Nintendo Explains The 'Zelda Canon,' Declares 'Breath Of The Wild' And 'Tears Of The Kingdom' Are Completely Separate From The Rest Of The Series
The Legend of Zelda series, which has been ongoing since the '80s and features roughly a bajillion games, has long been the subject of (often humorous) online debate concerning its timeline, particularly since games in the series seldom release in chronological order.
Finally, Nintendo has released a graphic outlining the official Zelda timeline, finally proving for once and for all that … The Legend of Zelda series can't really be ordered in a sequential timeline.
The graphic appeared at Nintendo Live 2024 in Sydney, Australia.
As spotted by Vooks.net, the "official" Zelda timeline features a divergent path after Ocarina of Time as the timeline splits into two, and a divergent path within one of those paths for "Child Link" and "Adult Link." Finally, and perhaps most intriguingly, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are off in a completely separate timeline from the "main" timeline.
The image isn't new information, as it reflects the timeline on Nintendo's website, which has been in place since the release of Tears of the Kingdom, but it was many social media users' first time seeing it.
As the image went viral on Twitter / X, it proved two things. The first is something everyone already knew – that the Zelda timeline is ridiculously convoluted – and the second is that the Zelda timeline doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.
Many users expressed that trying to fit the Zelda games together logically was a fool's errand, as the games have brazenly shirked continuity throughout most of the series' history, and the recent BOTW/TOTK duology proved that Zelda's creators have little interest in a canonical timeline.
While the "official" Zelda timeline may be a jumbled mess, it likely won't stop passionate Nintendo fans from attempting to cram it all into one sequential timeline that makes sense.
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snacklord
Yeah, many of the Zelda games were never intended to connect to one another, but to say that the Timeline is useless is a gross over correction to that problem.
Many Zelda games were also created with intended places in the timeline. Those games are also explicit about it. Skyward Sword features the creation of the master sword and the Goddess Hylia, so of course it is early if not first. And the games that this new info says are separate from the timeline even reference Skyward Sword directly through clearly showing that Fi is still around. Ocarina of time is also explicitly referenced in both Twilight Princess and Wind Waker. I think one of the directors might have even said that both games were intended to be direct sequels to Ocarina of Time.
Is the timeline overly confusing? yes. Does it include games that were never intended to fit on a timeline? absolutely. But some games absolutely were intended to be set at a distinct point in time or order relative to other games. And for that, the timeline is helpful, to a general degree. Its not just made up nonsense to keep Zelda fans happy.
seacliff
I never understood people who thought it was made up on the fly in 2011. Ever since Zelda II nearly every Zelda game directly references another Zelda game. The majority of the timeline was already confirmed in interviews prior to the Historia, and the Historia tracks with interviews from over a decade before it, so Nintendo keeping track of it the whole time is likely. The timeline simply patches up a handful of loose ends.
However, it's not that deep either. Zelda's lore is pretty shallow, which the entire Kingdom of Hyrule sticking in stagnation for centuries at a time until a world ending event of sorts happen. So I don't understand people who obsess over the lore either, it isn't very interesting even compared to other Nintendo franchises like Metroid.
Nyazilla
Zelda Multiverse?