Gametrailer's timelien theory on youtube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=RXN1BF65WjI

What I don't understand, is how Gametrailers has one of THE WORST timeline theories and yet that's the one constantly mentioned and posted. It's like people don't care that they contradict themselves and the games explicitly.

Mistake #1: Link's Awakening is NOT a sequel to Majora's mask. It is explicitly stated to be after A Link to the Past.

Mistake #2: It's absurd that the think LA leads into LoZ. Hyrule did not magically shift north because Link left. It is also not the same Link, since they believe that OoT/MM Link is LA Link and LoZ/AoL Link. LoZ Link doesn't get the Triforce on the back of his hand until AoL, OoT Link ALREADY HAS IT.

Mistake #3: LttP and LA are not on separate timelines.

Mistake #4: The Oracles are not on a separate timeline, both have to happen in the same timeline for the end result of those games.


The LoZ timeline is a messy debate with no true answer but from Nintendo themselves, however, if you're going to make your own timeline theory and present it toothers, the first thing you want to do is NOT directly contradict the few games that stae when they do take place in regards to the others.

sc94597 said: ^ Nintendo already announced that there is  one and it is split nintendo announced that too.

 Yes, but that's something that they announced after many games had been released, and also after various Nintendo bigwigs (including Miyamoto) had stated that there wasn't continuity. 

 there was never an overarching Zelda story line. Anything suggesting otherwise is either speculation or created later and shoehorned into games that never made any such effort themselves. 

Actually, Aonuma already explained it. Miyamoto never cared for a timeline so there wasn't an explicit one until Aonuma came on board with Majora's Mask and set one in stone. By that point in time there wasn't much debate on a timeline because there were only about 5 or 6 games and they all fit together based on their own acknowledgements (OoT -> MM ---> LttP-> LA ---> LoZ -> AoL), it wasn't until Wind Waker that stuff got bizarre and the split timeline was officially born out of OoT. So nothing is "shoehorned" because the timeline existed before most of the Zelda games that are out now. Aonuma also explained that they tend to make the games, their worlds, storylines, etc., THEN place them into the timeline afterwards. That would explain some discrepencies because a chain-linked continuity is not exactly their priority.

it convinced me, although i havent play any Zelda games previous Ocarina of time. Miyamoto once said that every link is different and unique.

i dont care a lot about time lines, but i do like that wind waker have a time line sequence with the DS, and i think OoT also gets one with Majoras Masks.

IMO, Twilight Princess doesnt fit anywhere, because when you learn how they sealed gannon it is weird because it appeared to be the second time, mainly because the sages were ghosts and by doing that, they doomed the other dimension.

stof said: sc94597 said: ^ Nintendo already announced that there is  one and it is split nintendo announced that too.  Yes, but that's something that they announced after many games had been released, and also after various Nintendo bigwigs (including Miyamoto) had stated that there wasn't continuity.   there was never an overarching Zelda story line. Anything suggesting otherwise is either speculation or created later and shoehorned into games that never made any such effort themselves.

Originally the game was of course made without any timeline, but as the sequel, AoL, was stated to happen after TLoZ, there already was a timeline. I can't remember how it was with the japanese version of LttP, but the western versions package said, that Link and Zelda (in LttP) are the original Links and Zeldas ancestors. Also the current director of Zelda games (can't recall his name at the moment) has said, that with every new Zelda game, he is going to make the timeline more visible. So, maybe there wasn't supposed to be any timeline at the beginning, but now there definately is. I don't remember how the timeline went, but didn't the "sideline" start from LA, followed by WW, and now PH? And the main storyline started from Four Swords -> LttP -> Oracles -> OoT -> MM -> TP -> Loz -> AoL (although MM isn't exacly in the main storyline, but in chronologigal order it's there)?

@joseardzm

Twilight Princess takes place over 100 years after Ocarina of Time. Other than that I don't know.

I get a strange feeling of not having a clue what is going on because I jumped off the Nintendo train after the N64 for the PS2 and the only Game Boy I have is the original and Links Awakening for it (man I feel old). So I missed out on a lot of Zelda lore and am missing out on more since I haven't seen a single Wii on a store shelf yet. So I have only played the original, for NES, LttP, Ocarina of Time, LA. I feel really out of the loop.

Just had a thought about the time line, if bdbdbd is right about some things and so is what gametrailers says is right, then maybe it looks a little like this.

Minish Cap
OoT
MM
LttP        ---->Four Swords, LA
TP
              ---->WW, PH, Oracles

              ---->Zelda 1&2

So to make since of that, game trailers had pretty good logic about Minish Cap and OoT being the first two (along with the quote from Miyamoto). Obviosly MM comes after that. I don't agree with the split timeline theory though. If Link goes back in time and warns the King about Gannon, that changes the future and Link never beats Gannon as an adult. After that is LttP where Link strikes down Gannon who found a way to mess things up after being denied in OoT and then since we have been told that TP takes place a little over a hundred years after OoT it fits in real nice. The other games are just Zelda games to sell Zelda games and maybe with WW and PH they are starting a different story arc. And the originals just built the world. I don't really know, just throwing out a guess as logical as I can think at this time of the night.

@cwbys21: I don't remember how the timeline (actually there's no offial that i know of) went, it was just how i remembered it. I even forgot Minish Cap. So don't take my word on this one.

If you search GT for the angry video game nerd's take on it I think he hits it dead on...and in fact some of the folks in this thread have already hit it.

Simply put, there was no timeline planned and when asked what the timeline was they made some crap up. Who cares though? Its not like the games are bad because they aren't interwoven into each other..its a fun series and always has been.