Timeline: Difference between revisions

A prominent issue in timeline theorizing is that of how to fit the various backstories into the timeline. Roughly, a game's "backstory" refers to story events related over the course of a game, especially at the beginning, which are not actually a part of story actually "played out" by the character over the course of the game. The backstory may be essential for understanding the historical context of the events related in a game and/or the character's motivations, but it is not part of the narrative which the character/player experiences over the course of the game. It is worth noting that the line between backstory and the rest of the story in a game is often blurry.

A game's backstory may be useful for placing it within the timeline. For example the backstory in [[The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass]] simply relates the events which occured in [[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker]] thereby confirming in game that Phantom Hourglass is a sequel to The Wind Waker. In other games, the backstory may tie together two games more indirectly. (Spoiler Warning!) For example, fans often take the cutscene in [[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess]] where [[Ganon]] is shown to be sealed in the [[Mirror of Twilight]] to depict an event which occurs between [[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time]] and [[The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask]] after Link has warned the [[King of Hyrule]] about [[Ganondorf]]'s evil intents. Of course this theory is not universal, and some of the events are speculative (see "Speculation" below), but it is a good example of the usefulness of backstories for timeline theorizing.

Backstories can present a problem for timeline theorists when a game's backstory seems to conflict with canon events in other games in the series or other backstories. The two most prominent examples are the [[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link]] backstory and the seemingly conflicting accounts of [[Hyrule's creation]] story related in [[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past]],{{Zelda| OoT}}, and [[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword]].

The Adventure of Link backstory claims both that the Zelda whom Link is to awaken in the game is the first princess Zelda and that the [[Triforce of Courage]] has been hidden since this "first" Zelda fell into her magical slumber. Since The Adventure of Link, several games have been released which purportedly occur before it. Since Zelda appears in these other games, this seems to conflict with the claim that the Zelda in The Adventure of Link]] is the first. This difficulty might be circumvented by claiming that the sleeping Zelda continued to sleep while other Zeldas were born and the events of other games occurred; however, the the appearance of the Triforce of Courage in several of these games blocks such a move. If the Triforce of Courage is supposed to have been hidden since the The Adventure of Link Zelda was cursed, any game which features both Zelda the Triforce of Courage should occur after {{Zelda| AoL}} if the backstory is part of [[Hyrule]]'s history. However, there is a great deal of evidence conflicting with the claim that the original NES titles occurred first in the timeline. Recently, the events in {{Zelda| SS}} depicting the origin of Hyrule provide especially strong conflict with the events in the Adventure of Link backstory.

Theorists have suggested multiple ways of accounting for the Adventure of Link backstory. The story may have been retconned. The retcon may be changes in the details -- for example claiming that the Zelda in The Adventure of Link is not actually the first Zelda -- or the story may have been more or less removed from the Canon. Alternatively, the conflicts arising from the Adventure of Link backstory have led some theorists to claim that the original NES titles are not part of the "main timeline." (See "How Many Timelines?" above)

Another problematic backstory element is the [[imprisoning war]] alluded to in the backstory for {{Zelda| ALttP}}. Fans are divided over whether the [[imprisoning war]] occurred between games in the timeline or whether the it depicts the events which occur in another game in the series, such as {{Zelda| OoT}} or [[The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures]].

{{Zelda| MC}} also presents some interesting questions via its backstory. For example, the relationship between the [[Hero of Men]] depicted in the Minish Cap backstory and the various incarnations of Link is questionable.

The [[unification war]] mentioned in the Ocarina of Time backstory is also a point of contention.