Example 3: Built Relying on the Theorist

It’s often said that trying to perfectly connect the Legend of Zelda games is a waste of time; that the stories have become convoluted over the years and that creating a fully functional timeline has become impossible.

Nintendo has left a mess for us – there’s certainly no doubt about that – but I for one am not giving up on coherency so easily. With just a little bit of imagination and creative analysis, anything is possible!

Thanks to the 3D games, the timeline begins on a fairly good note. Ocarina of Time kicks things off and, as recently confirmed by Nintendo, splits Hyrule’s history into two very different futures.

There is a small problem here, as The Wind Waker (apparently in the ‘adult’ future) references the action of the character Tingle from Majora’s Mask (apparently in the ‘child future’). We must conclude that the timeline split only affected Hyrule, and that Termina’s timeline remains whole. This way, passing from MM’s world to OOT’s, the Tingle Legend could enter both possible futures.

Because Wind Waker floods the adult timeline world, it seems unlikely that any games should follow it (besides Phantom Hourglass of course)… that is until you take a closer look at The Minish Cap. Looking down on TMC’s world from the sky palace shows it is but a single island in a vast ocean; books in TMC’s library mention the ‘Triumph Forks’ (a flood concept) and use the Hylian language common in tWW. Even Four Swords Adventure, TMC’s eventual sequel, shows a world surrounded by
water.

But if we conclude that the FS series follows PH in the adult timeline, how do we explain a Hyrule rose from the watery depths? Well; recall the Deku Tree of tWW. He entertained a complex plan to raise his lost homeland by planting powerful trees across the Great Sea. Obviously, he succeeded!

One of the greatest problems a faced is that of the Seal War (that is, the back story of A Link to the Past when properly translated from original Japanese). This event was apparently intended to be recreated in Ocarina of Time, thus cementing OOT as a prequel to the SNES series games. Modern developments in series make it nearly impossible to maintain this connection.

Of course, if we consider the story connections between both the Seal War and Ocarina of Time (Ganon and the Triforce, sealing in the sacred realm, etc.) and the Seal War and Four Sword Adventures (Ganon and his trident, the hylian knights, etc.) and factor in the tendency of myths and legends to change and evolve over time, we can reasonably conclude that AlttP tells a story which creatively combines elements of many historic events. It chronologically follows the Foursword games in stunning fashion.

Tack the rather storyless 2D games (Legend of Zelda, Adventure of Link, and The Oracle Series) safely on the end of your chronology and everything works out perfectly. The timeline is perfected!

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