently beast form Ganon (as he is mutated by the Trident of Power), Ganon is sealed away in the end of this game, this leads me to believe that Four Swords Adventures, NOT Ocarina of Time, is the imprisoning war mentioned in A Link to the Past. Going on that assumption, A Link to the Past is the logical successor to Four Swords adventures, this game HAS to be placed in the timeline after any game featuring the Master Sword, as the end of A Link to the Past states that: "The Master Sword sleeps again-Forever!" Continuing, here's where things get a little confuzzled, several games can be considered to be sequels to A Link to the Past, either the Oracle games, Link's Awakening, or both, personally, I believe Link's Awakening is the only one that is a successor to A Link to the Past, as this Link has prior knowledge of Princess Zelda (due to his mistaking Marin for her).
Now, from here, we go to the original Legend of Zelda (one of the only games left, and we know it precedes Zelda II: Adventure of Link), this is the death of the second Ganon, at the hands of the silver arrow, and this Ganon never shows up in the timeline again (given further credence by his followers trying to kill Link to revive him in Adventure of Link).
Now, the reason I believe the Oracle games exist separately is that when Zelda is rescued in a linked ending, she acts more like she is meeting Link for the first time (which would not be the case had they met in A Link to the Past), therefore I believe the Oracle games exist with a separate Link and Zelda, and can honestly fit several places in either timeline, however the most likely places for them to exist are A: After Spirit Tracks (as the oracle games are another attempt to revive ganon), B: After Twilight Princess, but before a new Ganondorf shows up in Four Swords/Four Swords Adventures, or C: sometime at the end of the child timeline. Twinrova does manage to revive, via sacrificing themselves, Ganondorf, however, it's not clear which Ganondorf this is, given however, that the second Ganondorf required the blood of Link himself to be revived, it is most likely the first Ganondorf, in either timeline. Therefore, the most logical places to put the Oracle series is either after Spirit Tracks, or after Twilight Princess but preceding the Four Sword arc of the timeline.
And yes, I have no life. Any questions? Confusions? If I wasn't clear on something, lemme know and I'll clarify
I'm excited to see if it really turns out to reveal the official timeline. That'd be such a shocker for Zelda fans like me. But when a new game is released, it is probably gonna be a mystery where that fits in. I really want this in English.
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