The evolution of storytelling in video games has been both a gradual and explosive process over the past thirty years. Older games tended to have simplistic stories at best, while games in the present tend to have sweeping, cinematic tales that span the multimedia spectrum. The Zelda series since its inception has toed the line in between the two extremes. For fans though, Zelda‘s story has been a hotly contested topic even before the controversial introduction of the timeline.

Today, we’re debating two of the most popular Zelda games of all time and their impact on the overall story of Zelda as a whole. Ocarina of Time, first released in 1998 was not only well-received by the gaming world, but also revolutionized the many game systems we take for granted today such as a lock on system. Like the gameplay aspect, Ocarina also continued a massive transition into bigger and broader story strokes that its predecessors Link’s Awakening and A Link to the Past began. This culminated in one of the bigger controversies in the Zelda fandom years later (and before with the myriad theories presented) in which it was revealed that the events of Ocarina resulted in the three-way timeline split that has divided fans as much as itself.

The Wind Waker was released a short four years later in 2002 and likewise introduced some very impactful moments in for the story of Zelda, starting with the massive flood that has devoured the land of Hyrule. This flood, sent by the goddesses to contain Ganondorf’s evil due to a lack of a hero (caused by the time shenanigans in Ocarina) to stop him. This event eventually leads to the birth of a new hero, the Hero of Winds. By the end of The Wind Waker, Ganondorf has been defeated again, but Hyrule would remain underwater. Knowing this, the Hero of Winds and Princess Zelda decide to leave Hyrule and build a new kingdom somewhere else, leading to the sequels Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, and currently debated, Breath of the Wild.

So here’s the big question! Which do you think had the greater impact on the story of Zelda as a whole? Ocarina of Time or The Wind Waker and why? Let us know in the comments below!

Taylor Wells is an Original Content Writer at Zelda Informer. Want to ridicule his distaste of Tingle or share in his love of Navi? Feel free to hit him up on TwitterTwitch, or in the comments below!

Tagged With: No tags were found for this entry.