Another Look at the Timeline of Zelda

The folks at GameTrailers have decided to study the long argued, but seldom understood timeline of the Legend of Zelda Series. They are taking a deeper look at all the underlying reasons behind the confusing chronology by examining the ones responsible for the development of the story and their personal contributions. In addition they are also giving mention to any complications that might have risen due to multiple developers and writers working on the series impeding consistency.

 

The bottom line here is that there’s a timeline and we’ll never know it. But we fans are only human, and thus driven by the curiosity and mystique of the unknown. We all want to feel a sense of belonging to a community, and one of the easiest ways to make that connection with others is to actively discuss common interests. There a many reasons for why millions of people enjoy this series, but I would argue that the mystery of Zelda’s timeline is one of the key intangibles that elevated the franchise’s popularity to a level only matched by a handful of others.

They go on to describe that there are many different timelines presented by fans that are later described as inaccurate by others. They state that all timelines are technically inaccurate simply because there is not enough evidence to support any single theory in the first place. They further describe how exchanging writers and team members through multiple companies working on the series over the years have caused too much confusion in the overall story.  Furthermore, development teams preferring to focus more on gameplay over story components left much of it cut from the games. The current head of Zelda, Eiji Aonuma, is working on not only making sense of the confusing state of the timeline, but assuring that all future sequels will adhere to a solid continuity following Wind Waker.

I thought this was a very interesting read, although I have to say I tend to avoid most timeline discussions myself. I even once disbelieved that the developers ever intended to make any form of solid continuity to the series, though I have come to change that opinion in recent years. The mention that there were many more circumstances behind the state of the series continuity beyond mistranslations or uncaring developers does put many common myths to rest.  I also agree that discussing the many various theories on the placement of the games has been a huge topic among fans bringing together communities for years. Just as discussing the mysteries probably will continue to do so for many more fans in the future.

So what do you think? Do you agree with their views on the timeline? Think we will ever have a solid defined story continuity in Zelda? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: GameTrailers

Related: Ocarina of Time 3D Walkthrough

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