The Legend of Zelda timeline is confusing from an outsider’s perspective, but what in life isn’t? Whether it’s 🅷from reading the Hyrule Historia or simply paying attention to the games themsওelves, it ♊isn’t too difficult to pin down the Zelda timeline. Of course, it’s perhaps more convoluted than it should be, but it’s also dec🦩ept𝔉ively simple.

Whiꦐle not every game is connected in terms of narrative, all games are conn𝔍ected thematically and through lore. Each title has a clear ꦺrole in the timeline, even if it’s just to introduce one new concept or theme to the series. With three branching timelines, it might be difficult to order the series chronologically, but difficult doesn’t mean impossible.

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15 Skyward Sword

The first game chronologically in the series, Skyward Sword will likely be the title to remain so. It goes back further than any other entry in the franchiܫse, more or less serving as the entire Zelda universe's origin point. Link and Zelda’s dynamic, the reincarnation cycle, the Maste🍃r Sword, and Hyrule all get their origins here. It, in turn, becomes very difficult to take♈ the series any 💜further back in time.

All that said, Skyward Sword 💝seems to reference a Link before the main Link who died protecting Hylia. While it may not work as a game, this bit of lore was adapted into a now non-canonical one-off manga.

14 The Minish Cap & Four Swords

Before Hyrule Historia, the only things that helped place The Minish Cap were Nintendo’s comments on it and the fact that it﷽ originates Link’s cap, only for Skyward Sword to retcon that bit of trivia. Much like how Skyward Sword is an origin story for the Master Sword, The Minish Cap is an origin story for the Four Sword.

Interestingly, The Minish Cap takes places generations before Four Swords, but Four Swords doesn’t take place far enough in the future for there to be g🐷ames between them. Just like with The Minish Cap, there’s nothing that helps place Four Swords other than the Hಌyrule Historia and Nintendo’s com🌳ments.

13 Ocarina Of Time

The game that gave The Legend of Zelda its timeline split, Ocarina of Time simultaneously ta♑kes place in the Child and Adult timelines. Of note, Ocarina of Time marks the first time that Link and Zelda confꦯront Ganondorf, beginning their eternal rivalry.

Or💧iginally, the game was meant to cover the Imprisoning War, but that thread was lost during development. At the end of the game, Princess Zelda ends up creating twoᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ timelines after sending Link back to the past. This changes the course of Zelda history entirely, branching the franchise into two di♏stinct timelines that run parallel to the series’ original timeline. But more on that last bit later.

12 Child Timeline: Majora’s Mask

After being sent back to the past by Princess Zelda, the Hero of Time spends six months in Hyrule only to leave the kingdom behind on a person🐲al quest. It’s strongly implied that Link left Hyrule to search for Navi, kicking off the events of Majora’s Mask 🦄where Link is trapped in🍬 a perpetual three-day time loop.

It’s not established how much t🐼ime Link actually spends inside the loop, but it’s long enoug♑h for him to solve every single major problem in Termina. After the events of Majora’s Mask, Link comes home, joins the Hyliꦜan army, presumably marri🌞es Malon, and settles down with some farmland of his own.

11 Child Timeline: Twilight Princess

Twilight Princess is in a rather interesting position chronologically, as it’s the only game to allow two different Links to interact with one another. Granted, the Hero of Ti🐬me is long dead by the events of TP, but his spirit linඣgers on so th༒at he may mentor the new Link, his implied great-great-grandson.

Twilight Princess iဣs also a unique game for being the only game where Link very clearly and bl♋atantly kills G💞anondorf. He doesn’t turn to stone, he doesn’t sink into Hyrule, and he isn’t sealed away: he dies. This results in Ganondorf reincarnating for the first time into Ganondorf II, the main vil⛦lain of Four Swords Adventures.

10 Child Timeline: Four Swords Adventures

The chronologically latest game in t꧃he Child timeline f꧅or now, Four Swords Adventures marks the end of the Four Sword arc, the dea🐟th of Vaati, and the introduction of Ganondorf II, Ganon’s first majo🍰r reincarnation in the series.

Four Swords Adventures is also notable as being one of the harder games to place in the series.🌳 Before the Hyrule Histo💛ria, it was very strongly hinted that it was in continuity with A Link to the Past, lifting rather heavy from that game both thematically and visually. The reveal that it was a Child timeline game all along and cꦉlosest in proximity to Twilight Princess shows a major change in Hyrule between TP and FSA.

9 Adult Timeline: The Wind Waker

Taking place centuries after Zelda sent Link back in time𓆏, The Wind Waker focuses on the timeline Link left behinౠd. Here, because the Spirit of the Hero was gone, there was no one to stop Ganon when he came back. The Goddesses responded by flooding Hyrule and locking it beneath the seas.

This makes for one of t🧜he series’ more unique stories, one that actively comments on the legacy of Hyrule, ultimately coming to the conclusion that Link and Tetra need to move on from the past and build their own future. It’s a poignant and mature theme that The Wind Waker handles incredibly well.

8 Adult Timeline: Phantom Hourglass

That said, The Wind Waker isn’t so open and shut. The game actually ends with Link and Tetra sailing off to find their 😼new kingdom. Naturally, Link attracts trouble, and he’s left🐻 shipwrecked.

Phantom Hourglass is an interesting game in that it has no real♚ impact on the timeline. It’s simply a mini-adventure Link went on after The Wind Waker. Phantom Hourglass’ lore contributions are also fairly debatable considering how most of the game takeℱs place within a🍌 dream.

It's worth noti🅠ng that Nintendo originally intended for the game that became Twilight Princess to be The Wind Waker’s direct sequel, but reception to TWW’s tone forced them to change gears.

7 Adult Timeline: Spirit Tracks

Taking place 100 years or so after the end of Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks picks up in New Hyrule with Link and Tetra’s descendants💙. Interestingly, it’s not suggested that Link and Tetra ended up together. Spirit Tracks also marks the first main game to feature a playable Zelda along with a new reincarnation of evil🐲.

With Ganondorf beneath the waves and a statue, his soul has reinca🐭rnated into Cole, Spirit Tracks’ main antagonist. Malladus even looks exactly like Ganon when possessing Cole, ♉strongly indicating that this is the same evil soul waiting to be defeated. As of now, Spirit Tracks marks the end of the Adult timeline.

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The franchise’s first prequel, A Link to the Past, has woun൩d up one of the later entries in the series thanks to the co🎀nstantly growing roster of prequels and sequels. Notably, A Link to the Past is♕ the game that occurs when Link dies in an unseen Ocarina of Time ending, forcing the sages to hastily seal Ganon.

It’s implied that Link’s wish at the end of A Link to the Past ends up creating a new timeline. By touching the Triforce, Link’s heart fixes all thaౠt Ganon made wrong, including ꧅the death of the Hero of Time. This creates a new timeline for Ocarina of Time to exist in.