Category:The Legend of Zelda



The Legend of Zelda (often simply called Zelda) is one of Nintendo's most famous titles, and one of the longest running series. A Zelda game has appeared on every Nintendo console, an accomplishment shared only with Super Mario. The games are adventure games that focus primarily on puzzle soving and exploration. The only game to radically break from the normal style was Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, which was a sidescrolling game with RPG elements.

The games generally revolve around a young adventurer, Link, and his quest to save the land from an evil force (usually Gannon). Traditionally Link would fight his nemisis Gannon at the end, and have to save Princess Zelda at some point. In modern games, Zelda has become less of a damsel in distress and has taken a more active role in fighting evil.

Zelda games
Two games were only available in Japan for download through Nintendo's short lived satilite broadcast system. BS Zelda is a remake of the original series so it falls into the timeline at the same spot as the original game. Kodai no Sekiban (Stone Tablets of Antiquity) takes place in the same world as, and is a direct sequel to, A Link to the Past.

Main series

 * The Legend of Zelda
 * The Legend of Zelda for the NES and GBA
 * BS Zelda for the Satellaview
 * Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for the NES
 * The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the SNES
 * BS Zelda: Kodai no Sekiban for the Satellaview
 * Link's Awakening
 * The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening for the Game Boy
 * The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX for the Game Boy Color
 * Ocarina of Time
 * The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64, iQue, and GameCube
 * The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest for the GameCube (originally intended for the Nintendo 64 DD)
 * The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask for the Nintendo 64 and GameCube.
 * The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons for the Game Boy Color
 * The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages for the Game Boy Color
 * The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords for the GBA
 * The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for the GameCube
 * The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures for the GameCube
 * The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap for the GBA
 * The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the GameCube and Wii
 * The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the Nintendo DS

CD-i games
These three games were created by Phillips for their CD-i system. They are not part of the official chronology, and their existance is often unacknowledged by Nintendo and gamers alike.


 * Link: The Faces of Evil
 * Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon
 * Zelda's Adventure

Chronology

 * See The Legend of Zelda Timeline and the Timeline Theory page at the Zelda Wiki for more information on the chronology.

The actual chronology of Zelda is rather confusing. While it may seem like a straight forward chronology at first, the games have been divided into clusters of games taking place separated by centuries ("generations"). As a result games that used to be sequential are now practically unrelated. For example, A Link to the Past used to be a direct prequel to The Legend of Zelda, but now takes place in a different generation, with a completely different Link, Zelda, and Gannon.

Notes
 * Generation 5 could come after Generation 6 and possibly 7.
 * Link's Awakening and Kodai no Sekiban may take place at the same time

It has also be suggested within the fan community that each "generation" is actually the same thing - the legends have just changed over geography and time. In effect, each generation is the same story, just told by a different person. The creators of the series maintain that there is in fact a timeline and each game is a unique story.

Generation 1

 * 1) The Minish Cap

Generation 2

 * 1) Four Swords
 * 2) Four Swords Adventures

Generation 3

 * 1) Ocarina of Time
 * 2) Majora's Mask

Generation 4

 * 1) Twilight Princess

Generation 5

 * 1) The Wind Waker
 * 2) Phantom Hourglass

Generation 6

 * 1) A Link to the Past
 * 2) Oracle of Seasons and  Oracle of Ages
 * 3) Link's Awakening
 * 4) BS Zelda: Kodai no Sekiban

Generation 7

 * 1) The Legend of Zelda
 * 2) The Adventure of Link

Resources

 * Game list
 * Zelda.com - Official site, featuring an encyclopedia
 * Legend of Zelda series at MobyGames
 * The history of Zelda at Gamespot
 * Zelda wiki, includes information about the timeline