Category:The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Year introduced	1986
Genre(s)	Action-adventure

Zelda Wiki has an article about: The Legend of Zelda

Featured guide

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is an action-adventure game that returns the series to its roots with gameplay resembling the first The Legend of Zelda, while introducing new staples to the series. Link travels through many varied dungeons in his quest to restore order to Hyrule.

The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo's most famous series, 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 experience points typical of most Role-Playing Games. Actually, all titles in the series feature every (Japanese) role-playing element except for experience points.

The games generally revolve around a young adventurer, Link, and his quest to save the land from an evil force (usually Ganon). Traditionally Link would fight his nemesis Ganon 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.

Main series titles[edit | edit source]

Original title	Localized title	Year	Systems and remakes
ゼルダの伝説 The Hyrule Fantasy Legend of Zelda: The Hyrule Fantasy	The Legend of Zelda	1986	NES SNES (BS The Legend of Zelda; fan translation)
The Legend of Zelda 2: リンクの冒険 Legend of Zelda 2: Link's Adventure	Zelda II: The Adventure of Link	1987	NES
ゼルダの伝説 神々のトライフォース Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods	The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past	1991	SNES, GBA (within Four Swords) SNES (BS Ancient Stone Tablets; fan translation)
ゼルダの伝説 夢をみる島 Legend of Zelda: The Dreaming Island	The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening	1993	GB, GBC (Deluxe)
ゼルダの伝説 時のオカリナ Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time	1998	N64, NGC & 3DS (Master Quest)
ゼルダの伝説 ムジュラの仮面 Legend of Zelda: Mujura's Mask	The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask	2000	N64, 3DS
ゼルダの伝説 ふしぎの木の実 ～大地の章～ Legend of Zelda: The Mystical Seed ~Chapter of Time and Space~	The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages	2001	GBC
ゼルダの伝説 ふしぎの木の実 ～時空の章～ Legend of Zelda: The Mystical Seed ~Chapter of Earth~	The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons	2001	GBC
ゼルダの伝説 4つの剣 Legend of Zelda: Four Swords	The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords	2002	GBA
ゼルダの伝説 風のタクト Legend of Zelda: Takt of Wind	The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker	2003	NGC, Wii U
ゼルダの伝説 4つの剣 Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Plus	The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures	2004	NGC
ゼルダの伝説 ふしぎのぼうし Legend of Zelda: The Wonder Hat	The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap	2005	GBA
ゼルダの伝説 トワイライトプリンセス Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess	The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess	2006	NGC, Wii, Wii U
ゼルダの伝説 夢幻の砂時計 Legend of Zelda: Hourglass of Dreams	The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass	2007	NDS
ゼルダの伝説 大地の汽笛 Legend of Zelda: Steam Whistle of the Earth	The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks	2009	NDS
ゼルダの伝説 スカイウォードソード Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword	The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword	2012	Wii
ゼルダの伝説 神々のトライフォース2 Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods 2	The Legend of Zelda: A Link between Worlds	2013	3DS
ゼルダの伝説 トライフォース3銃士 Legend of Zelda: The Three Triforce Musketeers	The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes	2015	3DS
ゼルダの伝説　ブレス オブ ザ ワイルド Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild	The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild	2017	Wii U, Switch
ゼルダの伝説　ティアーズ オブ ザ キングダム Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom	The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom	2023	Switch
ゼルダの伝説 知恵のかりもの Legend of Zelda: Borrowed Wisdom	The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom	2024	Switch

Timelines[edit | edit source]

Original timeline[edit | edit source]

• Official name: Hyrule's decline and the last hero

The first four legends of Zelda belong to the same timeline, without any doubt:

• 1. The Legend of Zelda: Ganon is defeated and killed.
• 2. The Adventure of Link: attempt to resurrect Ganon.
• 3. A Link to the Past: a prequel^[1], telling the rise of Ganon in the land of Hyrule.
• 4. Link's Awakening: Ganon appears in a nightmare, i.e. in memories of the past.

After that, the 5th Legend of Zelda (Ocarina of Time) openly contradicted the story of Link's childhood as told in the 3rd one. It created a continuity problem, thus setting the base for a different timeline.

Years later, more games belonging to this first timeline were released:

• 7. Oracle of Ages & Oracle of Seasons: another attempt ot resurrect Ganon.
• 16. A Link between Worlds (original title: "Triforce of the Gods 2"): a direct sequel to the 3rd Legend of Zelda ("Triforce of the Gods").
• 17. Tri Force Heroes: a further sequel to the 3rd Legend of Zelda.

Central timeline[edit | edit source]

• Official names:
  • Legend of the gods and the hero of time (up to the events of Ocarina of Time)
  • The dark world and the hero's descendants (after the events of Ocarina of Time)
  • Child era (after the events of Ocarina of Time)

In 1998, the 5th Legend of Zelda created a chronology problem that received an official answer only thirteen years later, in 2011. With Ocarina of Time, the chronology of the various legends of Zelda splits in three: the last hero timeline above, this "central" timeline, and the new world timeline below.

The following legends belong to this central timeline, before and after the "three-fork":

• Legends featuring the magical Ocarina:
  • 5. Ocarina of Time: it tells how the desert raider Ganondorf turned into the monstruous Ganon.
  • 6. Majora's Mask: a direct sequel to the 5th Legend of Zelda.
• Legends featuring the Four Sword and Vaati:
  • 8. Four Swords: set before Ocarina of Time.
  • 10. Four Swords Adventures: set after Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.
  • 11. The Minish Cap: a prequel to the other two, telling how Vaati of the Minish people turned into a demon.
• 12. Twilight Princess: set after Majora's Mask.
• 15. Skyward Sword: set before Ocarina of Time and The Minish Cap.

New world timeline[edit | edit source]

• Official names:
  • The hero of wind and a new world
  • Adult era

In 2003, the 9th Legend of Zelda ("The Wind Waker") openly contradicted both the 3rd and 5th legends of Zelda about the childhood of Link and the origins of Ganondorf. It was the start of a new timeline.

• 9. The Wind Waker: Ganondorf if a sea pirate, instead of a desert raider.
• 13. Phantom Hourglass: a direct sequel to the above.
• 14. Spirit Tracks: a direct sequel to the two above.

Future timeline[edit | edit source]

The 18th and 19th legends of Zelda (Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom) are officially set long, long after all known legends. In fact, they include references to all the three timelines above.