Topic: LoZ "Timeline" Theory

[KaZudra]

well, it seems there is alot of talk on theorys on the Purposed timelines of the Zelda games, and here's mine.
SPOILER: Mine actually makes the most sense....

Okay, first off the Title itsself is essential, The LEGEND of Zelda.

You are the Audience, The game is essentially the person who is telling you the Legend.
Now we have different people telling the same story, with the effect of retelling, each story is identically different.
This explains why half of the games are basically the same (get items, kill Ganon, save princess)
each Teller has a different story and sometime different tellers will go off of another teller's base story for the "sequel"
Example:
Teller A Tells OoT and Tells MM afterwards
Teller B States MM didn't happen, but WW did
Teller C States MM did happen and adds TP

This also fixes the MAJOR Flaws in a Linear Timeline
Every Princess isn't named Zelda
There Wouldn't be generations of Retarded Kings who trust Every Gannondorf
it explains perfectly why areas are shuffled around in the progression of the games
it also explains why every main character is Link
it solves alot of chronological confusion between games

The events of the stories however are based on event of hyule's Real timeline, this is a Storyteller's tendacy.

In a ctimeline, the games form a very loose timeline yet most games would have nothing to do with each other.

this is the best attempt to explain my thoery in tyoed format because it is super easy to explain it from person to person.

[Neobelmont]

At the moment all what I know is that there are two different timelines and that the beginning of them both will start of with skyward sword. Again this is at the moment most of the time I just go what ever with this zelda timeline. But I will get back to this once I refresh my mind.

[KaZudra]

At the moment all what I know is that there are two different timelines and that the beginning of them both will start of with skyward sword. Again this is at the moment most of the time I just go what ever with this zelda timeline. But I will get back to this once I refresh my mind.

ah the Ocarina Timeline, it goes like this..

Skyward Sword -> Ocarina of Time -> Split timeline
Timeline A (Future - Adult Link)-> Wind Waker -> Phantom Hourglass -> Spirit Tracks
Timeline B (Present- Child Link)-> Majora's Mask -> Twilight Princess

I'll add the only other timeline that makes sense...
Minish cap-> Four Sword-> Four Sword Adventure

These are the only games that can be plausible to connect (TP is a bit Shakey since they prevented ganondorf from getting to the sacred realm in OoT) but there is a few timeline theories that try to connect ALL the games which is crazy.

on a Side note, Skyward Sword may be the game to finally drive me into buying a wii and soon flood in with the rest of the wii titles Like Sonic Colors

This is the only timeline oth

[X]

The Zelda timeline is perhaps the most convoluted in all of video game history. It even outdoes the CV timeline. But unlike CV, Zelda has been produced by the same guy since it's conception. So I really have to wonder what's going through his mind every time a new Zelda title is released. Personally I'm still waiting for a proper sequel to Zelda II: The Adventures of Link. Instead we keep going further and further back in time and some of the games he brought out are just...ugh. Not only that but the new characters (races) that he introduces don't exist in the NES titles which brings up another whole slew of issues. As much as I love the Zelda series there are just some games that make me question the direction in which it is going. At this point I have absolutely no theory what-so-ever about the timeline. It's just way too skewed to the point where I'd have to sit down and think about it for a long while.

[Neobelmont]

on a Side note, Skyward Sword may be the game to finally drive me into buying a wii and soon flood in with the rest of the wii titles Like Sonic Colors

On my note it's the main reason why I will undust my wii in january on my birthday for the first time since playing other m when it came out. I like the theme of it and how the song is really an just other song from an older title.

[Inccubus]

I would like to point out that Shigeru Miyamoto said in an interview that the Zelda series DOES have a timeline and that it WAS thought out in advance. It's also a reasonable presumption that the timeline DOES connect all games and DOES include at least one split one split. Oh and it's clearly stated in the manual for Zelda II that all the princesses in the royal line of Hyrule are named Zelda. The only reason that (sorta) stops in the WW branch is because there is no longer a Hyrule and thus no royal family to keep the tradition.

PS- You forgot to mention LoZ -> ZII -> OoA/OoS, and LoZIII -> LA.

Most of the debate is centered on how each pocket of related games fits together more than anything..

[KaZudra]

I would like to point out that Shigeru Miyamoto said in an interview that the Zelda series DOES have a timeline and that it WAS thought out in advance. It's also a reasonable presumption that the timeline DOES connect all games and DOES include at least one split one split. Oh and it's clearly stated in the manual for Zelda II that all the princesses in the royal line of Hyrule are named Zelda. The only reason that (sorta) stops in the WW branch is because there is no longer a Hyrule and thus no royal family to keep the tradition.

PS- You forgot to mention LoZ -> ZII -> OoA/OoS, and LoZIII -> LA.

Most of the debate is centered on how each pocket of related games fits together more than anything..

I can't say all the games connect together, there is too many continuity errors and Obvious Common sense flaws in there too, I'm agreeing that Certain games have timelines, but they all do not intersect. especially when LoZ, LttP, OoT, and TP are pretty much the exact same game with a few things tweaked, in fact TP is just the lost OoT Beta with a different story and added wolf mode.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

In my mind, it goes like this:

Skyward Sword (supposedly takes place in the far past)

Minish Cap (supposedly takes place in the far past as well)
Ocarina of Time (Linchpin game)
TIMELINE SPLITS
Link Returns (Zelda returns him after End of Game after TimeJump)|   Link Never Returns (Temporary universe created during TimeJump)
Majora's Mask                | Four Swords Adventures
Twilight Princess      |**The Great Flood**
A Link to the Past |     The Wind Waker
Link's Awakening   | Phantom Hourglass
Oracle of Ages  |        Spirit Tracks
Oracle of Seasons{!}  |     The Legend of Zelda
************* | Adventure of Link
Zelda's Adventure |   Wand of Gamelon
********* | Faces of Evil

{!} It seems Oracle of Seasons takes place in either a distant land or in another dimension, as the Triforce makes Link jump from one dimension to another.  It's not far-fetched to think, then, that the Triforce may have Dimensional-Jump powers, allowing a hero like Link to jump between the two universes.  Because of this, I'm not sure which universe of the two (maybe it's a neither, like the land of Termina, or a dream universe like Koholint or whatever crazyness happens in Phantom Hourglass).

Just because a game has a location adjacent to another doesn't mean they take place at the same time.  I just wanted to do a double table and didn't wanna be bothered.

[KaZudra]

In my mind, it goes like this:

Skyward Sword (supposedly takes place in the far past)

Minish Cap (supposedly takes place in the far past as well)
Ocarina of Time (Linchpin game)
TIMELINE SPLITS
Link Returns (Zelda returns him after End of Game after TimeJump)|   Link Never Returns (Temporary universe created during TimeJump)
Majora's Mask                | Four Swords Adventures
Twilight Princess      |**The Great Flood**
A Link to the Past |     The Wind Waker
Link's Awakening   | Phantom Hourglass
Oracle of Ages  |        Spirit Tracks
Oracle of Seasons{!}  |     The Legend of Zelda
************* | Adventure of Link
Zelda's Adventure |   Wand of Gamelon
********* | Faces of Evil

{!} It seems Oracle of Seasons takes place in either a distant land or in another dimension, as the Triforce makes Link jump from one dimension to another.  It's not far-fetched to think, then, that the Triforce may have Dimensional-Jump powers, allowing a hero like Link to jump between the two universes.  Because of this, I'm not sure which universe of the two (maybe it's a neither, like the land of Termina, or a dream universe like Koholint or whatever crazyness happens in Phantom Hourglass).

Just because a game has a location adjacent to another doesn't mean they take place at the same time.  I just wanted to do a double table and didn't wanna be bothered.

wow wow wow wow wow. I beg of you Never to mention those certain 3 games, to all fans everywhere those didn't happen, trust me, certain things are better forgotten.

on an added note, this one is pretty solid too, I've seen one where Orcales is the last but I'm certain Spirit Track wuld be last since its shouing modernization in the Zelda Universe.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Now now, we wanna be All-Encompassing, don't we?
Also, "Wand of Gamelon" wasn't as terrible as they say.  It's like a weird ZeldaII/Monkey Island game.

[X]

Interesting layout there Jorge. but last time I checked LoZ: AlttP and it's sequel LA were set a century before the original Zelda and Zelda II. To my knowledge that hasn't changed unless the creator did another continuity U-turn on us fans once more.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Technically it still is in my timeline(s)... only in different universes.
With vast continents different due to the Great Flood, I just don't see Zelda 1 being set in the same land mass as Zelda 3.
If anything, I'm more inclined to think that the land mass of Zelda 3 is actually underwater and it's what Link runs into in the bottom of the ocean... but that throws my entire continuity into hilarious weirdness.

[Inccubus]

Now now, we wanna be All-Encompassing, don't we?
Also, "Wand of Gamelon" wasn't as terrible as they say.  It's like a weird ZeldaII/Monkey Island game.

Nintendo officially dropped those 3 from canon. Also, as interesting as your timeline is, I'm pretty sure that it's implicitly understood that the two (three if you count the 'lost' one) take place right after eachother in no particular order. However, seeing as both orders count, that does point to some sort of dimensional cross event that could conceivably indicate each scenario exists in a different either one of the two dimensions.


Edit: On a personal note, I'd like to remake all three of those abominations into proper LoZ titles.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Timeline should still work even without the three CD-I titles, as they're at the very end, after Zelda II.
I still say they play more like Monkey Island titles.  Aside from the crazy animation they're not terrible (I've played far worse).

[KaZudra]

question, how would you figure LoZ happened after/during the Steam age?