The Zelda Timeline

    
                               
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The Legend of Zelda games aren't told in the order they came out. Nintendo's official timeline puts them in story order, and after Ocarina of Time history splits into three branches, depending on how the Hero of Time's story ends. Every game below links to our guides for it.

The beginningFallen HeroChildAdultDistant future

The Beginning: Hylia & the Hero of Time

2011Skyward Sword

The first Link and Zelda. The Master Sword is forged, and the defeated Demise swears his hatred will return forever.

Also: Skyward Sword HD
2004The Minish Cap

Link shrinks to the size of the tiny Minish to stop the sorcerer Vaati.

2002Four Swords

Split into four by the Four Sword, Link seals Vaati away again.

1998Ocarina of Time

The Hero of Time stops Ganondorf, and what happens next splits history into three.

Also: Ocarina of Time 3D, Ocarina of Time (Remake)

Fallen Hero Timeline

What if the Hero of Time had lost? Ganon takes the Triforce, and the Sages seal him away.

1991A Link to the Past

Link crosses between the Light World and the Dark World to defeat Ganon.

1993Link's Awakening

Shipwrecked on Koholint Island, Link must wake the Wind Fish to get home.

Also: Link's Awakening (2019)
2001Oracle of Seasons & Oracle of Ages

Link saves Holodrum and Labrynna from a plot to bring Ganon back.

Also: Oracle of Ages
2013A Link Between Worlds

Link travels between Hyrule and its dark twin Lorule to stop Yuga.

2015Tri Force Heroes

Three heroes team up to lift a fashion curse on the princess of Hytopia.

2024Echoes of Wisdom

With Link lost, Zelda herself sets out to close the rifts swallowing Hyrule.

1986The Legend of Zelda

In a Hyrule in decline, Link gathers the Triforce of Wisdom to defeat Ganon.

1987Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Link wakes a sleeping Zelda by claiming the Triforce of Courage.

Child Timeline

The Hero of Time returns to his childhood and warns Zelda, so Ganondorf is stopped before he rises.

2000Majora's Mask

In Termina, Link relives the same three days to stop the moon from falling.

Also: Majora's Mask 3D
2006Twilight Princess

A shadowy Twilight covers Hyrule, and Link fights back as a wolf.

Also: Twilight Princess HD
2004Four Swords Adventures

Four Links take on Vaati and a reborn Ganon.

Adult Timeline

The hero leaves this future behind. When Ganon returns, no hero appears, and the gods flood Hyrule.

2002The Wind Waker

Hyrule lies beneath the Great Sea. A boy sets sail to rescue his sister.

Also: The Wind Waker HD
2007Phantom Hourglass

Link and Tetra are swept into the world of the Ocean King.

2009Spirit Tracks

A new Hyrule: Link the train engineer teams up with Zelda's spirit.

The Distant Future

Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom take place so far in the future that Nintendo deliberately keeps their link to the other games vague. Tears of the Kingdom and Age of Imprisonment also tell the story of the founding of Hyrule and the Imprisoning War, a legend from long ago.

2017Breath of the Wild

Link wakes after a hundred years to face Calamity Ganon in a ruined Hyrule.

2023Tears of the Kingdom

Ganondorf awakens beneath Hyrule Castle, and pieces of the land rise into the sky.

2025Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment

The Imprisoning War from Tears of the Kingdom's ancient past, told as a battle game: Zelda fights alongside Rauru against Ganondorf.

Outside the Timeline

2014Hyrule Warriors

A battle across the eras, set in its own separate dimension.

2020Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

The war of the Great Calamity, retold as an alternate history.

2019Cadence of Hyrule

A rhythm-game crossover, outside the main story.

1993The CD-i Games

Three Philips-made games from 1993 to 1996 that Nintendo doesn't count as part of the story.