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History of Legend of Zelda Timeline

(February 21, 1986 – Present)

The Legend of Zelda is a landmark action-adventure video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, first released by Nintendo in 1986. Spanning nearly four decades, the franchise has revolutionized game design with its open-world exploration, puzzle-solving dungeons, and iconic hero Link's quest to rescue Princess Zelda and defeat Ganon across the fantasy land of Hyrule. Less

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Origins and Development

Miyamoto influenced by The Black Onyx and Ultima

1981 - 1984

Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto was influenced by The Black Onyx (1984) and Ultima (1981), two games that centre around fantasy dungeon crawling, while developing his ideas for what would become The Legend of Zelda.

Image source: Shigeru Miyamoto

Miyamoto influenced by The Black Onyx and Ultima

First specifications for Hyrule drawn up

Feb 1, 1985

The first specifications for Hyrule were drawn up on a whiteboard by Shigeru Miyamoto and then copied onto a document on February 1, 1985, laying the groundwork for the original game's world design.

Image source: Universe of The Legend of Zelda

First specifications for Hyrule drawn up

Final Fantasy release prompts naming concerns

Dec 1987

Miyamoto said that concerns about Zelda could have been due to a name being too similar to Final Fantasy, which was released in December 1987, highlighting the crowded fantasy gaming market of the era.

Image source: Final Fantasy (video game)

Final Fantasy release prompts naming concerns

Twin Peaks inspires characters of Hyrule

1990 - 2017

The fantasy characters of Hyrule, and the universe of The Legend of Zelda as a whole, were partially inspired by the American television series Twin Peaks (1990–2017).

Ganon's Castle hub concept considered for Ocarina of Time

1998

Due to concerns about the limitations of the Nintendo 64, Miyamoto initially conceived the game taking place within a central hub in the confines of Ganon's Castle, similar to Peach's Castle in Super Mario 64 (1996).

Image source: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Ganon's Castle hub concept considered for Ocarina of Time

Miyamoto recalls nervousness over Zelda's design

2003

In an interview for Superplay magazine, Miyamoto stated: 'I remember that we were very nervous, because The Legend Of Zelda was our first game that forced the players to think about what they should do next.'

Fujibayashi cites Minecraft and Terraria as inspirations

2011

Breath of the Wild director Hidemaro Fujibayashi named Minecraft and Terraria (2011) as his inspirations for 'the sense of adventure, exploration and how it inspired curiosity'.

Image source: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Fujibayashi cites Minecraft and Terraria as inspirations

Aonuma cites The Witcher, Far Cry, and Skyrim

2017

Eiji Aonuma mentioned several other games that he had played, including The Witcher (2007–), Far Cry (2004–) and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011), as influences during development.

Aonuma breaks conventions for Breath of the Wild

Mar 3, 2017

Producer Eiji Aonuma approached Breath of the Wild (2017) by breaking the conventions of previous games in the series, rethinking long-standing Zelda traditions.

Hyrule as a Setting

Miyamoto conceives Hyrule for The Legend of Zelda

1986

Shigeru Miyamoto conceived the land of Hyrule as the setting for the original The Legend of Zelda (1986), describing it as 'a miniature garden that you can put into a drawer and revisit anytime you like'.

Gerudo race inspired by the Amazons

1998

Like the Amazons, the Gerudo race consists entirely of women, apart from a single Gerudo male who is born every century and is lawfully crowned king of the tribe, worshipped like a God king.

Image source: Gerudo

Gerudo race inspired by the Amazons

Game Releases

The Legend of Zelda releases with Hyrule as its setting

1986

Hyrule was created as the original setting for 1986's The Legend of Zelda and has remained the main environment for successive games in the series ever since.

Image source: The Legend of Zelda (video game)

The Legend of Zelda releases with Hyrule as its setting

A Link to the Past introduces the Dark World

1991

A Link to the Past (1991) introduced a dark version of Hyrule Kingdom: a corrupted land, often caused by Ganon, known in its first iteration as the Dark World.

Image source: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

A Link to the Past introduces the Dark World

Link's Awakening gives series its first proper plot

1993

Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma and SRD president Toshihiko Nakago considered Link's Awakening (1993), with Yoshiaki Koizumi in charge of the story, to be the first time the series had a proper plot.

Image source: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening

Link's Awakening gives series its first proper plot

Ocarina of Time transitions Hyrule to 3D

1998

Hyrule transitioned to a 3D environment with the development of Ocarina of Time, released on the Nintendo 64 in 1998, giving players the opportunity to experience a more realistic game environment.

Open air concept begins during Wind Waker development

2002

The concept of an 'open air' environment, later central to Breath of the Wild, began during work on The Wind Waker (2002).

Image source: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Open air concept begins during Wind Waker development

Twilight Princess establishes Hyrule scale benchmark

2006

Distance measurement techniques allowed Hyrule to later be scaled up to an enormous world that appears twelve times the size of its predecessor in Twilight Princess (2006).

Image source: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Twilight Princess establishes Hyrule scale benchmark

Skyward Sword lays basis for Breath of the Wild mechanics

2011

Aonuma cited Skyward Sword (2011) as the basis for many of Breath of the Wild's world mechanics, such as the ability to climb and explore between areas.

Image source: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Skyward Sword lays basis for Breath of the Wild mechanics

Breath of the Wild becomes biggest commercial success

2017

Upon its release, Breath of the Wild achieved critical acclaim, selling 29 million copies on Switch as of December 2022 and over 1.6 million copies on Wii U as of July 2022.

Breath of the Wild makes Hyrule a seamless open world

2017

For Breath of the Wild, released on the Wii U and Nintendo Switch in 2017, Nintendo developed Hyrule into a seamless open world that players could freely explore.

Tears of the Kingdom continues Breath of the Wild map

2023

For Tears of the Kingdom (2023), Aonuma and Fujibayashi used the same map of Hyrule as the one players experienced in Breath of the Wild to create a continuation of the same world.

Image source: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Tears of the Kingdom continues Breath of the Wild map

Players primarily play as Zelda in Echoes of Wisdom

2024

While Link is usually the main player character in these settings, players primarily play as Zelda in 2024's Echoes of Wisdom, marking a notable first for the series.

Image source: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

Players primarily play as Zelda in Echoes of Wisdom

Influence on Gaming

Hyrule Field wonder cited as influence on other games

2001 - 2018

The sense of wonder as a first-time player enters Hyrule Field has been cited as an influence on similar moments in Grand Theft Auto III (2001), Red Dead Redemption 2, Crackdown (2007), and Fallout 3 (2008).

Developers influenced by Breath of the Wild's open world

2017 - 2022

In the months following the release of Breath of the Wild in 2017, many video game developers were influenced by its open world design.

Legacy and Reception

Nintendo Power praises the wonderful worlds of Hyrule

Jan 2010

In its January 2010 issue, Nintendo Power listed the 'wonderful worlds' of Hyrule, alongside the Mushroom Kingdom, Planet Zebes, Animal Crossing towns, and Metro City, as five of their 50 'reasons to love Nintendo'.

Kotaku calls Hyrule one of gaming's most iconic settings

2014

Yannick LeJacq for Kotaku commented in 2014 that 'Hyrule is one of the most iconic settings in the history of video games.'

USgamer ranks A Link to the Past map best ever

2020

In 2020, senior editor Caty McCarthy of USgamer ranked the in-game map of A Link to the Past as the best video game map.

Kotaku lists Hyrule among richest game worlds

2021

In 2021, Evan Narcisse of Kotaku listed Hyrule as one of the richest sci-fi and fantasy worlds in video games.

Destructoid praises cozy appeal of Zelda's towns

2021

Noelle Warner of Destructoid praised the cozy appeal of Zelda's towns while recovering from the post-quarantine period, feeling she would be happy living in seven out of the nine towns she ranked.

Characters and Legacy

Link ranked second greatest video game character

2011

Link was recognised as the second greatest video game character of all time behind Mario in the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2011.

Image source: Link (The Legend of Zelda)

Link ranked second greatest video game character

Zelda counted among greatest video game characters

2011

Along with Link, Princess Zelda was counted as one of the greatest video game characters of all time by the 2011 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition.

Image source: Princess Zelda

Zelda counted among greatest video game characters

Ganon named among greatest villains by Guinness poll

2013

Ganon was recognized as one of the greatest video game villains of all time in a 2013 poll for Guinness World Records 2013 Gamer's Edition.

Image source: Ganon

Ganon named among greatest villains by Guinness poll

GamesRadar names Ganon an iconic gaming villain

2022

In 2022, GamesRadar named Ganon as one of the most iconic gaming villains of all time, cementing his status among gaming's most memorable antagonists.

Key Facts

  1. The original Legend of Zelda launched on the Nintendo Entertainment System (Famicom) in Japan on February 21, 1986, and was one of the first games to feature battery-backed save functionality.
  2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64, is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential video games of all time.
  3. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) redefined open-world game design with its physics-driven exploration and won multiple Game of the Year awards.
  4. The series' non-linear chronology is famously split into three timeline branches following the events of Ocarina of Time, as officially documented in Nintendo's Hyrule Historia.
  5. Tears of the Kingdom, released in May 2023 for the Nintendo Switch, became one of the fastest-selling entries in the franchise, building directly upon Breath of the Wild's world.

Source

This History of Legend of Zelda timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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