Daily Debate: Has the Official Timeline Helped or Hurt Fan Theories?
Posted on April 23 2015 by Rod Lloyd
It’s been quite a few years since the Hyrule Historia‘s release in 2011, meaning it’s been quite a few years since fans were given an official Zelda timeline. The timeline seemed like a godsend to the many fans that fervently theorized and debated the chronology of each Zelda game. But how did the release of an official timeline – a conclusive chronology – really affect Zelda fan theories and Zelda fan culture in general. We’re here today to debate whether the official timeline ultimately helped or hurt fan theories.
Before the Hyrule Historia, much of the Zelda community was hungry for a conclusive timeline to the series’ Hylian saga. The big names at Nintendo hinted at the existence of such a timeline, but they were in no hurry to share that treasured information with the fanbase. As a result, many fans spent a lot of time analyzing each game and meticulously placing them into supposed chronological orders. While several interesting theories arose from this lack of timeline, there was never enough official information to make one theory more plausible than another. That is why theories like the “Just a Legend” theory (which stated that there was no real Zelda timeline) were as equally considered as any other major theory.
The official timeline in Hyrule Historia gave context and focus to Zelda fan theories and connections between different games. In this way, they helped the community do away with fruitless debates about the chronology, and gave it more information to consider and discuss. Fans theories can now more accuractely discuss how a game like Twilight Princess connects to A Link to the Past, and more conclusively discuss the history of Hyrule overall.
However, this increase in focus also limits the kinds of theories we’ve seen in the community. I feel like sometimes fans are too limited in their topics of discussion when it comes to the timeline, especially with the ways Skyward Sword relates to the entire Zelda history. Furthermore, back when the timeline was left to subtle clues hidden away in each game, fans needed to find creative and interesting ways to construct a timeline. In fact, I believe that the official chronology would not have had a split timelines had creative fans not first theorized about Ocarina of Time‘s use of time travel.
Enough of my opinions though; I’ll let you all share your thoughts on the topic. Has the official Zelda timeline been beneficial for fan theories and the community in general? Or has the official chronology caused more problems than it’s fixed? Let us know, and join the Daily Debate!
Rod Lloyd is the Editor-In-Chief at Zelda Dungeon, overseeing the news and feature content for the site. Rod is considered the veteran of the writing team, having started writing for Zelda Informer in 2014 as a Junior Editor. After ZD and ZI officially merged in 2017, he stepped into the Managing Editor role and has helped steer the ship ever since. He stepped up to lead the writing team as Editor-In-Chief in 2023.
You can reach Rod at: rod.lloyd@zeldadungeon.net
