GameTrailer's take on the timeline

I'm not really that into the whole timeline theory discussion, however, I do feel I have something to contribute.

Gametrailers.com released its last part of the Zelda Retrospective, which reveals their own take on the timeline. I found it very interesting.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player.p...pe=wmv&pl=game

They lost me after MM-LA. And they murdered their theory when they said OoS/OoA take place on different timelines.

I find it a load of crap.

- Their only valid argument for TMC being the first game was that Link was hatless. And none of that nonsense about Gustaf mady any sense.
- Why would Link leave from Termina with a sailboat if got there by riding a horse?
- They have the trident appearing before it's discovered even though they base their ALttP-FSA aguments on that.
- LA Link can't be LoZ Link because he would then have to be ALttP Link also.

and.. oh I just realised that could just go on forever. I'm going to post some criticism on their boards.

Originally Posted by Uncle Meat

- Why would Link leave from Termina with a sailboat if got there by riding a horse

Better yet, why would Link leave from Termina on a sailboat when we already see him come back on his horse?

- They have the trident appearing before it's discovered even though they base their ALttP-FSA aguments on that.

Actually, they have the same argument that we do (FSA-ALttP).

Why its wrong:

1) The Minish gave the Hylians the Picori Blade to seal away monsters, which we later see escape from the chest when Vaati breaks the seal.

2) Nowhere is it even inferred that the Hero in TMC's Intro who sealed the monsters was Gustaf or that it made him King.

3) The Split Timeline. No brainer.

4) Zelda already warned the King of Hyrule of Ganondorf's plans BEFORE Link spoke to her but he didn't believe her. Why should he believe her now when he didn't believe her before?

5) Even if Ganondorf won a war in the Child Timeline, this would not open the way to the Sacred Realm as the Master Sword was in place to prevent him gaining access.

6) The Sleeping Zelda story takes place AFTER the Triforce is split, because the Prince and Wizard were trying to get Zelda to reveal the location of the Triforce of Courage.

7) If Ganon was dead in LoZ, how could he be sealed in ALTTP AND OoT=SW as they are arguing?

8) Depending on which Oracles game you play first, one event takes place BEFORE the other. The ending is the same either way so it never really matters which game is played first.

The most BS timeline ever made. Well done, Game Trailers! Now whats their e-mail address so I can post these inconsistencies to them personally?

Originally Posted by LexLionHart

Actually, they have the same argument that we do (FSA-ALttP).

That's what I meant to say.

Almost everybody at their boads were all like.. "Wow it's so cool that they fit together like that". Now I'll just wait and see how they respond to the criticism about their timeline

EDIT:

Originally Posted by Raian

Now whats their e-mail address so I can post these inconsistencies to them personally?

I wish I knew. I guess you can get your poit accross through their boards. Here's a link to the discussion about the timeline.

EDIT2:

Originally Posted by Raian

Could you send me a link to their boards please?

Done and done.

Damn, I need to register. Screw them, I've got better things to do.

Originally Posted by Raian

4) Zelda already warned the King of Hyrule of Ganondorf's plans BEFORE Link spoke to her but he didn't believe her. Why should he believe her now when he didn't believe her before?

All splitists cite their possession of their respective Triforce pieces as the proof they present to the King.

Originally Posted by Raian

8) Depending on which Oracles game you play first, one event takes place BEFORE the other. The ending is the same either way so it never really matters which game is played first.

Technically the opening of OoA takes place at sunset, whereas the opening of OoS takes place during the day, which suggests an OoS/OoA order. The manuals also support this order.

Even I found this theory wrong in so many ways. Hell, I don't even agree with them on the circumstances in which OoT leads to MM, let alone the rest of their crap. To lampoon 4chan, failed timeline is faiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiled.

Is it worth doing something about?

Seriously, I think it could be alot of fun, getting indignent and fanboyish; telling them in no uncertain terms why they're so wrong, making rediculous demands, insinuating that they're the farthest thing in the world from tre gamers.

A well backed rant, even just on the 4 arcs, supported by a large number of theorists here and at LA, would be hillarious... but also, likely, a large waste of time.

Still, I've got all afternoon.... whadaya think?

Originally Posted by mmmmm_PIE

Is it worth doing something about?

Seriously, I think it could be alot of fun, getting indignent and fanboyish; telling them in no uncertain terms why they're so wrong, making rediculous demands, insinuating that they're the farthest thing in the world from tre gamers.

A well backed rant, even just on the 4 arcs, supported by a large number of theorists here and at LA, would be hillarious... but also, likely, a large waste of time.

Still, I've got all afternoon.... whadaya think?

It sure would be so much fun.
After talking about this on their boards most people have begun to realise that the video is waaay off.

I'm in favor of sending them an e-mail that demands a formal apology to all theorists! Who's in?

I got nothing to do today so I'm in =)

Originally Posted by Vaati 2705

I got nothing to do today so I'm in =)

I think we should do what PIE suggested and write an e-mail to them and have it singed by as many theorists as possible. We should get as many theorists as possible from all over the net. Come on people! I think we should so do this :XD

Something to this tune?

To the fine film makers responsible for the Zelda Retrospective

We, the undersigned, feel that the final installment of your six part documentary was counterproductive to the effort fans everywhere make to understand the Legend of Zelda chronology. As experienced timeline theorists, we well understand the complexities and uncertainties involved in the attempt to puzzle out Hylian history. We understand your use of a disclaimer, and, while we appreciate your willingness to be ambiguous, we still feel that you have muddled the timeline in a way that no amount of scapegoating can reconcile.
In doing so, we feel that you have added to the considerable amount of timeline confusion which exists throughout the web, squandered an opportunity to assist in alleviating this confusion, and shown a saddening disregard for elements of the series you were trying to commemorate.

Despite the large amount of debate concerning timeline issues such as the number of timelines, the exact placement of TMC, and the nature of the Seal War, there are four story “arcs” which informed theorists consider indisputable, nearly canonical, and your timeline theory managed to devastate three of the four. You claim to have read a "ton" of theories, but it is quite clear that you did not explore deep enough!

Concerning “The Minish Cap ~ Four Swords ~ Four Swords Adventures” Arc:
It is called the Four Swords Trilogy for a reason. There are three games! FSA is NOT a remake of FS, but a sequel with is own unique storyline, and both deserve a place in the timeline. Observing that you granted FS only 10 seconds of airtime in part 4 of your retrospective, and completely ignored it in your timeline, we wonder if you have even played the game at all.


Concerning the “A Link to the Past ~ Link's Awakening ~ Legend of Zelda ~ Adventure of Link” Arc:
LoZ and AoL cannot possibly feature the Hero of Time, or even take place in the same century as OOT. At the beginning of the 8 bit storyline, the Triforce of Courage is sealed away in the Northern palace where it was placed by a past King) and has been resting there for centuries.
In you “Hyrule A” the Triforce of Courage is never even removed from the Sacred Realm, and even if it were, there is not nearly enough time for the entire AoL back story to occur during the lifespan of the Hero of Time.

Furthermore, AlttP is a direct prequel to LoZ. The Japanese box art refers to the Link and Zelda of AlttP as being the ancestors (predecessors is substituted in English, to the same effect) of those in the NES games. While there are few actual material connections between the games, Easter Eggs found in the Japanese “BS Zelda” releases further support Nintendo's intention of AlttP preceding LoZ.

Despite the poorly translated packaging of Link's Awakening DX, we know for a fact that it does not star the Hero of Time. In fact, the game was released before the concept of said incarnation was created. According to LA manual (original and DX), the game stars the “Legendary Hero” (AlttP's protagonist) who “worried over Ganon's ashes” (Ganon was dead post AlttP, not post MM).
Throughout the games, Link comes face to face with nightmares that resemble the enemies of AlttP (including a shadowy Agahnim) and according to the official artwork, battles them with the same sword and shield used by AlttP's hero.
As Nintendo has stated in the past (though, we understand, with a definite lack of consistency), LA is AlttP's sequel

Concerning the “OoS ~ OoA” Arc:
Frankly, this one caught us off guard. By you comments in Episode 4, you understand the interconnection between these games and have played a linked game through to the end. You should know then, that together the games represent a single tale, a grand storyline which can as easily be seen as a whole as the sum of two parts.
Splitting the games between timelines seems unprecedented. Could characters such as Bippin and Blossom, Moosh, Dimitri, or Rickey, who recognize Link between linked games, somehow make the trans-dimensional jump from one reality to the next? Of course not!

Yes, the games have similar beginnings, and can be taken in either order (though there is evidence for Seasons to be placed first, especially when considerin the manga, as your evaluation of TMC suggests you do) but that is no reason to split them in such a way.

Concerning the “OoT ~ (MM) ~ tWW” Arc:
No problems. But hey twenty five percent ain't bad...

We hereby leave this information in your hands, to respong to, ignore, or act upon as you will.
Sincerely:
Bryan Fauher
Uncle Meat
Vaati
Raian
LexLionhart
DarkenZero24
Vatti 2705

PS: Thank you all very much for the fine video series, for birthing interest in the timeline in a new generation of gamers, for an excellent showcase of one of the greatest videogaming accomplishments of all time, and for giving us "extremist fanboys" one last thing to whine about before TP brings all our fantastic theories crashing down on our shoulders. If yu really did create any "confusion" we are sure it will be far outweighed by the new interest you've sparked in fans everywhere.

Our only real complaint is the out-of-context manner in which you employed the Aonuma "split line" quote (though we imagine that this is the manner in which it was explained to you")
http://www.zeldawiki.org/index.php?t...imeline_Quotes

I've never been good at endings, and as Uncel Meat pointed out, we need some good demands
Anyway, I'm off to work. C yall tonight...

Originally Posted by mmmmm_PIE

Something to this tune?

Congrats, PIE! I'll definitely sign that.

But maybe we should add a list of demands
Because frankly I can't see them taking action based on complaints alone. What I mean is that maybe we should kindly ask them to change it or remove it from their site. (They probably wouldn't do it but I think we should try something!)

PS. I think the letter should also describe the effect the video has on the Zelda fanbase. I for one noticed links to the video being posted in all the forums I go to just hours after it's release. As it is delivering false information they should do something about it.