# Official Zelda Timeline to be Revealed on December 21



## Valwin (Dec 19, 2011)

> I've actually known about this for a little while now so I'm extremely happy that I can finally report on this. Zelda fanboys, your prayers to Hylia are finally going to be answered. After 25 years of speculation, Nintendo is finally going to be revealing the official timeline to the _Legend of Zelda_ series next Wednesday. The timeline will be published in _Hyrule Historia_, the 25th anniversary collector's book that chronicles the history of the _Zelda_ series.​The confirmation of the timeline's reveal in the book comes under the second sub-header in the Table of Contents, titled “History of Hyrule,” which reveals the full chronology of the series. While each of the mainline games, save for the _Four Sword_ titles, seem to be included in the timeline, you'll have to wait until next Wednesday to see the full reveal of the story. The following is the translation of the "History of Hyrule" sub-header (courtesy of New Nintendo):



_*History of Hyrule
~Finally Revealed, The Genealogy of the Legend~*_
_The Timeline of Hyrule, Kingdom of the Gods………………………………..68_
_The Legend of Gods and the Hero of Time…………………………………….70_
_The Downfall of Hyrule and the Last Hero………………………………………..92_
_The Twilight Realm and the Hero’s Descendant…………………………… 110_
_The Hero of Wind and the New World……………………………………………..122_​


> Well folks, there you have it. The book lands in Japanese stores on December 21st, 2011 for 3,255 ¥ ($41).



Source


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## omgpwn666 (Dec 19, 2011)

Finally! No more wondering!


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## ShadowSoldier (Dec 19, 2011)

That's stupid. I would have preferred it if it was never revealed. Let everybody come up with their own timeline.


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## omgpwn666 (Dec 19, 2011)

ShadowSoldier said:


> That's stupid. I would have preferred it if it was never revealed. Let everybody come up with their own timeline.



Dude! It is too much work to think up my own. Every time I would do that another game would contradict my timeline.


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## DarkCoffe64 (Dec 19, 2011)

When you open the book, this happens:


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## Forstride (Dec 19, 2011)

There's already a topic on the book, and this just says that it'll be revealed in it.  Not really any new news.


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## purechaos996 (Dec 19, 2011)

Need localization.....I would love an English translation of this just to have. I might even import the Japanese version just for the sake of owning it.


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## PyroSpark (Dec 19, 2011)

Sounds like this is gonna be epic.


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## Prof. 9 (Dec 19, 2011)

Zelda timeline? What Zelda timeline?


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## gloweyjoey (Dec 19, 2011)

Prof. 9 said:


> Zelda timeline? What Zelda timeline?


Troll alert. Troll alert.

inb4everyoneplotzbecausethereisnosplit


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## sputnix (Dec 19, 2011)

so if there is now an official timeline what does that mean for future games, I bet the next game will fuck up the timeline by having it fit almost anywhere in the timeline, just so Nintendo can troll us

on another note,


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## CarbonX13 (Dec 19, 2011)

I would totally buy that if it was in English. On the note of the timeline, it kind of sucks that they're doing this after all this time, it's actually nice to see people try to piece together the games on their own, and it also provides Nintendo with flexibility on where their next Zelda will come along in.


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## syko5150 (Dec 19, 2011)

I know many people like to speculate about the Zelda timeline, but I honestly never cared how they connected to each other. I enjoyed each individual Zelda title like a stand alone game. It's easy to see how the story connects to one another, but I still don't really care and want to enjoy each title separately. Just my two cents.


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## Quanno (Dec 19, 2011)

While not knowing the timeline would be fun for speculation, I think it's nice to see how it's officially put together.


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## Helpful Corn (Dec 19, 2011)

meh, I've always prefered the literal legend theory.  An actual timeline will slightly tarnish this series imo.


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## Bladexdsl (Dec 19, 2011)

> The timeline will be published in _Hyrule Historia_, the 25th anniversary collector's book that chronicles the history of the _Zelda_ series.


which will be never in English sure peeps will translate it but i want the fucking book


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## how_do_i_do_that (Dec 19, 2011)

I was getting tired of guessing with the alternate timelines splits with the kid Link and adult Link.


Better dust off that copy of rosetta stone, it won't be translated any time soon.


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## Fluto (Dec 19, 2011)

Lol, Avgn's prayers are going to be answered


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## KingVamp (Dec 19, 2011)

I do wonder, why now?


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## FireGrey (Dec 19, 2011)

That's great but I would rather they revealed it in a new game.


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## Nah3DS (Dec 19, 2011)

KingVamp said:


> I do wonder, why now?


25th anniversary


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## KingVamp (Dec 19, 2011)

NahuelDS said:


> 25th anniversary


IDk, part of me feel like they should have keep quiet about the official timeline despite that. :/


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## prowler (Dec 19, 2011)

KingVamp said:


> NahuelDS said:
> 
> 
> > 25th anniversary
> ...


should keep quiet about it?
please, do go on.


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## BoxmanWTF (Dec 19, 2011)

watch that chapter be about how the three golden goddesses created Hyrule.
It did say "_The Timeline of Hyrule, Kingdom of the Gods_"
Not the timeline of the legend of zelda


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## Cyan (Dec 19, 2011)

yeah, it looks like it's a timeline of hyrule only, and maybe not all games will be listed. 
Like Castlevania, they officially "removed" and "merged" a lot of games to make it a more consistent timeline.

based on the chapter's titles, it's just big timeline which looks like :
The Timeline of Hyrule, Kingdom of the Gods………………………………Skyward Swords
The Legend of Gods and the Hero of Time……………………………………Ocarina of time
The Downfall of Hyrule and the Last Hero………………………………………?? (Zelda2? link to the past? all others?)
The Twilight Realm and the Hero’s Descendant……………………………Twilight princess
The Hero of Wind and the New World……………………………………………Wind Waker (and spin-off), Link's awakening (awakening to what? he just dreamed he was a hero in past lives, so will he became one too?)

Well, We will see what they have decided to change to make it a consistent timeline. They have many choices to pick from many players who made a timeline long ago


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## gloweyjoey (Dec 19, 2011)

well, Miyamoto did say this all the way back in 1998



*Miyamoto:* _Ocarina of Time is the first story, then the original Legend of Zelda, then Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and finally A Link to the Past. It's not very clear where Link's Awakening fits in--it could be anytime after Ocarina of Time._


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## Nathan Drake (Dec 19, 2011)

I would imagine Minish Cap falls somewhere in between Skyward Sword and OoT. I'm not entirely sure where though.


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## iggloovortex (Dec 19, 2011)

I dont believe the Zelda fanbase is ready for this. I expect much QQ-ing and complaints about how "its not what they thought."
I'm hoping Ninty trolls everyone and puts a timeline of Ocarina of Time or something. That would be hilarious


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## Foxi4 (Dec 19, 2011)

Interesting. From what I remember, even Nintendo officials weren't sure as to which game falls where in the timeline since nearly every adventure seemed to be unrelated, at least to some extent. I don't really see a point in artificially tying together games that were not designed to compliment each other in the first place.


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## Bladexdsl (Dec 19, 2011)

it's not rucking fair why does japan get all the best collectables?


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## gloweyjoey (Dec 19, 2011)

Foxi4 said:


> Interesting. From what I remember, even Nintendo officials weren't sure as to which game falls where in the timeline since nearly every adventure seemed to be unrelated, at least to some extent. I don't really see a point in artificially tying together games that were not designed to compliment each other in the first place.


I believe you are wrong.  For as long as the timeline has been something to be considered(after oot) Miyamoto  said there was an official timeline and has also said that the games are like lost parchments telling stories of the land but contained *different* Links and Zeldas.


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## yuyuyup (Dec 19, 2011)

The Truth: Nintendo has no reasonable explanation whatsoever.


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## gloweyjoey (Dec 19, 2011)

Just in case anyone wanted to say again that there was no official time line...


*“Yes there is a master timeline but its confidential document! The only people to have access to that document are myself, Mr. Miyamoto and the director of the title. We cant share it with anyone else! I have already talked to Mr. Miyamoto about this so I am comfortable in releasing this information – this title [Skyward Sword] takes place before Ocarina of Time. if I said that a certain title was ‘the first Zelda game’, then that means that we cant ever make a title that takes place before that! So for us to add titles to the series, we have to have a way of putting the titles before or after each other.” - Eiji Aonuma*


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## prowler (Dec 19, 2011)

there is no official timeline.


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## gloweyjoey (Dec 19, 2011)

prowler_ said:


> there is no official timeline.





Spoiler


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## Canonbeat234 (Dec 19, 2011)

Sounds like trolling to me, why would Nintendo screw themselves in the foot by implying there's a timeline to this series? Did people play the Zelda games for fun only?


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## Cyan (Dec 19, 2011)

Canonbeat234 said:


> Did people play the Zelda games for fun only?


I do, and I don't care if there's a time line or not.
I play the games individually. (like Final Fantasy, or Tales of, or even Mario games! I don't care if they are not linked)


Maybe you meant "didn't"?
Then I would agree with you. a game is just for fun.


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## Bladexdsl (Dec 19, 2011)

Canonbeat234 said:


> Did people play the Zelda games for fun only?


that's usually why you play games for


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## chyyran (Dec 19, 2011)

Yay  

I wonder if this'll get an English edition..

If not, I guess at least we'll be able to get an idea of the timeline, I'm sure someone will translate that part..


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## T-hug (Dec 19, 2011)

Is this book getting a western release?


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## Bladexdsl (Dec 19, 2011)

Thug4L1f3 said:


> Is this book getting a western release?


unlikely


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## Edgedancer (Dec 19, 2011)

Bladexdsl said:


> Thug4L1f3 said:
> 
> 
> > Is this book getting a western release?
> ...


I would say that there is a decent chance of an English release, due to the fact that Zelda games traditionally have a higher user base in western countries as compared to Japan. Not saying that its 100% guaranteed, but I think there is a far chance of it happening.


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## gokujr1000 (Dec 19, 2011)

I think it'd be better if Nintendo let people make their own timelines or even keep The Legend of Zelda series as a bunch of Different Legends and Myths, sort of like Final Fantasy. To me it seems that some of the magic that Zelda has would be taken away if it's official continuity or timeline was to be released like this.

But hey that's just me.


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## Bladexdsl (Dec 19, 2011)

only the timeline of the current games will be revealed though i'm sure there will be plenty more games that will confuse everyone where they fit in it


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## Deleted User (Dec 19, 2011)

Wow, I can't wait to see if this heap of BS actually HAS a storyline


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## Nah3DS (Dec 19, 2011)

I hope that the timeline they will reveal includes every zelda game... but looking to the content page, it seems they will only place the major games (SS, OoT, ALttP, TP, and WW)


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## how_do_i_do_that (Dec 19, 2011)

Achievement Unlocked: 1 Green Rupee


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## Deleted_171835 (Dec 19, 2011)

Spoiler











http://zeldatimeline.com/

This timeline makes the most sense. Interested in seeing the official one, though.


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## Heavenlydeath (Dec 19, 2011)

Being a Zelda fanboy since i was 4, I do not want to see an actual timeline, for obvious reasons.


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## naruses (Dec 19, 2011)

If its "_The Timeline of Hyrule", _what about majora's mask which is in Termina?


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## Supreme Dirt (Dec 19, 2011)

This looks really interesting.

It implies that WW is not some alternate timeline, and that seems pretty damn interesting.


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## Valwin (Dec 19, 2011)

Supreme Dirt said:


> This looks really interesting.
> 
> It implies that WW is not some alternate timeline, and that seems pretty damn interesting.




well the producer of the game say it was


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## Nathan Drake (Dec 19, 2011)

Supreme Dirt said:


> This looks really interesting.
> 
> It implies that WW is not some alternate timeline, and that seems pretty damn interesting.


It was confirmed awhile ago that the split timeline theory is completely accurate. I believe it was around the time of TP's release that it was completely confirmed, though, the release of Wind Waker had a comment about there being two endings to OoT, the child and adult timelines.

Edit: I'm not sure how they'll handle the MM part of the timeline. Perhaps they'll just mention the disappearance of Link and not go further into it than that.


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## gloweyjoey (Dec 19, 2011)

Nathan Drake said:


> Supreme Dirt said:
> 
> 
> > This looks really interesting.
> ...


in 2002


Spoiler



_*Interviewer:* Where does _The Wind Waker_ fit into the overall Zelda series timeline? _
*Aonuma:* You can think of this game as taking place over a hundred years after _Ocarina of Time_. You can tell this from the opening story, and there are references to things from Ocarina located throughout the game as well.
*Miyamoto:* Well, wait, which point does the hundred years start from?
*Aonuma:* From the end.
*Miyamoto:* No, I mean, as a child or as a...
*Aonuma:* Oh, right, let me elaborate on that. _Ocarina of Time_ basically has two endings of sorts; one has Link as a child and the other has him as an adult. This game, _The Wind Waker_, takes place a hundred years after the adult Link defeats Ganon at the end of Ocarina.
*Miyamoto:* This is pretty confusing for us, too. (laughs) So be careful.


I love how he says "so be careful"


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## Nathan Drake (Dec 19, 2011)

With all of this so far, imagine how carefully they have to design each game so that the beginning and ending flows with two other titles, and that the inner content matches the time period that is in between those two titles. Though, deciding what goes into the adult timeline and what goes into the child timeline was apparently easy enough. Honestly, I hope they just end the adult timeline where it is and keep going with the child timeline. The adult timeline has been more than a bit disappointing post-WW.


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## Centrix (Dec 19, 2011)

Nintendo knows what there doing when it comes to the Zelda series as a whole, granted they've been stingy with releasing the time line until now, but I'm willing to bet its a straight forward timeline and we just over looked stuff that connects them all and what, just guessing!


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## Nathan Drake (Dec 19, 2011)

Look at what soulx posted. Somebody didn't overlook anything and put a solid timeline together. They reenforce their findings with fact, and in all, I'd have a hard time seeing it as being a lot different than that.


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## gamefan5 (Dec 19, 2011)

tigris said:


> Wow, I can't wait to see if this heap of BS actually HAS a storyline


It has different storylines. Storylines and timelines are different. Does it have a timeline though? I don't know. Tbh, releasing the timeline should be... interesting. i would LOVE to see the reactions of the fans.


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## Sora de Eclaune (Dec 19, 2011)

soulx said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It doesn't make perfect sense, however.

It's outdated. There's no mention of Skyward Sword at all, meaning this was created before the release of that game. Just adding in Skyward Sword might break apart one half of the entire timeline.


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## Nathan Drake (Dec 19, 2011)

Skyward Sword takes place before the timeline split. As it stands, it is the only title to do so, being confirmed as the newest first title in the series. It's place is well known. The individual justified their placement of Seasons and Ages, which is all that matters right now. If the two titles prove interchangeable in their placement within the timeline, we'll eventually know. With the information given, their placement makes the most sense.


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## Sora de Eclaune (Dec 19, 2011)

Nathan Drake said:


> Skyward Sword takes place before the timeline split. As it stands, it is the only title to do so, being confirmed as the newest first title in the series. It's place is well known. The individual justified their placement of Seasons and Ages, which is all that matters right now. If the two titles prove interchangeable in their placement within the timeline, we'll eventually know. With the information given, their placement makes the most sense.


Hmm...

Well, I'm just saying that the end of Skyward Sword might derail the placement of other games in the timeline. Like, it may lead into Twilight Princess or something strange of that nature.


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## Nathan Drake (Dec 19, 2011)

> ""Yes, there is a master timeline but it is a confidential document!" explains Aonuma-san. "The only people to have access to that document are myself, Mr. Miyamoto and the director of the title. We can't share it with anyone else! I have already talked to Mr. Miyamoto about this so I am comfortable releasing this information--this title [Skyward Sword] takes place before Ocarina of Time. If I said that a certain title was 'the first Zelda game', then that means we cant ever make a title that takes place before that! So for us to be able to add titles to the series, we have to have a way of putting the titles before or after each other."" (Official Nintendo Magazine (Future Publishing), pg. 51)


From their source here: http://www.zeldawiki.org/The_Legend_of_Zelda:_Skyward_Sword#cite_note-38

It takes place before OoT. It does not have some weird placement in the timeline.


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## Sora de Eclaune (Dec 20, 2011)

Nathan Drake said:


> > ""Yes, there is a master timeline but it is a confidential document!" explains Aonuma-san. "The only people to have access to that document are myself, Mr. Miyamoto and the director of the title. We can't share it with anyone else! I have already talked to Mr. Miyamoto about this so I am comfortable releasing this information--this title [Skyward Sword] takes place before Ocarina of Time. If I said that a certain title was 'the first Zelda game', then that means we cant ever make a title that takes place before that! So for us to be able to add titles to the series, we have to have a way of putting the titles before or after each other."" (Official Nintendo Magazine (Future Publishing), pg. 51)
> 
> 
> From their source here: http://www.zeldawiki...rd#cite_note-38
> ...


Huh. I didn't know that. I was avoiding reading about Skyward Sword due to the spoilers.


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## BORTZ (Dec 20, 2011)

Wait wait wait wait. What the eff do the CDi games go?


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## 6HyPeR9 (Dec 20, 2011)

BortzANATOR said:


> Wait wait wait wait. What the eff do the CDi games go?



Nintendo says they're non-canon.

aka swept under the rug


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## Sora de Eclaune (Dec 20, 2011)

BortzANATOR said:


> Wait wait wait wait. What the eff do the CDi games go?


In the trash.


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## BORTZ (Dec 20, 2011)

kinda a joke but whatever lol


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## gloweyjoey (Dec 20, 2011)

BortzANATOR said:


> kinda a joke but whatever lol


seeing as nintnedo had absolutely nothing to do with the games aside from licensing the characters it makes sense. All Zelda anime and manga is also considered non-canon.


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## JonnyPoots (Dec 20, 2011)

gloweyjoey said:


> BortzANATOR said:
> 
> 
> > kinda a joke but whatever lol
> ...


Or one could say that they are in their own cannon. and not all the manga is non-canon, just the non game related ones.


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## gloweyjoey (Dec 20, 2011)

JonnyPoots said:


> gloweyjoey said:
> 
> 
> > BortzANATOR said:
> ...


Manga's that are related to the games are still considered non-canonical.


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## Tom Bombadildo (Dec 20, 2011)

Awww...I don't think this will be the actual timeline timeline though, like the official official timeline the Zelda devs have cooked up. Maybe a summary of what we have so far. Yeah, that's it, it's a summary of what we have right now! There! Case closed, thread done! [/thread]


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## Sora de Eclaune (Dec 20, 2011)

I just realized something.

What if they surprise us and the back has a fold-out page that shows the entire timeline in a more linear title-only sense?

I think it would be the tl;dr to this timeline soup.


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## Bladexdsl (Dec 20, 2011)

Sora de Eclaune said:


> BortzANATOR said:
> 
> 
> > Wait wait wait wait. What the eff do the CDi games go?
> ...


where they belong


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## Deleted User (Dec 20, 2011)

gamefan5 said:


> tigris said:
> 
> 
> > Wow, I can't wait to see if this heap of BS actually HAS a storyline
> ...


LOL, I'd like to see Nintendo explain the storyline. Should be reeaally interesiting.


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## Kioku_Dreams (Dec 20, 2011)

I just want to see this timeline. I guess it's revealed on my brother's birthday. xD


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## Bladexdsl (Dec 20, 2011)

well it's dec 21


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## omgpwn666 (Dec 21, 2011)

Bladexdsl said:


> well it's dec 21



Not for me! 7:05 PM on 12/20!


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## Foxi4 (Dec 21, 2011)

My approach is similiar to that of the AVGN:



> _"If there was some sort of a concrete storyline, a planned out, logical order in the Zelda universe, it would be there clear as day._
> 
> _The creators of Zelda didn't think about a timeline. Now, because of the pressure from the fans, Nintendo sometimes tries to inject things from previous games into newer instalments, attempting to tie some of them together but there isn't a sturdy foundation to do so. It's a puzzle that can't be solved._
> 
> ...


I believe that when Zelda was being developed those 25-odd years ago, the word "Legend" was key. A legend doesn't necessarily need to be tied with other legends in a logical order - it's a legend, an epic tale that tells us of the epic exploits of a more-or-less imaginary hero. Different legends can speak of the same hero doing something else and being elsewhere entirely at the same time, moreover, they don't necessarily have to make sense when looked upon as a collective.

An attempt to piece it together is only fan service and it won't necessarily make sense - it will just be a clusterf*ck to appease the curious fans, and that is all.


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## Bladexdsl (Dec 21, 2011)

well they revealed the oot timeline the one we already knew about...


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## KingVamp (Dec 21, 2011)

Foxi4 said:


> I believe that when Zelda was being developed those 25-odd years ago, the word quote Legend was key. A legend doesn't necessarily need to be tied with other legends in a logical order - it's a legend, an epic tale that tells us of the epic exploits of a more-or-less imaginary hero. Different legends can speak of the same hero doing something else and being elsewhere entirely at the same time, moreover, they don't necessarily have to make sense when looked upon as a collective.
> 
> An attempt to piece it together is only fan service and it won't necessarily make sense - it will just be a clusterf*ck to appease the curious fans, and that is all.


You know, in the beginning of that video he says not to take it too seriously. Other words that could have just be a joke to try to fit his character. Didn't see why it couldn't be connection. 
Since you brought it up tho... 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHIP9UtkQDQ


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## how_do_i_do_that (Dec 21, 2011)

Looks like someone got thier hands on the historia already.

Link : here

Looks like it also says how the timeline works.

Kotaku has a translation of it, in picture form : here


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## Nathan Drake (Dec 21, 2011)

Something isn't right about that translated timeline. There isn't a way the story as it stands can flow smoothly with that setup. That, and Four Swords Adventure is a *direct* sequel to Four Swords, meaning one would flow into the other on a timeline. There is no way they could be separated by so much while still having Ganon's and Vaati's appearances make sense. Whoever translated that sucks at it, I think. That, or they didn't entirely understand how Nintendo had organized it. As it stands, there are a few things just not right about that.

Edit: That, or the book isn't the tell all people were lead to believe it would be.


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## Bladexdsl (Dec 22, 2011)

nope that timeline theory is 100% fake not only does it not make any sense but it's IMPOSSIBLE!! link can't win and fail in the same timeline


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## how_do_i_do_that (Dec 22, 2011)

Just wait for someone to scan the whole thing and put it online. Then you can confirm or deny whatever you want.


I never said it was real or a fake, just that someone got thier hands on one. It is probably derieved from the order of the chapters, since the japanese amazon only list the first 3 chapters.



Or you can get it from play-asia : here


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