2. Table of Contents
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Introduction
The Legend of Zelda
Zelda II: Adventure of Link
A Link to the Past
Link’s Awakening
Ocarina of Time
Majora’s Mask
Oracle of Ages/Seasons
Four Swords
Wind Waker
The Split Timeline
Four Swords Adventures
Minish Cap
Twilight Princess
Phantom Hourglass
Spirit Tracks
Skyward Sword

3. Introduction
• The most cheriched
videogames of all time have
spiraled into long lasting
franachises.
• Many of these series
evolved into legends of
their own.
• Few sparked more
interest, mystery, and
imagination than the
Legend of Zelda.

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Released in 1987
Very basic plot
Save Zelda from the evil Ganon
Most of the story is told through the manual

6. • Ganon, weilding the Triforce of Power invades
Hyrule looking for the Triforce of Wisdom
• Zelda sends Impa to look for a hero valiant
enough to defeat Ganon and save Hyrule
• Splits the Triforce into 8 pieces

7. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

8. • Link sets out to find the triforce of courage to
awake the slumbering princess Zelda (which is
not the same as that of the last game)
• Sequel to the Legend of Zelda
• Ganon’s minions are out for Link’s blood which
could be used to revive him.

9. • The manual tells more
of the tale.
• Paints a broader picture
of the Kingdom of
Hyrule and its history.
• The manual hints to
several mysteries spread
throughout Hyrule, but
does not reveal it.

11. • Prequel to the Legend
of Zelda
• Established much of
the foundational lore
the rest of the series
would eventually
explore.

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The creation of Hyrule
The Master Sword
The origins of Ganon
Its prequel nature complicated the timeline

14. • Sequel to A Link to the Past
• Simple sidestory, does not advance the
overall chronology
• Link sets out to hone his skills, gets
shipwrecked in Koholint Island

15. • Link learns that the only way to leave the island
is to wake the Wind Fish
• Koholint was a dream of the Wind Fish
• Ship in the game’s ending would eventually help
piece the timeline together

17. • Origin story
• Link sets out to stop Ganondorf from claiming
the triforce with the aid of Princess Zelda
• Their actions unintentionally led to the downfall
of Hyrule

18. • Link gathered
the courage to
travel between 2
time periods in
order to awaken
7 sages and
obtain the
strength to
defeat
Ganondorf.

19. • Ocarina of Time provided deeper insight into
the series’ mythos.
• Three godesses created Hyrule, when they
departed they left behind the Triforce a relic that
could grant one’s wishes

20. • The triforce is hidden
away in the Sacred
Realm
• Ganondorf, king of the
Gerudo, eventually
learned about the
Triforce’s resting place
and tried to take it for
himself

21. • After Link defeats Ganondorf, Zelda decides to
send Link back to his original time period
• The implications of this action would not be
fully realized until later entries in the series

23. • Side story to Ocarina of Time
• While searching for a friend, Link is drawn into
Termina, an alternate dimension.

24. • Termina is terrorized by the Skull Kid a forest
imp from Ocarina of Time who stole an evil
mask granting him great power.
• Link had 3 days to stop Majora’s Mask from
bringing the Moon crashing down.

25. • Delivered an important clue concerning the
timeline
• Took place after link was sent back in time to his
original time period

27. • Link is sent by the Triforce to Holodrum and
Labrynna two lands distant from Hyrule.
• Evil forces terrorized each land and Link set out
to restore order before they fell into chaos.
• Behind the scenes, Ganon’s followers attempted
to revive him.

28. • Story elements pointed towards other games in
the series
• The triforce was unified in the game’s intro.
• Ship in the game’s ending pointed to Link’s
Awakening’s beginning.

29. Four Swords

30. • Link is on a quest to defeat an evil Wind Mage
named Vaati
• Plot was too ambiguous to place strictly
anywhere in the timeline
• Eiji Aonuma confirms the game the oldest tale
in the franchise

31. The Wind Waker

32. • Took place hundreds of years after Ocarina of
Time
• Introduction told the tale of the downfall of the
kingdom and the return of Ganon after being
sealed in Ocarina of Time

33. • The Gods decide to flood Hyrule
• Ganondorf uses the Triforce of Power to break
free from below the waves and seeks for a way
to unify the Triforce to grant his wishes
• A new Link and Zelda rise to stop Ganondorf

34. • In the end, the Triforce washed the remains of
Hyrule along with the Master Sword and
Ganondorf
• The ending left plotholes in the timeline
• No Hyrule, no Master Sword, and no Ganon
made it tough to place Wind Waker on the
Timeline

35. The Split Timeline

36. • Eiji Aonuma confirms what fans had been
speculating to be a split timeline as a result of
Ocarina of Time’s ending
• Ocarina of Time’s ending had created two
realities

37. • Majora’s Mask followed the events after Zelda
sent Link back in time and he warned Zelda
about Ganon
• Wind Waker followed what transpired after Link
went back in Ocarina of Time in the future

38. Four Swords Adventures

39. • Sequel to Four Swords Vaati broke free from the
Four Sword and Link defeated him once again
• Ganon is revealed as the true culprit
• Link and Zelda seal him inside the Four Sword

40. • Contained references to A Link to the Past and
Ocarina of time, making it difficult to place in
the timeline.

41. Minish Cap

42. • Prequel to the Four Swords games
• Explains the origins of Vaati and the Four
Sword

43. Twilight Princess

44. • Before the game, Ganon is banished to the
Twilight Realm, but manages to break free
• A new Link and Zelda join forces with Midna,
the deposed Princess of the Twilight Realm and
together, they vanquish Ganon

45. • Nintendo maintained that both the Wind Waker
and Twilight Princess were sequels to Ocarina
of Time
• Due to their drastically different settings it was
clear that they took place in different timelines
albeit on the same time period

46. Phantom Hourglass

47. • Direct sequel to Wind Waker
• Link and Zelda set out to look for a new Hyrule
once the old one had been flooded
• They get cut up in a mysterious world which was
threatened by an evil being called Bellum
• Link saves Zelda an they continue their journey

49. • Link and Zelda eventually found a new land
which is the setting of this game
• Several generations passed and a plan was
hatched to free an ancient evil from the Spirit
Tracks that dotted the land
• A new Link and Zelda rise and defeat the
demon called Malladus and return peace to
Hyrule

50. Skyward Sword

51. • Skyward Sword takes place at the beginning of
the timeline.
• Origin story of the Master Sword
• The origins of Ganon are explained in the form
of Demise

52. • After being defeated, Demise cursed Link and
Zelda into a cycle in which he would be
reincarnated.
• Explains the story behind the godess Hylia who
after a great war gave up her divine powers and
became the mortal Zelda.

53. Hyrule Historia
• In 2011, Nintendo released Hyrule Historia
which contained the official Zelda Timeline
• Nintendo revealed that there were not two
timeline, they were actually three