Is the Split Timeline a Copout?

[Midna666]

What do you think about the timeline being split?
Are you happy with the split timeline,or do you think that it was a dumb move on Nintendo's part?

It seems to be that when Nintendo come up with the split timeline(when WW come out it was talked about in a old issue of GamePro),that it was made that way if WW bombed,they could say that timeline was not canon.
Of course we now know that both timelines are canon.
I like the split timeline,but if it's going to be there then I hope that Nintendo will make more use of it in the future.

[ChargewithSword]

I think that the split timeline brings more opportunities for stories that differentiate and I welcome it whole heatedly.

[Skull_Kid]

I think that the split timeline brings more opportunities for stories that differentiate and I welcome it whole heatedly.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH:)
I totally agree with CwS.
Two Timelines can be used in a way that no game on the series(apart from Spin-offs) are retconned(much like what Iga done with the Castlevania timeline). Example: even though lots of people don't consider the FS series canon, they are canon, and I'm pretty sure they have a place in the timeline, just like any other game(even tingle's rosy rupeeland)

[Zemen]

they didnt make the split so that if WW did poorly they could just throw it out as canon. the split was technically around since OoT which was made before they had any plans of WW. its hard to make a split for a future game that they dont know about.

[Seinfeld]

The split timeline is just a way to give people more ways of connecting these games together. Do I think Nintendo has an actually timeline? Honestly, no. I do however believe they could come up with one.

[Mases]

I personally do not think that during the creation of Ocarina of Time, that Nintendo had thought out the possibility that it can be interpreted as a split timeline. I think the idea of the split timeline was fan created after Ocarina of Time. I think it especially became relevent in the leadup to games such as the Wind Waker when questions where in place as to where it would take place.

I personally do not think there is a map that answers all our questions about a timeline, but just that they related to each other. After the split timeline became well established, I think that is where Nintendo started to try to fit games in, such as Twilight Princess and Wind Waker, stating they both take palce 100 years after the ending of Ocarina of Time, but in parallell universes.

One thing's for sure, it has led to endless debate amongst us Zelda nerds. :)

[Alter]

I agree with Mases. I think that there is something, but not a great secret box that contains a timeline no one has ever thought about.

It's so obvious that they have to figure out to piece it together now. There's no way that they were planning to have to do that when the earlier games were created. IMO, yes, it is a cop out. If you say that there is a split timeline, or that there are alternate dimensions, you can claim just about anything.

I really, really, hope that there is no split timeline. It seems so cheap, so unrealistic, so...empty.

Personally, the timeline has never really mattered a whole lot to me, though. It's really about a boy named Link, who saves a girl named Zelda, and fights evils known as Vaati and Ganon(dorf). I like how some games relate to each other, such as OoT-MM-WW-PH, and I hope to one day see a good timeline, but it's just not a huge issue.

P.S. I do have a good theory, as a side note ;):Trident Theory (http://www.zeldawiki.org/Timeline_Theories#Alter.27s_Trident_Timeline_Theor y)

[Yumil]

It's most certainly a copout. I never agreed with the split timeline and I still don't like it, even with Nintendo confirming it's existance. I agree completely with the idea that this was a fan-made theory that Nintendo adopted when they decided to try to stick the games together themselves.

Even now, I don't believe that Miyamoto cares one bit about how the games go together. Aunoma may care more, but this is still a gameplay thing first and foremost. They will come up with the came they want to make and try to fit it in as an afterthought.

[Welbanks]

was a fan-made theory that Nintendo adopted when they decided to try to stick the games together themselves.

Exactly.
I think thats what there going to do if they ever reveal a time line, fine some fan who has a good one, steal it, and just act like it was right all along.

[sign of table]

I doubt that they had the thought of the split timeline until TWW. But before I'd even heard of the split timeline I never understood how MM worked. It said that Link saved Hyrule. But now he was a kid. Shouldn't he be in the SR?

[Bokbok567]

The split timeline thing is a joke to me. You can't say that this game and that game should be one after another. Whatever way the creators put the game should be how it goes. It pretty much reminds me that it goes from the past to the present and the fututre games will be the future. Do you get what I am saying because I'm starting to lose myself. XD

[Midna666]

The split timeline thing is a joke to me. You can't say that this game and that game should be one after another. Whatever way the creators put the game should be how it goes. It pretty much reminds me that it goes from the past to the present and the fututre games will be the future. Do you get what I am saying because I'm starting to lose myself. XD

The split timeline is not a joke.
The creators said that there is a split which makes the split timeline canon.

[DCMN]

The split timeline is just a way to give people more ways of connecting these games together. Do I think Nintendo has an actually timeline? Honestly, no. I do however believe they could come up with one.
I remember Miyamoto said in an interview that they did have a timeline. Its pretty hard to tell if this is BS or not.

[Onilink89]

What do you think about the timeline being split?
Are you happy with the split timeline,or do you think that it was a dumb move on Nintendo's part?

It seems to be that when Nintendo come up with the split timeline(when WW come out it was talked about in a old issue of GamePro),that it was made that way if WW bombed,they could say that timeline was not canon.
Of course we now know that both timelines are canon.
I like the split timeline,but if it's going to be there then I hope that Nintendo will make more use of it in the future.

Personnaly i don't care if there is a split timeline or a liniar timeline.
There is a topic that we deeply discussed about this issue.

But one thing i dislike about this whole split timeline is that it brings more confusion.
Now nintendo announced a split timeline when WW was released. But a split timeline was never planned in the first place, but somehow they wanted to fit in the timeline so its not tottaly inlogical. But, a lot of details isn't logical with the split timeline Due to OOT. because nintendo forgot some imortant facts said in the game and that didn't made any sense in WW.

[Megamannt125]

I think at some point the timelines are going to fuse back together and WW Link and TP Link will touch each other to become.....Link.

[Midna666]

I think at some point the timelines are going to fuse back together and WW Link and TP Link will touch each other to become.....Link.

That makes no sense.
The two timelines are split,in one timeline Hyrule is still around,and in the other Hyrule is gone forever.

[sign of table]

I think at some point the timelines are going to fuse back together and WW Link and TP Link will touch each other to become.....Link. O_o

Personally I despise merges. They make no sense, pretty much logically impossible. I'll give an example: Person A says to Person B, "Man, were you in that huge world-wide rain storm last Saturday?"
"What rain storm?"
"You know, the one on Windfall Island."
"There isn't a place called Windfall Island... only Hyrule..."
"What's Hyrule?"
See how completely horrible that is? And I'm sure I could come up with even more illogical examples.

[Zemen]

"so why are YOU wearing a green tunic?"

"well you see, hundreds of years ago there was this hero known as the hero of time"

"why was he called that?"

"he saved the world from the evil ganondorf by traveling through time."

"....that never happened....im the one that defeated ganondorf...yesterday..."

haha this is a fun game.

i too hate the idea of a merging timeline.

[Caleb, Of Asui]

If you were to consider The Subspace Emissary canon (I'm sure you don't, so shut up. This is hypothetical), both Twilight Princess's Link and The Wind Waker's Toon Link end up meeting each other sometime after the end of the game, whenever you go add Toon Link to your big party.

The timelines are probably going to stay completely separate. That's logical based on how they came into existence in Ocarina of Time. Most of the games so far seem to be on the same side of the timeline as Twilight Princess, so it would be cool if they added to the story of the Wind Waker timeline. As far as we can tell, Spirit Tracks is going to do that.

At first, the splitting was probably only partly a copout. They also had to find a place for Hyrule disappearing after Ocarina of Time's events to fit. By now, I wouldn't say it's any sort of copout at all, since Phantom Hourglass and likely Spirit Tracks are expanding upon it.

[Skull_Kid]

If you were to consider The Subspace Emissary canon (I'm sure you don't, so shut up. This is hypothetical), both Twilight Princess's Link and The Wind Waker's Toon Link end up meeting each other sometime after the end of the game, whenever you go add Toon Link to your big party.

The timelines are probably going to stay completely separate. That's logical based on how they came into existence in Ocarina of Time. Most of the games so far seem to be on the same side of the timeline as Twilight Princess, so it would be cool if they added to the story of the Wind Waker timeline. As far as we can tell, Spirit Tracks is going to do that.

At first, the splitting was probably only partly a copout. They also had to find a place for Hyrule disappearing after Ocarina of Time's events to fit. By now, I wouldn't say it's any sort of copout at all, since Phantom Hourglass and likely Spirit Tracks are expanding upon it.


If we were to Consider Super Smash Bros as canon, it would also ruin other franchises.
Super Smash Bros is not canon, we all know it is kinda of a spin off.
I totally disagree with the idea of the merging timeline, and there is no proof to that, unless, like you said, you think that Brawl is part of canon(wich clearly is not)

[Zemen]

If we were to Consider Super Smash Bros as canon, it would also ruin other franchises.
Super Smash Bros is not canon, we all know it is kinda of a spin off.
I totally disagree with the idea of the merging timeline, and there is no proof to that, unless, like you said, you think that Brawl is part of canon(wich clearly is not)

agreed. i really dont think there is a merge or that there ever will be. i just cant see it working out at all. the only way its possible is if they made the merged game the last game in the series where 2 Links have to team up to save 2 Zeldas and defeat 2 Ganons. it wouldnt make any sense because once this is done, what happens? do the princesses both rule Hyrule and from then on there are 2 Zeldas? and what about Link? does 2 ToC bloodlines live on for the rest of forever? it just doesnt make sense. nintendo would have to do some hardcore stretching to make it work.