The Legend of Zelda Timeline

A fantasy series of courage, wisdom, and power.

The Legend of Zelda is a video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, primarily developed and published by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of Link and Princess Zelda as they protect the land of Hyrule from the demon king Ganon and the Triforce. Since its debut in 1986, the series has become one of Nintendo's most successful franchises, with many entries considered among the greatest video games of all time.

Quick Facts

Creators

Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka

First release

The Legend of Zelda (1986)

Developer

Nintendo (primarily)

Genre

Action-adventure
puzzle
exploration

Notable entries

Ocarina of Time
Skyward Sword
Breath of the Wild
Tears of the Kingdom

Facts from the source article.

Did You Know?

The Legend of Zelda was inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto's childhood explorations of hillsides and forests near his home in Sonobe, Japan, including finding a cave entrance he explored with a lantern.
The Master Sword was introduced as Excalibur in the French version of A Link to the Past, reminiscent of the legend of King Arthur.
A planned third Oracle title, The Legend of Zelda: Mystical Seed of Courage, was cancelled due to technical issues with the interconnected nature of the games.

Plot

The series is set primarily in Hyrule, a medieval Western Europe-inspired fantasy world inhabited by Hylians, Sheikah, Gerudo, Zoras, and Gorons. The world was created by three golden goddesses—Din, Farore, and Nayru—to trap Null, which absorbed all life in an endless void. Before departing, they left the Triforce, a sacred artifact that grants any wish. The Triforce has no will and cannot judge good from evil, so it was placed in the Sacred Realm. If a person with an unbalanced heart touches it, the Triforce splits into three triangles embodying Power, Courage, and Wisdom, bonding with those who possess those virtues. The Sacred Realm reflects the heart of the one who enters it: a pure heart makes it a paradise, while evil transforms it into a dark realm.

Main series

The first game, The Legend of Zelda, was released in Japan in February 1986 on the Famicom Disk System, with a cartridge version for the NES in 1987 in the United States and 1987 in Europe. It includes a Second Quest with different dungeons and harder enemies. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, released in Japan in January 1987 and in Europe and North America in 1988, introduced side-scrolling and RPG elements. A Link to the Past, released for the Super NES in November 1991, returned to the top-down view and added an alternate dimension called the Dark World.

It was re-released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002 and later on Wii Virtual Console, Wii U Virtual Console, and Nintendo Classics. Link's Awakening, the first handheld Zelda, was released for the Game Boy and set outside Hyrule without Princess Zelda. A color version, Link's Awakening DX, launched for the Game Boy Color in 1998, and an HD remake was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2019.

Spin-off games

Several games set in the Zelda universe are not directly connected to the main series or its core timeline. Three LCD games were created between 1989 and 1992: the Game & Watch game Zelda (August 1989), a digital watch game by Nelsonic (October 1989), and a Barcode Battler II game by Epoch Co. (1992). Three CD-i games—Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, and Zelda's Adventure—were developed in the early 1990s as a result of a compromise between Philips and Nintendo, with no Nintendo oversight.

They are not acknowledged in the Zelda timeline and are considered self-contained. Satellaview games from 1995 to 1997 are also spin-offs not listed on core timelines. Other spin-offs include Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, Ripened Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love, and Tingle's Balloon Fight for the Nintendo DS, all starring Tingle. Link's Crossbow Training for the Wii is considered a spin-off by The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia.