Released in 1986, the first Legend of Zelda game introduced gamers around the world to the lovable and noble hero Link as he attempts to save princess Zelda from evil. As more and more games were released over time, it became clearer and clearer that the Legend of Zelda universe was not so easy to understand. For years, Zelda fans flooded the internet with convoluted theories of how the many games could possibly fit together but no theory was perfect.
In fact, creating a timeline for the Legend of Zelda games seemed almost impossible until Nintendo offered up a little help. After decades of new Zelda games that further muddied the already complicated timeline, Nintendo finally released an in-depth guide to help fans better understand Link’s world. Here is a detailed deep-dive into the timeline of the Legend of Zelda games for any fan interested in the history of Link, Zelda and the Kingdom of Hyrule.
1. Skyward Sword
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 2011
Platform: Wii
Timeline Details: The very first game in continuity, Skyward Sword happens shortly after the “creation of the land and sky.” It predates the establishment of the Kingdom of Hyrule by a number of generations.
Plot: Link must lead his people back to the “surface” from the rock in the sky that they live on. The Goddess, Hylia, is still around. Link flies on birds throughout his aerial adventures.
2. The Minish Cap
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 2004
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Timeline Details: This is the first game to happen after the establishment of the Kingdom of Hyrule. It also comes after the Sacred Realm has been sealed. This game occurs during the era when Vaati is the main antagonist, not Ganon/Ganondorf.
Plot: Link adventures around with a sorcerer on his head that has been turned into a bird-shaped hat. Link is tasked by the King of Hyrule to restore the “Four Sword” for a multitude of reasons, including the hopes of saving the petrified Princess Zelda.
3. Four Swords Adventures
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 2002
Platform: Game Boy Advance
Timeline Details: Four Swords was actually attached to the Game Boy Advance re-release of A Link to the Past, but it happens long before that game in the timeline. Four Swords takes place just before Ocarina of Time, with a Hyrulean Civil War in the interim.
Plot: Link finds the Four Sword, which splits him into four copies of himself. The four Links journey to take on the evil, resurrected Vaati. En route, they must also find and bring together four Great Fairies.
4. Ocarina of Time
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 1998
Platform: Nintendo 64
Timeline Details: Time travel enters the Zeldaverse via the titular Ocarina of Time, and as a result, the timeline splits. Multiple timelines emerge, diverging from one another based on the actions that Link takes during Ocarina of Time. The three timelines are:
- A) Real World (Link defeated in Ocarina)
- B) Child Timeline (Link victorious in Ocarina; never opens the Sacred Realm)
- C) Adult Timeline (Link victorious in Ocarina; opens the Sacred Realm)
This list will go into further detail for each timeline with the corresponding games.
Plot: In Ocarina of Time, the previously sealed Sacred Realm, which houses the TriForce, can be opened with the Spiritual Stones. Young Link claims the Master Sword, but Ganondorf gets the Triforce, leading Link to be sealed in a temple for seven years until he’s old enough to take on the new Demon King. Link hops back and forth between his child and adult selves along the way via time travel.
5A. A Link to the Past
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 1991
Platform: Super Nintendo
Timeline Details: A Link to the Past is the first game in the Real World’s timeline, where Link is defeated by Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time. It is also the first of an in-game branch known as, “The Decline of Hyrule and the Last Hero.” It happens after an event called the Imprisoning War.
Plot: Young Link is called to rescue Princess Zelda from a dungeon, which results in him taking a journey to find the Triforce. He is also tasked with preventing Ganon from being freed from the Dark World, the former Sacred Realm which had been sealed to prevent his return.
6A. Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 2001
Platform: Game Boy Color
Timeline Details: This game happens between A Link to the Past and Link’s Awakening, and it features the second canonical resurrection of Ganon, something that happens an awful lot. It comes at the end of something called the “Era of Light and Dark.”
Plot: Both games involve the Triforce calling Link on a quest to find Essences of Time and Nature in order to produce a magical seed from the Maku Tree. Each game has a final, non-Ganon antagonist that Link must defeat. The games have a “linked” ending that features Ganon being resurrected.
7A. Link’s Awakening
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 1993
Platform: Game Boy
Timeline Details: The place of this game in the timeline is a bit confusing, given that it is just a dream. However, it appears to be a dream that Link is specifically having before the events of The Legend of Zelda (10A on this list). It takes place during a brief era known as the “Golden Era.”
Plot: Link’s boat is destroyed at sea and he washes up on a mysterious island. He sets out to collect the eight Instruments of the Sirens in order to wake the Wind Fish and return to his home. Link still fights Ganon near the end, but it’s just a form that a different antagonist takes. In the end, it’s all revealed to be a dream.
8A. A Link Between Worlds
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 2013
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Timeline Details: This game also occurred during the brief Golden Age, where everything was relatively peaceful before the world got darker. This is part of the Real World timeline.
Plot: A Link Between Worlds introduces a new kingdom known as Lorule, a dark mirror of the more familiar Hyrule. Link faces off against a wizard named Yuga who turns people into paintings, and who is attempting to resurrect Ganon for the umpteenth time. Link uses the Triforce to restore Lorule to its former glory.
9A. Tri Force Heroes
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 2015
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Timeline Details: Tri Force Heroes is thus far the last to take place in the Golden Age, and it precedes two inter-game events: the Monarchs’ use of the Triforce and the tragedy of Princess Zelda I, which sends the Real World timeline on a darker path.
Plot: This game is a co-op that allows three players to control three differently colored (and differently powered) versions of Link. The players must collaborate to solve puzzles and clear dungeons en route to a confrontation with a villain known only as “The Lady.”
10A. The Legend of Zelda
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 1986
Platform: NES
Timeline Details: This is the first Zelda game ever released, but it happens near the end of the Real World timeline. The “Tragedy of Princess Zelda I” has occurred between games, and it has set off a dark era that is known as the “Era of Decline.”
Plot: Ganon, the so-called Prince of Darkness, is resurrected once again and leads an army into Hyrule in search of the three Triforce pieces. Princess Zelda splits the Triforce of Wisdom into eight fragments. Link begins his quest to rescue Zelda and reassemble the Triforce, which he does before killing Ganon yet again.
11A. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 1987
Platform: NES
Timeline Details: The Adventure of Link is a direct follow-up to the series’ first game, and takes place immediately after it in the Real World timeline. Link is now a teenager and he finally wins Princess Zelda’s heart at the end of the game, presumably ending this timeline on a happy note.
Plot: Link is called to prevent the resurrection of Ganon by a group of zealots, and for once, he actually succeeds! He prevents Ganon’s followers from completing their blood-soaked ritual and then manages to collect all three pieces of the Triforce, which allows him to awaken Princess Zelda from a magical enchantment.
5B. Majora’s Mask
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 2000
Platform: Nintendo 64
Timeline Details: Majora’s Mask is the first in the Child Timeline that occurs when Link defeats Ganon in Ocarina of Time. After he is transported back in time seven years, Link and Zelda decide to never open the Sacred Realm. This prevents the events of Ocarina from ever even occurring. It is revealed that Ganon tries to open the Sacred Realm, but fails and is sealed in the Twilight Realm, thus triggering the Child Timeline that begins with Majora’s Mask.
Plot: In a Groundhog Day-esque plot, Link must save the town of Termina from a falling moon that will crush them in a matter of days. Link needs to keep going back in time and living those three days over again in order to solve the mystery and stop the moon in its deadly trajectory.
6B. Twilight Princess
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 2006
Platform: Wii
Timeline Details: Twilight Princess is set in the distant future of the Zeldaverse (in the Child Timeline), several centuries after Ocarina of Time. In the interim, Majora’s Mask has occurred, in addition to an event in which the “Demon Thief,” Ganondorf, was executed.
Plot: Link gains the ability to transform into a wolf, which he must master to stop a Shadow Invasion from the Twilight Realm. With the help of the Mirror of Twilight and the Master Sword, Link and the titular Twilight Princess, Midna, take on a resurrected Ganondorf.
7B. Four Swords Adventures
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 2004
Platform: Nintendo Gamecube
Timeline Details: Four Swords Adventures isn’t set anywhere near the original Four Swords in the timeline. It is actually set a century after Twilight Princess, making it the final game in the Child Timeline, also known as “The Legacy of the Hero.”
Plot: The game features Link split into four once again, taking on a “who’s who” of Zelda villains, including Shadow Link, Ganondorf, and even Vaati, one of the series’ earliest villains. The Links end up sealing Ganon within the Four Sword itself, bringing peace to Hyrule for the foreseeable future.
5C. The Wind Waker
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 2002
Platform: Nintendo Gamecube
Timeline Details: The Adult Timeline, also known as the “New World,” occurs after Ocarina of Time when Link defeats Ganondorf, is sent back to his original timeline, and accidently opens the Sacred Realm (thus unwittingly allowing Ganondorf access). This results in a series of events where Ganondorf is sealed in the Sacred Realm (not the Twilight Realm). This leads to a period of peace where no Link figure exists. Thus, when Ganondorf returns, there is no Hero to fight him and he freely seals Hyrule away, causing the world to flood over and setting the scene for Wind Waker.
Plot: In a world reminiscent of Waterworld, Link and pirate captain Tetra must journey by boat from island to island, eventually discovering the submerged Kingdom of Hyrule and a plot by Ganon to conquer it. Link and Tetra use the Master Sword and the classic Triforce to defeat the timeless foe, although Hyrule ends up going underwater again at the end.
6C. Phantom Hourglass
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 2007
Platform: Nintendo DS
Timeline Details: Phantom Hourglass is a sequel to Wind Waker in the Adult Timeline and takes place immediately afterwards, making it the most direct sequel in the Zelda franchise. Hyrule is still submerged underwater and sealed away, and Ganon is stuck down there, too.
Plot: Link and Tetra are back to travel the open seas in search of Ghost Ships, Phantom Hourglasses, and the Phantom Sword, which Link must forge from three pure metals found on various islands. Link uses the sword to defeat the game’s antagonist, Bellum, but the ending of the game suggests that its events might have just been a dream.
7C. Spirit Tracks
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 2009
Platform: Nintendo DS
Timeline Details: This is the final game in the Adult Timeline and it takes place about a century after Phantom Hourglass on a newly discovered continent upon which a brand new Kingdom of Hyrule has been established. The continent is understood to be over the sea area in which Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass took place. Tetra, Link’s ally, is the founder of this new Kingdom of Hyrule.
Plot: In a steam-train themed game, Link and Zelda, a descendent of Tetra, travel the rails around the new Hyrule trying to prevent the return of a new Demon King, Malladus. This eventually involves a Demon Train and a Dark Realm, and Link and Zelda must team up to take down Malladus. The game concludes with multiple possible endings.
Breath Of The Wild
Photo: Nintendo
Year: 2017
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Timeline Details: Thus far, fans only know that the game definitely comes after Ocarina of Time, as confirmed in a Game Informer interview with the creator and producer of the Zelda series. That means it can be a part of any of the three split timelines. What’s even more puzzling is that there is evidence in Breath of the Wild that supports and contradicts its place in all three timelines. Fans can only guess which timeline Breath of the Wild belong to until more information is released by Nintendo.
Plot: It is chronicled that the Kingdom of Hyrule smites Calamity Ganon with the advanced technology of four divine beasts. They experience peace for nearly 10,000 years before Ganon launches a surprise attack, resulting in what is known as the “Great Calamity.” Nearly everyone in the castle of Hyrule is killed. A hundred years later, Link wakes up with amnesia and discovers the world needs a hero.