Remember that edited version of the Zelda timeline I made a while ago that had all the non-canon stuff added to it? Well I’ve revised it with the two new Zelda games that have been released since, and added even more crazy non-canon stuff. Wahey!
Let me explain the changes. Firstly, I moved the Tingle games into actual spots on the timeline rather than off to the side, because I’m convinced now they belong. For a start, Tingle Tower from Wind Waker is clearly visible in Tingle’s Balloon Fight DS’s background, which places it after or during the events of Wind Waker. I thought it would be fun for this to be happening while Windy and Tetra were off voyaging. Tingle’s other two games seem to be pre-WW as he’s not yet a Tingle in the first one and still lives similarly in the second. Rosy Rupeeland takes place on a series of islands in what I see no reason to not call the Great Sea, so in there they go.
I moved the Smash Bros. games out of the chart proper and out there in the outer zone, along with Scribblenauts Unlimited, as they draw from various areas of the timeline and exist outside the Zelda universe. It also gave less clutter in the graph and let me explain next to them the origin of all the elements they portray.
Some events exclusive to various manga were included, with Hyrule Historia’s Skyward Sword prequel set in Hylia’s era, Majora’s Mask’s mythological side story (10 million years ago, apparently), and two extra chapters from the Ocarina manga: one predating the events of the game and one taking place sometime in Link’s adult phase during the game. The spin-off manga series Oath of Lilto was also introduced into the post-LttP era, as it appears to be a sequel to that game. It should probably be somewhere after A Link Between Worlds, which itself is 100 years after LttP. The reason being, LttP’s Link is dead (he literally coaches the protagonist from heaven), but Old Man Streetpass is vaguely hinted to be that Link during ALBW. This manga is a little hard to place, especially since there’s no translation.
A few minor cameos were slotted in. LoZ and AoL’s Link appears in Tetris for the NES and F-1 Race for the GB: being the only extant Link at the time, and also his distinctive flute playing and shield mark him. I threw in the Spaceworld 1995 preview of Zelda 64 here too, as I’d previously theorised that it takes place soon after the Nelsonic Game Watch. It’s most likely LttP’s Link who cameos in Super Mario RPG and Donkey Kong Country 2, as the slight design differences attest and him being the “current” Link at the time of their development. He’s also the most well-travelled Link canonically and missing in action between LA and ALBW, so it makes sense, kinda.
Two DLC packs for other games were also released last year, for Sonic Lost World and Mario Kart 8. Both seem to feature a similar Hyrule Field-type area with a similarly-designed castle. Fine, both staples of later games. Of course, both also feature physical appearances of Skyward Sword’s Link, from an era without a castle and even without a land of Hyrule. How to justify that? Well, my theory is that both are drawing from a setting some years after Skyward Sword’s end, where Link, Zelda, and others have properly founded the land of Hyrule on the surface world, and built a nice shiny castle to live in. Done.
Finally, and the reason I embarked on this update in the first place, was to place Hyrule Warriors into a logical position in the official timeline. My reasons are simple: the game states that the three eras that are accessed during its events are in the past of that particular setting. So placing it towards the end of the Child timeline allows Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time, and Skyward Sword to be seen in a straight line back from it. Ok, only the child portion of OoT actually happened in that timeline, but I reckon that’s enough for what’s presented in the game. Even the Majora’s Mask DLC pack is canon to that timeline.
There’s really no reason HW’s basic setting can’t be placed there. Drawing from elements of various Zelda games is given an explicit justification, with Cia’s dimensional magic shenanigans. It seems perfectly fine to find a place for it, and this one seems the best. I even have a reason for placing it before Four Swords+: with Cia’s death at the end, Lana’s only half qualified to fill the “guardian of time”-type role she held before. This could introduce some dimensional instability to this era, which allows aspects of even other timelines to bleed through. That’s why FS+ (Hyrule Adventure, to be precise) features design and setting cues from Four Swords and LttP, bosses and characters from WW, and even elements from LoZ and OoT.
Well that was fun. It’s strangely exhilarating to try and fit in all the cruft from such a sprawling series into a cohesive package. But next time there’s new Zelda material (ie. Wii U), I might have to make the whole darn thing from scratch, this is getting way too cluttered!
Oh, and once again thanks to Glitterberri and x7razorback7x for the original image which I am progressively doctoring.
EDIT: This is no longer the newest edition of the Zelda Timeline (ridiculous version). For more, check the zelda-timeline tag on this blog. http://miloscat.tumblr.com/tagged/zelda-timeline
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