User:Mighty Dekunut/Gerudo Desert box

Legend of Zelda
Both this game and its sequel, The Adventure of Link, are linked in continuity, since the first game revolves around retrieving two of the major fragments of the Triforce, and Ganon is fought in order to rescue Princess Zelda; the second game revolves around finding the third major fragment in order to revive an incarnation of Zelda that was comatose for a very long time, and to impede the revival of Ganon.

The game is set chronologically after A Link to the Past, according to the back of the box for the SNES game, although Shigeru Miyamoto said in an interview that A Link to the Past occurs last (after The Adventure of Link). However, Miyamoto said in a later interview that the original order was correct, saying that Ocarina of Time led into A Link to the Past, which in turn led into The Legend of Zelda.

With the release of new Zelda games and the growing complexity of the timeline, the placement of these two games became less clear, leading to various unconfirmed theories. For example, Link's Awakening follows the events of A Link to the Past and (as suggested by the book Hyrule Historia) the Oracle games. This means that The Legend of Zelda technically follows the events of Link's Awakening (though not directly, since the stories are unrelated and not contradictory to each other). This entire timeline of games, according to Hyrule Historia, has its roots on a chronological branch from Ocarina of Time. Because of this, although games like Majora's Mask and The Wind Waker are sequels to Ocarina of Time as well, they head into separate timelines, remaining therefore unrelated to the aforementioned 2D games, including The Legend of Zelda.

Adventure of Link
Both this game and the first are linked in continuity, since the first game revolves around retrieving two of the major fragments of the Triforce, and Ganon is fought in order to rescue Princess Zelda; the second game revolves around finding the third major fragment in order to revive an incarnation of Zelda that was sleeping for a very long time, and to impede the revival of Ganon.

The game, being a sequel to the first and featuring the same hero, is set chronologically after The Legend of Zelda. This first game is said to be preceded by A Link to the Past, according to the synopsis on the back of the game's packaging for the Super Nintendo. However, Shigeru Miyamoto said in an interview that the two games are set before A Link to the Past. A later interview confirmed the original placement, meaning that the two games occur after both Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past.

With the release of new Zelda games and the growing complexity of the timeline, the placement of The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link became less clear, leading to various unconfirmed theories. However, the book Hyrule Historia places this game as the latest entry in the timeline that has its roots in Ocarina of Time, and starts with A Link to the Past.

Link's Awakening
The timeline found in Hyrule Historia confirms that Link's Awakening is the sequel to both A Link to the Past, as well as the Oracle Series. The prologue speaks of Link defeating Ganon and saving Hyrule, an apparent reference to A Link to the Past. Link journeys away from Hyrule to embark on a "quest for enlightenment". The "quest for enlightenment" away from Hyrule is the story told in the Oracle Series; at the end of a Linked Game, Link leaves Holodrum and Labrynna on a boat similar to the one seen at the beginning of Link's Awakening. However, a minor continuity error occurs when Link and Zelda meet for the first time in the Oracle games. They do not appear to have met beforehand, despite having met in A Link to the Past.

A Link to the Past
As confirmed by the guidebook Hyrule Historia, A Link to the Past is the first title in the Downfall split timeline, which is the result if Link is defeated by Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time. This leads to Ganondorf obtaining all the pieces of the Triforce, forcing the seven sages to seal him away into the Sacred Realm in a desperate attempt. As confirmed by several developers, including Satoru Takizawa, Ocarina of Time was meant to be a reenactment of the Imprisoning War told in the backstory of A Link to the Past.

Prior to the confirmation of a third timeline split, A Link to the Past had several different timeline proposals. The synopsis on the back of the original game release's packaging identifies Link and Zelda as the "predecessors" of the original characters, and thus had placed A Link to the Past at the then-beginning of the timeline. However, Shigeru Miyamoto made a statement in an interview (following the release of Ocarina of Time) that contradicted the aforementioned statement. In that interview, Miyamoto had placed A Link to the Past after Ocarina of Time, the original The Legend of Zelda, and The Adventure of Link. Miyamoto gave another interview a year later that seemed to confirm the game's placement after Ocarina of Time, although this time it is said to be before the original Legend of Zelda and its sequel.

Also confirmed in Hyrule Historia, the game's immediate sequels are the Oracle games followed by Link's Awakening, all of which feature the same Link. Some time after defeating Ganon at the end of A Link to the Past, Link is transported by the Triforce to Holodrum where Oracle of Seasons takes place. After defeating Onox, Link travels to Labrynna and Oracle of Ages takes place. Link then defeats Ganon in the linked ending of the Oracle games and leaves Labrynna by boat to continue his training in new lands. After completing his training, Link travels back towards Hyrule by boat when he is shipwrecked on Koholint Island and Link's Awakening takes place.

Ocarina of Time
When it comes to the chronology of The Legend of Zelda franchise, Ocarina of Time is one of the most vital and decisive installments, which is attested by both its placement and the connections with past and future games. It is generally considered to take place very early in the Legend of Zelda timeline, as the game establishes the origins of such important elements in the series as Ganon and the Triforce. According to the book Hyrule Historia, it's indicated to be the final Zelda game in the pre-split timeline era, which starts with Skyward Sword (which, short after its official announcement, was confirmed to take place before Ocarina of Time). The other games preceding Ocarina of Time are The Minish Cap and Four Swords.

The time travel that occurs at the end of the game is confirmed to have created two parallel timelines. The "Adult Timeline" continues after Ganon was defeated by Link and sealed by the Sages in the Sacred Realm. The "Child Timeline" continues after Link returned to the past and changed history so that Ganon never came to power at all. The Adult Timeline leads into The Wind Waker and its sequels (Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks), while the Child Timeline leads into Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess.

In addition to the two described timelines, a third branch is confirmed to take place after Ocarina of Time. It starts with the Hero of Time, Link, failing to defeat Ganondorf, which allows him to conquer Hyrule and, eventually, the Sacred Realm as well. As a result of this, the Imprisoning War takes place as an attempt to finally seal Ganon. Because he succeeds to corrupt the sacred Realm, however, turning into the Dark World, it is sealed alongside him as well. This leads to the events of A Link to the Past, which in turn is followed by the Oracle series, Link's Awakening, The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link, in that order.