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Where on the Timeline Should the Next Zelda Game Take Place?

Destiny

Single❒Taken❒Assassin✔
Joined
Jul 26, 2010
Location
nowhere
I would like it to be somewhere on the child timeline, sometime close to Twilight Princess. I wouldn't really like it after Wind Waker, it just doesn't appeal to me there at all. I like castles and knights; a lot of fantasy pretty much. The whole sea and the development of technology kind of turns me off to be honest. I think whatever happens after Wind Waker will be kept on the 3DS, unless they skip ahead and completely revamp the Greatsea world and put it on a console. So for me I want them to continue on with the Twilight Princess look, I love the medieval feel; that's what got me into Zelda in the first place.
 

Sydney

The Good Samaritan
Joined
Mar 20, 2012
Location
Canberra, Australia
I definently want to see a game set pre-OoT during the Hylian war. I think it would be very interesting to do side quests for all races in the war. :)

Well you have to think about it.
I think it's a good idea. It's just that during the war, Link, was only an infant. His mother brought him to safety to the Great Deku Tree during the war.
The war ended (you could say) right after his mother died.
So unless there's some kind of weird time warp/loop or whatever, I don't know if Link would be the main character in that particular game.
I still like the idea.
It would give players more of an idea of what happened during the war.
 

Locke

Hegemon
Site Staff
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Location
Redmond, Washington
It should not go in any place that already has a detailed backstory in a different game, such as the Imprisoning War or the War of Spirits. They should not have to waste good ideas because they don't fit with established lore, nor should they have to waste time thinking of ideas that do fit when they should be spending that time perfecting the ideas they do have, incorporating them seamlessly with the rest of the game. The creation of the Master Sword worked because the tales were very vague, except for the small issue that the Sages supposedly created it. They've already failed twice (OoT and FSA) at retelling the Imprisoning War. It has way too many intricacies that just don't make a good game.

As for where it should go, I had posted this as a reply to a similar question from the Curiosity Shop:
I think at this point they consider three things when deciding timeline placement:
1. How does the new [gameplay feature or other identifying and driving element] lend itself to a story?
2. How can we connect this story to other stories?
3. How can we open up this time period to more stories?

The first one's very tricky and comes through a creative process. With SS it was easy - Wii MotionPlus = sword = Master Sword = creation of it. Bam, story. With ST and PH, I think it may have been the graphics. Toon graphics work well on small screens, so they re-used the style from WW, so they made sequels to it. Transportation may also have entered into it. For Wii U, this will be the tablet. Think of different uses for the tablet, and then think of how those uses can be brought to the forefront of the story, and you've got this point down.

I don't think they give too much thought to the second one. This is what leads from "WM+ = sword" to "sword = MS = creation", thus placing SS before OoT. However, they dislike relying on backstories of other games. Connections likely won't go much farther than focusing on an important item or concept within the universe.

Third - I could go on and on about how past games have done this. Right now we have a three-pronged timeline. SS just opened up the time period before OoT to any number of legends. It hurt that WW wasn't able to follow up from OoT without pushing LttP out of the way, so they're striving for more ambiguity. Where there used to be restrictions, use a new game to untangle them. This should of course be done with as little retcon as possible, but still without holding sacred past decisions.

So where does that lead us? I don't know. You think about it.
Since I'm now on a forum, I might as well expand on #3.
-AoL made it a series with a timeline on which future games can be placed.
-LttP opened up the series to prequels. The timeline now goes in two directions. Two places to put games (three if one can be squeezed between it and LoZ).
-OoT split the timeline so there are now two futures.
-MM (arguably LA before it) opened up alternate dimensions in which to set games.
-OoX introduced new lands, as did ST.
-SS turned the time period before OoT - which until then was bereft of the Triforce, hidden away in the SR until it was taken in OoT - into a long series of conflicts during which the Triforce was sought after and perhaps used many times, and a villain appears many times.
-The Hyrule Historia opened the "what-if" can of worms.
Virtually every addition to the series has, rather than hindering the creative process with extra lore to which to conform, created new opportunities for expansion of the lore.

So taking #3 into consideration could result in three things:
1. They may simply take advantage of what they've achieved and add a game to any one of the wide-open places, such as at the end of a timeline or in one of the different lands or worlds.
2. Perhaps they'll endeavor to turn a rigid time period into a more ambiguous one, like they did with SS.
3. Something in-between. Take one open piece of the timeline, and make it even more open, like they did with OoT.

Looking back at #1 now, I think this would be a good thing to discuss in this thread. For the Wii U this may be easy to think about (though not easy to come to the same conclusion EAD does), since the tablet will certainly be the new element that they'll be exploiting. I think this will be used for Link's Magic Satchel, including his items, maps, and various controls. It may also be possible for it to be used as a shield, but a creation story for the Hylian Shield may seem unoriginal directly following the creation story of the Master Sword. Link's satchel is something that has never been addressed, so there's nothing to impede the process of making up a story for it (this is not to say that the story would have to revolve around the satchel). While SS opened up the beginning of the timeline, I don't think that's necessarily a good place to put it. There's still a lot of backstory to deal with there, and the satchel isn't a particularly important item anyway. MC explained the origin of Link's hat even though it takes place after SS. No, I think for the next game they should have the freedom that's available at the end of one of the timelines.

For the 3DS, which is likely to come out first, the only new thing we have is the 3D effect, which we've been told will be important. Well, there's also improved connectivity and an expressed desire to make a new Four Swords game. I can't begin to guess what the 3D effect will mean - maybe others can help on this - but I do think that it'll be a FS game. The whole FSS was shoddily placed in the HH and could use some explaining - both before OoT and after TP. Moving on to #2 now then - how this can tie into other stories - I think there's room for several more FS adventures any time after MC. In fact, the FS backstory vaguely depicts an event after MC involving Vaati kidnapping beautiful maidens before a hero appeared. That's vague enough to be expanded upon. Although, it may be difficult to accomplish goal #3 in that position. If, however, the game were placed between FS and FSA, that would accomplish opening up that section to more stories about Vaati, assuming they don't find it too difficult to work their way around OoT/MM-TP (or the AT if they go that way, which would do even more expanding of Vaati's story on the timeline). After FSA is also an option, since even though Vaati's dead, Ganondorf isn't. But I think between FS and FSA would be more interesting.

So, for Zelda 3DS, my bet is that it'll be a Four Swords game which takes place after FS but before FSA. I think after TP would be the safest place as far as not contradicting other stories. The important 3D effect may introduce some new element that could have some added importance to the series. (My other guess would be that the 3D effect is important because it's underwater, making depth more of an issue, leading to a setting of shortly after WW... but that's stupid.)

As for the Wii U... I can't really get much further than the satchel idea. That's extremely open and could go anywhere. Maybe somewhere in the new "downfall timeline" so it doesn't seem like just a place to throw all the older games to forget about them. If it's something as mundane as a Magic Satchel, I doubt that would end up at the center of whatever story they devise. Very few games did that, anyway. Most add completely new stories.
 
Joined
May 14, 2012
Location
California
I think it would be awesome to see a Zelda game that focuses around the story of the Sheikah. Being one of the most mysterious races in the Zelda Franchise. It'd be nice to see some more back story on the sheikah. Like maybe the creation of the Book of Mudora and some more sheikah characters besides Impa and Sheik.
 

ShadowDiety

Nanomachines, son.
Joined
Apr 12, 2012
Location
Michigan
Either between MM and TP, or after TP is what I'm hoping for.

Edit: or like others have said somewhere between SS and OoT
 
I love Locke's post on this page but I just want to scream distaste for the FS series, It seems to be a trilogy (however divided by time it may be [example FSA happening after TP]) And Nintendo have confirmed that the 3DS title won't be in the adult timeline rendering the game anything but a sequel to WW-PH-ST, but in the Adult Timeline we kind of have a trilogy as we do with the FS games, maybe with three games in the timeline that link perhaps they'll leave it. I quite Like Vaati but I disliked the FS games (mostly because the multiplayer thing stopped me from playing it until they rereleased it in single player mode) and i never came across FSA to buy thus i had to watch a walkthrough to get my info, If i remember rightly FSA was one of the worst selling Zelda games, based on that I figured it'd be a road Nintendo wouldn't go back down, however the online capabilities of the 3DS would usurp the problem of needed four friends, four copies of the game, consoles and link cables....

there is a 3D/homeconsole game in every timeline, SS and OoT the origin timeline, WW in the adult timeline and MM and TP in the child timeline; and while i still think that the 3DS game is going to be a 2D top down game with a 3D presentation the game itself will not be 3D in the same way OoT and the home consoles are so perhaps Nintendo will keep the decline timeline strictly 2D or only release handheld games into that timeline from now on. So that is my guess, the next game may most likely be placed in the Decline Timeline which i where i want it but probably not in the style i want.

(Nintendo could shoot Zelda sales through the roof if they treat the 3DS like a home console, it can handle OoT better than the n64 did and we all love MM so it wouldn't matter if the 3DS game was short [four dungeons long] 3D Zelda games on both home console and handheld would sell so well, so why not?)
 
Joined
Jun 12, 2012
Location
Illinois
I would like the next game in the series to be on the Downfall Timeline after AoL with Hyrule being worst than it was in LoZ and Aol. With Hyrule continuing to sink into chaos even if The Hero saves it again and again.
 

Ventus

Mad haters lmao
Joined
May 26, 2010
Location
Akkala
Gender
Hylian Champion
Easily the Child Timeline before TP but after MM. Dealing with the Hero of Time, of course. His story is not finished.
 

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