Timeline

The precise chronology of the Zelda universe is hotly debated among fans. As time progressed and more games were released, the exact order of the games in an overall timeline became complex and heavily disputed. There are bits and pieces of definitive information to connect certain games to each other, but there is no definitive explanation for how every game relates to each other in a standardized timeline of events.

The creators of the series have repeatedly dropped hints as to the order of the series, but over time most of these "revelations" have been overridden by newer materials, games, and statements, much to the point that the overall timeline was considered relatively unimportant by the creators. Much of the ambiguity of the chronology of the Zelda series is due to the fact that the games take place over a span of centuries or even millennia, featuring many different incarnations of Link, Princess Zelda, and other characters. Some of the other confusion arises as a result of mistranslation and localization problems. Nintendo of America's localization process during the NES/ SNES era was to have a Japanese-speaking employee directly translate the text, and an NOA employee (with no pre-requisite of understanding Japanese) would then take the literal English and re-write it to suit American grammar and culture. The man most frequently assigned this task was Daniel Owsen.

The general rule of thumb is that the games are the final authority. The information in the instruction booklets is also canon, unless contradicted by the games or mistranslated. Manuals are marketing and technical material, and thus are not always subject to the scrutiny of the creators of the game. Information from other official sources, such as  Nintendo Power magazine and its Official Strategy Guides, may also be acceptable, though this is not acknowledged by all fans. Many different 'camps' have arisen in the debates, including some more or less formal groups such as the Bombers, who strive to remain neutral in the argument while at the same time searching for an accurate conclusion.

Here is a list of the Nintendo-published games in order of release, with the known information regarding their place in the timeline:

The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda was the first released game in the series. In it, Ganon steals the Triforce of Power. In order to face him, Link must assemble the Triforce of Wisdom. The game ends with Ganon's death, allowing Link to retrieve the Triforce of Power and save Zelda.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link takes place several seasons after the original game, as indicated in the manual. It stars the Link of the previous game nearing his 16th birthday and discovering a Triforce mark that has appeared on his hand. The Zelda in this game is not the same Zelda as in the first game. The manual describes how long ago, a prince should have inherited the full Triforce from his father, who died after telling the prince's sister, the original Princess Zelda, the location of the last piece. The prince and a magician questioned Zelda, who refused to reveal the location of the Triforce; in anger, the magician cast a sleeping spell upon the princess, killing himself in the process. Out of grief, the prince then ordered all future girls born in the royal family to be named Zelda. In the game, Link eventually finds the Triforce of Courage, thus fully uniting the Triforce, which he uses to awake this original Zelda. The idea of who this original Zelda was has been hotly debated, as the fact that the Triforce of Courage could not have been hidden prior to Ocarina of Time implies that the events took place later.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past allegedy takes place generations before the original game, as heavily emphasized in the US promotional material and on the packaging of the Japanese edition. The game's prologue references a past event, now often referred to as the Imprisoning War, during which a portal to the Sacred Realm (or Golden Land, later the Dark World), where the Triforce was hidden, was opened. Ganondorf eventually claimed the Triforce, but could not leave the Sacred Realm, and evil power began to flow from the portal. Seven sages were called upon to seal the portal to the Sacred Realm, and the knights of Hyrule were called upon to defend the sages. The knights suffered heavy losses, but the seal was cast, and evil flowed no more. The game shows how the seal was broken by Ganon with the help of his alter ego, Agahnim, and about Ganon's defeat and Link's possession of the whole Triforce. Link retrieves the Master Sword from its pedestal deep in the Lost Woods in this game.

Confusion was caused over this title's placement when Miyamoto stated in an interview that it occurred after the original (see Miyamoto Order). However, due to Miyamoto's admitted lack of interest or involvement in Zelda's storylines, and even an admission that he did not know what the timeline was, many choose to brand it an honest mistake on his part, or a possible mistranslation resulting from Nintendo's poor translation practices of the 80's and 90's.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening was initially universally agreed upon to occur very shortly after A Link to the Past, starring the same Link. The game's instruction manual states that Link left Hyrule on a journey of enlightenment after defeating Ganon. The Japanese official website states the game is a direct sequel to Triforce of the Gods (ALttP), but some theorists believe that LA's place in the timeline has been modified by the Oracle series. (see below).

BS Zelda
BS Zelda is a remake of the original game that features the BS-X's boy and girl mascots instead of Link; however because it is merely a  Super Mario All-Stars-esque reimagining, and has no apparent backstory, its place in the timeline is unaltered.

BS Zelda: Kodai no Sekiban
BS Zelda: Kodai no Sekiban has the same gender selection; to account for this the Hero of Light, whom the player embodies, is a single person but of indeterminate gender. While of dubious canonicity, the ingame events take place shortly after The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. The previous hero is frequently alluded to and is said to be absent, with one character also hinting at the events of Link's Awakening.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ends with Ganondorf sealed in the Sacred Realm in possession of the Triforce of Power, and forms the Hero of Time backstory of The Wind Waker. This contradicts the previous idea that A Link to the Past's backstory occurs during this game, as there are now two different accounts of how Ganon broke his seal. Many consider this the earliest story, due to the appearance of legendary figures, such as Ganondorf and the Sages. This game most likely took place before Zelda II: The Adventure of Link because the towns in Zelda II bear the same names as the sages from OoT. At the end of the game, Link leaves the Master Sword in its pedestal in the Temple of Time. Shigeru Miyamoto, producer of the Zelda series, stated in an issue of Nintendo power that Ocarina of Time was the first game chronologically in 1998, although this is now contested by The Minish Cap. This game's ending brought about the now confirmed Split Timeline Theory.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask takes place very shortly after Ocarina of Time and stars the same Link, who has been returned to his youth. Link travels to the alternate world of Termina in the game. We have no proof it was an alternate world, though it can be assumed because most of the Terminians are identical to characters in Ocarina of Time, although they do not seem to know Link.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons are connected via a password system, and one takes place immediately after the other. They can be played/regarded in either order, depending on the player's preference. The saga takes place at a time when the united Triforce is in Hyrule Castle and Ganon is dead. The Twinrova sisters from Ocarina of Time are alive in the game. Dialogue suggests that the Link and Zelda featured in the game meet for the first time. Upon completing both games via link-up to receive the 'full' ending, the very last scene shows Link on a raft sailing off into the sunset, waving goodbye to his friends. This may suggest that The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening takes place immediately after the Oracles series chronologically, although this is inconsistent with the original canon regarding Link's Awakening. Although some cite Link's boat at the end of the linked Oracle ending as evidence of a connection to LA, the majority of theorists believe that the Oracles occur as stand-alone events, especially as plot points such as Link meeting Zelda for the first time, or Link's apparent age, directly contradict A Link to the Past, the known prequel to Link's Awakening.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords was stated by Eiji Aonuma in 2004 to be the "oldest tale" in the Zelda series. However, this has become a minority view among theorists, due to Four Swords Adventures appearing to contain the same Link as a direct sequel to Four Swords. As Four Swords Adventures is almost universally believed to take place around the time of A Link to the Past (generally as a prequel), this would mean that Four Swords does not occur before Ocarina of Time. The versions of Link and Princess Zelda featured in this game are childhood friends.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker takes place thousands of years after Ocarina of Time - according to Eiji Aonuma, it follows the "adult" ending of Ocarina of Time, occurring on what is commonly called the Adult Timeline. The land of Hyrule has been flooded, with only islands remaining and the land almost entirely erased and forgotten. The game references the Hero of Time's defeat of Ganon, and then Ganon's escape from his Sacred Realm seal in another attempt to conquer Hyrule, leading to the gods flooding Hyrule to seal Ganondorf below the sea. During the game, Ganondorf breaks free from the seal and is defeated by Link, ending up with the Master Sword buried in Ganondorf's head at the bottom of the sea. It is stated in an interview with Eiji Aonuma that the timeline splits after OoT, with one branch following the Hero of Time's defeat of Ganondorf leading to TWW, while the other branch was where Link lived out the rest of his life, and the events of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. It is also said by many theorists That The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is the second from last game in the series. It is followed by The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures takes place "years" (according to the back of the English box) after Four Swords. Although Aonuma does not state where it stands in relation to the rest of the timeline, many believe it to be a bridge between the newer games in the timeline and the older classics, due to a combination of gameplay melds (i.e. features from both groups are present) and the nature of the storyline. It is both a continuation of the Four Sword arc and a precursor to A Link to the Past. The game shows the Gerudo Ganondorf gain his trident and turn permanently into the pig beast Ganon, wage a campaign strikingly similar to ALttP's 'Imprisoning War', and get sealed away, albeit in the Four Sword, not the Dark World. As such, it is commonly perceived as a link between the 3D games, which lead to the previous Ganondorf's death and pave the way for the introduction of this new Ganon, and A Link to the Past (and whatever follows). Several aspects of the game appear to contradict A Link to the Past (such as Ganondorf becoming Ganon through the trident, not the Triforce), which is now believed to be a consequence of Miyamoto drastically changing FSA's story late in development. Removed text found in the game's text dump hints at many removed elements which, when combined with existing similarities still in the game (such as the defeat of the Knights of Hyrule and the origins of Ganon), strongly suggest that the game was originally intended to be the Imprisoning War of ALttP, before the story was changed.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap takes place long before Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures. If "Palace of the Four Sword" (the bonus dungeon featured in the GBA version of ALttP) is interpreted as canon, then The Minish Cap also takes place some time before A Link to the Past. Many fans have suggested that The Minish Cap is the first game in the Zelda chronology, but there is little in-game (or other official) evidence to support this besides containing a possible explanation of how the tradition of the hero wearing a green cap started, how monsters were released into the world (while they were already there in all other games), where the Armos originally came from, and the possible naming of Death Mountain. However, this is the earliest story involving Vaati, and contains his origin and transformation into his most familiar form; therefore, if Eiji Aonjuma's comment about Four Swords' placement in the timeline is taken as fact, The Minish Cap would be the first game in the series. Or it could just be the first game in the Vaati series.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess takes place several hundred years after the "child" ending of Ocarina of Time, according to Eiji Aonuma. As Majora's Mask continues the story of young Link from Ocarina, it therefore takes place shortly after Ocarina of Time and over a hundred years before Twilight Princess. The game chronicles how Ganondorf's vile acts resulted in his attempted execution; however, he was gifted with the power of the gods and almost escaped, until he was sealed in the Twilight Realm. Over the course of the game, Ganondorf breaks his seal, but is killed when stabbed in the chest by Link, using the Master Sword.

The state of the Triforce is not certain in this game as the marks that appear on the hands of Link, Ganondorf, and Zelda are never referred to as the Triforce. However, the use of the phrase "power of the gods" has previously appeared in the series to describe the Triforce, and Link, Zelda and Ganon each have a particular piece of the Triforce appearing stronger on their hand, suggesting that they do possess Triforce pieces (which give all three characters certain powers). In the game, Link retrieves the Master Sword from its pedestal in the Sacred Grove deep in the Faron Woods; in his time period, only the ruins of the ancient Temple of Time remain. A mysterious time portal takes Link back to a fully intact Temple of Time sometime in the past, where he finds the same pedestal from which he withdrew the Sword in the forest to be in the exact same location as the pedestal in the past-version of the Temple of Time. This may suggest an OoT - TP - ALttP connection.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass takes place no more than a year after the Wind Waker with the same Link.

"Just a legend" theory
Some fans say that the chronology of the series should not be so rigid. Just as real-world legends are retold with different variations, each game could merely be a different retelling of the same story. With each advancement in videogame hardware and the ever-changing desires of the consumer, the base story of Link saving Zelda from Ganon and recovering the Triforce is embellished, modified, and changed outright. Just like any other legend, The Legend of Zelda changes as it is retold through the years.

Information confirmed in interviews
In an interview that Nintendo Dream conducted with Eiji Aonuma in December 2006, he explained that the Zelda timeline contains two parallel worlds. The split in the timeline occurs during Ocarina of Time, when, at the end of the game, Link is sent back in time by Zelda. Once returned to his original time, Link goes to see her again, and the result of this meeting is an alternate future in which the villain Ganondorf is arrested and tried by the ancient sages, which causes him to get banished to the Twilight Realm; Twilight Princess then occurs several hundred years after the Ocarina of Time child Link's era. Meanwhile, The Wind Waker occurs in the 'original' timeline, hundreds of years after the adventure of adult Link in Ocarina.

In any case, the creators maintain that the series has a set timeline, but due to the poor translation protocols in the 1990s and the constant debate over what counts as being canonical, the publicly available information is disputed and may not be reconciled any time soon. Eiji Aonuma has stated that he will do his best to connect the games together and hopefully reveal the timeline someday, and both he and Shigeru Miyamoto have publicly stated there is a master document containing the timeline.

Major Timeline Threads
Based on the most commonly known and confirmed timeline details found in this article, the below portions of the timeline are all generally accepted, but how these games connect is frequently debated.

Ocarina of Time (Adult Timeline) --> The Wind Waker --> Phantom Hourglass Ocarina of Time (Child Timeline) --> Majora's Mask --> Twilight Princess

The Minish Cap --> Four Swords --> Four Swords Adventures (currently unconfirmed if other games occur between these titles, i.e. between TMC and FS)

A Link to the Past --> Link's Awakening The Legend of Zelda --> Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (usually placed after the above two)

Oracle of Seasons <--> Oracle of Ages (can happen in either order)