Aonuma: "Zelda Timeline is Less Important Than Mechanics"

That's what I've been trying to say for a while.

Now all you zelda fanboys, start another timeline argument... now!

THERE ARE 10 TIMELINES!
MWAHAHAHAHA!!!

In all seriousness I agree, the Timeline is a minor element.
I also thought of each Zelda game as a stand alone game (With a few exceptions).

Except the obvious sequels Ive always viewed each game as its own with no major connection to eachother

Makes sense. The official timeline works, even if it leaves a few questions. No doubt they didn't plan it like this from the get go either, but it's used as a VERY basic structure as to how a few of the games fit together. The point between Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time pretty much prove that as Minish Cap and Four Swords don't really get referenced at all in the latter.

in b4 whining/desperate arguments that there is one timeline that could possibly work for the series and why won't they listen to meeeeeee when i tell them

This is wrong!
Wheres Zelda CDi!

The only timeline I care most about is when the next Zelda is coming out. Wii U or 3DS.

Like I've read a thousand times already, the time lines are irrelevant. Zelda isnt that deep of a game. It's just great fun.

The timelines don't mean a thing to me.
As Long as I'm going on a big important quest and taking down some evil entity along the way I'm good.
It's the same with Mario. You don't need a timeline to understand what's going on.

Where does Link from Super Smash Bros. fit in??

Zelda timeline is dumb. No matter which way you put it.

he is right of course...

Yep. Nintendo is a smart enough developer not to begin with a story; on the contrary, you start with gameplay ideas, let them coalesce around key features, and then begin to craft a story in parallel that will map onto the gameplay and its needs appropriately.

Respecting the canon and its events is not important; maintaining some of the same storytelling elements or characters while moving things in a new direction is all that matters.

Do people worry about a Final Fantasy Timeline?
Didn't think so.
Why are we giving two craps about a Zelda timeline?

Of course the series starts with gameplay. The series started on the NES, you can't expect them to of been thinking of the timeline then. Zelda fans care about the timeline because they enjoy the game mechanics.

@warioswoods got it right. I couldn't care less if it follows the canon but that doesn't mean the series can become lazy with storytelling like it did. TP was the first that wasn't lazy withnthe story, it was just lazy with the gameplay. SS wasn't lazy with either.

I was actually afraid that now that Zelda has a real time line, Nintendo must focus on making the time line make sens. But it's good that Nintendo focuses on the gameplay first. Plus I'm really not buying that Zelda has a time line

EXACTLY. It's what us calm sensible people have been saying all this time. Zelda probably doesnt even have a timeline - as they probably didnt even think about it when making the games. Go hastle Nintendo about a Mario timeline for a few years - and they'll give ya one. It wont make sense, but it'd stop the complainers.

The timeline means something to me. I want this series to have a rich history with an overall arching story. Is it such a bad thing that each game had a connection? I don't know why people are so against it.

Never read the timeline, don't intend to. Have no interest in doing so. Unlike some other games, the Zelda series barely references other games in the series except for direct sequels. Finding out how Minish Cap relates to Skyward Sword is meaningless to me.

I believe the Zelda games are connected (perhaps with the exception of the Four Swords games, which exist inside their own weird little universe). But it's fun to try and piece together the games, which is why I think Nintendo should never release the Zelda timeline.

I'd rather have just seen Link not fail if the timeline was going to split. Well I'd rather have seen no timeline then have seen it, guessing what fit together with what and in which order was part of the fun. Shrugs, I'll live. Well it did happening our life time, have to see what my closest friend thinks of this.

Do what you will, father of 3D Zelda...

but you cannot shut up a horrible fanbase.

@DJ_Triforce

For me, the Zelda series does have a rich background precisely by not limiting itself to one version of events. It's more like mythology than contemporary writing: there are various themes, characters, legends, prophecies, and ideas that draw it all together, but often these are repeated in differing forms and variations. They're connected thematically, yet not necessarily tied to one single authoritative version of events.

UGH. Why do so many people not get it? Of course the game mechanics are more important, but that's irrelevant. If you're going to take the time to make an official timeline, then you might as well not BS it!

IF nintendo ever DOES release an official timeline,i wonder how many zelda fanboys will rejoice in their accuracy of their timeline theory. i know i will.

I agree, who actually gives a damn about the timeline when they sit down to play a Zelda game? Just play with the thought that every game is a different Link and different Zelda at a different moment in time, all are enjoyable separate stories, and to hell with having to have an order to it all.

I..prefer the story and timelines.

I'm not actually that interested in Zelda gameplay, especially the sword mechanics in Skyward Sword (vastly overrated!), but I am absolutely interested in the world in which Hyrule exists / will exist / existed. Every entry, we get a new bit of information about the world, and it's fantastic. It's like a fairy tail.

For me, the timeline makes the series more interesting, especially now when we know that every game connects to each other. I'm glad that they finally released the official timeline, so the smartest of us can finally lay this debate to rest.

And still arguing that Zelda don't have a timeline is just plain ridiculous.

@Link79

That's a pretty bad comparison, since there's always been no official timeline for the series - they're all individual games with only minor references to eachother. Which honestly is what I always thought of with Zelda, and I was pretty satisfied with that. All this timeline stuff makes my head spin. I'd rather just play the games than worry about it...which is saying a lot since I haven't had the urge to play a Zelda game in years.

Zelda doesn't have a REAL timeline. The only "timelines" that make sense are all scattered. The original Zelda on the NES is followed by Zelda II on the NES. End of that "Timeline." Wind Waker is followed by (in no particular order) Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, Minish Cap, and Four Swords Adventures. End of that "Timeline." Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons go hand in hand. End of that "Timeline." Ocarina of Time is followed by Majora's Mask. End of that "Timeline." The CDi games (excluding Zelda's Adventure) follow one another...Wand of Gamelon and then Faces of Evil. End of that "Timeline." Twilight Princess, Link to the Past, Link's Awakening, Skyward Sword, and Zelda's Adventure are all their own separate games that connect to the others in NO WAY (not counting Link and Zelda being in all of them).

To be honest, to make it easy on myslef, I just pretend that all the games take place one after the other, not caring about little details, only the Link and Zelda are descendants of the previous ones.. It makes the history a lot simpler, and doesn't make me wanna shoot my brains out due to confusion.

i don't care for timeline debating, however, i find the timeline to be highly interesting. i'd rather have a great playing series with the extra layer of an interwoven timeline and history then one without the added curiosity. afterall the franchise was built on free thinking.

"Zelda games have been developed with the top priority of focusing on the game mechanics"

This kind of thinking is a plague on the series.

Yes master. Right away.

I always find it funny that when a company like Nintendo does something that fans have been begging for for years, the fans automatically hate it because "it's not how they thought it should be" Like you know more about how something should be then the people that created it.

People really need to grow up sometimes.

While I agree that the timeline isn't very important, I still think it's interesting to try to link the games together

its not vital, but a good timeline does add value i believe. however its all over the place.

That's what I'm always saying. It's why Zelda and Mario games are always so good.
This is how people used to make games before graphics caught up and everything became about cutscenes and storylines.

@36 & 28 Agreed.
@31 Remember, that's your imagination not fact
Why do some people have the need to say they don't see the importance of a timeline and then criticise others for following it or finding the value of one. If you want to imagine theres no timeline and enjoy the games the most that way, thats fine, just don't say it doesn't exist or criticise others for wanting an epic tale, and enjoy finding connections. There is a timeline, your choice to ignore it or not, just don't say it doesn't exist or that others are wrong for enjoying it

Within two years, there's probably gonna be a new Zelda game to screw it all up again.

"Zelda Timeline is Less Important Than Mechanics"

Now is it?

The events that take place in the zelda universe actually happened in real life. They just had to focus on game-play since the stories would naturally fall into place, of course.

I found the timeline very interesting, but quite confusing. I think that those freaking Toon Links have a different timeline of their own, or it's waaaaaaaay down the line. I don't need a timeline to enjoy the Zelda series, I just want good gameplay, easy controls, fun enemies, good cutscenes, and a good plot.

@Meta-Rift

Yes, because obviously the series has been suffering from that logic.

I wish he really had said "so be quiet"
I need a good laugh.

What about the Zelda CDi games, I mean dont they fit in there too =3

@36. It's easy to think like that when you treat the internet as one person.

its rearlly cool on the wii because witch way you hold the wii remote he holds the the saurd

It was great that they finally revealed the official timeline, a nice surprise for amazing Zelda´s 25th anniversary. That timeline is logical enough for me.

I think it needs the timeline, it's what brings Link(s)'s epic adventures together and it creates a universe which the Zelda games are set in, and helps to give the Zelda games a better story (I generally find the story lines of the games are going downhill, they are too bland and predictable)

Couldn't say it any better than vvaluigi (33.) did. Gameplay's first but having the option to think and talk about all these little details is an added plus. I wouldn't have seen any connection but all this stuff makes me want to replay the games even more. Take it as a loose guide to approach the games if you want to, take it easy and have fun, no harm done then.
Personally i don't really want the characters or story any more defined than they are right now. Being able to take every new entry as a standalone game is also crucial imo.

Well, Aonouma says it's official, so I shall accept this going forward til further notice. Oh and, in the end, I too don't really care about the timeline in the end, but it's also not my fault that Nintendo inadvertently tied them all together, so I don't feel bad for trying to figure out the pieces of the puzzle. Cool, 3 timelines it is