Would You Believe It?


Over all the last few years, I've picked up a number of The Legend of Zelda games. However, I've never beaten (or really come close to beating) even ONE of them. It's been twenty-ish years since the beginning of the legend, and I certainly feel like I've missed out on a hunk of gaming history. Not to mention, I never owned an NES, an N64, or a Game Cube, so most of the time I never had my chance. However, thanks to being the proud owner of a Wii with Shop Channel and having roommates that have consoles and games I never owned before, I can now play nearly the entire Legend of Zelda library, and most of it is already all here under my own roof.

Now, it's been so long, and since all I know about the game play, story, and characters of Legend of Zelda come from roommates, videos, friends, and what I see/read on the Internet, I no longer care to play them in release order necessarily. I can choose to play them in any order I want now (except for, of course, the OBVIOUS direct sequels and such).

However, I thought that I would take this in an interesting direction. Many people for a very long time have come up with these timeline theories. Basically, if you haven't heard of these theories, it is the idea that there are two different timelines in the Legend of Zelda series, specifically split by the game Ocarina of Time. Fans from there have been trying to fill the gaps in the history of the kingdom of Hyrule. For a super-basic idea of what I'm talking about, you can watch this video provided by Game Trailers. However, after some research on what is canon and what isn't, I'm told that this is ever so slightly incorrect. But this is a basic introduction to the Split Timeline Theory. By the way, this is Part 6 of the series, but the rest of the series is a very interesting watch, so I would encourage you to find parts One through Five. Also, this video was released before two of the Zelda games were released this past year.

So, because I feel like trying something interesting, I'm going to play through the games via the most popular split timeline theory, also based on some of my own research based on what's Nintendo-canon, starting with The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. Here's the way I'm choosing to play the games:

The Minish Cap
The Ocarina of Time
^
TIMELINE A ---------- TIMELINE B
Majora's Mask ----------
Twilight Princess ----------
Four Swords ----------
Four Swords Adventure ---------- The Windwaker
Legend of Zelda ---------- Phantom Hourglass
Adventure of Link ----------
Oracle of Seasons ----------
Oracle of Ages ----------

I'm aware that there are arguable places and holes in some of these placements, but either way, I'm REALLY just playing the games to enjoy them.

So, anyway, I'm currently winning a ebay auction to get ahold of The Minish Cap (for only $5, cartridge only, but all I wanna do is play the game), should be winning it by this time tomorrow, and I'll have it in my grubby little hands soon enough.

Supposedly, Nintendo has actually stated in a few interview that there is, in fact, a split timeline branching out of Ocarina of Time. Does this solidify the entire split timeline theory? Of course not, but it's certainly fun to think about.

I am also aware that there is the theory that the Legend of Zelda is just that: a LEGEND. A retelling of the story of Zelda, Link, and Ganon over the ages. So, I'm free to tackle this in any order I choose. Either way... I just want the experience of the storytelling power of these games, and I want to know with my own eyes why it's so near and dear to so many gamer's hearts.

Heh. Legend of Zelda.