- Joined
- Aug 1, 2011
- Location
- Kalamazoo, MI
I've commented on a lot of timelines, but never made one of my own. Well, I did, but never explained it. Time to show you why I put the games the way I do. Here are the most important factors, in my mind, to constructing a timeline:
1: direct references
If one game refers to the events of another and official statements. Though official statements will need some extra in-game evidence to back them up.
2: reoccurring artifacts
The Triforce, Master Sword, ect.
3: reoccurring races and characters
This is the weakest evidence and I will only use it to strengthen my standing rather than depend on it.
That said, let's start with direct references. With direct references, I get a timeline that looks like this:
......................../--WW/PH--ST
SS--MC--FS--OoT
........................\MM--TP--LttP
____________?FSA?
________________?LoZ/AoL?
________________?OoX/LA?
With FSA, LoZ/AoL, & OoX/LA we only get a rough idea where they go. As for the others, well, let's talk about that:
Skyward Sword
All evidence points to this being the first game chronologically. Hyrule hasn't been established; and the "war of the Triforce" is referred to us by Fi, who makes it seem as though she was there. Also, all the locations of Hyrule are isolated, since Hylians haven't had time to cut through the forests and connect them yet. No one denies this being the first game in the timeline. Though that might just be because Ocarinahero10 hasn't had time to make his video commenting on it.
Minish Cap and Four Swords
When FS was released, it was called "the oldest Zelda tale" by Eiji Aonuma. Of course, MC has to come after it because it refers to the back-story of the Four Sword and Vaati (not that anyone cared). Other reasons to put MC second in the timeline is how sparsely populated Hyrule is. Remember, the monsters are sealed by the Four Sword, limiting the ways that Hylians can die. If it's still fairly early in Hyrule's history, that makes a lot more sense. Also, in MC, the sky temples still have people living in them; but they're deserted prior to TP.
Ocarina of Time (adult timeline)
OoT was said to be first in the timeline when it was released and all the games before it were released after it. No contradiction there. Also, just about every other Zelda game refers to OoT in some fashion, making it most likely at this point in the timeline. It's also the source of the split timeline. At the end of the game, Zelda sends Link back to relive his childhood. There are some problems with this, like: Why did the Triforce of Courage shatter? How did the Master Sword return in the adult timeline? How could the Door of Time be open in the child timeline when Zelda hasn't left? All things considered, there are explanations, but I just admit that their plot-holes. There not the only ones OoT has...
Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks
WW has a very clear reference to OoT. The opening tells of how Ganondorf was sealed away, and this had only been done in OoT (FSA hadn't been released yet). He soon escaped and went unchallenged, until the gods sealed him away with a great flood, just in case you weren't beaten over the head with those Christian allegories. Ganondorf eventually escaped and tried to take over the surface, but a new Link and Tetra, Zelda's descendant, stopped him. Afterwords, the two sailed for adventure, leading to the events of PH. As PH might have been a dream or in another dimension (that makes three timelines), it does little to nothing to add or take away from the timeline. That's fine with me.
ST tells the tale of New Hyrule. It's made clear that Link and Tetra founded a new nation and Tetra's granddaughter, Zelda (who would have guessed?), is being groomed to take the throne. Of course, things don't work out so well and Link has to save the day. At least Zelda helps this time, though manages to be a bit annoying. You could reasonably put games with Hyrule after ST, and we'll see about doing that. Now let's go to the child timeline.
Majora's Mask
It's implied that Link managed to foil Ganondorf's plans after being returned to the past and eventually went looking for Navi the fairy. Don't ask me why, maybe she owed him five bucks. Anyway, he goes into another dimension again (making the timeline count four) and has another adventure that really doesn't effect the timeline overall. Well, let's get to the next game.
Twilight Princess
Nintendo was taking a look at Team Ico's notes, so a lot is left up for interpretation in this game. One of the universal interpretations is that the trial of Ganondorf was a result of OoT-Link's efforts after being sent back in time. This makes sense, given how stubborn Ganondorf is. The execution (which is done by SIX sages, rather than the usual seven) fails because Ganondorf might have gotten the Triforce of Power. I developed a theory for this, but I'll go over it when I talk about the Triforce. Either way, the sages decided to just seal Ganondorf away and make him someone else's problem. He eventually makes a move at Hyrule, but is stopped by Link and Midna.
Link to the Past
This game is last in the child timeline because of the fact that Ganon's true name is known by very few. As well as new names for a lot of locations in the game that aren't named such in the others. Shigeru Miyamoto said that it was the last game in the timeline (except maybe LA) after OoT was released. It's unclear if this was in fact true. Let's look at the unclear titles, now.
Four Swords Adventure
This is a sequel to FS, so it obviously has to come after it. It might contain the same Link as FS, but I haven't seen any evidence to convince me of that. The state of Ganondorf, not being a leader yet, makes it likely to occur around the same time as OoT. However, some of the locations have the same names as ones in LttP. With a few inconsistencies, I need some more evidence to place it in good continence.
Legend of Zelda and Adventure of Link
Placing these two is a little problematic because they have very little going in terms of plot. Ganon never being known by his full name implies them coming after LttP, which official statements said was the case when that game came out. However, later statements said otherwise. What is completely clear is that they come some time after OoT. The towns in AoL have the same names as characters in OoT. The towns aren't necessarily named after those characters, but this does hint as to why they would have those names.
Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
These games involve Twinrova trying to revive Ganondorf, so it has to come after he was killed, which was in WW, TP, LttP, and LoZ. We can eliminate WW because Twinrova was killed in the adult timeline; this means that they have to be placed in the child timeline.
Link's Awakening
Originally meant to be a sequel to LttP, but this was retconed by Shigeru Miyamoto. There are only three factors for placing it, as most of it is just a dream.
1: Link went soul searching after defeating Ganon.
2: Link was sailing!
3: As Link woke, he called out Zelda's name.
Now, Link defeated (note that it does clarify if he killed) Ganon in OoT, WW, TP, LttP, LoZ, and OoX. Now, we can legitimately eliminate OoT from the list because Link went into the forest after that, rather than sail. TP is iffy for the same reason. Now the third fact implies a close relationship with Zelda. This automatically disqualifies WW because Link doesn't know Tetra as "Zelda". TP is disqualified completely because Link isn't very close to his Queen (sorry shippers). LttP and LoZ are iffy because Link's relationship with Zelda isn't made clear. At the end of the Oracle linked game, Link and Zelda show some close interest in each other and Link sails off after defeating Ganon. LA makes the most sense being placed here, though you could put it after LttP or AoL without conflict.
Well, I have to go, but when I get back, I'll fix up the timeline nice and neat. Maybe the Triforce, Master Sword, Terraforce, or Four Sword will clear things up. Maybe even the Trident will answer a few questions.
1: direct references
If one game refers to the events of another and official statements. Though official statements will need some extra in-game evidence to back them up.
2: reoccurring artifacts
The Triforce, Master Sword, ect.
3: reoccurring races and characters
This is the weakest evidence and I will only use it to strengthen my standing rather than depend on it.
That said, let's start with direct references. With direct references, I get a timeline that looks like this:
......................../--WW/PH--ST
SS--MC--FS--OoT
........................\MM--TP--LttP
____________?FSA?
________________?LoZ/AoL?
________________?OoX/LA?
With FSA, LoZ/AoL, & OoX/LA we only get a rough idea where they go. As for the others, well, let's talk about that:
Skyward Sword
All evidence points to this being the first game chronologically. Hyrule hasn't been established; and the "war of the Triforce" is referred to us by Fi, who makes it seem as though she was there. Also, all the locations of Hyrule are isolated, since Hylians haven't had time to cut through the forests and connect them yet. No one denies this being the first game in the timeline. Though that might just be because Ocarinahero10 hasn't had time to make his video commenting on it.
Minish Cap and Four Swords
When FS was released, it was called "the oldest Zelda tale" by Eiji Aonuma. Of course, MC has to come after it because it refers to the back-story of the Four Sword and Vaati (not that anyone cared). Other reasons to put MC second in the timeline is how sparsely populated Hyrule is. Remember, the monsters are sealed by the Four Sword, limiting the ways that Hylians can die. If it's still fairly early in Hyrule's history, that makes a lot more sense. Also, in MC, the sky temples still have people living in them; but they're deserted prior to TP.
Ocarina of Time (adult timeline)
OoT was said to be first in the timeline when it was released and all the games before it were released after it. No contradiction there. Also, just about every other Zelda game refers to OoT in some fashion, making it most likely at this point in the timeline. It's also the source of the split timeline. At the end of the game, Zelda sends Link back to relive his childhood. There are some problems with this, like: Why did the Triforce of Courage shatter? How did the Master Sword return in the adult timeline? How could the Door of Time be open in the child timeline when Zelda hasn't left? All things considered, there are explanations, but I just admit that their plot-holes. There not the only ones OoT has...
Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks
WW has a very clear reference to OoT. The opening tells of how Ganondorf was sealed away, and this had only been done in OoT (FSA hadn't been released yet). He soon escaped and went unchallenged, until the gods sealed him away with a great flood, just in case you weren't beaten over the head with those Christian allegories. Ganondorf eventually escaped and tried to take over the surface, but a new Link and Tetra, Zelda's descendant, stopped him. Afterwords, the two sailed for adventure, leading to the events of PH. As PH might have been a dream or in another dimension (that makes three timelines), it does little to nothing to add or take away from the timeline. That's fine with me.
ST tells the tale of New Hyrule. It's made clear that Link and Tetra founded a new nation and Tetra's granddaughter, Zelda (who would have guessed?), is being groomed to take the throne. Of course, things don't work out so well and Link has to save the day. At least Zelda helps this time, though manages to be a bit annoying. You could reasonably put games with Hyrule after ST, and we'll see about doing that. Now let's go to the child timeline.
Majora's Mask
It's implied that Link managed to foil Ganondorf's plans after being returned to the past and eventually went looking for Navi the fairy. Don't ask me why, maybe she owed him five bucks. Anyway, he goes into another dimension again (making the timeline count four) and has another adventure that really doesn't effect the timeline overall. Well, let's get to the next game.
Twilight Princess
Nintendo was taking a look at Team Ico's notes, so a lot is left up for interpretation in this game. One of the universal interpretations is that the trial of Ganondorf was a result of OoT-Link's efforts after being sent back in time. This makes sense, given how stubborn Ganondorf is. The execution (which is done by SIX sages, rather than the usual seven) fails because Ganondorf might have gotten the Triforce of Power. I developed a theory for this, but I'll go over it when I talk about the Triforce. Either way, the sages decided to just seal Ganondorf away and make him someone else's problem. He eventually makes a move at Hyrule, but is stopped by Link and Midna.
Link to the Past
This game is last in the child timeline because of the fact that Ganon's true name is known by very few. As well as new names for a lot of locations in the game that aren't named such in the others. Shigeru Miyamoto said that it was the last game in the timeline (except maybe LA) after OoT was released. It's unclear if this was in fact true. Let's look at the unclear titles, now.
Four Swords Adventure
This is a sequel to FS, so it obviously has to come after it. It might contain the same Link as FS, but I haven't seen any evidence to convince me of that. The state of Ganondorf, not being a leader yet, makes it likely to occur around the same time as OoT. However, some of the locations have the same names as ones in LttP. With a few inconsistencies, I need some more evidence to place it in good continence.
Legend of Zelda and Adventure of Link
Placing these two is a little problematic because they have very little going in terms of plot. Ganon never being known by his full name implies them coming after LttP, which official statements said was the case when that game came out. However, later statements said otherwise. What is completely clear is that they come some time after OoT. The towns in AoL have the same names as characters in OoT. The towns aren't necessarily named after those characters, but this does hint as to why they would have those names.
Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
These games involve Twinrova trying to revive Ganondorf, so it has to come after he was killed, which was in WW, TP, LttP, and LoZ. We can eliminate WW because Twinrova was killed in the adult timeline; this means that they have to be placed in the child timeline.
Link's Awakening
Originally meant to be a sequel to LttP, but this was retconed by Shigeru Miyamoto. There are only three factors for placing it, as most of it is just a dream.
1: Link went soul searching after defeating Ganon.
2: Link was sailing!
3: As Link woke, he called out Zelda's name.
Now, Link defeated (note that it does clarify if he killed) Ganon in OoT, WW, TP, LttP, LoZ, and OoX. Now, we can legitimately eliminate OoT from the list because Link went into the forest after that, rather than sail. TP is iffy for the same reason. Now the third fact implies a close relationship with Zelda. This automatically disqualifies WW because Link doesn't know Tetra as "Zelda". TP is disqualified completely because Link isn't very close to his Queen (sorry shippers). LttP and LoZ are iffy because Link's relationship with Zelda isn't made clear. At the end of the Oracle linked game, Link and Zelda show some close interest in each other and Link sails off after defeating Ganon. LA makes the most sense being placed here, though you could put it after LttP or AoL without conflict.
Well, I have to go, but when I get back, I'll fix up the timeline nice and neat. Maybe the Triforce, Master Sword, Terraforce, or Four Sword will clear things up. Maybe even the Trident will answer a few questions.