Are Zelda games connected?

[Sepharite]

I've only played Zelda for GBC and Twilight Princess so I wouldn't know. Are they at all connected? Or is it another parallel dimension with the same characters and such.

Oh, and how's WindWaker? I'm thinking of getting it, and for $25, why not. All I need a damned memory card. You can't find those anywhere, except Ebay of course.

[ShadowMarth]

Well, the theory of the timeline is crazy, involving multiple timelines diverging at the end of Ocarina when Zelda sends old link back to be a kid, thereby creating two universes, one with young Link and Zelda fighting Gannon, and another with Link and Gannon no longer existing. This much is confirmed. But a lot of it is up for grabs.

This video explains it very well. I suggest it. However a lot of stuff here is not absolute, and I disagree on certain points with their timeline.

Gametrailers.com - The Legend of Zelda Retrospective - Zelda Retrospective Part 6

[Wraith]

Yes, get Windwaker, youll be sorry if you dont (and if u have enjoyed TP you will surely injoy this!)!
And also, the timeline is pretty much up and go, instead for one thing...........TP being on the timeline with WindWaker,
Ganon Dies at the end of TP not closed off or anything, so thats need to be taken into account..........whcih sorta means the timeline is COMPLETELY WROGN!

[Sepharite]

Ganon dies? Who's Ganon, and thanks for spoiling it. xD

And I'm not watching that movie... too many spoilers. AH.

[Yoshi]

I don't think the mario games fit together either.

[ShadowMarth]

Haha. Well, except for some exceptions, the Mario games can fit together in just about any order. At least there's only one Mario. At least, unless you count the Paper Mario.

[bignds]

Hmmm, this is too hard for me to resist, but i'll be here for ages typing up a timeline.

[Wraith]

Yeah, i was like......cant/...move.......feet.....stuck....to.....floor...>!
But yeah, sorry seph

[bignds]

If he's looking for twilight princesses placement, well it is on the child timeline just after ocarina, I won't go into specifics because that would spoil ocarina for you, WW is on the adult timeline. It's a lot easier to place the 3D games, and this is the way they go.
========================Child
================Majora's Mask--Twilight Princess
OoT
========================Adult
=================Windwaker-- Phantom Hourglass

The placement of other games is very debatable, I mean due to the premise of the first two games from the NES, (LOZ and Adventure of Link) they could go pretty much anywhere. A Link to the Past poses a few problems. It could go after Windwaker, after Twilight Princess, or even before Ocarina, but that can't be because OoT has said to have been the first in the timeline. So yeah, there is a timeline for the 3D games, but when it comes to placing the 2D ones, it gets a lot harder.

As for different Links, well its the same Link in OoT and MM, as it is in WW and PH and the original LOZ and AoL, this is because they are direct sequels. Other than that, at the beginning of each of these games, it is the hero reborn basically, Zelda is called Zelda in every game because after a sorcerer cursed the Zelda from AoL, all females born into the royal family of Hyrule were to be called Zelda. Ganon is the same in each of these because it works in the same sorta way that Link does, and in his tribe, the Gerudo's, there is a male born every hundred years.

As for the triforce. The reason why Link is always bestowed with the triforce of courage, Zelda with triforce of wisdom, and Ganon with triforce of power, is because whatever your heart is absolute in, it will reflect it in the triforce.

Any other questions?

[Wraith]

................
Well....BigNds you just got it there.........
But one thing..........
Minish Cap, is before OoT, the Director of Nintendo even said it was.