Daily Debate: How Would You Feel If Nintendo Got Rid Of The Official Zelda Timeline?
Posted on March 16 2022 by Sean Gadus
One of the biggest parts of the Hyrule Historia was the introduction of an official Zelda timeline. How the various Zelda games were connected (if at all) had been a topic of internet and school yard speculation for years, so it was intriguing to see Nintendo take on the arduous task of connecting all of the different Zelda games together from the original game (1986) all the way to Skyward Sword (2011). Reactions to the official timeline have varied. Some people enjoy it, some people hate it, and some people just try to pretend it does not exist.
With this in mind, how would you feel if Nintendo got rid of the official Zelda timeline? This is a position that some fans have been advocating ever since the official timeline first debuted. Overall, this is something I think would serve the series well going forward. The stories within the Zelda series have almost always sprung from the concept of revising and retelling the hero’s journey over and over again. The idea of connecting all of these stories feels somewhat unnecessary. This is especially true given the drastic differences in art style and different map layouts seen in Zelda games.
It seems like Nintendo may be adopting a “less is more approach” with the Zelda timeline going forward. Breath of the Wild‘s placement on the timeline is somewhat nebulous. Producer Eiji Aonuma has previously stated in The Legend of Zelda: Creating A Champion that he enjoyed seeing fans imagine “the story that emerged from the fragmental imagery we [the Zelda team] were providing”. Perhaps because of this, it has never been made clear on which of the three branches of the timeline Breath of the Wild is situated, or if the game reunifies the splintered timeline in some way.
What do you think? How would you feel if Nintendo got rid of the official Zelda timeline? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
Sean Gadus is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon. His first Zelda game was Ocarina of Time, and he loves all of the 3D Zelda games from 1998-2011. He is currently replaying the narrative ghost story Oxenfree, and taking his first stab at playing Dark Souls. He wants to help build a kinder, more compassionate world. You can check out his other written work at The-Artifice.com.
