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[TheTrueLegend 0]

It's funny that the majority of "timeline confirmation" is done outside the games in press conferences or interviews.

It's common thought that it's obvious that TP follows OoT, but really, it doesn't very often do so concretely. Sure, it references a "Legendary Hero", but with a franchise employing well over half a dozen versions of a "Legendary Hero", that's not the same as saying "Hero of Time", which I don't believe was ever uttered in Twilight Princess, unlike The Wind Waker.

Then there's the "Triforce", which oddly enough again is never mentioned in the game that I can recall. Sure, we're all observant and remembered in OoT that Ganondorf has the Triforce of Power, but Twilight Princess just doesn't see that as relevant enough to put into the game. It's too busy finishing development to made into a Wii game to help out with an otherwise "Nintendo 1st Party Free" lineup to really worry about something as trivial as the "timeline" in Zelda.

Heck, even Link's origins are never stated. Everyone under the sun screams he's Hylian but the game NEVER makes that distinction. We just look at his pointy ears and assume regardless of the fact that our well established Gerudo King of Evil now suddenly has pointy ears as well. The fact of the matter is that most of us just copied the origin story (for the most part) of Ocarina of Time's Link and melded what worked into Twilight Princess when nothing was offered and didn't think anything of it.

So I guess I find it ironic that a game series is so determined to give itself some sort of timeline, evident by a number of Zelda execs coming out to talk about it, doesn't see the necessity to make it solid IN THE GAMES! Am I the only person who finds it odd that they made sure to use all the old names from OoT's Hyrule after they announced it to follow the game in the "timeline", but still didn't really seem to care to match up the geography? Funnier still is the fact that SO MANY PEOPLE talk about how similar it is! Funny, I don't recall many of those locations looking much like they do in TP. Sure, 100 years or so is a good deal of time and things WILL change, but I just can't stomach Nintendo telling me that mountains move and giant chasms form in a mere century.

Oh, and by the way, if I have mis-cited some issues about Twilight Princess, be sure to call me out on it. It's been awhile since I played it and my memory is a bit on the foggy side. Thanks!

Edited 3 Oct 2008 by TheTrueLegend (see edit history)

[Sahaqiel 1232]

Well, Hylians are distinct in the fact that they have pointy ears. Humans and Gerudo are different and distinct for this reason.

Sheikah also have pointy ears, and may possibly just be an offbranch or clan of the Hylian race, brought up by different training and everyday regiments, as well as the further distinction of red eyes.

OoT is certainly before TP, though, because TP references it a lot. Hena, the fishinghole girl, has a picture of the fisherman from Ocarina of Time, and says she thinks she may be a descendant of him, (Be it wishful thinking or not, is unclear, because she immediately starts trying to scratch her back, which is a distinct habit of the old fisherman.)

I'm not too sure by what you mean by your second paragraph. In Ocarina of Time, the Triforce is directly referenced and is collected and expressed in the traits of Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf. Twilight Princess also references the Triforce and the power it holds. Although, Twilight Princess DID do a crappy job explaining why exactly, the different characters had their respective Triforce Pieces. Link had a Triforce mark on his hand from the very beginning of the game, and Zelda had hers for even longer, possibly. Whether or not past versions of reincarnated incarnations are expressed traitwise, is a mystery, because Nintendo was too vague.

The general gist of Link/Zelda/Ganondorf/familiar character continuation, (Which you are hopefully familiar with) is that there is a new Link in each string of events, meaning the individual "Legendary Heroes"/"Evil Kings"/"Princess Zeldas" die at some point, and are reborn some time later, sometimes in a place where they are unfamiliar, despite being repeated legends in Hyrule's history.

I recall there being a statement in the beginning of Wind Waker, that every time evil arose, a Legendary Hero in the green of fields would arise to defeat it.

You also make a good point about their timeline confusion within the company. I've read convincing theories that place TP thousands/several hundreds of years after OoT. Nintendo is trying to appeal to the hardcore fans, because the chronology of the Legend of Zelda series wasn't thought out to be the monolithic legendary debate topic that it is today. I remember back when the split timeline was a hotly discussed topic. I was a firm believer against it, but Nintendo comes out and smacks me in the face. It's a very sad and slow process, but hopefully, Nintendo can sort it all out eventually.

Also, welcome to the forum. I hope you'll become a productive member of our fanbase.

Sahaqiel

[Gingerlink 2]

Also, the general belief is that Wind Waker and Twilight Princess are on two different parts of the split timeline, so references used in OoT and WW, but not TP are pretty much irrelevant.

[TheTrueLegend 0]

Well, Hylians are distinct in the fact that they have pointy ears. Humans and Gerudo are different and distinct for this reason.

Sheikah also have pointy ears, and may possibly just be an offbranch or clan of the Hylian race, brought up by different training and everyday regiments, as well as the further distinction of red eyes.

OoT is certainly before TP, though, because TP references it a lot. Hena, the fishinghole girl, has a picture of the fisherman from Ocarina of Time, and says she thinks she may be a descendant of him, (Be it wishful thinking or not, is unclear, because she immediately starts trying to scratch her back, which is a distinct habit of the old fisherman.)

I'm not too sure by what you mean by your second paragraph. In Ocarina of Time, the Triforce is directly referenced and is collected and expressed in the traits of Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf. Twilight Princess also references the Triforce and the power it holds. Although, Twilight Princess DID do a crappy job explaining why exactly, the different characters had their respective Triforce Pieces. Link had a Triforce mark on his hand from the very beginning of the game, and Zelda had hers for even longer, possibly. Whether or not past versions of reincarnated incarnations are expressed traitwise, is a mystery, because Nintendo was too vague.

The general gist of Link/Zelda/Ganondorf/familiar character continuation, (Which you are hopefully familiar with) is that there is a new Link in each string of events, meaning the individual "Legendary Heroes"/"Evil Kings"/"Princess Zeldas" die at some point, and are reborn some time later, sometimes in a place where they are unfamiliar, despite being repeated legends in Hyrule's history.

I recall there being a statement in the beginning of Wind Waker, that every time evil arose, a Legendary Hero in the green of fields would arise to defeat it.

You also make a good point about their timeline confusion within the company. I've read convincing theories that place TP thousands/several hundreds of years after OoT. Nintendo is trying to appeal to the hardcore fans, because the chronology of the Legend of Zelda series wasn't thought out to be the monolithic legendary debate topic that it is today. I remember back when the split timeline was a hotly discussed topic. I was a firm believer against it, but Nintendo comes out and smacks me in the face. It's a very sad and slow process, but hopefully, Nintendo can sort it all out eventually.

Also, welcome to the forum. I hope you'll become a productive member of our fanbase.

Sahaqiel

I'm not trying to argue with the established idea of Hylians being distinct by their pointy ears at all. It's what I subscribe to as well. What I mean to point out is that Nintendo seems to only vaguely follow it's own canon with Zelda, having random fluctuations with these rules, like Ganondorf and his round and sometimes pointy ears regardless of his stated status of being Gerudo.

I'm also not trying to argue that TP is before OoT. Logically it has to be after and it's been stated to be so. I only mean to point out that the vague nature of it's place in the timeline from playing it and ONLY it allow for far too much confusion for someone who hadn't played OoT or even a Zelda game previously. To us a triangle on someone's hand is a tell tale sign but to a newcomer it's incredibly random. TP just doesn't do a good job of standing on it's own in regard to telling it's place in the timeline. That's why it irritates me to see interviews made to announce timeline connections instead of being able to play the games and understand at least linear time. The split timeline I can stomach, it's hard to make that evident in a game without sounding like you're just telling it to avoid confusion.

My second paragraph was just telling about how vague Twilight Princess was in referencing the past of OoT. It uses phrases like "Legendary Hero" instead of "Hero of Time" when games like The Wind Waker use that phrase HUNDREDS of years later. It doesn't make sense i that the people of TP shouldn't be so old to not remember a mere generation ago. 100 years is a long time, but it's no long enough to completely remove the descendants of Ocarina of Time nor to create such a vague state of that world.

Personally I do not want to see another game like Twilight Princess that makes the bold claim that it will return us to an often well remembered and loved Hyrule like OoT and then slap us in the face but not taking the time to really do the idea justice. I'm not expecting to see every detail the same and to play nostalgia the entire time. I WANTED change, but reasonable changes that would allow me to rediscover this Hyrule and see how it had changed. Not to play a completely new place with borrowed names and empty titles like "Legendary Hero".

Heh, thanks for the welcome! I hope to do so! Zelda's a big deal to me and I enjoy being able to talk about it again!