Are Rereleases More Canon Than Original Releases?

[Zenox]

I was thinking about a Link to the Past, specifically what you're uncle says while he's dying. In the GBA rerelease version he says "I shall always remember... our time... together..." instead of "Save the Princess... Zelda is your... ... ..." and I was wondering, which one is canon? Now in that scenario, I'm sure you'd say the original is more canon, but I'm talking in general. Are rereleases more canon than the original games? Considering they're more current, I would say yes, in most scenarios, but what would you say?

 

[bbevington90]

I agree for the most part. Certain games were originally created for different reasons then they are meant for now. Originally, OoT was supposed to be a prequel to the events of ALttP, but since then, it's been said that that isn't the case. A lot has changed since a lot of games were released, and if the developers changed words around, they must have done it for a reason.

 

[Retro Ganon]

I would have to say newer releases are more canon. Considering GBA ALttP switched 'wisemen' to 'sages' to stay consistent with the modern concept of newer games.

 

[Blazestarre]

I would say yes. Nintendo seems to be focusing more on the timeline now, so it seems a lot of changes are to connect each game more than before. I also think some changes occur to just fix bad translations and/or clear up any confusion (like the "Zelda is your..." line).

Speaking of re-releases, I can't remember where I read about it (I'm thinking it was related to an interview, but I could be wrong), but apparently Nintendo is going to tweak the story in OoT for the 3DS. How I remember it being worded seemed to suggest it wasn't just dialogue, but actual story details might get changed. I assumed they were talking about minor changes and of course I don't know if this has any truth to it whatsoever, but I found it interesting and it fits well with the topic. If this does happen, does that make OoT 3DS more canon over the N64 version?

 

[Retro Ganon]

Speaking of re-releases, I can't remember where I read about it (I'm thinking it was related to an interview, but I could be wrong), but apparently Nintendo is going to tweak the story in OoT for the 3DS. How I remember it being worded seemed to suggest it wasn't just dialogue, but actual story details might get changed. I assumed they were talking about minor changes and of course I don't know if this has any truth to it whatsoever, but I found it interesting and it fits well with the topic. If this does happen, does that make OoT 3DS more canon over the N64 version?

I don't recall this specifically. But it would be awesome if they would split the timeline again to make sense of the OoT-ALttP connection...

 

[Blazestarre]

I don't recall this specifically. But it would be awesome if they would split the timeline again to make sense of the OoT-ALttP connection...

Yeah, again, I don't remember where exactly I found it or if it was even a reliable source. I thought it was interesting, though, and there is some logic behind it. They've already confirmed the split timeline, but clearing it up more with OoT 3DS would surely be welcome by timeline theorists.

 

[DuckNoises]

This is an excellent question. Generally, when a game is re-released with a slightly modified script, the newer version in generally considered "more" canon. The best example of this does actually come from GBA ALttP, where there is a change in the wording regarding Ganon's seal and the Imprisoning War; the original was worded such that, when reviewed, it could be interpreted to mean that the Seal War took place in OoT. The GBA version, however, had a slightly modified script which seemed to stray away from that idea, which was that the Imprisoning War could not occur in OoT (this is likely due to TWW, which was in development at the time). I don't remember the specifics, but Mosley wrote a great article about it a long time ago.

Usually, the changes in the script aren't substantial enough to warrant a change in the timeline; certainly not the quote you posted. The Imprisoning War quotations are the only ones that come to mind that have had a drastic impact; to some people, it is considered a "retcon" of something like a OoT-ALttP relationship (retcon being a change in overall ideas and story line that precludes a certain, previously accepted notion). However, there are a large number of people who still believe that the Seal War is in OoT, and it's not entirely unreasonable.

What has more of an impact, though, are differences in translation, usually between English and Japanese versions, that can seem to imply very different things. The most substantial one I can think of is the ending to TMC, whose last line says something fairly different in the Japanese version (you can see this in the MC thread I posted a long time ago)

As to the notion of changes in the OoT 3DS script, I think it is highly unlikely. There is very little uncertainty surrounding OoT's placement and the games around it (with the exception of ALttP), and the game is cherished by too many people for Nintendo to risk making a substantial script change. OoT 3DS will probably contain very little script changes, if any; I don't think Nintendo would take that risk, nor do I think such a risk is necessary. OoT's placement is probably the most set in stone of any game.

 

[Michael Heide]

I think it always depends. For every LttP retconning ambivalent lines, there is a Silent Hill: Shattered Memories that doesn't mesh with other games in the series (particularly Silent Hill 3). So yeah, sometimes a re-release is more in canon than the original, but there aren't any rules about it.

 

[Hero_in_Green]

Gotta love retcons.....I dunno I like to think the originals are more canon. Certain text boxes should matter like the one you stated above....It has to go deeper than that. Minor changes shouldnt be taken seriously. For example Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes was a remake of the original. In MGS4, flashbacks show scenes from the PS1 game, but the voice acting is from the gamecube version. In theory both are canon, but I still think the original is the canon one because it was MEANT to be the final production. Looking at Pokemon Heartgold and SoulSilver, theyre both remakes of Silver and Gold but it retcons the original story because of the Pokemon that follows you and also because of the inclusion of the 4th gen pokemon. In that aspect its okay to retcon, but the original will always be more canon to me because of the experience it provided to me as a kid. Therefore small retcons in Zelda games shouldnt be taken to heart!

 

[Kombatgod]

Well, I think newer releases to be more canon, but actually what does "canon" mean? If they make a game where a character dies, and then in the sequel he's alive again, you may say that the canon story is that he doesn't die, but I'd say that we actually have two different stories, or timelines. One were he's alive and returns in the second, and one where he's dead and there's no sequel.
What I mean is that this question makes sense while making a timeline, or else what's the point? Is it to try finding what did truly happen? Well, we're talking about fictional stories anyway! Nothing truly happened!