Thu, Jul 22, 2010 | 10:11 BST
Aonuma: Zelda: Skyward Sword takes place before Ocarina of Time
Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma has revealed that a master timeline for the series does exist. How so? He’s told ONM that Skyward Princess takes place before The Ocarina of Time.
But speaking to the mag, he wouldn’t go into more specifics about the timeline, saying it was “confidential.”
“Yes there is a master timeline but its confidential document,” said Aonuma. “The only people to have access to that document are myself, Mr. Miyamoto and the director of the title. We cant share it with anyone else!”
But Aonuma then dropped the Skyward Sword/OoT connection.
“I have already talked to Mr. Miyamoto about this so I am comfortable in releasing this information – this title [Skyward Sword] takes place before Ocarina of Time.”
He went on to further explain the timeline a bit more.
“If I said that a certain title was ‘the first Zelda game’, then that means that we cant ever make a title that takes place before that,” he said.
“So for us to add titles to the series, we have to have a way of putting the titles before or after each other.”
The Legend of Zelda releases next year for Wii.
Thanks, GoNintendo.
17 
Posted in: Action, Adventure, Hot, Nintendo, Wii
Tags: Eiji Aonuma, the legend of zelda, the legend of zelda: ocarina of time, the legend of zelda: skyward sword
17 comments
#1
Hunam
22/07/10, 10:14 am
Booo!
#2
abnormal alan
22/07/10, 10:31 am
Does anyone really care that much about the running order of Zelda that it must be shrouded in mystery? I know it’s been debated for ages but I dunno.
Anyway just because a game that’s already been made may currently be the first in the timeline that doesn’t mean no game could ever be put before it
#3
abnormal alan
22/07/10, 10:32 am
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/angry-video-screwattack/29488
#4
AHA-Lambda
22/07/10, 11:28 am
“Yes there is a master timeline but its confidential document,” said Aonuma. “The only people to have access to that document are myself, Mr. Miyamoto and the director of the title. We cant share it with anyone else!”
BUT WHY!? Why is something so simple a closely guarded secret???!
#5
evilashchris
22/07/10, 11:32 am
Bollocks!
They should all take place after the preceding one, I want to feel like I’m ending the baddie for all time, not just until that game I’ve already played.
#6
abnormal alan
22/07/10, 11:48 am
At the end of the day it’s always gonna be that twat Ganon isn’t it (other than Majora’s Mask I think)
#7
Hunam
22/07/10, 11:59 am
I think it just cheapens OoT by setting something before it.
#8
Anders
22/07/10, 12:08 pm
Isn’t Minish Cap taking place before OoT anyway?
#9
AHA-Lambda
22/07/10, 12:20 pm
so do alot of games in the zelda series apparently =/
#10
Blerk
22/07/10, 12:36 pm
I always considered the Zelda games as being set in parallel worlds rather than being one long story. Each Zelda has its own Link, its own Hyrule, etc. The worlds are very similar but also different – in much the same as Final Fantasy does things.
Trying to tie them all together somehow is just over-complicating things, surely?
#11
Boris Fett
22/07/10, 12:42 pm
^ This.
A chronology is completely pointless, and over-thinking things more than need to be. I just enjoy each game as a separate adventure.
#12
Hunam
22/07/10, 1:03 pm
Zelda timeline, in the begining anyway, was fairly considered. These days it’s not really anything other than guess work.
#13
TerryWogan
22/07/10, 1:29 pm
They’re all essentially the same game anyway aren’t they? That’s not a bad thing, but they are…
#14
Canalla
22/07/10, 4:02 pm
I feel like I already heard about this, that it’s not new information, because this game was supposed to be the story of the master sword creation.
#15
spiderLAW
22/07/10, 4:02 pm
I prefer it to have chronology. I like to think of each version of Link as being the reincarnation of the original Link (not sure which one is anymore lol). I loved the fact that Wind Waker took place after Ocarina of Time and Majora’s mask and incorporated the story of the former into the new story. I thought it was absolutely brilliant.
For this to be a prequel, it can open doors to many possibilities. Maybe they will include the birth of the new Link and the story of the mother taking him to Kakoriko forrest in order to spare him from Ganon’s grasp.
It would also be cool to show the creation of the Master Sword and show why it was known as the sword to vanquish all evils.
#16
abnormal alan
22/07/10, 4:09 pm
it’ll be the same as every other Zelda like Wogan said. Not a bad thing but I wont be in the slightest bit shocked if it doesnt add anything to the mythology
#17
hitnrun
22/07/10, 8:07 pm
What Blerk said. And what Hunam said.
There is no chronology, because the games don’t take place in anything resembling the world of another game.
Back in the day, it was fun to argue with friends about where the (3 or 4) Zelda games fit into the “story,” while digging for clues from official Nintendo sources. But they’ve basically blown that open. Who would want there to be an overarching plot when, if there is one, it’s awful?
The Zelda games are basically different versions of the same story, with maybe a couple of them referencing other games very vaguely. I kind of like it that way anyway. Once you start connecting incompatible stories, you end up like Star Wars diehards: trying to internalize some massive multi-tiered monstrosity of canon that doesn’t resemble the original movies in any way.