Building Your Timeline

Perhaps the best way to understand the subtleties and conflicts involved in constructing a model of the Zelda Timeline is to attempt the process yourself. The resources provided by this wiki allow an interested new theorist to develop an excellent knowledge base in no time flat.

The Basics
The most effective theorists are those who take the time to learn and enjoy the Zelda Canon before they begin. Prospective theorists should play through to completion any and every Zelda game they can. Information on any other games can be found on the wiki.

With this basic understanding, new theorists should beable to quickly memorize the small ammount of jargon used in timeline discussion. For the most part, simply knowing the name's of each game in the series well enough to recognise their abreviations is all that is required.

Though not nesassarily a requirement, new theorists will be taken much more seriously if they are able to understand the definition of Canon and have a general familiarity with the timeline's General cnclusions

The Arcs
The cornerstone of timeline knowledge is familiarity with the five story arcs and their proofs. Some of these connection should be immediatly obvious, while other may take some explaining.

OOT/MM - tWW/PH

The first "Arc" compirses those games which can be directly linked by their reporesentation of the Hero of Time.
 * Ocarina of Time, as that Hero's first great adventure, begins the arc.
 * Majora's Mask, as his follow up journey, is placed subsequently.
 * The Wind Waker, which features his recognised reincarnation in a world where he has become a legends, occurs centuries after.
 * Phantom Hourglass, promoted as a sequel to the Winwaker and its hero's second adventure, completes the arc.

TMC - FS/FSA

The second "Arc" comprises those games which can be directly linked by their representation of Vaati and the Foursword. For this reason, it is often refered to as the "Foursword Trilogy". OoS/OoA
 * The Minish Cap, which deatils the forging of the foursword, and the origns of Vaati, begins the tale.
 * Four Swords, in which the sword is used to seal Vaati a second time, occurs much later.
 * Four Swords Adventure, in which Vaati is finally destroyed, completes the arc.

The third "Arc" is simply the Oracle Series. Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons stand alone, not directly connected to any other game.
 * Oracle of Seasons is suggested by the manual and manga to occur first
 * Oracle of Ages would then be the direct continuation

AlttP/LA/(KnS) - LoZ/AoL

The fourth Arc comprises those games which were released prior Ocarina of Time, and can be linked in the manner of most gaming series.
 * AlttP, which was the earliest tale at the time of its release, begins the arc.
 * LA, its intended continuation, is placed subsequently.
 * (Kodai no Sekiban, a sequel never released in North America, may occur simultaneously with LA)
 * LoZ, which stars the decendents of AlttP's protagonists, occurs centuries later.
 * AoL, the conclusion of the LoZ storyline, completes the arc.

TP

The fifth arc contains the latest Zelda title, which is, at the moment, to hotly debated to palce within any of the other arcs.