Category:The Legend of Zelda



The Legend of Zelda (often simply called Zelda or LoZ) 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 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 nemesis 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 for the NES and GBA
 * BS The Legend of 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
 * The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening for the Game Boy
 * The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX for the Game Boy Color
 * The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64, iQue Player, and Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo 3DS
 * The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest for the Nintendo GameCube (originally intended for the Nintendo 64DD)
 * The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask for the Nintendo 64 and Nintendo 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 Nintendo GameCube
 * The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures for the Nintendo GameCube
 * The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap for the GBA
 * The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Nintendo GameCube and Wii
 * The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the Nintendo DS
 * Link's Crossbow Training for the Wii
 * The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for the Wii

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 existence 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. Many of the games are connected, but for many the timeline is still unknown. For example, the prologue of A Link to the Past was originally the story of Ocarina of Time, but this has since been denied by Nintendo.

Timeline:

Skyward Sword - Ocarina of Time

Now, the timeline splits, depending of which time link stays in at the end of Ocarina of Time, Child of Adult...

CHILD: Majora's Mask - Twilight Princess

Many games have been spectulated to come after Twilight Princess, but for now, no game has been confirmed to come after Twilight Princess.

ADULT: The Wind Waker - Phantom Hourglass - Spirit Tracks

As with Twilight Princess, no games have been confirmed after Spirit Tracks canonically.

Now, there is one more series of games that is theorized to be connected:

FOUR SWORDS TIMELINE: The Minish Cap - Four Swords - Four Swords Adventures

The Four Swords Timeline is a series of connected games, all featuring the four sword. Again, it is unknown where these games fit into the overall timeline.

As a side-note, please note that the hero from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask are the same hero, known as the hero of time. Also note that the hero from The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass are also the same hero, known as the hero of the winds. Last, the hero from Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures are also the same hero (no title).

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