The Legend of Zelda Series

[Rynnec]

Maybe they should've asked Capcom to develop Hyrule Warriors instead.

Then we could have Hyrule Warriors vs Sengoku Basara and I could die (almost) happy.

[Nel_Annette]

 

[Spark Of Spirit]

Is this where Ensatsu-ken comes in to tell us that Risk would have been far more preferable? 

Seriously, though. This is cool.

[Nel_Annette]

Do note the Gamestop exclusive sticker though. It's up for preorder on their site. I'm debating it.

[RacattackForce]

Pfft? Zelda Monopoly. How lame...wait, is that a Hookshot piece? 

Do note the Gamestop exclusive sticker though. It's up for preorder on their site. I'm debating it.

NOPE. 

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Is this where Ensatsu-ken comes in to tell us that Risk would have been far more preferable? 

Well, it WOULD have been.

I'd still buy this, though.

[Avaitor]

Metal Gear Risk is the shit!

But this looks fantastic, too.

[Kiddington]

I already have Nintendo Monopoly, but..........yeah, sign me up.

When is this out?

[talonmalon333]

I'm about to go full nerd here. It's just something that's been on my mind for a little while and I need to get it off.

For the sake of discussion, I'm posting Nintendo's official Zelda timeline here.

Spoiler

[close]

Or, to simplify it...

Spoiler

                       /-WW/PH-ST
SS-MC-FS-OoT-ALttP/OoX/LA-LoZ/AoL
                       \MM-TP-FSA

Note: Games which which feature the same Link are marked with a "slash".

[close]

I remember a few of us having a discussion here about the Zelda timeline, where a few people said it'd be good if they managed to merge the three timelines together someday. I remember saying that would be too complicated since then you'd have three histories being merged together.

But what I was thinking now is, it would be better if they went through and retconned the timeline they have to just make it entirely a single, linear timeline. Or, find a way to just go back to the two branch split timeline everyone thought it was supposed to be (Aonuma even said a long time ago that Ocarina of Time has two endings, not three). That was complicated enough, but having it be three continuities now is just overkill and hard to get.

This should be doable because, on the official timeline, Nintendo split up many games that work well when stuck together, such as Four Swords Adventures and A Link to the Past.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Like I said, a game spanning dimensions that leads all three to be reconnected at the end, without giving a clear idea of which is "canon" (since they're all technically myths that nobody really remembers in the Zelda world) would be the best idea. That way they can go back and make games in other timelines if they want, or newer games that are all connected.

Everybody wins.

[talonmalon333]

Like I said, a game spanning dimensions that leads all three to be reconnected at the end, without giving a clear idea of which is "canon" (since they're all technically myths that nobody really remembers in the Zelda world) would be the best idea. That way they can go back and make games in other timelines if they want, or newer games that are all connected.

Everybody wins.

But then you're left with the big question of whether or not the world is flooded, which only happens in the Wind Waker continuity. That's not a matter of myth.

It's easier than it looks to make a single linear timeline, and we can some up why here.

ALttP/Oracles/LA-LoZ/AoL

ALttP (and its sequels I guess) was confirmed to be a prequel to the NES games, and it flows well.

MC-FS/FSA

These three games make a trilogy that revolve around Vaati and the Four Sword. However, it also works really well for FSA to lead into ALttP because they are really similar. Ganon even gets the Trident in FSA, which he uses again in ALttP.

WW/PH-ST

This was confirmed by obvious in-game facts. Also, ST leads well into the Four Sword games (particularly FSA) because they both feature a Hyrule surrounded by the ocean, plus they both heavily deal with Force Gems.

SS-OoT/MM-TP

SS is a prequel to the whole series. OoT is the origin of Ganon, and MM is its direct sequel. As for TP, the developers have said its the result of Link going back to his childhood at the end of OoT, and preventing Ganon from taking over Hyrule.

So there you go! And with very few hiccups at all!

SS-OoT/MM-TP-WW/PH-ST-MC-FS/FSA-ALttP/OoX/LA-LoZ/AoL

And it barely even took five minutes for me to think up.

[Spark Of Spirit]

If we're talking 10,000 years later and the world is no longer flooded, of course it can be done. This is a fantasy series for cryin' out loud. It makes more sense to not have an official canon than to just cram them all together randomly in different spots.

I just always get woozy when we have to add timelines into any sort of chronology.

[talonmalon333]

It makes more sense to not have an official canon than to just cram them all together randomly in different spots.

I agree. Zelda doesn't need a timeline. I'm just saying that, since they decided to go with one, it's better if they just make it one or two lines, instead of three. Also, making a game where the three timelines actually connect seems to suggest a game that's dependent on it.

Also, I wouldn't call that order I posted above random. I did find reasons to put those "arcs" into certain orders, despite how little thought I admittedly put into it, and I think it makes sense. And I think that's what fans liked doing, before Nintendo revealed the timeline. They didn't see it as randomly cramming games together. They saw it as putting them into the most logical order using evidence from each game. There was a decent amount of interest in the Zelda timeline, even if we don't really have much interest in it ourselves.

[talonmalon333]

Here's another timeline related thing I'd like to address.

I hope that they never revive Ganon in the Wind Waker timeline. I don't know what you guys thought, but to me, WW was a phenomenal conclusion to Ganon. Because for all these years, we fought Ganon and saw him as simply the evil guy who wants to take over the world. However, in the ending of Wind Waker, we learn there was a little more to him than that. He had grown up in a desert in horrible conditions (he metaphorically refers to it as the wind), so he basically just had to watch people die for all his life. All the while, he could only look upon Hyrule, where life was thriving and happy, and knew that he couldn't have that life. Is he selfish? Yes. Is he greedy? Absolutely. However, there is a reason why, and maybe even he knows that he messed up along the way. He certainly comes off as far more understanding when you look at his dialogue in Wind Waker. But this is the reason he had spent centuries searching for the Triforce, because he wanted to resurrect Hyrule.

However, in the end of Wind Waker, something happened. Ganon had restored the Triforce to its full form, but before he could make a wish on it, it was immediately snatched by the King of Hyrule who used it to erase Hyrule, in order to give hope for the ocean above, and that Ganon drown with it. At this point, Ganon just launched a final attack on Link and Zelda, in an attempt to take them with him, before being finally killed (not sealed, but literally killed). His last words are "The wind is blowing", which basically refers to the wind that brought death to his desert, has now come to claim him. In the end, Ganon had nothing left to live for. The Triforce was taken from him, and Hyrule was erased. His entire life's purpose was gone. Why would he come back after Wind Waker?

It's for this reason that I've always considered Wind Waker to be a really good finale for ancient Hyrule and Ganon. Bringing him back to life would hurt that. If they decide to introduce a new Ganon in that timeline, go ahead. As long as it's not the same Ganon that appeared in OoT and WW, it's not really a problem to me. But leave this Ganon dead. His character arc has been completed.

[Spark Of Spirit]

The thing is, after a certain period of time, Ganon is really no longer Ganon. Any semblance of personality or character he might of had is wiped out by his bitterness and hatred, leaving only the shell behind piloted by nothing but malice.

Just take a look at his appearance at the beginning of the timeline and what its like by the end of the classic one. Whatever was left of his personality has been eaten away.