Canonical Material

Timeline Principles are those basic, priori-like concepts upon which the timeline is built. Generally, all theorists honestly believe in the core truths on which they base their work. They do not, however, consistently agree on the inclusion or exclusion of certain "fringe facts", or the weight which they hold.

Canon
A canonical statement is one which cannot be reasonably denied within the context of the Legend of Zelda universe. To be more specific, when an official Zelda authority (i.e. a "canonical source") makes an informed, intended statement, that statement must be considered a fact in the timeline. Furthermore, when such a source makes such a statement, it is assumed to be intended and informed (and therefore canonical) unless an excellent argument is made to the contrary.

Sources universally considered canonical

 * The Legend of Zelda (LoZ) Original release: properly translated textual game content and game manual
 * The Adventure of Link (AoL) Original release: properly translated textual game content and game manual
 * A Link to the Past (ALttP) Original release: properly translated textual game content and game manual
 * Link's Awakening (LA) Original release: properly translated textual game content and game manual
 * Ocarina of Time (OoT) Original release: textual game content and game manual
 * Majora's Mask (MM) textual game content and game manual
 * Oracle of Ages (OoA) textual game content and game manual
 * Oracle of Seasons (OoS) textual game content and game manual
 * Four Swords (FS) textual game content and game manual
 * The Wind Waker (TWW) textual game content and game manual
 * Four Swords Adventures (FSA) textual "Hyrulean Adventure" content and game manual
 * The Minish Cap (TMC) textual game content and game manual
 * Twilight Princess (TP) textual game content and game manual
 * Phantom Hourglass (PH) as-of-yet not contradicted developer announced placement

Sources considered non-canonical

 * The Legend of Zelda promotional material, such as the cartoon series and comic books.
 * Fan-based Internet sources, such as online forums.
 * The Legend of Zelda games that were not produced by Nintendo, including the Phillips CD-i Games (Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, Link: The Faces of Evil, and Zelda's Adventure) as well as fan-produced games.

Nintendo-licensed/produced games that are arguably canon

 * BS: The Legend of Zelda. This game is considered non-canonical since it replaces the hero (Link) with a different character and still tells of the same adventure.
 * BS Zelda: Kodai no Sekiban. This game is arguably canon. It takes place in Hyrule during Link's absence after ALttP and tells of a hero from another world that vanquishes Ganon shortly after he is resurrected. This story is never contradicted so it can be canon.
 * Zelda Game & Watch. This game's story is almost never considered by fans, but its intended place is after AoL. Dragons steal the Triforce and kidnap Zelda and Link stops them. Like BS Zelda: Kodai no Sekiban, this game is not contradicted, so it can be seen as canon.
 * The Legend of Zelda Game Watch. Thought of even less than its Game & Watch cousin, this game is an undetailed retelling of LoZ and is thus redundant to the timeline.
 * A Link to the Past (ALttP) GBA release: Contains new content including the Palace of the Four Sword and revised backstory, which are of questionable canon status.

AlttP Translations
The first translation the third major Japanese Zelda title "Kamigami no Toraifōsu" into the English release "A Link to the Past" is now considered non-canonical by most fans. Nintendo of America took many storyline liberties when making their translation and the final product differed in many ways from the original material. Timeline Theorists employ more exact translations of the original Japanese, which can be found online.

As a side effect, a number of re-occurring terms are noted differently between the NoA and online, most notably "Imprisoning War" (NoA) vs. "Seal War" (other). While many theorists now choose to employ the more exact terms, the articles of this wiki will instead use the universally recognized NoA variants.

Lack of Canon
As with the scientific method, "Lack of Canon" cannot be used as either a proof or a disproof in a theory. Common arguments such as "I believe that MM is a dream because there is no proof that it is not a dream", or, conversely "People in 'Twilight Princess'' do not know the title "Hero of Time" because they never mention the title" are not valid.

Intent
When trying to understand a creation, one should always consider the creator. Shigeru Miyamoto, Eiji Aonuma, and their colleagues at Nintendo provide the best possible perspective on the Timeline because their own intentions shape the series. When these intentions can be understood, they provide an excellent (although incomplete) blueprint for theorists and are followed with due care.

General Knowledge
Through the study of canon and intent, theorists have come to the following conclusions, which they claim to be almost as "true" as the canon itself.
 * LoZ and AoL center around the same Hero.
 * ALttP and LA are most commonly believed to be the same hero, but this isn't confirmed in LA itself.
 * If taken as part of the Timeline KnS occurs simultaneously with LA
 * OoT and MM center around the same Hero, and precede ALttP/LA. As evidenced by the fact that the events in OoT are referenced as historical in the prologue of ALttP.
 * TP stars the newest Hero, and succeeds OoT.
 * OoS and OoA center around the same hero.
 * TWW and PH center around the same hero.
 * TMC, FS, and FSA occur in that order, and are part of the timeline.


 * There is a war preceding OoT, described again in TP.
 * There is a war that results in the casting of a sages' seal on the Sacred Realm preceding ALttP (which may or may not be represented in OoT).
 * There is a possible battle against Ganon as he seizes the Triforce of Power before LoZ.
 * Vaati [presumably] attacks Hyrule again between TMC and FS (meaning FS's backstory may or may not be TMC).
 * The naming tradition of the "Legendary" Zelda of AoL succeeds OoT, and is generally thought to be after ALttP/LA (and may feature the Princess Zelda from either of those games).
 * There is a second tradition, evidenced in tWW, which may or may not be related to the first.
 * The events which occur during the life of the Hero of Time must be inducted or ignored, they cannot be proven.
 * The series is incomplete. There are plot holes which may or may not be covered in future games.
 * There has yet to be a complete canonical contradiction within the Zelda universe.

Arc System
In combining these points, a theorist can quickly develop six "story arcs" to serve as the basis for his timeline. Usually represented by listing the games alone;


 * OoT/MM - TP
 * OoT - TWW/PH
 * TMC - FS/FSA*
 * ALttP/LA/(KnS) (This arc is not confirmed)
 * LoZ/AoL**
 * OoS/OoA

Note: * Not necessarily meant to denote that these games occur in direct sequence. It is also unconfirmed that FS and FSA feature the same Link.

Note: ** The LoZ/AoL arc is traditionally placed after the ALttP/LA/(KnS) arc, but there was little information available at the time to properly explain the storyline connections. Nintendo has made differing statement suggesting that either could be before the other.