Zelda timeline theories, for your inner geek!

[Decoy Octopus]

Link 1 is another obvious position. The whole reason it was titled "A Link to the Past" was because this Link was a version of Link from the past, that is, before Zelda 1.

Ehhh... no.

You're wrong. You couldn't be more wrong.

[XCloud419]

The thing about that is,

Link has Pink/Purple hair.

yeah why is that? that really got me thinkin!

[Ffej]

ALttP has to be far into Hyrule's future, simply because the Hylians are extinct and their language is long dead, thus placing it some time after Wind Waker.

Also, the Four Swords games and Minish Cap all have 3 different Links, as Link has to be introduced, for the first time at the beginning of each game, to the Four Sword and Vaati. Also, Four Swords Adventures can't be before OoT because of Ganon's inclusion in the game.

Also, concerning ALttP's ending, the SNES translation is so completely unreliable it's not even funny. Either use the direct translation from Japanese, or the GBA version.

And for the last time, Link's Awakening is OFFICIALLY a sequel to ALttP, as stated in it's manual and the Sattleview spin-off of ALttP.

[Smoke]

yeah why is that? that really got me thinkin!

Kool-Aid accident.

[atmuh]

Am I the only one who loves Zelda but doesn't give a crap about all this timeline nonsense?

[linkspast]

Nope I play the games cause there fun... none of that cannonical junk for me.

[Zero Rei Maru]

Some people do like this kind of stuff you know. Let it go and let us speculate.

[Pi_R_Squared]

Nah, everybody watch. Nintendo's gonna hit us with some huge shocker in the next game, and either mess everything up, or make everything extremely apparant and obvious.

Or not. But this is what I like. Video games aren't just for playing. It's the discussion that goes into it that can keep fans interested in between games.

[The Damned]

Am I the only one who loves Zelda but doesn't give a crap about all this timeline nonsense?

I've been trying to think of something to say about this whole timeline crap, but everything I thought up was grounds for post deletion. Short (and much more polite) version: no. I also don't give a fuck about any supposed timeline. I never ever thought about it, it never even crossed my mind as to how each game was related to each other. They're all stand alone as far as I'm concerned.

And unless there's some incredibly important reason why you have to know exactly which games come in which order, there's no point to even trying to discuss it. It's not like the next Zelda game is going to have pop quizzes where you have to get the timeline right or else the room fills up with ReDeads.

[Emura]

Link 1 is another obvious position. The whole reason it was titled "A Link to the Past" was because this Link was a version of Link from the past, that is, before Zelda 1.

Ehhh... no.

You're wrong. You couldn't be more wrong.

Hey, so where does the TV series and CD-i games fit into everything?

Edit: Yes, I meant CD-i, not 3D0.

[atmuh]

Hey, so where does the TV series and 3D0 games fit into everything?

you mean CD-i right?

[hamburglar]

Hey, so where does the TV series and CD-i games fit into everything?

I highly doubt Miyamoto planned for either of those abominations to exist(at least they're fun to mock).

[Ffej]

The CD-i games were not Nintendo developed or supervised, but they wouldn't have any ramifications anyway.

Also, the American SNES version of ALttP is not to be trusted, Emura. Most timeline theories place it before LoZ and AoL, but not for that reason.

[Decoy Octopus]

I wouldn't cite the write-up from the back of the box as a source of information. Consider that the American marketing team that designed the packaging didn't have anything to do with the development of the game.

Y'know, sorta in the say way that Super Castlevania IV was professed in North America to come after the events of Castlevania and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest when, in truth, it was a reimagining of the events in the first game, not a sequel.

And, to be honest, my problem with your timeline is not so much that you place A Link to the Past before Zelda 1 & 2, it was that you made ALttP the first game in the timeline and put Ocarina of Time post almost everything else. Ocarina of Time is the first game in the series (or at least the part concerning Ganon). This should be obvious from how Ganondorf is presented in the game.

[Rainman DX]

Hey, so where does the TV series and CD-i games fit into everything?

Edit: Yes, I meant CD-i, not 3D0.

Gaa!! Ack!! He said it, he said it!!

I was perfectly comfortable in my non-Nintendo Zelda-less world before you had to go and bring those abominations to my attention again. Curse you!

[Emura]

The CD-i games were not Nintendo developed or supervised, but they wouldn't have any ramifications anyway.

Also, the American SNES version of ALttP is not to be trusted, Emura. Most timeline theories place it before LoZ and AoL, but not for that reason.

You are the second person to allude to this mysterious, intangible "reason" without actually citing it. What is this reason?

I wouldn't cite the write-up from the back of the box as a source of information. Consider that the American marketing team that designed the packaging didn't have anything to do with the development of the game.

OK, sure. But until we hear directly from the development team, why can't we assume that the American marketing team is correct. I mean, I know marketing always screws things up. It's the second rule of marketing, right after "Do the exact opposite of what the development team wants."

But has it really come to a point where we have to assume everything a marketing team says is false until proven otherwise?

And, to be honest, my problem with your timeline is not so much that you place A Link to the Past before Zelda 1 & 2, it was that you made ALttP the first game in the timeline and put Ocarina of Time post almost everything else. Ocarina of Time is the first game in the series (or at least the part concerning Ganon). This should be obvious from how Ganondorf is presented in the game.

I have edited my original post to correct my ignorance. I also fixed the part where I said Link's Awakening followed Zelda 2. When I wrote the original post I couldn't remember whether it was Zelda 2 it followed or A Link to the Past.

[Ffej]

You are the second person to allude to this mysterious, intangible "reason" without actually citing it. What is this reason?

It was poorly translated into English.

http://www.zeldalegends.net/index.php?n=z3translation

Read up. This is well-known in the Zelda community, especially for timeliners.

[Decoy Octopus]

You are the second person to allude to this mysterious, intangible "reason" without actually citing it. What is this reason?

The reason it hasn't been cited is there is certainly an assumption that individuals posting in this thread are familiar with the basic schools of thought on the Zelda timeline.

[I-n-j-i-n]

Umm, it's official that Ocarina of Time came before the others, excepting Minnish Cap.

I would not be surprised if that's not canon even if some Nintendo developers have said that. Just switch a few around and you could reach the same conclusion as that GTTV's analysis. I realized that most theories of the time line comes close to GTTV's one regardless.

[Xbob42]

I've been trying to think of something to say about this whole timeline crap, but everything I thought up was grounds for post deletion. Short (and much more polite) version: no. I also don't give a fuck about any supposed timeline. I never ever thought about it, it never even crossed my mind as to how each game was related to each other. They're all stand alone as far as I'm concerned.

And unless there's some incredibly important reason why you have to know exactly which games come in which order, there's no point to even trying to discuss it. It's not like the next Zelda game is going to have pop quizzes where you have to get the timeline right or else the room fills up with ReDeads.

Then why bother even replying? Don't click thread you aren't interested in. Geez.

[atmuh]

Then why bother even replying? Don't click thread you aren't interested in. Geez.

I clicked this because I am tired of all this entirely useless chatter.

[Local Area Network]

Just something I want to confirm about Ganondorf's status in ALttP, regarding him against Sephiroth (versus topic on Gamefaqs, been banned from here see), after four topics over two boards, I eventually beat one very persistent Sephy fanboy by proving that Ganondorf would win at both one third of his power against AC Sephiroth respectively, and full power, which I believe would be full triforce Ganondorf in ALttP- however, because EVERYONE in the Dark Realm is said to be in a repressed, stunted form; Link as a bunny; Ganondorf would also have been in a repressed form in the final battle, which means that placed in a neutral location against 100% Jenova Sephiroth i.e. FF7 Northern Crater Sephiroth, Ganondorf's full power would be realised, which with the ENTIRE TRIFORCE and his wish for ultimate cosmic rule would basically make him a god. This is partly based on the GBA ALttP and GFaqs text dumps, I'm aware the above Zeldalegends translation says that no-one knew his wish:

Surprisingly, the Triforce

created this world to fulfill

Ganon's wish.

What is Ganon's wish,

you ask? It's to rule the

entire cosmos! Don't you think

it might be possible with the

power of the Trifore

behind you?

This world was once the

Golden Land where the Triforce

was hidden.

But because Ganon, the leader

of the thieves, wished it, this

world was transformed...

I'm sure he's intending to

conquer even our Light World

after building his power here.

The one who rediscovered

the Golden Land was

an evil thief named Ganondorf.

Luckily, he couldn't figure out

how to return to the Light

World...

If you defeat Ganon, this

world will vanish, and the

Triforce will wait

for a new master.

I will destroy you

and make my wish to conquer

both Light and Dark Worlds

come true without delay.

Ganon's wish was to conquer

the world. That wish changed

the Golden Land into

the Dark World.

After building up his power,

Ganon planned to go on to the

Light World to fulfill his wish.

[The Damned]

Then why bother even replying? Don't click threads you aren't interested in. Geez.

First, it's a thread I am interested in. Not in the same way you are, but that's how you make conversations happen.

Second, I'm countering an opinion stated by other people. You're allowed to do that now.

Third, STFU, 5 post newbie. When you learn how people around here operate, you'll see that telling someone to not post in a thread is like telling fat chicks not to eat chocolate. Lurk some more.

Just something I want to confirm about Ganondorf's status in ALttP, regarding him against Sephiroth (versus topic on Gamefaqs, been banned from here see), after four topics over two boards, I eventually beat one very persistent Sephy fanboy by proving that Ganondorf would win at both one third of his power against AC Sephiroth respectively, and full power, which I believe would be full triforce Ganondorf in ALttP- however, because EVERYONE in the Dark Realm is said to be in a repressed, stunted form; Link as a bunny; Ganondorf would also have been in a repressed form in the final battle, which means that placed in a neutral location against 100% Jenova Sephiroth i.e. FF7 Northern Crater Sephiroth, Ganondorf's full power would be realised, which with the ENTIRE TRIFORCE and his wish for ultimate cosmic rule would basically make him a god. This is partly based on the GBA ALttP and GFaqs text dumps, I'm aware the above Zeldalegends translation says that no-one knew his wish:

Well, that just solves everything, especially the original topic.

[Local Area Network]

Well, that just solves everything, especially the original topic.

Ganondorf's various incarnations are related to the original topic of the timeline, albeit not directly, but I don't think I was completely off-topic. I just wondered if anyone could confirm that the most powerful incarnation of Ganondorf to date was indeed in ALttP, due to his possession of the entire Triforce and the wish he made to transform the Sacred Realm into the Dark Realm, and that his power wasn't actually fully manifest due to the restrictions of the Dark Realm.

EDIT: Actually, it doesn't matter, this argument ended months ago, about TP's position in the timeline, it's definitely after OoT, but then how does it correlate to the Great Flood? Is there gonna be another game after TP leading up to WW?

[Syka]

I don't think they'll actually make a game about the time when the great flood happens, since the whole point of that is the fact that the hero never shows up.

I do hope they give more backstory, though.