The Zelda Film Must Ditch Confusing Timelines to Attract New Fans!

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Summary

  • The Legend of Zelda film should avoid the franchise’s complicated timeline to attract non-gamers.
  • Nintendo’s official timeline for Zelda is inconsistent with many glaring discrepancies.
  • The Zelda movie should draw inspiration from Breath of the Wild, embracing an original narrative.

The public remains largely uninformed about the forthcoming “Legend of Zelda” movie, as the disclosed information has been scant on plot details. To attract a wider audience that may not be familiar with video games, it would be prudent for the live-action series to avoid delving into the intricate timeline of the franchise.

As a follower of the Zelda series, I’ve often wondered about how all these games might interconnect within a unified, official timeline. The various titles offer diverse settings, alternate renditions of Hyrule, and unique portrayals of previous characters. Some games share connections, such as The Wind Waker and Majora’s Mask, which are direct sequels to Ocarina of Time, each exploring separate universes that branched off from the time-traveling adventures in Ocarina.

In 2011, Nintendo released an official timeline for the Legend of Zelda series, which was part of the series’ 25th anniversary and coincided with the release of Skyward Sword, a prequel to the main series. At the end of Ocarina, after Ganondorf is defeated, Adult Link travels back in time to his own era, creating what is now known as the Child Timeline. Meanwhile, the world he leaves behind becomes the Adult Timeline. Additionally, there’s another branch of the timeline called the Fallen Hero Timeline, where Link fails to defeat Ganon. This alternate reality is where the original 80s games are set. The timeline also encompasses spin-off titles like Four Swords Adventures and The Minish Cap.

It’s quite baffling to think that all these adventures could be organized into a single, straight-forward timeline. Even if the sequence made sense on a historical level within Hyrule, it was at best a stretch and at worst nonsensical due to significant inconsistencies throughout the series. For instance, the map of Hyrule has undergone multiple geographical changes, which would require substantial tectonic activity – something that couldn’t have happened in the gaps between games. Additionally, races like the Zora transforming into the Rito, as seen in The Wind Waker, appeared out of nowhere without any biological explanation for their evolutionary leap. To make matters more confusing, the Zoras developed bird-like characteristics within an oceanic setting, which seems illogical. In essence, the timeline felt like Nintendo’s interpretation of a fan theory and might have been an attempt to put an end to discussions that had gone unanswered for too long online.

To make a memorable contribution to the already rich and storied Legend of Zelda universe, any potential film ought to carefully distance itself from the confusing chronology of Link’s adventures by introducing a significant time gap.

The Legend of Zelda Movie Should Follow Breath of the Wild & Unite All The Game’s Best Aspects

During the Switch era, one of Nintendo’s most ingenious moves was to provide a fresh start for the beloved franchises of Super Mario and Zelda. These properties had started to lose momentum on the Wii U and Nintendo’s DS series, with Zelda not seeing a mainline release since 2011, and Mario primarily sticking to its classic platformer style. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild marked Zelda’s debut into an open-world setting, breaking away from its earlier games by placing the storyline thousands of years after the established timeline, leaving its links to games like Ocarina and The Wind Waker somewhat enigmatic.

Following numerous theories and conjectures, Nintendo has officially clarified that since the story of Zelda is set far ahead in the future, the two distinct Adult and Child Timelines have reunited at an undisclosed point. The specifics of how and when this merger of Hyrule’s history took place remain a mystery. Despite the fact that the Adult Timeline shows Hyrule being permanently submerged, it can be presumed that the water levels lowered at some stage. Considering the abundance of rock salt evident on the map of Breath of the Wild, this isn’t entirely implausible. In a more recent development, during the Nintendo Live 2024 event in Sydney, the timeline was revisited once more, with Breath of the Wild appearing to be split from the main canon.

Since Nintendo frequently adjusts the timeline when a significant new game is released, one might question the importance of maintaining a coherent, comprehensive canon. The reason being that strict adherence to a fixed timeline would hinder Nintendo’s creative freedom. Previously, Nintendo has stated that these changes within the Zelda universe are justified as legends passed down through generations, implying that the timeline should be viewed more as hearsay rather than fact. This flexible approach to Zelda’s history served to enhance Breath of the Wild, allowing it to incorporate various elements from the franchise, such as locations, references, cameos, and a fresh take on the villain Ganondorf, who was reimagined as Calamity Ganon.

The movie ought to strive to emulate the success seen with the release of “Breath of the Wild” in drawing new fans to the “Zelda” series on the Switch. This can be achieved by presenting a fresh, cohesive interpretation of the “Zelda” universe, much like how “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” managed to attract audiences while preserving Mario’s legacy. Essentially, the “Legend of Zelda” film should be a unique blend of its most compelling elements, crafting an engaging live-action story that distinguishes itself from the ever-evolving timeline of the series.

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2025-04-03 21:37