We all know about the official Zelda timeline. For most of us, figuring out the official timeline is what we seek to achieve when theorizing.
I think too often people tend to speculate too much when creating their timeline theories, by trying to cram them all into a single split timeline. Here I will attempt to create the most accurate official timeline possible, based on developer quotes and obvious connections between the games.
Note: If you don't want to read it all, skip to the bottom.
1. LoZ/AoL - Where it all began. Adventure of Link is confirmed to be a direct sequel to Legend of Zelda, based upon developer quotes and a plot directly based on the events of LoZ. This creates our first timeline.
LoZ/AoL
2. ALttP/LA - A Link to the Past brought Zelda into the 16 bit era, while Link's Awakening brought it to the handheld market. ALttP isn't connected too much to the plot of the previous 8-bit games, but it shows the origins of the Ganon we know in those games, and is confirmed to be a prequel to LoZ. Link's Awakening never had a confirmed place in the timeline, but with the references to ALttP, there is not much reason to place it anywhere else. This leaves the timeline at:
ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
3. OoT-MM - Ocarina of Time brought Zelda into 3D. Majora's Mask improved on certain elements of the game, but angered many fans for some of the controversial elements it introduced. The events of OoT were nearly identical to the backstory described in aLttP. It is appropriate to place it before ALttP. MM was a direct sequel to OoT, but only takes place after the child ending, so it creates a separate timeline:
OoT-ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
OoT/MM
After this it starts getting difficult.
4. OoS/OoA -Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages were the first original Game Boy Color Zelda titles, but they so not seem to have many connections to any other game in the series, so we will set these in a separate timeline.
OoS/OoA
OoT-ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
OoT/MM
5. WW - Wind Waker was Zelda's first outing on the GameCube. It is made completely obvious in game that it is a distant sequel to Ocarina of Time, and it is confirmed by developers. This could very well be an alternate future than established in ALttP, one in which Ganon escaped his seal. This creates another timeline.
OoT-WW
OoT-ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
OoT/MM
OoS/OoA
6. FS/FSA/MC - Four Swords was a relatively small mini-game released on the Game Boy Advance with the GBA port of ALttP. Four Swords Adventures was its direct sequel on the GameCube. Minish Cap was the prequel of these two games, and was truer to the traditional Zelda formula than its predecessors. These games (debateably) have little connection to the rest of the series, and should (debateably) stand alone in a separate timeline. This leaves us with:
MC-FS/FSA
OoT-WW
OoT-ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
OoT/MM
OoS/OoA
7. TP - Twilight Princess was the second GameCube Zelda title. It went back to the gameplay style of OoT, while upgrading or changing certain elements for the GameCube. It was also ported to the Wii as a launch title. This game is confirmed to take place after the child ending of OoT, following MM. This changes the OoT child timeline.
OoT/MM-TP
MC-FS/FSA
OoT-WW
OoT-ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
OoS/OoA
8. PH/ST - Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks were Zelda's outings on the Nintendo DS. They were completely touch-controlled and introduced new technologies, such as a steamboat and a train. PH is a direct sequel to WW and ST takes place a generation or two after PH. This leaves us nearly finished with this seet of timelines:
OoT-WW/PH-ST
OoT/MM-TP
MC-FS/FSA
OoT-ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
OoS/OoA
9. SS - Skyward Sword is the first true Wii Zelda title. It will take advantage of Wii MotionPlus controls and tell the origin story of the Master Sword, along with introducing a new impressionist art style. It is confirmed to be a prequel to OoT, so this would add it to every timeline that contains OoT:
SS-OoT-WW/PH-ST SS-OoT/MM-TP
SS-OoT-ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
MC-FS/FSA
OoS/OoA
This finishes the timeline(s), but we can still link them together using a common denominator, SS-OoT. This would leave the final groundwork for an official timeline looking like this:
------------__/WW/PH-ST
----------/-- -\ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
SS-OoT
----------\MM-TP
This still leaves the Four Swords and Oracle games to add. One could consider them official parts of the timeline, or separate games. If I were to add them to the timeline, I would do it like this:
-----------__/WW/PH-ST
----------/--\ALttP/ OoS/OoA/LA-LoZ/AoL
MC-SS-OoT|
----------\----/FS/FSA
-----------\MM|
---------------\TP
What does everybody think of this timeline? As far as I can tell, no developer quotes or in-game evidence are contradicted. Any comments, questions, or constructive criticisms are welcome.
I think too often people tend to speculate too much when creating their timeline theories, by trying to cram them all into a single split timeline. Here I will attempt to create the most accurate official timeline possible, based on developer quotes and obvious connections between the games.
Note: If you don't want to read it all, skip to the bottom.
1. LoZ/AoL - Where it all began. Adventure of Link is confirmed to be a direct sequel to Legend of Zelda, based upon developer quotes and a plot directly based on the events of LoZ. This creates our first timeline.
LoZ/AoL
2. ALttP/LA - A Link to the Past brought Zelda into the 16 bit era, while Link's Awakening brought it to the handheld market. ALttP isn't connected too much to the plot of the previous 8-bit games, but it shows the origins of the Ganon we know in those games, and is confirmed to be a prequel to LoZ. Link's Awakening never had a confirmed place in the timeline, but with the references to ALttP, there is not much reason to place it anywhere else. This leaves the timeline at:
ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
3. OoT-MM - Ocarina of Time brought Zelda into 3D. Majora's Mask improved on certain elements of the game, but angered many fans for some of the controversial elements it introduced. The events of OoT were nearly identical to the backstory described in aLttP. It is appropriate to place it before ALttP. MM was a direct sequel to OoT, but only takes place after the child ending, so it creates a separate timeline:
OoT-ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
OoT/MM
After this it starts getting difficult.
4. OoS/OoA -Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages were the first original Game Boy Color Zelda titles, but they so not seem to have many connections to any other game in the series, so we will set these in a separate timeline.
OoS/OoA
OoT-ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
OoT/MM
5. WW - Wind Waker was Zelda's first outing on the GameCube. It is made completely obvious in game that it is a distant sequel to Ocarina of Time, and it is confirmed by developers. This could very well be an alternate future than established in ALttP, one in which Ganon escaped his seal. This creates another timeline.
OoT-WW
OoT-ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
OoT/MM
OoS/OoA
6. FS/FSA/MC - Four Swords was a relatively small mini-game released on the Game Boy Advance with the GBA port of ALttP. Four Swords Adventures was its direct sequel on the GameCube. Minish Cap was the prequel of these two games, and was truer to the traditional Zelda formula than its predecessors. These games (debateably) have little connection to the rest of the series, and should (debateably) stand alone in a separate timeline. This leaves us with:
MC-FS/FSA
OoT-WW
OoT-ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
OoT/MM
OoS/OoA
7. TP - Twilight Princess was the second GameCube Zelda title. It went back to the gameplay style of OoT, while upgrading or changing certain elements for the GameCube. It was also ported to the Wii as a launch title. This game is confirmed to take place after the child ending of OoT, following MM. This changes the OoT child timeline.
OoT/MM-TP
MC-FS/FSA
OoT-WW
OoT-ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
OoS/OoA
8. PH/ST - Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks were Zelda's outings on the Nintendo DS. They were completely touch-controlled and introduced new technologies, such as a steamboat and a train. PH is a direct sequel to WW and ST takes place a generation or two after PH. This leaves us nearly finished with this seet of timelines:
OoT-WW/PH-ST
OoT/MM-TP
MC-FS/FSA
OoT-ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
OoS/OoA
9. SS - Skyward Sword is the first true Wii Zelda title. It will take advantage of Wii MotionPlus controls and tell the origin story of the Master Sword, along with introducing a new impressionist art style. It is confirmed to be a prequel to OoT, so this would add it to every timeline that contains OoT:
SS-OoT-WW/PH-ST SS-OoT/MM-TP
SS-OoT-ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
MC-FS/FSA
OoS/OoA
This finishes the timeline(s), but we can still link them together using a common denominator, SS-OoT. This would leave the final groundwork for an official timeline looking like this:
------------__/WW/PH-ST
----------/-- -\ALttP/LA-LoZ/AoL
SS-OoT
----------\MM-TP
This still leaves the Four Swords and Oracle games to add. One could consider them official parts of the timeline, or separate games. If I were to add them to the timeline, I would do it like this:
-----------__/WW/PH-ST
----------/--\ALttP/ OoS/OoA/LA-LoZ/AoL
MC-SS-OoT|
----------\----/FS/FSA
-----------\MM|
---------------\TP
What does everybody think of this timeline? As far as I can tell, no developer quotes or in-game evidence are contradicted. Any comments, questions, or constructive criticisms are welcome.
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