The following article is an editorial that only reflects the opinions of the writer and not ZeldaInformer as a whole. That said, enjoy the article.For the record: no, this is not going to be a soapbox about how the New Hyrule in Spirit Tracks proves that ultimately the classic games will fall on the Adult Timeline after all. Neither will it be an exposé on how we now know for sure that the Deku Tree definitely connected all of the islands we saw from The Wind Waker to form said Hyrule. (Although do expect a follow-up to my original article about New Hyrule which suggested exactly that.)
In fact, this is not going to be a continuity theory at all. Instead, it is a reflection on how the expression of the series' continuity has evolved, from past to present, and taken on a completely new life in Spirit Tracks.
The original Zelda story, The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System, was unique among adventure games of its time in that it created a complete world in which the action would take place. Earlier examples of game settings, such as the Mushroom Kingdom in Super Mario Bros., while they certainly were not without their own unique character and life, did not achieve the same "connected" feeling present in Hyrule's universe. The Mushroom Kingdom still had its trademark castles, pipes, and of course giant mushrooms, but in terms of the game itself it existed only as a series of stages a player had to complete. Hyrule in contrast consisted of not only 'levels' but also a whole world to explore in-between.
Even though there was not a drastic difference between the actual storylines of the two series--each was told primarily through the game's instruction manual, and each stuck to the core idea of a hero rescuing a damsel in distress from an evil monster--the simple presence of a developed world gave Hyrule a sense of continuity not present in the Mushroom Kingdom. This was the first step towards a unified continuity within Zelda games.
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was a direct sequel to the original game, meaning that it took place a short time after the defeat of Ganon--months or years, depending on one's point of view. As such, Zelda II was the first indicator that the series' universe, unlike the Mario games which at that time consisted of "new adventures" with no storyline continuity, would have its own chronological timeline. But beyond simply establishing a storyline sequence for the Hyrule Fantasy, Zelda II also introduced one of the first real "backstories" in video game history: the "Legend of Zelda," otherwise known as the Legend of the Sleeping Princess.
The legend told the story of a princess from long ago, many centuries before Zelda II as the game would have it, who fell prey to a sleeping spell. This princess was the first Princess Zelda, and it was because of the tragedy of her curse that all the princesses in Hyrule bear the name "Zelda." Now the story was not only a backdrop for the specific game to which it belonged--because it served as the origin story for Princess Zelda, it had implications for the games that had come before, and the games that would follow.
These two styles of storytelling together would form the cornerstone for development of the Zelda timeline. In the early 90s we saw the release of A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening, the latter of which was, like Zelda II, a direct sequel to its predecessor. The former followed Zelda II's strategy of introducing a deep backstory that explained the origins of the Triforce, Ganon, and the Dark World. At the tail end of the decade, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask continued the trend, Majora being the direct sequel, while Ocarina treated the backstory of A Link to the Past in greater detail.
All the while, another interesting pattern arose: the "sequel pairs"
all wound up being set in a different era of Hyrule, featuring a
completely different Link and Zelda from other games. The Wind Waker
would describe this phenomenon on the back of its packaging: "Legend has it that whenever evil has appeared, a hero named Link has arisen to defeat it" The re-release
of A Link to the Past for GameBoy Advance also
mentioned the recurring hero conflicts: "Whenever disaster waylays the
royal family, a hero shall appear from the bloodline of the Knights of
Hyrule." That the games spanned many centuries, possibly even millennia, made the sequence of games difficult to decipher, oftentimes even impossible. Luckily, like with Zelda II, Link's Awakening, and Majora's Mask, it was usually easy to tell when a game was a direct sequel, and what game it was a sequel to, so defining certain areas of the timeline--dubbed "arcs" by the fan community--was never a problem. But judging how the arcs related to one another was a different story entirely.
Ocarina of Time served as an example of a possible way out, however: it served to tell the Sages' seal backstory to A Link to the Past. So despite the games being usually a century or more removed from one another it seemed possible to string together stories using these backstories. Some connections, like The Wind Waker's direct references to the Hero of Time or The Minish Cap showing the origin of the Four Sword seen in other games, were clear as day. However, even Ocarina's relationship to the Sealing War of A Link to the Past was somewhat questionable, to the point that some determined that the connection might not be absolute at all.
This left theorists with little by which they could base the bulk of their timelines, and we as the fan community had to rely on references to various characters and locales throughout the series' history. The idea was first used in Ocarina of Time, where the Sages of that game had the names of many of the towns from Zelda II. According to Toru Osawa, the script writer for Ocarina, the team picked those names to reflect that Zelda II's towns were named after the Sages, meaning that Ocarina was Zelda II's prequel. The process of deciphering these references was often confusing, however. The Oracle games developed by Capcom serve as a telling example, since they featured a whole mess of character cameos despite not being set in the land of Hyrule.
Thanks to this seeming lack of a clear continuity, many theorists concluded that, aside from the timeline as defined by the creators, it was impossible to work out where the rest of the games would fit.
Now we arrive in the present, with Spirit Tracks, and we can see a few key differences in the way the story is told. First and foremost, the game has neither of the two "traditional" timeline cues: it is not a direct sequel, since it features a new Link, and its prologue does not define events that we can tie back to other Zelda titles. Yet we know explicitly where Spirit Tracks falls in the timeline--not just from developer interviews that shed light on the details, but from information found in the game itself.
The way Spirit Tracks conveys its place in the continuity is simple, but unprecedented for Zelda--it features characters who have explicit relationships to the people or the world of The Wind Waker. Anjean, the wise Lokomo sage who guards the Spirit Tower, claims to have known Tetra from when she first landed in Hyrule. In order to revive Malladus, the Demon King sealed by the Spirit Tracks, Chancellor Cole needs to kidnap a vessel from Old Hyrule: Zelda. But even more telling is one of the recurring characters: Niko, the bottom-rung pirate from Tetra's gang, who is an old man in this game. These elements define the time period of Spirit Tracks as set long after The Wind Waker, and place its Hyrule in a new land discovered by Link and Tetra.
Before Spirit Tracks, most recurring characters were either descendants or ancestors of previous incarnations in the same vein as the new Links and Zeldas that commonly appeared, or else they were god-like beings with extremely long lifespans, such as the Deku Tree and Ganondorf. For a human character such as Niko to show up in the flesh in an indirect sequel is the most definitive form of continuity we have seen in the series thus far. We can see with our own eyes that the character we knew in The Wind Waker has aged to become the wizened old man we see in Spirit Tracks. Rather than simply being a carbon copy character with the same old story, Niko has grown and has new tales to tell.
In the past, the closest the creators have come to showing us this kind
of connection is through the world itself. The Forbidden Woods of The Wind Waker hide the abandoned homes of the Kokiri, who have fled to the Forest Haven and taken on Korok forms. In Twilight Princess, the Temple of Time has degraded into ruin, a shadow of its former self. Four Swords Adventures shows off many areas from A Link to the Past
in their original splendor. But while these kinds of details build up
the set for the story, the characters are the ones who make and drive
it to its conclusion.This is why Spirit Tracks has saved the timeline. It shows us that the actors within our beloved fantasy world are not just part of the stage, popular archetypes brought back again and again simply to show us that this is Zelda. No longer is continuity found solely within the world, but now in the movement of its people--its everyday people--within that world. If Nintendo continues to invest in building this type of relationship between the game world and its characters, there might be hope for us to someday decipher that mess we call the timeline. Until that day, we theorists have nothing to do but to pray to for deliverance...
Categories: Bombers Articles, Editorials
I didn't write this article... see the name on the post? Alex Plant. So be sure to credit the proper author. :) Just need to check the top of the post.
What? Did you honestly think Spirit Tracks held some tidbit that would reveal Nintendo's true timeline? No, I'm afraid the game's greatest legacy is that it actually holds to a solid continuity with its predecessors, while still paving a completely new story. If Nitnendo takes this route with future games, the "true timeline" is sure to reveal itself in due time.
I don't think there's a timeline idk why people continue to say there is. When they make a new Zelda the story is made to refresh certain elements it's not like it's a trilogy or story, only slight refrences to be relevant.
I agree strongly with Justin here. The point made in the article was a good one, but it was shallow for a whole article. It would have been better as an 'article' and not a 'Bombers article'.
ST did help the timeline, but it was through the point you immediately cast aside. This article did leave me wondering though, has the author even played Spirit Tracks?
Maestro: That might be true if the creators were making up lies. They have stated countless times that there is a time line, and many games obviously connect with each other.
Nothing more needed to be said. There is a time line. Fact. Moving on :P.
The timeline was never in jeopardy to begin with. Miyamoto and Aonuma can write the story and have the games placed any way they want, it's up to them. What if Nintendo had skipped ST and just made a new game taking place on Hyrule but with only one or two references to Wind Waker? What then, is it a complete failure because it doesn't align with the prioritization of the timeline placement? I suppose in the eyes of Zelda Informer it would be. But had Miyamoto been directing ST he probably wouldn't have bothered with making its connections to the other games so obvious, and just focused on making the game that it could be. If that makes fans upset, tough luck, I guess they weren't that much of fans. The way I see it you should be thankful they decided to put in all those shout outs to the other games, not implying it's something that has long since been overdue like you appear to be saying.
And to add to this, I strongly disagree with your above comment that Spirit Track's greatest legacy being the solid continuity with its predecessors and new storyline. I believe ST's greatest contribution to the series was in the gameplay through its upgrade of the difficulty, improved item utilization, and the quality and number of its sidequests.
The storyline/timeline can take a backseat or ride in the trunk as long as the game ends up good like Spirit Tracks did gameplay-wise.
>and just focused on making the game *the best* that it could be.
Yes, my typo is THE BEST.
Cry me an Ocean Average Gamer. If it bothers you that much for people to have hope in some sort of hope in chronology getting straightened by the developers, stop theorizing.
And furthermore, Lex doesn't represent ZI as a whole - like you, among few others like Impossible and MPS, whom just as much come to mind in light of LA's small Theorizing Forum.
You are the biggest pain in the ass devil's advocate to ever hit the Zelda Theorizing Community. I simply can't fully appreciate your stance towards not looking beyond canon's face value, (because everyone has a right to some bias, hypocrite) you really need to get off this "I must disprove all theories" mode.
~LOZ H~
Was that directed at Maestro or A?
A = Average Gamer
I know his style. Its too easy to be a skeptic - you don't have to reflect upon your own ingenuity. : )
I'm not sure what you're trying to imply LOZ Historian, considering I never once said I was against any sort of theorizing beyond "canon's face value" or what have you.
You're simply jumping the gun about what my stance is and projecting claims I never made. If you're basing all this off my last sentence about storyline/timeline taking a backseat to gameplay in Zelda games, I wasn't suggesting Nintendo should destroy the timeline or get rid of chronological elements of the series or anything along those lines. Only that it shouldn't be the focus of the series or any game like Mr. Plant seems to want by calling it Spirit Tracks' greatest "legacy" to the series, an opinion I simply would not agree with, and might find almost insulting if I were Aonuma or one of the designers working on ST.
I'm going to agree with A here.
LOZ Historian, I think the problem here is that you're obsessed with the time line and you got a little too defensive.
Im sorry but if anyone has gotten to know the type of theorist that Average Gamer is, then one can clearly see the point Loz Historian is trying to make.
We are theorist, and some of us get slightly more arrogant than others,(i.e. Average Gamer), but i find it remarkable the defensive role they play with semantics, when they appear to be on the losing end of the timeline.
PS. Flame me Later
PSS. Hey LoZ Historian!
Side Note: Im not back to theorizing yet
Who says I'm even a theorist Oni-tlink? You sure like to assume things about people you don't know. I guess that's the result of having an enlarged e-peen among the Zelda theorizing community, you develop an elitist perception and believe you have the ability to discern the entirety of one's life from the context of their posts on an online website. What's remarkable is how you think you know so much, yet continue to assume the problem here concerns timeline debating (and furthermore, whether I care); making it obvious that you didn't grasp my point.
It seems you're too quick to brown nose and defend LOZ Historian to care what the topic of the argument is so you resort to ad hominems. I'd enlist in a debate class if you're still in school, and learn to properly follow an opposing argument and the difference between defending against an allegation and playing with semantics.
It might even help you in your future timeline debates as well.
A great read from a great writer.
My quick note after skimming over the comments:
Guys, this article, which is extremely well written, shouldn't be taken so damn plainly when it comes to the timeline. It isn't all about the creators simply telling us where a game goes or how all the back-stories fit together, sometimes, it is the finer points that help shape a timeline.
I think its quite a good point that Lex has made here; with continuity comes hope for the timeline. If we know that Aonuma is trying to pin stories together in a manner like he did with ST, then we know he wants them to be connected in a particular order. That is, essentially, the timeline, finished or not.
@ AG and other LA theorists:
Please don't just comment on Lex's articles with simple criticisms based on w/e personal problem you have with him. Its simply childish, and rarely contributes to the discussion of the theories he raises.
Honestly, all that comes from "Lex, your wrong, we don't like you" is nothing but pointless bickering, and it detracts from any arguments you try to make.
I could easily sum this article as follows:
Previously we had to string together games by seeing how their legends related to past games, or by seeing what places overlapped between games; ST's legends have nothing really to do with past games, but the continuity with other games' worlds is even stronger than anything we've seen before.
However, I think it's an important article and conveys an important truth - these kinds of connections are more meaningful to us as players and as theorists, so Spirit Tracks has succeeded both as a part of the timeline and as an entry in the series. I want to see more like them in the future. And because I feel so strongly about this truth, this idea of "character continuity" rather than shallow cameos, vague interlinking legends, etc., I felt it deserved a full Bombers' Article.
but I shouldn't have to justify myself.
My point is simple. The timeline is the basis behind why people theorize for the most part. If one takes too objective of a stance, then what's the point in coming to your own conclusions in the (personal) subjective sense - which by the way Nintendo has been leaving open for the fans quite some time now.
That is why I am against one extreme to the other in regards to objective and subjective stances over the timeline. Sure, you have to have the two to negate wild speculation from valid assumptions, but I do not believe Lex has crossed any lines, radically, throughout the contexts of his article.
Eh, I don't care what A might say in other places or such. The basic message he seemed to be getting at here was that the story takes a backseat to the game play, even though some of you place continuity on some sort of pedestal. The creators don't make a game and then put it's placement on the time line as the top priority.
If you value the time line more than enjoying the games themselves, then you really aren't a fan.
@ AG
Okay okay, I get it. You can defend yourself well when someone is criticizing you. Plus! I admire you for it. However, it is as plain as day to see that you have an ongoing dislike for Lex.
And no, I dont feel like I MUST take a debate class to theorize or, better yet outright flame. I know what I said was response provoking but read in between the lines, not banter own to verbal and literally own /outclass me with your vocabulary, because in the end it is not I who looks like I'm trying to have a bigger e-peen, it is you.
Greetings to one and all: In that most precious name. That name which is above every name, the name: "Jesus"
There's tremendous power in that name. I'd suppose we'll never fully realize all that can truly be accomplished, by us simply calling out that name in true faith.
There's an old, old, gospel song that goes like this: Faith in the Father, faith in the Son, faith in the Holy Spirit, great victories are won. Demons will tremble and sinners will awake, faith in Jehovah will anything shake.
For you who have never come into this realization, if you're reading this, just give him a welcome into your heart and life. You will both feel and see an awesome difference. You will have also purchased the ticket to heaven (by accepting, therefore making him welcome to come into your life. You will also sup from His cup that contains living water. (As did the woman at the well of Bethesda.) John 4:10
www.eloquentbooks.com/BeyondTheGoldenSunsetAndByTheCrystalSea.html
@ William Dunigan
And this has to do with Zelda.. how?
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I saw this article on the Zelda Wiki dashboard and was too interested to resist. However, you've disappointed me, Nathan. I was expecting some ground breaking proof on how the timeline will fit together, but you told me things I already knew. I'm sorry, because I know it took you a lot of thought and time to write this.