Fun Fact: Robin William's daughter was named after the character Zelda. He was apparently a true gamer. The games all look different because the franchise is like nearly 35 years old. I still have my copy of the original Zelda that I played in the early 90s. I don't think Nintendo seriously considered an actual time line for the franchise until after Windwaker came out and fans were trying to piece stuff together. You were Link. Literally named for the fact that the character is the Link between the player and the world and you saved the Princess. And it was a stand alone experience each time.
The games looking different isn't just because of how old the franchise is, but also because Nintendo constantly explores different ways of attracting new audiences by diversifying the visual style.
@@davidedeluca5809 Hahaha. Indeed. Well this one time alone they weren't stupid and played into it. There's a Zelda commercial with him and his daughter, even.
So, something really interesting that wasn't really touched on is what the Legend of Zelda games were (originally) about. The creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, has gone on record that he wanted to create a sense of awe and exploration that he felt as a boy, exploring the caves and forests near his home. Awareness of landscape and how to travel between places has been a feature of the series overall, but the recent games (Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom) are really a return to the non-linear, non-restricted exploration of earlier games. There are objectives and an overall win condition, but the game is much more about the journey than the destination.
The games look so different because they span almost 4 decades and about a dozen (or more?) devices. Edit: oh and of course different development teams with different artistic visions.
When the Zelda games were created, they were made as standalone adventures. Each game had its own story, which didn't really link together. There was references to other games in the series, but nothing more than that. It wasn't until 2011 when Skyward Sword came out, Nintendo decided to make an official timeline linking all games together. Because of how little each game fit together, they decided that the only way it would make sense is if there were three timelines. That is how the Zelda timeline became the mess it is today! Although Breath of the Wild seems to be converging each timeline into one going forwards.
Yeah it’s worth noting that they made one game that actively acknowledges the timeline, Skyward Sword, and then immediately blew the whole timeline up with the next game, Breath of the Wild. The timeline is something the fans care about way more than Nintendo ever has, as it should be.
I think it's really cool because at it's core these games are very simple and basically hero saves princess type stories but there is so much more behind all that. And it all makes sense considering how you always meet reoccuring characters and places that are kinda similar yet different. I can't think of another game that does that. It's really cool, it reminds me of cartoons.
Nintendo never made an official timeline. Dark Horse published a timeline that was a popular theory, with Nintendo's approval. they later published the encyclopedia with a different timeline, and a note that none of it is hard canon and it's all ip to the player's imagination. it's all just headcanon.
@@Grapefruit5000 Nintendo has also done a fantastic job of making Zelda herself a more interesting character as the series has progressed. Early in the franchise (in terms of release dates) the character was at most a source of rare dialogue. Even in A Link to the Past (Zelda 3) she had only a handful of dialogue moments barely being the most prolific voice, exceeded only by Sahasrahlah the Sage if you count the telepathic tiles throughout the game. However by Ocarina of Time she fully embodied the Triforce of Wisdom, revealing vision to the avatar of Courage, Link. Zelda crafted an entire alter-ego as Sheik to support an insurgent Hyrulean resistance for seven years as a teenager. From Ocarina of Time and beyond, Zelda was a dignified and worthy royal, a uniquely noble character. Here are some pretty great lines from when she teaches you the warp songs: (before teaching the Minuet of Forest) "The flow of time is always cruel... its speed seems different for each person, but no one can change it... A thing that does not change with time is a memory of younger days..." Each of these three warp songs represent characters and regions of the world (as well as species/races that call these places home), all with strong elemental resonance. The Minuet of Forest takes you to the Forest Temple, the very metaphor for growth and the time lost from Link's time skip. Zelda's words are crafted to foster Link's courage to deal with those existential challenges, and is fantastic writing compared to what was, before. (before teaching the Bolero of Fire) "It is something that grows over time... a true friendship. A feeling in the heart that becomes even stronger through time... The passion of friendship will soon blossom into a righteous power and through it, you'll know which way to go..." The Bolero of Fire warp song takes you to the Goron's domain inside Death Mountain, and Zelda's (Sheik) speech is foundational context for Link's natural friendship with Gorons, who share in his singular and straightforward nature. This was the first game where Gorons as a species could be interacted with. These commonalities between Link and the Gorons get emphasized for the rest of the franchise where Gorons are present, and numerous story beats in recent games go out of their way to highlight what Zelda talks about here with Darunia's unique friendship with Link. Modern analogues like Daruk and Yunobo (Breath of the Wild/Age of Calamity/Tears of the Kingdom) very much mirror Darunia's friendship, with perhaps the newer games having more technology available to fully express the Goron characters. (before teaching the Serenade of Water) "Time passes, people move...Like a river's flow, it never ends. A childish mind will turn to noble ambition... Young love will become deep affection... The clear water's surface reflects growth..." As Zelda (disguised as Sheik) teaches the Serenade of Water, she pays homage to the strong affection Ruto has for Link, and his actions as a boy to rescue her from Jabu Jabu's Belly. An error in gestural translation causes Link to not realize the young Zora was proposing to Link by giving him the Zora's Sapphire, and her conduct as a priestess in the time skipped Hyrule reflects that in their interactions. Link needed this Sapphire to open the Temple of Time (where he acquires the Master Sword), so he agreed to her proposal but it isn't exactly clear how the very young Link feels about it, if not at least pretty hesitant. When returning to Zora's Domain as an adult, a short musical interlude with a well-themed song to learn sets the stage very well for us to believe in Ruto's sincerity, as she's had seven years to reflect on how she felt when they were younger. The time element is sold very well in Zelda's words, and it turns Ruto from a slightly annoying character (the dungeon design didn't help at all here in Jabu Jabu's Belly), to a fun to interact with character with real development. Modern Zora lore puts a lot of emphasis on a Zora Princess falling in love with a Chosen Knight, in-game tropes, etc. It gets a fair amount of reprisal. While Link has only become more expressive due to not being canonically talkative (with only recently even much acknowledgement at all that he barely speaks), the surrounding cast allow him to be a simple and straightforward character without being uninteresting. Link responds to all of the world around him, just not frequently with words. Wind Waker might be the most pure Link nature that we get to see thanks to how the game was designed visually, but his character comes off pretty authentically in every game that gives him more than just a handful of pixels. Link has come along in more subtle ways, meant to reflect the growth we've all had as people and gamers. We've been along for a long ride with LoZ. Link reflects that as the series continues. Sorry for the like... essay. I feel very strongly about how The Legend of Zelda has grown in the realm of character development. Hyrule feels like a real world in many games, even when it's clearly not. It's an easy place to get lost in, and it stands the test of time, perhaps entirely by design.
This is not entierly true. Zelda2 is a direct sequel to Zelda1. A Link to the Past was in a maybe-reboot/maybe-prequel area for a long time. Link's Awakening was at the time at-least seeminly intended to be a sequel to ALttP. Ocarina of Time is clearly based on the backstory given to ALttP. Majora's Mask is a direct sequel to OoT. Wind Waker and Twilight Princess both make obvious and direct refferences to happening shortly after OoT, but in that game's two different timelines. The DS games are explicitly direct sequels to Wind Waker. Skyward Sword obviously happened before and set up OoT. More or less all the fan made timelines before the offical one was published agreed with eachother and it on all of this except where to place the Four Swords/Minish Cap games and the games that became the "downfall" timeline (tho their internal order was pretty consistantly ALttP>LA>LoZ>AoL, with the Oracles games usually being placed between ALttP and LA). The idea that the games themselves was all basically a reboot every game was always itself a fan overstatment of two facts; that Nintendo consider each game an individual telling of that game's legend, and thus are very loose on consistancy, and that each game is meant to be stand alone... in that you can play any game without having to have played any other, not in the sense of something like main-series Final Fantasy games being stand-alone.
I think the timeline of Metal Gear is seriously wonderful. Especially how the last game connects right into the first one. The themes are quite prophetic as well.
I think that many game developers may not know what their funding may be like for subsequent games in a series. The disjointed nature of the plots could simply be the writers' limiting themselves to each game as it gets green lit for production. Then they have to deal with a story cannon that has grown in a more organic and iterative way. It reminds me a little of watching the series "Lost".
Zelda is one of those classic franchises that are always memorable. I remember playing the original with my dad as a kid and that was over 30 years ago...man I'm getting old
Majora's Mask still messes me up like not in a teary way but more of an existential dread and a "fuck, that's heavy" way. It's truly amazing how many situations that arise from the people you meet slowly realizing that the end is upon them and there is nothing they can do. Such a range from inconsolable sadness, to the resigned acceptance to the feigning ignorance it's something that I recommend people who haven't experienced give it at least one playthrough if they get the chance. I avoided it for a long while after only giving it a few minutes and somewhat embarrassingly letting the countdown timer intimidate me enough to shelf it. When I finally decided to just give it a shot randomly I was absolutely amazed.
the nice thing about an eternal rebirth-cycle is, that you can place your story in any timeframe you want - and save for a few boundaries you can just ignore most of the previous storylines
Zeltik a zelda youtuber made the most amazing story explained video if you're into that stuff. It goes over the events of Breath of the wild in a cinematic way. Really good retelling, it is quite long though but the video is called 'Zelda: Breath of the Wild - The Story Before Tears of the Kingdom (Lore Recap)'. It would be a really good watch
Yep they basically place them wherever. While the games do specify whether they take place before or after a certain event they leave a lot of things intentionally vague for player interpretation.
If you're interested in the story of the Legend of Zelda, a female duo going by the name of Akira Himekawa have been doing a long-running series of manga. They're actually really good, and some of the non-canonical, for lack of a better term "fanfic" chapters at the end of some of the books have actually ended up influencing Zelda canon. (For those Zelda fans wondering, the most notable case is that a bonus scene in their adaptation of Ocarina of Time introduced a race of birdlike people called the Watarara; Aonuma has stated that the short story was a key inspiration for the creation of the Rito in Wind Waker)
The reason most of the games all look different is that (as shown in your thumbnail) the franchise dates back to 1986 (1987 in North America) and has appeared on just about every Nintendo console released - from the original NES to the Gameboy to the recent Nintendo Switch. While the timeline details are interesting lore, it is less important to each individual game since they all have their own engaging internal adventure to sort out. As such, it matters less which reincarnation of Link you are, and more about how you will rescue Zelda and/or defeat the villain (often Ganondorf) and save this version of Hyrule (the kingdom). If the timeline stuff *really* interests you, you may wish to check out The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia which is what Screen Rant was referencing in their video. *On a separate note, I purchased Magic Required: A Lochlan Ellyll Novel, so I also have some reading material for the weekend!
Essentially for the casual player each game is just a reincarnation of the same story. Demon/wizard/evil king imprisons the goddess/princess who has the power of the triforce and a hero arises/Link who has to stop the evil. Then that story gets reused most games. And that's fine as the games really shine mechanically instead of storywise. They're just a blast to play.
Zelda never focused on making a continuous story just a big and epic one in each game. Only after they made like 8 games they realized that having a continues story is very popular and decided to make a time line out of their games. That's how we got the 3 time lines now.
The og hyrule warriors has 3 missions in the 3 timeliness, it specifically says they are in 3 different dimensional timelines, so maybe that's converging them
the best way to look at adult timeline link disappearing is that he and child timeline link are the same one and that the future he left didn't vanish when he was sent back leading to a timeline that had no reincarnated hero at all until wind waker link fixed the triforce because the spirit of the hero went with link into the past and is in the child timeline (if that makes sense). something else: as stated in the video, unless the games are a direct sequel (like ocarina of time and majora's mask for example are directly linked with majora taking place almost immediately after ocarina) all these links are separate people who are separated by centuries of years apart. that's why spirit tracks is 100 years after wind waker and phantom hourglass
To explain the games that are just kinda glossed over or stuck in a random place in the timeline, usually before the split or in the downfall timeline, originally the games were written more like an anthology with the premise of a story in a kingdom called hyrule with a hero named link a princess named Zelda and various other shared themes and character names. After ocarina of time they started to become more invested in connecting the games, so the next 3 games, majora's mask, wind waker and then twilight princess were explicitly written as sequels to the split ending in ocarina, where wind waker takes place in the world link disappeared from leaving no hero to stop the revival of Ganondorf, and then Majora's Mask and Twilight princess which told the story of the alternate reality where link returned in time to before Ganondorf took over with the knowledge of his plans to destroy hyrule, snitched on Ganondorf to Zelda and the royal family, which lead to Ganondorf's failed execution and banishment to the twilight realm. Basically everything from then on had more consideration put into its timeline placement as when skyward sword came out after twilight princess for the 25th anniversary, it finally gave us an origin story and the creators released the official timeline which before was only a fan theory. This was one of my most prominent special interests in middle school so I can info dump about this for ages lol
Oh man, time shenanigans are MY JAM! Ok, some lore help for Hanna and anyone who needs it: One important concept in all Zelda games is fate and legends, with most games being set so long after the previous that the world-shattering events are part of myth and barely remembered by a few chosen wise men/women. That mystery is part of all Zelda games, because it's the flip side to the adventure part. That means characters mostly are not aware of the previous game's events. The games throw around arbitrary amounts of time which sometimes is way too much, but the point is to convey the absolute loss of information that happens over time. The timeline itself is a bit of a mess, most games post 2000 fit into the timeline but many lore theorists believe that there is a better "fallen hero timeline split" in a different point since narratively all splits should happen from time magic. The very first game (lore-wise) has a time-travel element, which seems to not cause a split but it's a safe place to differentiate the "fallen hero" timeline from the other two which rightfully split at Ocarina of Time. Those split because when Zelda send Link back in time to give him a chance at a normal life, her own timeline carries on but now without the hero that had been reincarnating since ancient times. She unknowingly split the timeline but also deprived her own timeline from a readily available hero bloodline, and the next time Ganon returns generations later, there is nobody that rises up to challenge him.
OMG this takes me back... Played Link to the past, oracles, seasons, links awakening, ocarina of time and majora's mask... windwaker and the original .... Never tried the new ones though To answer the question... if you know the games you'll realize where in the story you are while playing... If you don't know the story, you won't notice anything weird. Cause each story is a self contained story with a beginning and an ending, that references the past but doesn't need the player to KNOW it
It is always cool seeing reactions from people who had different upbringing. I started gaming in the super nintendo era so zelda was an established property; it is wild thinking about how it can be new stories to someone else. As for why the zelda games look so different and why the timeline is complicated, I would contribute that to the fact that nintendo has been making zelda games for 40 years now. The first game in the timeline released in 2011, the split in the timeline was 1998 and the first game made was in the 80s. there were also a lot of different system that the games were made for, a gameboy advance could not show the same quality of picture as the gamecube.
I think its a really cool timeline too. It is convoluted, but the fact that they managed to piece it all together when it wasn't originally meant to fit together is impressive lol
Hey Hannah! I think you’ll enjoy this bit from a story standpoint, and the overview you watched didn’t explain it well! So the Hero of Time Link (who splits the timeline) grows up among the Kokiri, who are childlike spirits that live in the Lost Woods. When he sets out on his adventure he is given a fairy partner, Navi, like all Kokiri children have, even though he himself is a regular Hylian child. Without fairies to guide them, Hylians lose their way in the Lost Woods and eventually become Skull Kids/Stalfos, basically scary skeleton monsters. Now, in the timeline where Link returns as a child, Navi abandons him, and he goes looking for her in the Lost Woods, leading to the events of Majora’s Mask. The whole game takes place in Termina, a sort of metaphorical mirror dimension representing the 5 Stages of Grief, and the antagonist is a Skull Kid who is sort of a foil for Link. So the implication is that Link, in his grief over not only losing Navi but also the ordeal he went through to save Hyrule, gets lost in the Lost Woods and becomes a Skull Kid, and eventually a Stalfos, which is why he appears as a skeleton warrior (the Hero’s Shade) in Twilight Princess.
That's not accurate. In TP, the Hero's Shade reveals to TP Link that he (TP Link) is a direct descendant of himself (OoT Link). The Hero of Twilight is a great great great great grandson of the Hero of Time. At some unknown point, OoT Link settled down and had a family. So, no, the Hero's Shade didn't become a Skull Kid/Stalfos. Best guess based on information from TP is that he returned to Hyrule, became a Knight for the kingdom and fell in battle as a fully grown Hylian.
The comedian Robin Williams (RIP) named his daughter Zelda because he was such a fan of the game. They even did a few ads for the game series together when Zelda had grown up. They're still on RU-vid if you want to look them up, but I think they're too short for you to do a video about them. Maybe if you watch them with a bunch of other game ads. They're amazing together, so adorable.
If you're looking for reading materials, they have manga for most all the games, as well as 3 encyclopedias about the franchise, which give greater details about the lore, items, etc.
So fun fact: I just finished the game earlier today. Tears of the Kingdom, after 180 hours for me, is now finished. I've done basically everything in the game I want to do. I will still go back for more stuff to try new ideas out, but I'm almost tapped out on the game for a while. And it was a wild ride.
So in the third timeline where Link disappears after defeating Ganon, he's being sent back in time to relive his childhood. Those two timelines are actually connected. Link goes back in time and changes the future by unmasking Ganondorf's plot before he has a chance to murder the king of Hyrule which becomes the "child timeline", while the Zelda who sent him back in time continues to exist, and from that world's perspective Link just disappeared in what is called the "adult timeline".
If you want, there's a cool video you can watch that explains what happened to Hyrule before Breath of the Wild, called "All 18 memories in order - breath of the wild". there's a game mechanic in Breath of the Wild where in order to restore your lost memories as link (you were put asleep for 100 years and suffer amnesia) you go around to specific points on the map where pictures were taken, and you slowly, throughout the game, start regaining all your memories. It deserves a good reaction video I think, as it is a 30 minute video
The Legend of Zelda series is actually where the DNA for a lot of Action/Adventure RPGs come from. Either that or D&D. Part of the reason Legend of Zelda has endured is just a mixture of the story, which is fairly simple (though convoluted due to the timeline) and the design’s motive. Even though it’s a single player game, it was actually designed in a way that for full understanding and finding everything a game in the series had, you had to talk to others. Shigeru Miyamoto was a genius when designing the first games in this way). And part of the reason all of these games look so different is the fact that they are all made for different systems. The series itself started in 1986. We’re talking about a series that has had at least one installment on every single home and handheld console since the original 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System. Only thing that is more recognizable than LoZ when you’re talking about Nintendo is the cast and evolution of the Mario Bros games.
The critical thing to understand is this: In Ocarina of Time, at the start of Link's journey, he was too young to use the Master Sword, which was the only thing that could defeat Ganon. So he was put into stasis in a safe place so that he would grow into an adult, skipping 7 years of his life. After Link defeated Ganon, Zelda felt guilty that Link had to skip his childhood, so she sent him back in time. When he returned, Link told Zelda what was going to happen, and the two of them pre-empted Ganondorf's rise to power. You asked where Link disappeared to, and the answer is not a place, it's a time. When Zelda sent him back to be a child, he no longer existed in that timeline. From the perspective of the adult timeline, he went into stasis as a child, woke up as an adult, defeated Ganon, and vanished. From the perspective of the child timeline, Link never went into stasis, because he was returned to a time before then. From Link's perspective, he went into stasis as a child, woke up as an adult, then returned to being a child. There are two timelines, but only one Link between them because he was threading between the two, since it was his time traveling that split the timelines in the first place. He could only end his time travel and live his life in one of those two timelines. The ending where he died is weird. The Adult and Child timelines exist because they both necessarily have to exist with the way the game ended. But Link being defeated is not a necessity for the completion of the story, as far as we know. Maybe Zelda did some time travel stuff before Link did, who knows.
The games were for different systems so that is why they look so different and span from the early 1980s to present so technology has improved everything. :) They are awesome to play!
When it comes down to it, all the different timeline stuff is just an excuse to have more games. Fans like to go into it, but it's not necessary to follow any of it to enjoy the games. They're all fun action puzzle solving games that can be played in any order.
It might help for someone to tell you that link (the character you play as) is referred to as "the hero" each time, he is the reincarnation of "the hero" and each incarnation has a title so you can tell the difference between each actual person or incarnation. So "the hero of time" is the one who starts his journey in the game "the ocarina of time" and he is also the same link in "majora's mask" which I don't think they ever actually call him the hero of time in that game, but if you play both, it's obviously the same one based on him having the sacred ocarina... ocarinas do show up in other games but this one is metal and can affect time... he also transcends time to help train the link in "twilight princess" and references training others. All these games came out seemingly unconnected, but due to the story of reincarnation and fan theories analyzing everything from the map of hyrule (where most of the games take place) to the different enemies evolution from game to game, Nintendo tried their best to make a coherent timeline, which was combed through by all those same people so much that they re-released it completely revised. Then they made "breathe of the wild" and just said it takes place thousands of years after the timeline which is why it doesn't fall under any of the splits... which doesn't really make sense but it's fine, it's like dragon ball (which I know you probly don't know about) introducing "power levels" due to the fans trying to show a consistent measurement between characters, and then later trying to make it look like a stupid measurement once they made the "z" series that can't be relied on, because the characters are going to win, they are the main characters, so they are obviously strong enough, they just have to bring it out in some way, and it's better to focus on the emotion of story than some sudo scientific number you place on the characters, and then explain what happened to create the adition or multiplication of that. Superman is stronger than the villain, he just has to unlock it... batman always starts at a disadvantage, but overcomes it, superman should just punch Bateman's head into the atmosphere, but batman figures out how to even the playing field.
The "official" timeline is really cool, but definitely not thought out ahead of time. At least it wasn't for the vast majority of the games. After a couple decades and several games, people kept wanting a timeline, and so nintendo used all the references within the games that match up to create this loose timeline. That's why some games make sense to be in certain spots but others just seem kinda thrown in. I think they kinda are, but hey it's still amazing and fun to think about! Plus I feel like since Windwaker and Twilight Princess nintendo has actually been making an effort to create a larger timeline and put games into them as they come out rather than afterwards, so the future is looking very exciting!
The timeline video you watched was _really_ weird. There were some things wrong, and a lot of details just weren't explained. First off, the guy was wrong about how the adult timeline started. To preface this, the timeline split wasn't a three way split; it was a two way split. Either Link defeats Ganon or he doesn't. If he doesn't, the downfall timeline happens, nothing wrong with that. By the way that outcome is hypothetical because Ocarina of Time doesn't have a 'bad ending'. If you lose to Ganon you just see the Game Over screen like always. Anyway, if Link does defeat Ganon, the child timeline and adult timeline both happen, and they run parallel. The child timeline is where Link is sent back to his original time. That always happens, because it happens in the cutscene right before the credits roll in Ocarina of Time. The adult timeline is the continuation of the timeline where Link defeated Ganon, after he was sent back in time. Link didn't just disappear, and he certainly didn't continue on as an adult. He effectively ceased to exist in that time. His incorrect explanation of how the adult timeline started also made his description of Wind Waker _really_ bad. Link in the Wind Waker has no connection to Link from Ocarina of Time. Link from Ocarina of Time ceased to exist in the adult timeline. The story of his triumph because the land's most famous legend, even surviving the Great Flood. When boys reached a certain age, they would be dressed like Link on their birthday to honor the ancient hero. Wind Waker Link is just a random boy. It could have been anyone. In fact, at the start of the game, Link would have liked nothing more than to laze the day away and party with his friends at night. Then his sister was taken. Not only did this Link have no connection to the legendary hero, but his call to action didn't initially seem to have anything to do with Ganondorf at all. Even then, Link only got involved because Ganondorf's stupid bird grabbed the wrong girl. If it had grabbed Tetra again after having been forced to drop her, instead of mistakenly grabbing Link's sister because they both have long ears and blonde hair, Link would never have left his island. Moving on, the guy was also wrong about the identity of Ganondorf in Twilight Princess. This isn't a reincarnated Ganondorf. Ganondorf has only ever reincarnated once in the series. Ganondorf in Twilight Princess is Ganondorf from Ocarina of Time. At the end of Ocarina of Time, Link immediately goes to see Zelda after being sent back in time. Something important to know is that in Ocarina of Time, when Link was sealed away and emerged as an adult, Ganondorf tried to claim the Triforce. The Triforce is a wish-granting artifact, but it will only work for one who holds the entire relic. Each of the three smaller triangles embodies one of the goddesses who created it; power, wisdom, and courage. Because Hyrule worships these three goddesses, these elements are called the three virtues, and this belief system has them acting as a scale with each being tempered by the other two in an ideal scenario. A complete balance is required to wield the Triforce. If any of the three outweigh the other two for the person who tried to claim the Triforce, it will split and the person will be left with the piece that represents the virtue that person most believes in. In such a moment, the other two pieces will seek hosts of their own, also based on their virtues. Ganondorf was power hungry, so when he tried to claim the Triforce he was left with the Triforce of Power. At that moment, the Triforce of Wisdom went to Zelda, and the Triforce of Courage went to Link. That last bit is the important part for explaining what happened to Ganondorf in Twilight Princess. See, when Link was sent back in time at the end of Ocarina of Time, the connection between the future and the present was severed, but Link still bore the Triforce of Courage. Bearers of the Triforce will have the symbol of the Triforce emblazoned on the backs of their hands, with the pieces they actually have glowing the full radiant gold of the Triforce while the others on their marks are dull and faded. So Link marches into Hyrule Castle, speaks of Ganondorf's plan to betray Hyrule and kill the king, and raises his hand to show the Triforce mark as proof that things have happened beyond what they appear to be. Ganondorf is imprisoned and set to be executed. The problem is, since Link was sent back with the Triforce of Courage, the Triforce can't be whole in the present anymore. So as soon as Link was returned to the present, Zelda gained the Triforce of Wisdom, and Ganondorf gained the Triforce of Power. The Triforce of Power doesn't just make Ganondorf more powerful, it also makes him nigh-unkillable. So when he's stabbed through the chest with a sword forged purely of sacred light, it barely fazes him. He retains a scar from it, but that's all. Instead, he rips through his bonds, pulls the sword out of his chest, and kills his would-be executioner. He is then sealed away in an alternate realm, since everyone realized they lacked the means to put him down. As one character in Twilight Princess says, thinking back to the moment, Ganondorf suddenly being revealed to bear the Triforce of Power at the moment he should have died was like a divine prank.
Yeah, the Phantom comic does something similar, the authors tell their stories from various reincarnations of the hero according to their own whims, lol
As someone who has only finished the very first Zelda game, I just ignore the entire continuity thing and see every game as their own seperate story :P
This is the thing to do. All the timeline BS is basically just fan fiction that got enough of a following that Nintendo decided "fuck it, we're gonna make it official". But they've never cared about having a coherent continuity, and I don't expect that they ever will.
Hi hannah, love this new video ❤. This new legend of zelda is close to convince me to play it, and i dont have a console so i probably use other way. I would recommend to watch videos of eve online. "Build your dreams, wreack their dreams". Now im playing a game similar: Albion Online. Btw, im watching for 3 days now a video of a streamer of that game, professor scythe, about that game lastest patch: knightfall. Man the mix of music memes and action is epic and funny AF. The video is searing into my brain.
When you are asking where did he go, you are wondering why link vanished after beating ganon in ocarina of time. He disappeared after returning the master sword to its pedestal to become a child again to live out his life as normal, just because he went back to his time, the adult timeline still continues without him.
A lot of these games were made more or less as separate entitities before an official timeline was ever conceived. That's why it appears so wonky and confusing. Aside from the direct sequels, the timeline is stuck together with out of game events that are contextualized by the state of the game worlds at the end of one and the beginning of another. That's not to diminish it or anything, I think its neat that they've managed to stitch together so many disparate ideas into one semi-coherent narrative. Or 3, rather. And, if I'm not mistaken, all of the games that released since this timeline was introduced have been made with adherence to it in mind. I wonder if/when/how they'll ever confirm the timeline merge.
The important thing to remember about the Zelda timeline is that it’s a concept that was retroactively applied to the series after 10 or so games had already been released. Most Zelda games are entirely self-contained stories with similar themes and recurring elements. Nintendo only officially created the timeline because the fans wanted it, it’s not really something they actively consider when they make the games.
I was thinking you might enjoy video game video essays. There's a lot of really good ones out there. Most of them are super long though. I watched one that was like 4 hours over the span of a week. Most are like 1 hour though 🤣
there actually is no official Zelda timeline. *Nintendo has been very clear about this.* they say you can imagine it however you want, or simply not imagine the games as connected. that video showed one book featuring one timeline, but there's also a slightly different timeline published in a different book, and there's a note saying that neither is hard canon and it's open to interpretation.
Wtf? In OOT, he never kidnappet her until the very end. She desguised herfself for 7 years as Sheik. She and Link literally saved Hyrule together abd she was only kidnapped after she revealed herself as Zelda and not Sheik, and after Link had opened the portal to the Sacred Realm.
Zelda games are more about gameplay design and exploration of various things than story. Yet they do create some very intriguing stories. BotW wasn't really that special however. Majora's Mask is my personal favourite since it's still even today a very unique game with many melancholic themes and some very specific gameplay features.
Oh. You're watching that video of the Zelda timeline? Um... Not to be that guy but... that lore video is probably the most simplified of the complete Zelda lore videos I've seen.
You should consider doing a playthrough of the Zelda games. I would watch that! But maybe starting with some of the more popular older games. If you wanna follow timelines then maybe Ocarina of time would be a good start. Breath of the wild is easy to get into as well for new gamers of course. Also, regarding a series of "books", there are manga books available of the legend of Zelda.
only a few games have the same Link from a previous game most are reincarnations of the hero's spirit (Link) the incarnation of Hylia (Zelda) and the curse of the demon king (usually Ganondorf but several games have a different version of this curse) plus the franchise is over 40 years old which is why the games look so different apart from the fact that Zelda is about innovation not graphics
The Original Legend of Zelda was my very first game, and I fully believe Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom has Perfected what an Adventure Game is and it all started cuz the Devs looked back to the Original and asked themselves "What made this take off?" It was adventuring and getting lost
Zelda is one of the oldest game series of all time and is certainly one of the oldest still popular game series up with Mario and Donkey Kong. The series is like 40 years old I believe? That is why the games look so wildly different from each other.
Nintendo originally had no timeline then fans started speculating hard, so they sort try to fit them together and said 'here'. It is best to play a game or two before learning about the timeline.
The timeline is a product of the fanbase. It is the fans who have pieced togheter everything into a logical pattern. Each game in the Zelda series is independent - but the developers like to reuse old elements. So they resue characters, places, environments, enemies, weapons, and lore to create a new story. There has never been an official timeline, the developers just focused on what works best for their current game. Irregardless how it affect the earlier games. Nintendo have now seen the fans' timeline and they might actually adopt it as their own, or at least get influenced by it.
It is kinda weird that we don’t really know how to play a game until we get our hands on it isn’t it? Actually I guess Nintendo sometimes shows them pressing the buttons when giving little demonstrations but other than that y’know
Honestly, while the timeline is cool. It's easier to think of the games as a retelling of the same legend. Just like how we retell the Norse legend of Ragnarok in different ways all the time to this very day. The timeline was more of just some candy for the fans when we started to speculate about it.
The timeline is simple: they want to make a new Zelda game and they want to give it a mechanics. And after it, the gameplay components, it comes the story. So the order of the games is not as important as the gameplay. All the games on their own are well explained, almost all have very good game mechanics, and for the way, Nintendo choose to work with them, they gave to opportunity to create one thousand videos explaining the timeline, cause people care about these things.
If you are willing to put in the time(because there are literally hours of content) the xenoblade series is really good and have this sort of split timeline narative,not as split as zelda but its interesting, But its massive . Just the cutscenes alone in xenoblade 2 all in one video can be like 3 hours long, also its emotional as hell
don't know how you found botw creepy and weird, pretty much the only creepy and weird zelda game was Majora's Mask, botw was a happy go lucky game if anything
Most people won’t really care for the story much, evil dude threatens to destroy world, zelda, master sword, link saves the day. It’s generic but the gameplay is fun, Tears of the kingdom is fucking crazy. Breath of the wild was huge and broke the internet, and this new one is doing that and more
The timeline is super screwey, but I think MatPat's theories on the timelines simplify and explain them much better. You should check it out if you're interested. (Basically any of his timelines for anything are at the VERY least are interesting, even if you disagree)
each game is it's own seperate world and story with reoccurring themes and elements The timeline was just a fan theory till Nintendo gave it some minor credit
If your willing to drop the money breath of the wild or tears of the kingdom are very good first games (particular breath of the wild) they'll really let you mess around and do things at your own pace.
Hey Hannah!! Ik you might not have a Nintendo switch console but I would love to see you play one of the newest Zelda games they are very great games and are very non gamer friendly. It’s just a thought 🤣 Love the vids keep it up 👍
Every game has its own story and the grand timeline is not something you really think about or mentioned at all while playing the games. Maybe try looking up the story of breath of the wild specifically so you understand what happens in tears of the kingdom
The Zelda series, if you try to follow "the timeline", is honestly SUPER confusing, even as a fan. In fact, I actually think you might have a lot of fun watching Polygon's "Unraveled" series of videos. Specifically, there is a video trying to explain the "Zelda timelines" in a way that's actually pretty spot-on, but also hilarious and pokes fun how confusing it all is. I feel like you would actually really enjoy those Unraveled videos! But who knows, everyone has a unique sense of humor!
NGL, I get worried when anyone reacts to anything Nintendo... Great games but they hate the online community. Good luck. I love your channel, and _The Last of Us_ playthrough is teaching me how many gaming mechanics I take for granted
this explanation glosses over a lot of details from the games. like for someone new to zelda lore, not explicitly saying hylia did become zelda is unnecessarily confusing for no reason. & it feels like they arent even really explaining the plot of some of the games & how they connect to the overall lore at all. instead it feels like they just do a quick overview of the game itself.
If you want more fantasy time travel videogame nonsense, check out the Elder Scrolls lore on Dragon Breaks. They happen when multiple timelines exist simultaneously, some even contradicting each other.
