Gaming Zelda Fans Come Hither...

What's a bunshin?

Other than clarification on the "why does dead OOT Link result in something different" issue and the repeated "Ganon is revived" line (why does Ganon need to be revived in ALTTP if he wasn't killed/defeated by Link in OOT? I think they're taking some of Ganon's defeats a bit too literally)... it does solve some of the more difficult timeline issues, although it does sacrifice some of the other possible connections between games (TWW resulting in LOZ, new continent potentially being eastern Hyrule, etc).

Although, glancing at it one more time, the tragedy of Princess Zelda I seems an odd placement- especially if there were at least 3 Princess Zeldas before then.

 

I still think a single timeline could be forged, or, at the very least, a 2-branch split. However, I accept that this may be official .

What I'm curious about now is when did they decide on the triple split? It had to be Wind Waker or TP, which is interesting because that means they were confirming the concept of multiple Links in multiple ways that we weren't aware of at the time.

 

That's an interesting read, I'll have to take a closer look at it.

Also, we have a cleaner update to the timeline that pretty much matches the basic one posted above:

[image=http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2011/12/29631a766f1537530abc0ec5e6d15515.jpg]

So we have The Hero of Time, The Last Hero, The Hero of Wind & The Hero's Descendants it seems. I rather like "The Last Hero" as a title for the Zelda 1-4 timeline Links.

And Aonuma was apparently supervising editor on the book, which confirms this timeline as official.


Got my second sessions of Skyward Sword in finally and took care of the Kiwiki search and have begun the first dungeon. Not sure if it was just my angle (in the game or in real life_ but I had a heck of a time getting the double eyeball guardian thing to work on that chest with the first key. Recalibrated my wiimote twice and finally got it, but needed a very precise point otherwise i tendd to lose the left side of the roll.

It's definitely more challenging than Twilight Princess so far- I think I died thrice as many times facing the first Skulltula than I did in the entirety of TP (mostly because I had incorrectly assumed it was a shield bash type of situation like that infinite bash training log in the academy, instead of a slash-horizontally-then-stab scenario).

One rather neat moment happened when I tried to get past that Skulltula and the sucker took my last heart while kocking me forward, leaving the camera at a dramatic angle to capture Link laying on his stomach, reaching for the stone tablet sign in front of him before finally succumbing to the embrace of death. Probably the most dramatic visual for a mundane situation that I've ever encountered in this series, ha.

 

It is kinda odd that the original 4 games of the series are technically a "What If?" timeline.

Although Ganon's execution makes it somewhat hazy (he's obviously not in the Dark World, so it could be after he's resurrected, if we follow a single timeline progression)), I was of the opinion that TP would have had to have been after ALTTP (since both TP and ALTTP have "Castle II", one could infer we were seeing it's expansion from castle/no-town to castle-w/town).

 

Yeah, that's my main hope at this point: with the timeline established, that maybe they're more willing to explore all three timeline branches with future titles, instead of making every game a spin-off/sequel/prequel of/to OOT.

At the very least, even if they want to stick to the other two branches for console releases, maybe make another 2D game set in that original branch to fit it's retro nature.

Regarding the castle discussion, we're referring to the size of Castle Town from it's non-existence in ALTTP to the large presence in TP. I also mention how the Hyrule Castle in ALTTP & TP is likely Hyrule Castle II, as they occupy the same geographic location in the center of Hyrule Field (the former site of Lon Lon Ranch in OOT), whereas the original Hyrule Castle and original Castle Town was in the northwest (with the Temple of Time's location in OOT also coinciding with the location of the Master Sword in ALTTP).

Of course, TP did some changes with that with Faron Woods and the Master Sword and Temple of Time, but it's possible it was moved (since the Lost Woods has existed in at least 3 other places prior to TP, it's not unreasonable to suggest it moved again and stuff like Skull Kid just followed) and the portal nature of the door to the ToT in TP could account for that as well.

They've been saying every game since TWW was "just over a century" after OOT (which, given this split timeline, is technically true ) but I think it's something that would have to be ignored if we were to look at a unified (or, at the very least, two-branch) timeline.

ALTTP has generations passing since the Imprisoning War (enough for the details to fall into myth and legend and the Golden Land to be somewhat forgotten), and if TP were to be after those events (and, presumably, OOA/OOS/LA since those are the same Link and we need enough time to pass for Ordon Link to emerge and grow up), the it's going to have to be a few decades between them.

Then again, the argument could be made for the reverse, so far as geography goes: that Kakariko II's expansion from what we see in TP leads to a decrease in Castle Town II. It's muddled at the very least.

 

I don't have the add-on (just the built-in gold one that came with SS) so I'm just taking a guess here, but is there some kind of sync functionality to the add-on? Or does the wiimote take care of that? Is your wiimote registering/synced?

 

Finished the first temple. That duel was tricky but in a good way- especially once you figure out how to time the block the dash attacks and slash the darts.

I really love how they replaced the Big Key with the carvings that you have to rotate to unlock the doors. Adds a nice puzzle element to one of the odder, longterm mainstays.

The beetle thing is cool too- of course once i got it i spent a long time trying to fly it through the passage of the flooded room, only to then realize it was big enough for Link to simply crawl through .

Also, fans have fixed the timeline:

[image=http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2012/01/9c8169c469acbba6e23fdc9d17fa39f6.jpg]

 

That's great, especially the Philips CDi slam.

 

Some further trabslations add some clarifying comments on the timeline, with "gameplay over story" comments that probbaly shouldn't be a surprise to anyone:

Chapter 2, "The Full History of Hyrule," arranges the series in chronological order so it's easier to understand, but from the very beginning, Zelda games have been developed with the top priority of focusing on the game mechanics rather than the story. For example, in Ocarina of Time, the first installment of the series I was involved in, the main theme was how to create a game with pleasant controls in a 3D world. Or in the DS game, Phantom Hourglass, the focus was having comfortable stylus controls. Finally, in the most recent game, Skyward Sword, we focused on an easy way to swing the sword using the Wii motion plus.

Thinking of that way of developing the games, it may be correct to say that the story is an appendix to that. I even think that setting Skyward Sword as the "first story," was merely a coincidence.

While reading over "The Full History of Hyrule," it's possible that some parts may look contradictory. For instance, the Mogma race or the beetle item that appear on the very first story do not appear on any other game that takes place in the future. I'd like to ask everyone just to enjoy the book and to be broad-minded, and to think that those parts are the way they are because of the way Zelda games are developed.

 

I think the lack of a title theme is more than made up by the amount of simply gorgeous orchestral music in this game. Stuff like Fi's Theme and the Earth Temple music blow me away. Hell all of the temple music is great. Plus the music from the trailers, Romance and Ballad of the Goddess. So I'm not too bummed out by a lack of title theme, even if it would have added another cool element the previous games have had.

 

I think it's safe to safe Ballad of the Goddess is essentially the title theme even if not present.

Perhaps the lack of an intro video is because of it's "first in timeline" placement?

 

I never liked OOT's title theme. I don't think anyone else here will defend that notion, so you can be pissed at me for that.