• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Hyrule Historia, The Zelda 25th anniversary art book.

Im pretty sure nothing is lost in the concept department of any nintendo game.

Yeah, I wasn't assuming it was. I just put that out there as a possibility.

Oh man, I need this. Can we start Operation: Fall of History if this doesn't get translated?


Yeah, they definitely went with the correct design for Midna

If they had gone with another design the twilight realm would have probably looked differently, too. Who knows if the others would have been better or not. I'm pretty interested in the one with the cow skull think. That one is sweet.
 

RagnarokX

Member
So now we have an official art book that officially confirms the timeline we've known and nothing is going to change because last time there was a timeline discussion a naysayer seriously asked how WIND WAKER could possibly fit in the timeline. It's in the friggin unskipable intro! :/

Well, at least this confirms the small bit of extrapolation we had to make about Ganon in Twilight Princess.
 

Poyunch

Member
Oh, so are they saying that OoT Ganondorf and TP Ganondorf are one and the same? LOLs.

There's basically been only one Ganondorf (at least in the 3D games). Wind Waker Ganon and TP Ganon are just different developments of the same OoT Ganon.
 

RagnarokX

Member
Oh, so are they saying that OoT Ganondorf and TP Ganondorf are one and the same? LOLs.

Yes... and we already knew that... LOLs

We already knew all of this.

Where does Zelda II fit in the timeline?!? lol

I'm content with the 2D games being their own thing. They really really really screw up the timeline. Even ALttP screws up the timeline if you try to include it.
 
I don't get it. People say "Oh, there is no timeline," but now that it's official, it's "Oh, we already knew that."

This is the timeline, yes? Shouldn't it make sense that it follows what the games have told us? Would you rather they mixed them up in some random order?
 

Luigiv

Member
We already knew all of this.

Where does Zelda II fit in the timeline?!? lol

It doesn't. There is no single cohesive timeline, only the links present in the games themselves are cannon. Nintendo isn't interested in any Super Hero Comic style cross pollination, single multiverse, retarded, forced continuity shenanigans.

The other games outside the OoT continuity exist in their own smaller timeline bubbles and do not even try to extend their continuity beyond those boundaries.

So in that case, these are the other timelines not mentioned in the book;

Zelda 1 -> Zelda 2
Link to the Past -> Links Awakening
Minish Cap -> Four Swords -> Four Swords Adventure
Oracle of Ages <-> Oracle of Seasons
 
Yes... and we already knew that... LOLs

"LOLs" you don't have to be a dick just because he challenged some dumb timeline. do we even know who wrote it?

if TP ganondorf and OoT ganondorf are one and the same, then why doesn't TP ganondorf recognize link or the master sword?
 

Zerokku

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?
if TP ganondorf and OoT ganondorf are one and the same, then why doesn't TP ganondorf recognize link or the master sword?

Because of the Timeline split. The ganon in the TP timeline (Aka the Child timeline in the theories) never actually met link, since that split is a result of link going back in time, warning zelda/the king/everyone about Ganondorf. So ganondorf never takes over hyrule, never fights link, etc.
 

Luigiv

Member
Because of the Timeline split. The ganon in the TP timeline (Aka the Child timeline in the theories) never actually met link, since that split is a result of link going back in time, warning zelda/the king/everyone about Ganondorf. So ganondorf never takes over hyrule, never fights link, etc.

Yep, that's exactly what the book says. Fans got that part exactly right, despite the actual in game references being vague.
 
Because of the Timeline split. The ganon in the TP timeline (Aka the Child timeline in the theories) never actually met link, since that split is a result of link going back in time, warning zelda/the king/everyone about Ganondorf. So ganondorf never takes over hyrule, never fights link, etc.

ah. so what about link and zelda then? is it the same link? how much time passes between OoT and TP?
 

Anth0ny

Member
I don't get it. People say "Oh, there is no timeline," but now that it's official, it's "Oh, we already knew that."

This is the timeline, yes? Shouldn't it make sense that it follows what the games have told us? Would you rather they mixed them up in some random order?

but they only told us about the 3D Zeldas. which are pretty much the ones we know the order of from playing the games.

It doesn't. There is no single cohesive timeline, only the links present in the games themselves are cannon. Nintendo isn't interested in any Super Hero Comic style cross pollination, single multiverse, retarded, forced continuity shenanigans.

The other games outside the OoT continuity exist in their own smaller timeline bubbles and do not even try to extend their continuity beyond those boundaries.

So in that case, these are the other timelines not mentioned in the book;

Zelda 1 -> Zelda 2
Link to the Past -> Links Awakening
Minish Cap -> Four Swords -> Four Swords Adventure
Oracle of Ages <-> Oracle of Seasons

Eiji Aonuma said:
Yes, there is a master timeline, but it is a confidential document!... The only people that have access to the document are myself, Mr. Miyamoto, and the director of the title. We can't share it with anyone else!
 

Luigiv

Member
ah. so what about link and zelda then? is it the same link? how much time passes between OoT and TP?

New Link and Zelda. The gap between OoT and TP is suppose to be about 100 years.

but they only told us about the 3D Zeldas. which are pretty much the ones we know the order of from playing the games.

Yeah, I call bullshit on that. Aonuma probably just said that to keep the fans happy. Either way, after he said that, he went on to say that they reason they do keep it secret is so that they can change it however they please with each new release. In other words, even if the master timeline does exist, it's not even Cannon.
 

beastmode

Member
It doesn't. There is no single cohesive timeline, only the links present in the games themselves are cannon. Nintendo isn't interested in any Super Hero Comic style cross pollination, single multiverse, retarded, forced continuity shenanigans.

The other games outside the OoT continuity exist in their own smaller timeline bubbles and do not even try to extend their continuity beyond those boundaries.

So in that case, these are the other timelines not mentioned in the book;

Zelda 1 -> Zelda 2
Link to the Past -> Links Awakening
Minish Cap -> Four Swords -> Four Swords Adventure
Oracle of Ages <-> Oracle of Seasons
The Oracle games connect to Zelda II (Hyrule now has a coast, Ganon is dead, the Triforce is united and stored in Hyrule Castle) and it's pretty clear that Link's Awakening was retconned into coming after them.

Four Swords Adventures does have some links to LttP. Many more were to be included (maidens were wise men, master sword was to be found but not able to be pulled from the ground) until Miyamoto "upended the tea-table" and simplified the story.

Minish Cap -> Four Swords -> Four Swords Adventure -> Link to the Past -> Legend of Zelda -> Zelda II -> Oracle of Seasons <-> Oracle of Ages -> Link's Awakening
 

RagnarokX

Member
"LOLs" you don't have to be a dick just because he challenged some dumb timeline. do we even know who wrote it?

if TP ganondorf and OoT ganondorf are one and the same, then why doesn't TP ganondorf recognize link or the master sword?

He didn't challenge the timeline, he just said "LOLs." Last I checked that's not a valid argument.

TP Ganon never fought Link in OoT because in that timeline, as the games and this book attest, Ganon was apprehended and "executed" before he could invade Hyrule. Link never pulled the Master Sword and Ganon never got into the Sacred Realm. Ganon got the Triforce of Power anyway because he was the chosen owner and since Link had the Triforce of Courage in this timeline despite not pulling the Master Sword, but apparently didn't know he had it until he was being executed.
 

Thoraxes

Member
Minish Cap -> Four Swords -> Four Swords Adventure -> Link to the Past -> Legend of Zelda -> Zelda II -> Oracle of Seasons <-> Oracle of Ages -> Link's Awakening
Due in part to the split timeline theory (child-side), ALttP is after TP because of the Master Sword's housing, mostly due in part to the transformation of the Temple to forest, which is definitely seen between the three games.

Your first three are correct though. We'll find out more as more is discovered on the internet.
 

beastmode

Member
Due to what has been said in the book about the Master Sword, due in part to the split timeline theory (child-side), ALttP is after TP because of the Master Sword's housing, mostly due in part to the transformation of the Temple to forest, which is definitely seen between the three games.

Your first three are correct though.
Didn't say anything about Twilight Princess, though you are correct.

TP -> FS -> FSA -> LttP

Twilight Princess shows the the decay of the Temple of Time around the Master Sword then the Four Swords games introduce a new post-TP Ganondorf.
 

Lindbergh

Member
Really interested to see into where the Oracle games play.
Twinrova being around just made me realize whether it's closer to OoT or that it's anyone's guess with the sisters having some great longevity.
 

beastmode

Member
Really interested to see into where the Oracle games play.
Twinrova being around just made me realize whether it's closer to OoT or that it's anyone's guess with the sisters having some great longevity.
Zelda characters reincarnate all the time and Twinrova are already 400 years old in OoT, so the Gerudo may be biologically immortal. This would make sense as a male Gerudo is only born every 100 years, meaning that every male must be alive and fertile to conceive this new male at 100 years of age.
 

Thoraxes

Member
Didn't say anything about Twilight Princess, though you are correct.

TP -> FS -> FSA -> LttP

Twilight Princess shows the the decay of the Temple of Time around the Master Sword then the Four Swords games introduce a new post-TP Ganondorf.
Ah that I know, I just didn't know if you included the whole timeline or were just going with the 2D only.
 

RagnarokX

Member
True, it could be that Ganondorf live longer than the average human.

I prefer the Sacred Realm idea. If a male is born every 100 years and all Gerudos live long like the Twinrova sisters then there would be more males around. Plus the Twinrova sisters are the only ones that old in the games and they look that old. WW and TP take place hundreds of years after OoT and Ganon is still pretty young.
 

SaintZ

Member
Yes... and we already knew that... LOLs.
Really? I mean, I never saw it confirmed anywhere and you know, looking at the visual evidence presented in the game (mainly the Sages and the places where the temples are located) it doesn't look like the same Ganondorf. Yeah, the Ganondorf in WW doesn't look anywhere close to the one in OoT but they flat out tell you he is the same person. Granted, I just played TP once and don't spend a lot of time searching for a way to connect the games because it may melt my brain.
 

Fuzzy

I would bang a hot farmer!
lol, but did you come up with the concept as well?

you got the hand placement right, i just checked.



lol, poor fuzzy
He had the avatar and wanted it Chrismasfied. I thought what better to replace the red and blue pills than red and blue Christmas ornaments. I also added the hat that I added to a bunch of other people's avatars.
 
He had the avatar and wanted it Chrismasfied. I thought what better to replace the red and blue pills than red and blue Christmas ornaments. I also added the hat that I added to a bunch of other people's avatars.

haha, amazing. i would keep it forever, personally
 

beastmode

Member
Ah that I know, I just didn't know if you included the whole timeline or were just going with the 2D only.
I was only including the games Luigiv said took place in 4 different mini-continuities.

The whole timeline is probably this (not perfect, but contains the least amount of contradictions + a little Occam’s razor.)

SS
Minish Cap
OoT
WW
Phantom Hourglass
Spirit Tracks

&

SS
Minish Cap
OoT
MM
TP
Four Swords
Four Swords Adventures
LttP
NES LoZ
Zelda II
Oracles
Link's Awakening
I prefer the Sacred Realm idea. If a male is born every 100 years and all Gerudos live long like the Twinrova sisters then there would be more males around. Plus the Twinrova sisters are the only ones that old in the games and they look that old. WW and TP take place hundreds of years after OoT and Ganon is still pretty young.
Ganondorf wasn't sealed in the Sacred Realm for the vast majority of the time between OoT and WW.
 

RagnarokX

Member
Ganondorf wasn't sealed in the Sacred Realm for the vast majority of the time between OoT and WW.
He was sealed somewhere, though. Is King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule a Gerudo too? :p

Really? I mean, I never saw it confirmed anywhere and you know, looking at the visual evidence presented in the game (mainly the Sages and the places where the temples are located) it doesn't look like the same Ganondorf. Yeah, the Ganondorf in WW doesn't look anywhere close to the one in OoT but they flat out tell you he is the same person. Granted, I just played TP once and don't spend a lot of time searching for a way to connect the games because it may melt my brain.
TP required the most extrapolation of the 3D games, but the Temple of Time and its condition tell you its after OoT. Granted the game doesn't tell you the game takes place in the Child timeline, but that can be extrapolated from the whole execution scene and Ganon not mentioning anything from OoT at all and skull kid and the fact that everything isn't underwater, plus Aonuma said it was. I don't really go out of my way to put the games together; I'm content with excluding the 2D games because as far as I'm concerned there is no way to make them all fit. TP was vague on Ganon but him being the same Ganon from OoT isn't exactly LOL worthy. :p
 

Jocchan

Ὁ μεμβερος -ου
Let me know if you want to split the shipping costs with me!
I believe there's a massive saving when ordering two, as usual per Amazon? We could have both shipped to you and then you'd ship mine to me via cheap raccomandata or viceversa.
Thanks man, but a friend of mine offered the same and he already ordered our copies :(

I don't get it. People say "Oh, there is no timeline," but now that it's official, it's "Oh, we already knew that."
Different people.
Also, with each game, the mental gymnastics you had to go through to say "oh, there is no timeline", which included ignoring several unskippable cutscenes just because, was getting worse and worse.
 

Thoraxes

Member
Oh my god, now the rumors are reporting a TRIPLE-TIMELINE SPLIT at OOT.

1. Hero of Time succeeds, sent back as a child, goes to Majora's Mask.
2. Hero of Time succeeds, the future timeline where he defeated him goes to Wind Waker.
3. Hero of Time fails, goes to ALttP.

From each of those more games go in this. Sooooo triple guys. 3-way split. We'll see if it's true soon.
 

Xun

Member
I doubt Nintendo has ever kept a proper timeline.

They're probably just going by what people said on forums and picked the best one.
 

Jocchan

Ὁ μεμβερος -ου
Oh my god, now the rumors are reporting a TRIPLE-TIMELINE SPLIT at OOT.

1. Hero of Time succeeds, sent back as a child, goes to Majora's Mask.
2. Hero of Time succeeds, the future timeline where he defeated him goes to Wind Waker.
3. Hero of Time fails, goes to ALttP.

From each of those more games go in this. Sooooo triple guys. 3-way split. We'll see if it's true soon.

A friend of mine just pasted me this (yep, take it with a grain of salt or two):
Skyward Sword
|
Minish Cap
|
Four Swords
|
Ocarina of Time (Split in to three time lines)

A: Where Hero of Time Fails

B: Where Hero of Time Wins (sent 7yr back)

C: Where Hero of Time Wins (present)


A

Link to the Past
|
Oracles
|
Link's Awakening
|
Zelda 1
|
Zelda 2 Link's Adventure

B

Majora's Mask
|
Twilight Princess
|
Four Swords Adventures

C

Wind Waker
|
Phantom Hourglass
|
Spirit Tracks
Split timeline A seems kind of bs and coming out of nowhere, but it would get the older games out of the way (as they are the ones who screw up everything).
 

Indyana

Member
Kotaku has posted this:

AKVIk.png


http://kotaku.com/5869993/this-might-actually-be-the-official-zelda-timeline
 

Thoraxes

Member
I doubt Nintendo has ever kept a proper timeline.

They're probably just going by what people said on forums and picked the best one.

They've paid enough attention to plenty of minute details over the years. I highly doubt that they haven't had a plan for a very long time now, given all the specificity in every game. (some translations have fucked some things up compared to what has been said in the JP versions of the game though, so this will even further clarify things).
 

Jocchan

Ὁ μεμβερος -ου
Kotaku has posted this:

http://i.imgur.com/AKVIk.png[IMG]

[url]http://kotaku.com/5869993/this-might-actually-be-the-official-zelda-timeline[/url][/QUOTE]
Worth noting that the background picture is fan art, so the picture is most likely not from the book.
Yours truly, Captain Obvious.
 
Top Bottom