Aonuma: Skyward Sword Takes Place Before Ocarina of Time

I've read that it takes place before OoT someplace before, and that Skyward Sword will explain the origins of the Master Sword. Considering how many Zelda games contain the Master Sword (OoT, Link to the Past, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, etc.), it's not too difficult to figure out that this game is chronologically earlier. Maybe this will explain things, but honestly, the Master Sword's history has never made me lose sleep at night. Maybe they'll even explain the Ocarina of Time (the item, not the game)? That would be interesting.

But yeah, there is supposed to be some sort of storyline, and I'm curious as to whether or not it will ever conclude. So many Zelda games are just based around being Zelda games, particularly the handheld games, so a timeline might not even matter. There's a video I think IGN made about the History of Zelda where they talk about a split timeline after OoT, and that make the most sense. I'd recommend it to anyone curious about Zelda's timeline.

I'm hoping they can do something cool with Skyward Sword. After witnessing the disaster of a presentation at E3, I'm hoping that they come back next year and blow my mind instead of giving me the gaming equivalent of blue balls.

I agree with Joesph i never really needed a time line for the Zelda because he was a hero of time and conflict good appear in between the eras of each title far after or before?? but it least they are explaining to us how the master sword came to be

arg, I don't know if it's exciting that we're back in time once again or just shrugging at the idea. I'm ok with the fact that the gameplay will probably be good as well as the story, but I think thses games are starting to go through a mid life crisis where they only think about the past and rarely think about moving on to the future. The future is ever expanding where as the past is so limited and, while happy that the series doesn't just keep going towards the future and explain the past more than any game out there, I think we could use more games that advance the life of Link instead of working on his scrapbook.

I agree, Zelda is great as a standalone, however, for fans of the series, it has always been great knowing that there is an overarching story covering the entire series. Even if we're fed different parts of it at different times, not in consecutive order, it just makes the world of Zelda seem so much larger and greater in scale.

A testament to the evil that is Ganon, and that true courage never cowers in the face of danger. It adds to the Zelda experience.

Is anyone else getting the feeling they just want to insight fanboy bull with this news? The fact there is a set in stone timeline just seems a tad pointless.

Now they confirm there actually is a timeline? I thought a few years back when that kid on youtube tried to make sense of the timeline the response he got from Nintendo was that every game is there own entity and that no central timeline even exists...

Then again, I'm kinda out of the loop regarding the Zelda series, I haven't completed an entry in the series since Oracle of Ages. Played a little Wind Waker and Twilight but was too caught up in World of Warcraft at the time to even look at single player games... =(

It really doesn't matter...all tell an interesting story and you can play one without having played the one before it (if you know which game came before it) and understand it fine.

Zelda has a timeline? I guess some of them are related, OOT, MM and WW seem to have a shared timeline but I always assumed the others were just taking places in alternate universes or something to that effect.

Either way with Zelda games it doesn't matter too much, they're always pretty independent of each other.

I think it's great that the Zelda games do have a timeline. It means that, while every game in the series can stand alone, with a self-contained story, fans of the series can still link the games together.

It's been known that there's a "secret document" for the timeline since the 90's. Anouma was quoted in a Nintendo Power, I think.

I try and pay as little attention to the Zelda time line as possible. It just makes my head hurt.

Honestly, I could careless about the over arcing time-line in a game like Zelda. I'm glad though that they are trying to make sense of it all instead of not caring about it at all.

Twilight Princess is clearly some sort of mega future, because you're given the equipment of the Hero of Time, who is OoT Link (and a couple of others, but whatever)
So there was always some semblance of a story. I just want to know how they're all linked to one another.

Heh, geddit, linked?

I've heard time and time again that there is no official timeline. What the hell's going on?

Isn't Link in Ocarina of Time a kid, or something ?
He looks a bit older now, which seems a bit odd.

To think if there is an actual timeline to these mystical series of games. Must be like a freakin puzzle with holes here and there ready for more games and continuations plus prequels. Honestly I don't want to here anything about the whole timeline. I'll wait hearing that till I have gray hair and arthritis in my hands.

Though I would like to see how much that secret document would go for on ebay or something. Not to actually sell it just to see how high it would get.

The only 2 Zelda games i saw that fit together were OOT and Majora's Mask but thats because it actually tells you that after link saved the world he went on search for the most annoying thing in the world he called his "friend" (but in reality he probably couldn't sleep because he heard "Hey listen!" in his dreams and just wanted that thing dead.) But its really cool to see that they actually have a timeline locked away in Nintendo tower. I guess it would make sense for Wind waker to be very far in the future in the timeline. But to figure all this out i would have to spend at least 1 week and it would require a written story of all Zelda games ever made.

I love the Zelda time line theories, and was somewhat heartbroken when Nintendo said It did not exist, but these words from the creators themselves reassures the fans out there that the theories can keep coming in!