23 replies to this topic

[GwJumpman]

With Skyward Sword coming out and being the origin story of the previously original origin story, I'd say it'd be nice to talk about the timeline. I'd like to see what other people have to say about it.

FAQ

Q. There's no timeline. It's just a bunch of games with no order, why do you bother with this?

A. There's a timeline. Shut up.


Q. What do you mean timeline? Isn't the NES Zelda first?

A. No. If you were told about World War II first, then learned about the Revolutionary War, wouldn't you question the order? Would you logically think World War II happened first, because you were taught about it first? Point is, the games don't logically make sense when you put them in the chronological order of when they were made.


Q. Does the timeline split?

A. Yes, this was confirmed twice.

Question: Where does The Wind Waker fit into the overall Zelda series timeline?
Aonuma: You can think of this game as taking place over a hundred years after Ocarina of Time. You can tell this from the opening story, and there are references to things from Ocarina located throughout the game as well.
Miyamoto: Well, wait, which point does the hundred years start from?
Aonuma: From the end.
Miyamoto: No, I mean, as a child or as a...
Aonuma: Oh, right, let me elaborate on that. Ocarina of Time basically has two endings of sorts; one has Link as a child and the other has him as an adult. This game, The Wind Waker, takes place a hundred years after the adult Link defeats Ganon at the end of Ocarina.
Miyamoto: This is pretty confusing for us, too. (laughs) So be careful.

Question: Where does The Wind Waker fit into the overall timeline of the Legend of Zelda?
Mr. Aonuma: In terms of the storyline, we've decided that this takes place 100 years after the events in The Ocarina of Time. We think that as you play through the game, you'll notice that in the beginning the storyline explains some of the events in The Ocarina of Time. You'll also find hints of things from The Ocarina of Time that exist in The Wind Waker.
Mr. Aonuma: There's also a more complicated explanation. If you think back to the end of The Ocarina of Time, there were two endings to that game in different time periods. First Link defeated Ganon as an adult, and then he actually went back to being a child. You could say that The Wind Waker takes place 100 years after the ending in which Link was an adult.

Edited by GwJumpman, 14 June 2011 - 05:35 PM.

[SPG]

oh no, not this, well i'll come back in a min with my time line leaveing out ss

[Someone]

There's definitely a timeline (Nintendo has a master timeline for all the Zelda games). What do we talk about other than saying what we think about the presence (or lack) of a timeline?

[GwJumpman]

You could post what you think the timeline is. I'll post mine:

......../WW - PH - ST - MC - FS - FSA - aLttP - LA - LoZ - AoL
SS - OoT
........\MM - TP


I have no bloomin' idea where the Oracle games could go. I always thought that since it ends on a boat, it must be a prequel to LA. I realized though that the boat could be part of the Wind Waker or Phantom of the Hourglass games too. OoX follows a criteria that Ganon must be dead to happen. Not sealed, but dead. That means it must take place after WW, aLttP, LoZ, or (maybe) TP.

[Someone]

I've always thought that, if there are means of time traveling, the timeline could be in any order at all, even if they have a set chronological order! For example, say OoT comes before TP: even if that were the case, couldn't TP Link be the Link from SS that just time traveled forward in time to the events of TP, then went back and did the events of OoT?

[GwJumpman]

Time travel isn't always possible though. You always need the instrument to do so. In Ocarina of Time, the Ocarina is kept by Zelda in the AT portion. In the CT, Link has it. I don't think it's likely because never shows evidence of knowledge he shouldn't have. Wouldn't Link always know who Zelda is? Why doesn't Link always know how to beat Ganon? In WW, why didn't Link go get the Master Sword when he realized he was against Ganon? Why did he go through some trivial pre-quest stuff first?

[Someone]

. . . Good point. I think the split timeline theory is the most accurate one, but there's a good chance it's not the exact events.

[GwJumpman]

The split timeline is confirmed to be true. The hard part is deciding the order of games after the split. Here's what's confirmed:

SS - OoT

.../WW
OoT
...\MM

LoZ - AoL

aLttP - LA

MC - FS - FSA

WW - PH - ST

It's a matter of placing those arcs and any outliers like TP in with them all.

[SPG]

Q does the time line split?
A yes, it splits at OoT and that is confirmed

[Someone]

Q: Where is it confirmed?
A: ???

Edited by Someone, 14 June 2011 - 05:28 PM.

[GwJumpman]

I put the quotes in the OP.

[giesenkid]

............WW-PH-ST-MC-FS-FSA-LoZ-Z2
..SS-OoT
............MM-TP-LttP-LA-OoA
....................................OoS

That's all i can come up with

Edited by giesenkid, 14 June 2011 - 05:38 PM.

[GwJumpman]

Why do you place aLttP on the CT? I'm not questioning it, just wondering.

[chipvader]

this just needs to be posted but i wish they would show us the master timeline

[SPG]

ok, i looked up a ton of crap, look at things, interveiws articles, other ppls time lines and explenations, so here is mine and a long explenation i'm not going to type out so i'll just say the game names.

minshcap-> 4 swords->4 swords adventures->OoT->kid time line->MM->TW->zelda 1->zelda 2->link to the past->links awaking->(at the same time) orcal of seasons and orcal of ages end
OoT-> adult time line-> WW->phantom hourglass-> spirt tracks end
thats what i think, i dont want to put SS in it just yet but i can say its before OoT because gannon hasnt rsen to power yet so it has to come before OoT

[GwJumpman]

It's confirmed that Skyward Sword then Ocarina of Time happens with nothing in between.

[Kinvara]

I tend not to get into these timeline discussions but it's obvious to me that there's Ocarina of Time and then it splits off into Majora's Mask -> Twilight Princess and Wind Waker -> Phantom Hourglass -> Spirit Tracks

I'm not sure where all of the other games go but I am of the opinion that not all of the games fit into the same universe if you know what I mean.

But Skyward Sword is most likely before any other Zelda game since the triforce is not included in the crest.

[SRT]

A. There's a timeline. Shut up.

Stopped reading here.

also I'm really sorry for possibly being behind the existence of this thread. Like, really sorry.

[Someone]

I know for sure the split timeline has SS > OoT > MM/WW, and I'm pretty sure SS takes place at the beginning of all of it. I don't really get into the time much, though, since it's really complex if you try get it precise!

[SPG]

Stopped reading here.

also I'm really sorry for possibly being behind the existence of this thread. Like, really sorry.

yay! your not a mod! and your still causing problems i see XD