Could a game set before SS work?

[Tetra's Wink]

Even in SS, the oldest tale so far, there are still legends of what came before it. It is pretty clear to me that Zelda in SS is the first Zelda, reincarnated from Hylia. But, is Link the first ever Link?

Could there have possibly been a Link before, that fought in the ancient war that ended with the population being sent to the sky? Is a "hero" mentioned in this war? (Genuinely can't remember). If not, then could it be possible that the "hero" was not mentioned because he was unsuccessful? Maybe the first ever Link, created by the goddesses, actually failed, but his failure was not recorded in history, so as to give the SS Link hope? Or alternatively, maybe Link did not want to be recorded in history for some other reason.

Maybe I'm clutching at straws here lol, I do realise that.... but I'm just really keen to see a canon game (or even 2 games?) set before SS, in which Hylia is a character, and we literally see the creation of the world (at the time it is happening as opposed to a flashback). With Link playable, so as to not make it a spin-off, but a proper main canon game.

The games could be called The Legend Of Zelda - Creation And Demise, followed by The Legend Of Zelda - Hylia's Great War.

I know the character of Zelda doesn't exist yet, but "The Legend Of Zelda" still works IMO because it's still connected, plus Zelda isn't in some Zelda games anyway, such as Link's Awakening. (Actually, is Link's Awakening the only one??)

Anyway, thoughts?

 

[Spirit]

Aonuma said there could easily be games set before SS not long after SS released.

BotW killed timeline theorising for me as did the open air aspect of the game so where the next game falls really won't mean much to me. It can come before SS all it wants, all I ask is that it be better than SS.

 

[el :BeoWolf:]

There could easily be one before. One based on the comic in hyrule historia would be neat

 

[Rubik]

all I ask is that it be better than SS.

I ask that of all Zelda games, to be honest.

 

[Dio]

Yeah there was a Hyrule Historia comic. And there is really no point trying to make the timeline coherent anymore.

In terms of story they could make one before. It could feature the war with Demise VS Hylia and there could be a Link who inspired the uniforms of Skyloft.

 

[Tetra's Wink]

Ah yes, the comic. I'm still reading through HH at the moment, so not got to the comic yet, but not far off. Is the comic canon though?

 

[Spirit]

Ah yes, the comic. I'm still reading through HH at the moment, so not got to the comic yet, but not far off. Is the comic canon though?

No it isn't.

 

[el :BeoWolf:]

Ah yes, the comic. I'm still reading through HH at the moment, so not got to the comic yet, but not far off. Is the comic canon though?

No it's a manga written by the two who right other Zelda manga

 

[Dizzi]

So many ways that Link could start the green tunic tradition and become traditional...

 

[YIGAhim]

Yes, but instead of protecting Zelda Link protects Hylia. Could be done, but I hope it will be non canon

 

[DragonEleven]

I personally do consider the SS prequel manga to be canon, due to it's inclusion in the HH... it's also set apart from the other mangas by Himekawa by the fact that it is a prequel to the game, rather than a re-telling of the same story... plus, it's far shorter, and was only ever available as part of the HH, so it was clearly written specifically for the HH, which means it can likely be considered canon like the rest of the HH.

That said, I do think there is room for games to be set prior to SS... I just don't think they'd be able to be considered Legend of Zelda games... but they could be treated as a spin-off under the title the Legend of Hylia.
Going back to before SS would open up a lot more possibilities for the franchise... we're given glimpses of ancient civilisations in a number of games that had been virtually lost by the time of Zelda, which they could easily expand upon and develop further... and it would be a perfect opportunity to introduce new protagonists besides Link, especially ones from other races.

 

[Tetra's Wink]

I just don't think they'd be able to be considered Legend of Zelda games... but they could be treated as a spin-off under the title the Legend of Hylia.

As I said in my first post, if Link is the protagonist, then I see no problem why it still couldn't be called The Legend Of Zelda - it is still connected to the Legend, and Link's Awakening is a LOZ game without having Zelda in it at all.

Furthermore, Four Swords is canon, and that's like an hour long, and was originally only ever released as an additional feature of ALTTP remake.

 

[YIGAhim]

I personally do consider the SS prequel manga to be canon, due to it's inclusion in the HH... it's also set apart from the other mangas by Himekawa by the fact that it is a prequel to the game, rather than a re-telling of the same story... plus, it's far shorter, and was only ever available as part of the HH, so it was clearly written specifically for the HH, which means it can likely be considered canon like the rest of the HH.

That said, I do think there is room for games to be set prior to SS... I just don't think they'd be able to be considered Legend of Zelda games... but they could be treated as a spin-off under the title the Legend of Hylia.
Going back to before SS would open up a lot more possibilities for the franchise... we're given glimpses of ancient civilisations in a number of games that had been virtually lost by the time of Zelda, which they could easily expand upon and develop further... and it would be a perfect opportunity to introduce new protagonists besides Link, especially ones from other races.

There was concept art in HH, and that is not canon. Just because it ia in there doesn't mean it's canon. Also, it was made by some guy, and who would let one random artist make something on the timeline canon?

 

[DragonEleven]

As I said in my first post, if Link is the protagonist, then I see no problem why it still couldn't be called The Legend Of Zelda - it is still connected to the Legend, and Link's Awakening is a LOZ game without having Zelda in it at all.

The problem with that is that the SS prequel manga implies that Link to have been the first, so they wouldn't really be able to go back any further than that without changing to a different protagonist.
As for the title... Zelda didn't exist until around the time of SS, so her legend doesn't really begin until that point... and Link's Awakening, despite not featuring Zelda directly, is a continuation of a story that did, so it would make sense for that to be considered part of the same legend.

There was concept art in HH, and that is not canon. Just because it ia in there doesn't mean it's canon. Also, it was made by some guy, and who would let one random artist make something on the timeline canon?

Some of the concept art is canon... they acknowledge which designs were or were not used, so it is clear which of them are canon... but they make no such distinction with the prequel manga, implying it to be canon.
Himekawa is also not "some guy"... it's a collaboration between two women who have been working with Nintendo to produce the LoZ mangas for almost two decades now... and as the prequel manga was written specifically for the HH, it was likely Nintendo who asked them to do it... plus, it was originally released only a month after the game (unlike their other mangas that typically release years after the games) so they must have discussed it with the developers in order to know so much about the story of the game in advance, and likely came up with the story for the prequel manga with the developers guidance at the same time.

 

[YIGAhim]

The problem with that is that the SS prequel manga implies that Link to have been the first, so they wouldn't really be able to go back any further than that without changing to a different protagonist.
As for the title... Zelda didn't exist until around the time of SS, so her legend doesn't really begin until that point... and Link's Awakening, despite not featuring Zelda directly, is a continuation of a story that did, so it would make sense for that to be considered part of the same legend.


Some of the concept art is canon... they acknowledge which designs were or were not used, so it is clear which of them are canon... but they make no such distinction with the prequel manga, implying it to be canon.
Himekawa is also not "some guy"... it's a collaboration between two women who have been working with Nintendo to produce the LoZ mangas for almost two decades now... and as the prequel manga was written specifically for the HH, it was likely Nintendo who asked them to do it... plus, it was originally released only a month after the game (unlike their other mangas that typically release years after the games) so they must have discussed it with the developers in order to know so much about the story of the game in advance, and likely came up with the story for the prequel manga with the developers guidance at the same time.

Just because they have been making it doeant mean it is canon. Think of it like a bonus feature at the end of a movie. Not serious