Recently I've gotten a lot of questions about the continuity of the Zelda games, and what relationship if any do they have wtih each other. LIke Star Wars, Zelda has prequels in fact the entire series exists in Prequels. To assess the storyline, and the timeline the only real source referance material, especially for the early games is officially produced Nintendo literature, most notably the instruction manuals to the games, and I consider the Nintendo Power official guide to Zelda: A Link to the Past, as acceptable literature in this regard. I have all these things, so I can accurately guage the timeline of the games. This should help Zelda fans in getting a grasp on how these games relate, or for that matter deviate from each other.

The first actual game in the Timeline is The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time. In Ocarina of Time, Link is called upon by destiny to defeat the impending evil, however Link is very young, and he is stored away in the Sacred Realm until he is powerful enough to defeat Ganondorf. Once Link unites the 7 Sages, Impa, Darunia, Rauru, Nabooru, Saria, Zora, and Zelda, the door to the sacred realm is sealed and Ganon is left trapped in this alternate dimension, however he becomes a malevolent force, and manifests himself as Piggy Ganon, apparently something to do with his greed. All future Zelda games beyond Ocarina of Time should feature Ganon as his transformed piggy self because the Sacred Realm/Dark World reflect the content of one's heart. At the end of Ocarina of Time, Link Travel's back in time to his childhood and thus the rift and calamity of Ganondorf never happens.

Majora's Mask takes place after Ocarina of Time, pretty much a side story of the previous game where Link is pulled into another dimension, or my belief is that he might have teleported to another part of the planet of Hyrule, but this is conjecture, most likely he's in some subreality crafted by the machinations of Majora with that magically imbued mask he has.

I do believe The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is the next set of events, and the game even refers back to events of Ocarina of Time. It is set 100 years after the Link of The Legend of Zelda, and another young lad named Link must rise to the occasion to bring order back to Hyrule.

Now here's were people sometimes get confused, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, is actually set in the future of Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and possibly the Oracle of Seasons/Ages games. Much of the legend and lore of Ocarina of Time is remembered differently but nevertheless is not forgotten. At the beginning of the video game there is referance to 7 Wise Men sealing the gate to the Sacred Realm when Ganondorf tried to bring evil into the Light World and destroy Hyrule. A key figure to not in Link to the Past is the wise man, Sahasralah who explains some of this, also at this time the Hylians have a book entitled the "Book of Mudora" which is like their bible describing the ancient times. During the events of Link to the Past, the King of Hyrule mysteriously disappears, however a powerful Wizard Agahnim comes, however he is under the telepathic control of Ganon from the Dark World, a realm of Ganon's creation, a sub domain of the Sacred Realm. During this age, the old term Sacred Realm is not used and rather replaced with "The Golden Land" Using magic Agahnim (who is possessed by Ganon) gathers the 7 Maidens who are descendants of the 7 wise men (Sages from Ocarina of Time) and sends them into the Dark World to be used by Ganon to escape back into the Light World, and seek revenge for his centuries of imprisonment and bring ruin to Hyrule. In Link to the Past, there are similar places to Ocarina of Time, however not exacltly the same. The positions of places moved.

Kakariko is the main town in Link to the Past, it's larger than it was in Ocarina of Time, Death Mountain is still just north of Kakariko, but this time the lost woods is to the Northwest of Kakariko and this is where Link from a previous incarnation left behind the Master Sword because there is no Temple of Time, it had probably been forgotten about or destroyed so that no one else would seek the Triforce by opening the gate to the Sacred Realm. It is interesting to note that there is a person inside a house in Kakariko that notes that the house belonged to a great thief, is this Ganondorf from Ocarina of Time? Or another incarnation of Ganondorf? The Graveyard is still in the same position in Link to the Past that it is in Ocarina of Time. Hyrule Castle is also moved where Hyrule Field is in Ocarina of Time, Lake Hylia is still there, just south of Hyrule Castle. Lon Lon Ranch is gone, and the Kokiri are gone, however the Zora are still there and they still occupy Zora's River, however their alligence to the Hylians and the Royal Family has been long lost and in fact they are rather adversarial with Link, and Zora. A Distinct Feature of Death Mountain in Link to the Past, is an outcropping called "Specticle Rock."

The SNES Zelda: A Link to the Past Player's Guide States:

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is actually kind of like Majora's Mask, in that it is a side quest to The Link to the Past, but the entire game is a dream for Link, thus the title "Link's Awakening" it's a play on words, he's actually sleeping or was incapacitated while riding on his raft in a bad storm. If you finish Link's Awakening and awaken the Wind Fish with the instruments you'll notice the referance to it all being a dream at the end of the game. It could also be a telepathic construct created by the wind fish that is in fact in distress but used Link's magic of the Triforce of Courage to save the Wind Fish.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, by design and everything stated by Nintendo in their literature, was to take place BEFORE the events of The Legend of Zelda, and Zelda II: The Adventures of Link for the NES. The next game in the Timeline would be The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo, apparently a very dark time had hit Hyrule and Ganondorf had the Triforce of Power, and Zelda shattered the Triforce of Wisdom and Link had to reassemble it. All the Towns are gone, pretty much everyone is dead, and the whole place is infiltrated with Monsters. Even with the NES's basic graphics Hyrule still has distinct Features. Lake Hylia is still there, The Lost Woods is still there, a ruined example of Kakariko, and a huge graveyard, and Zora's are pretty much corrupted completely by evil and just want to kill Link now. The Following is quoted directed from the Zelda Game Player's Guide Released in 1992.

Of how Ganon came by the Triforce of Power, no tale is told. When she discovered that Ganon had acquired the a piece of the Triforce, though, Princess Zelda broke the Triforce of Wisdom into eight pieces and hid them. She knew a hero was needed to challenge Ganon so she sent her nurse, Impa, to search throughout the land, even as Zelda herself was captured. During her quest, Impa long evaded Ganon's Reach, but in a forest glade she too fell into his clutches and would have been carried off if not for the heroic actions of a passing youth named Link. Once the villains had been driven away, Impa told the young man about Zelda's secret. Then, unable to hold back her tears, she told him how the Princess had been taken captive. No sooner had the youth heard the tale of Zelda's sorrow than he pledged to defeat Ganon and rescue the Princess. He set off at once, knowing only that he had to collect eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom. At every turn in the path he met monsters and other evil soldiers of Ganon who challenged him. After countless adventures, Link gathered all the eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom, then he scaled Death Mountain and gained entrance to Spectacle Rock. Ganon's great maze Dwarfed any that Link had yet encountered. In the hidden chamber, he discovered a magical Silver Arrow and taking the prize, he traced his way through the maze until he came face to face with Ganon himself. The battle between youthful hero and vilainous foe raged across the chamber, but Ganon remained invincible, seemingly unaffected by the cuts of Link's Sword. As Link began to tire, he tried a last desparate strategy, putting the Silver Arrow to the test. The bowstring sang and the arrow flew straight. Ganon was Destroyed. With the defeat of Ganon, Link's mind turned to the purpose that had driven him here-the rescue of Princess Zelda. One chamber remained to be explored and Link pushed ahead. Here Zelda greeted him and the pieces of the Triforces of Power and Wisdom were reunited. With the destruction of Ganon and the power of the Triforce Restored, peaced reigned once more in Hyrule. Princess Zelda now ruled the land, and the country prospered. It seemed as if the shadow of Ganon had been destroyed forever. But the youthful hero of the age remained vigilant. Wherever Link roamed, he looked for signs of Ganon's return, for he could not believe that he had truly banished evil from the Land.

That essentially compiles the events of The Legend of Zelda for the NES. Now understand that Zelda II: The Adventures of Link for the NES, is in fact is the latest version of Zelda in the timeline. The Hylian Civilization had completely expanded beyond the small region surrounding Lake Hylia. More than likely that region was so ravaged by Ganondorf, and it was left behind and it became overtaken by nature. This region is still visable in Zelda II, just south of Death Mountain, in an alcove of land near the sea. Obviously the population of Hyrule was very large and they set foot across the countryside more than likely traversing Death Mountain to get to the countryside to the north, and they even sailed across the Great Bay and settled on another island nation to the east. There were many different communities that had prospered, and their towns were almost cities in comparison to Kakariko and Hyrule Market Town of many ages ago. A notable feature in Zelda II: The Adventures of Link's Hyrule is the expansive graveyard that is to the Northwest of where old Hyrule and Death Mountain are. It's likely to assume that many men died in the wars to fight Ganon, and as his evil spread from that region of Hyrule people had to take refuge in distant places, and thus all those other towns were built. In the center of the graveyard is a large tomb dedicated to the dead King of Hyrule who also likely died or was assasinated by Ganon's minions.

What's interesting to note is that the towns in Zelda II: The Adventures of Link are named after the Sages from The Ocarina of Time, you'll find the Towns of Rauru, Nabooru, Saria, Darunia, and there's even Mido, apparently this little Kokiri may have had a heroic adventure and got written down somewhere in the Hylian Lore, perhaps a small note in the Book of Mudora, and future Hylians had no idea who Mido was and figured he was a figure of greatness and made a town in his namesake. Great Palaces were built during this period, and they had towering columns and impressive regal elegance. Hyrule had entered a Renaissance.

Throughout Zelda: A Link to the Past, The Legend of Zelda, and Zelda II: The Adventures of Link there is no referance to the Gorons, it's likely that these guys when either extinct or moved into less populated area deep in the Mountains of Hyrule to live in seclusion.

North Palace as it was called, was the new capitol of Hyrule, and sat in the center of a great circular Lake, in the middle of a plains region. This was where Zelda lived now. The following is again excerpted from the Zelda Players Guide Released in 1992:

The Adventure of Link takes place several years after The Legend of Zelda. An older, taller and perhaps wiser Link has seen the country prosper and villages spring up. But peace is a fragile commodity in Hyrule and history has away of repeating itself. On his second adventure, Link becomes a master of magic as well as a fighter. He visits many Towns, fights new enemies and travels across the sea. Marked by the sign on his hand. Link was destined to become a hero, but in the peaceful days following his first quest, he became restless. He wandered the forests, crossed the deserts and delved into the caverns of Hyrule, looking for clues to explain his feeling of unease. IN time he became aware of a whisper that passed between the birds, beasts, and even through the blades of grass: there was a new magic in the land, nameless and terrifying. Lying still as margle, Princess Zelda slept a dreamless sleep of enchantment. When Link found her thus arrayed in the North Palace, he saw at once that she was spellbound. His greatest fear had come to pass. By refusing to reveal the secret power of the Triforce to a wizard, Zelda had brought on her own downfall. But all was not lost. If Link somehow unlocked the myster of the Great Palace, he could save Zelda and the Triforce of Courage. Again Link took to the fields and forests, but these places had become wild and dangerous, inhabited by enemies of old. Link found himself relying on his wits and swordplay at ever step. Creatures he had never before seen also waylaid him: Spiders called Deelers that dropped from trees, tall Geldarms that rose from teh snads of the Tantari Desert, and of course the Moblins, armed with spears and hatred. Link's mission was to enter each of six palaces and restore a missing crystal to the statue. Together the statues created a magical lock on the Great Palace. Only by replaces the six crystals could Link open the final door. In each palace, however he had to battle a Statue Guardian of great strength: Barba the Dragon, Iron-Knuckle the Knight, Carock the Wizard, and others. As he closed the palaces, Link cross the whole of Hyrule, from Ruto in the northwest to Death Mountain in the south, from the Island Palace in the Stormy Straights to Maze Island in the Far Eastern Sea. He helped villagers when he could, but he never lost sight of his ultimate goal. Finally, after uncovering the secrets of Old Kasuto, Link pushed on to the Great Palace where he met the Thunderbird. Once the Thunderbird was vanquished, Link thought that Zelda and Hyrule would be saved, but it was not to be... not yet. Exhausted from defeat - an enemy so unexpected that he did not know what to do, for the enemy was his own shadow.

Those depict the events of Zelda II: The Adventures of Link. My hopes are that someday Nintendo will make a vast 3-D Morrowind Like Zelda that uses the Hyrule from Zelda II. That would be one incredible adventure. This section is not entirely finished as I will be adding some more material directly from the instruction booklets to the games, and further depicting the epic Saga. After reading this you should start to realize that there is a conflict in the plots between what it said about "A Link to the Past" and "Ocarina of Time" Obviously the Imprisoning War being spoken about in LTTP is the events of TOOT, however the people and events don't seem to match up. This inaccuracy could in fact be caused by the "mists of time" effect and such records got muddy, such is the case today with many ancient holy books from all the religions, many of their original words are rewritten and whole events are omitted or lost.

THE ODYSSEY OF HYRULE