The so-called Fallen Hero Timeline accounts for the events of A Link to the Past, Oracle of Seasons, and Oracle of Ages, Link's Awakening, The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link in that order. It attempts to resolve the contradictions by contriving a third timeline branch where Link is defeated by Ganon in Ocarina of Time.
#Zelda timeline full#
Shortly after Skyward Sword, a full account of the timeline is released in Hyrule Historia. Skyward Sword is released in 2011 and is placed at the very beginning of the timeline. The same is true for A Link to the Past and the other three titles preceding Ocarina of Time.įrom 2007 to 2009, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks are released as sequels to The Wind Waker. However, the game's placement in the timeline-in either of the two branches-is unclear at the time.
#Zelda timeline series#
Four Swords Adventures ties into the greater series by re-introducing Ganon as the ultimate villain behind Vaati's power. Four Swords Adventures, at the time, is presented as a direct sequel to Four Swords. The Minish Cap is a distant prequel to Four Swords. The games form their own plot featuring Vaati as the primary villain and the Four Sword as the holy grail instead of the Triforce. In the meantime, from 2002 to 2005, Four Swords, Four Swords Adventures, and The Minish Cap are released.
Twilight Princess is stated to occur in the "Child Link Timeline" while The Wind Waker occurs in the "Adult Link Timeline". Shortly after, producer Eiji Aonuma officially declares the existence of two parallel timelines resulting from Link's time travel in Ocarina of Time.
In 2006, Twilight Princess is released as yet another sequel to Ocarina of Time, ostensibly contradicting The Wind Waker. The game does not recognize the events of A Link to the Past, which would have occurred between Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker. It takes place in a time after a Great Flood washes away Hyrule completely, an event that upheaves the timeline. In 20, The Wind Waker is released as a distant-future sequel to Ocarina of Time. This timeline is not recognized to be canonical due to lack of involvement from the developers. All of the games are purported to involve the same Link, to explain this discrepancy, this timeline has it that time passes differently in Termina, so when Link returned to Hyrule hundreds of years had passed. This timeline has the games in the following order: Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, A Link to the Past, Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Seasons, The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link (with Link's Awakening occurring during the point in The Adventure of Link where Link crosses to Eastern Hyrule). Īlso in 2001, Nintendo of America releases a timeline of the first eight games on Zelda Universe. The Triforce plays a central role in the plot and Ganon is still the ultimate villain, but the games have no apparent connection to the overall timeline. In 2001, Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages are released. In 2000, Majora's Mask is released but has a minimal impact on the timeline, taking place in a parellel world. In an interview on the chronology however, Miyamoto refers to the order as being Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda, The Adventure of Link and then A Link to the Past, with Link's Awakening occurring at any time after Ocarina of Time. However the actual events of Ocarina of Time do not fully align with the Imprisoning War. Nintendo purports the game to be a retelling of the Imprisoning War in the backstory of A Link to the Past. In 1998, Ocarina of Time is released as a prequel to A Link to the Past. The timeline complications begin with the next wave of releases five years later.
A Link to the Past is released as a prequel to the original The Legend of Zelda.
The Adventure of Link is released as a direct sequel to the original The Legend of Zelda, set some years later.The Legend of Zelda is the original game of the series, first released in Japan in 1986.With so few games, the timeline remained relatively straightforward. The first decade of the series saw four releases from 1986 to 1993. History of the official timeline 1986-1993