Official Zelda Timeline

[Nomega]

Main Timeline
1. Skyward Sword
2. Minish Cap
3. Four Swords
4. Ocarina Of Time

Split 1: Link defeats Ganon – childhood branch
a) Majora’s Mask
b) Twilight Princess
c) Four Swords Adventures

Split 2: Link defeats Ganon – adult branch
a) Wind Waker
b) Phantom Hourglass
c) Spirit Tracks

Split 3: Link fails in Ocarina Of Time
a) A Link To The Past
b) Oracles
c) Link’s Awakening
d) The Legend Of Zelda
e) The Legend Of Zelda II


Source  

[Xilo The Odd]

i enjoyed the comments after caps lock guy.  

[Skaeryll]

I'm assuming the adult branch means that like Link disappeared as an adult so all the s**t went down with the flooding as stuff cause the hero vanished.

Also the Link fails branch does make sense.  

[Trenn Flashkill]

I hate that there is a timeline at all.  

[Waynebrizzle]

Always kind of figured the timeline wouldn't make sense. Wouldn't OoT's child and adult Link timelines be the same timeline? I mean it's not like he becomes a different adult or anything. And if you could have stopped Ganondorf in the past, what was the point of being an adult at all?  

[Xilo The Odd]

Waynebrizzle

Always kind of figured the timeline wouldn't make sense. Wouldn't OoT's child and adult Link timelines be the same timeline? I mean it's not like he becomes a different adult or anything. And if you could have stopped Ganondorf in the past, what was the point of being an adult at all?

im with wayne on this one.

besides theres no timeline cause no one cares to tell you the year in the games.

therefore.

time does not exist in the game as it does for us, for them, it simply flows in circles.

the antagonist forces emerge -> the hero of hyrule encounters the evil forces -> the hero trains -> the hero fights evil -> the epic battle between good and evil -> good prevails -> hero settles down and dies as he fades into history -> the antagonist forces emerge.  

[Zephyrkitty]

So where do the CDi games fit in?  

[Nomega]

Waynebrizzle

Always kind of figured the timeline wouldn't make sense. Wouldn't OoT's child and adult Link timelines be the same timeline? I mean it's not like he becomes a different adult or anything. And if you could have stopped Ganondorf in the past, what was the point of being an adult at all?

No, he does become a different adult.

Link doesn't come back 7 years after the events of Ocarina of Time to fulfill his role as Adult Link. It's a split of the timeline where Young Link is trapped in the temple of time for 7 years. You have to think of it as two alternate realities.

In one, Link goes to the Temple of Time as a kid, and immediately returns victorious, sent back in time again by Zelda.

In the other, Link appears as an adult after being trapped in the Temple of Time for 7 years, treks all of the dungeons and defeats Ganon, and disappears from history when Zelda sends him back in time.

Of course you have to suspend disbelief about how Ganon would stay defeated after traveling back in time again, but I think that was somewhat explained by the Sacred Realm being outside of regular time and space.  

[Waynebrizzle]

Nomega

Waynebrizzle

Always kind of figured the timeline wouldn't make sense. Wouldn't OoT's child and adult Link timelines be the same timeline? I mean it's not like he becomes a different adult or anything. And if you could have stopped Ganondorf in the past, what was the point of being an adult at all?

No, he does become a different adult.

Link doesn't come back 7 years after the events of Ocarina of Time to fulfill his role as Adult Link. It's a split of the timeline where Young Link is trapped in the temple of time for 7 years. You have to think of it as two alternate realities.

In one, Link goes to the Temple of Time as a kid, and immediately returns victorious, sent back in time again by Zelda.

In the other, Link appears as an adult after being trapped in the Temple of Time for 7 years, treks all of the dungeons and defeats Ganon, and disappears from history when Zelda sends him back in time.

Of course you have to suspend disbelief about how Ganon would stay defeated after traveling back in time again, but I think that was somewhat explained by the Sacred Realm being outside of regular time and space.

Suspension of disbelief is a good technique when regarding the Zelda timeline in general, so I'm not going to waste my time complaining about it much. It doesn't make the series any more or less enjoyable for me anyway.  

[Xilo The Odd]

Zephyrkitty

So where do the CDi games fit in?

the sphinctor. no really i almost consider em homebrew.  

[Kuzodav]

The timeline is dumb.
"WELL, one is adult link, the other is KID link"
sure.... if i cared enough, and wanted to i may be willing to accept it.
wait no, i wouldn't.

but that's not even the dumb part
the dumb part is
WELL IT BRANCHES OFF ANOTHER WAY KUZ WUT IF LINK FAILED?


wat if link failed in any ******** story line
then you'd have to make branches for every ******** game
stupid
this is stupid
besodes, check the source, it came from a reader of the nintendo magazine
ya
official reader source
been subscribed for 6 years now.



dumb
dumb
dumb
dumb  

[Kuzodav]

Kuzodav

The timeline is dumb.
"WELL, one is adult link, the other is KID link"
sure.... if i cared enough, and wanted to i may be willing to accept it.
wait no, i wouldn't.

but that's not even the dumb part
the dumb part is
WELL IT BRANCHES OFF ANOTHER WAY KUZ WUT IF LINK FAILED?


wat if link failed in any ******** story line
then you'd have to make branches for every ******** game
stupid
this is stupid
besodes, check the source, it came from a reader of the nintendo magazine
ya
official reader source
been subscribed for 6 years now.



dumb
dumb
dumb
dumb

furthermore
why is ocarina of time where it branches off?
also
you deal with time in alttp
you also deal with time in ooa

WHAT IF LINK JUST WENT BACK AND DIED IN THE OLD DAYS IN Oracle of ages
WHAT IF LINK JUST FAILED IN DA SACRED REALM
WHAT IF LINK STOPPED THE BAD GUY FROM KIDNAPPING ZELDA TO START WITH



the fact that so much is assumed off of 'what if's' is so stupid
i don't understand how 'well this could have happened after the game' is relevant if it didn't happen in the game and is thereby not canon.

so dumb
so dumb
so dumb
sooooooooo  

[Kuzodav]

Kuzodav

Kuzodav

The timeline is dumb.
"WELL, one is adult link, the other is KID link"
sure.... if i cared enough, and wanted to i may be willing to accept it.
wait no, i wouldn't.

but that's not even the dumb part
the dumb part is
WELL IT BRANCHES OFF ANOTHER WAY KUZ WUT IF LINK FAILED?


wat if link failed in any ******** story line
then you'd have to make branches for every ******** game
stupid
this is stupid
besodes, check the source, it came from a reader of the nintendo magazine
ya
official reader source
been subscribed for 6 years now.



dumb
dumb
dumb
dumb

furthermore
why is ocarina of time where it branches off?
also
you deal with time in alttp
you also deal with time in ooa

WHAT IF LINK JUST WENT BACK AND DIED IN THE OLD DAYS IN Oracle of ages
WHAT IF LINK JUST FAILED IN DA SACRED REALM
WHAT IF LINK STOPPED THE BAD GUY FROM KIDNAPPING ZELDA TO START WITH



the fact that so much is assumed off of 'what if's' is so stupid
i don't understand how 'well this could have happened after the game' is relevant if it didn't happen in the game and is thereby not canon.

so dumb
so dumb
so dumb
sooooooooo

Majora's Mask is a direct sequel to OoT


what don't you people get about the words 'direct sequel'  

[Meta_Fish]

I'm willing to accept it branching into two parts from OoT, but three, especially when one is where Link fails, is stupid. And shouldn't the one where Link fails be the one that leads into Windwaker? The Hero of Time rises and defeats Ganon and at the start of Windwaker it says the hero didn't rise at all and Ganon floods the world. How isn't Link's Awakening with the boat sailing games? It's all dumb and I call horseshit.  

[Zephyrkitty]

Meta_Fish

I'm willing to accept it branching into two parts from OoT, but three, especially when one is where Link fails, is stupid. And shouldn't the one where Link fails be the one that leads into Windwaker? The Hero of Time rises and defeats Ganon and at the start of Windwaker it says the hero didn't rise at all and Ganon floods the world. (1) How isn't Link's Awakening with the boat sailing games? (2) It's all dumb and I call horseshit.

1. The WW prologue says that the Hero of Time defeated Ganon once, but didn't appear when Ganon returned.

2. I can't find my copy of the Awakening manual right now so I can't give you the exact quote, but at the beginning it says something about Link going on a journey after "defeating Ganon and saving Hyrule". Link defeats Ganon in WW, but the game also ends with Hyrule being flooded.


As far as the timeline goes, I'm not really worried about it. I don't play the Zelda games for their amazing storylines, so I'm not especially invested in figuring out how they all fit together aside from direct sequels.