Timeline

The Gerudo (ゲルド) are a fictional race of people in The Legend of Zelda series. The race was first established in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in 1998, though a member of its race, Ganondorf, was conceived in the original The Legend of Zelda in 1986. The Gerudo are an isolationist race, consisting almost entirely of women, with the exception of a male said to be born every 100 years, who by tradition is to become king. One of these men is the aforementioned Ganondorf, who serves as the main antagonist in multiple games in The Legend of Zelda series. Since appearing in Ocarina of Time, Gerudo have received mixed reception, criticized as a negative depiction of Middle Eastern and South Asian people. Multiple writers have described how the Gerudo are depicted as violent and representing the "Oriental other".

Koji Kondo is a Japanese composer and senior executive at the video game company Nintendo. He is best known for his contributions for the Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda series, with his Super Mario Bros. theme being the first piece of music from a video game included in the American National Recording Registry. Kondo was hired by Nintendo in 1984 as its first dedicated composer and is currently a Senior Officer at its Entertainment Planning & Development division.

Takashi Tezuka , nicknamed Ten Ten, is a Japanese video game designer and gaming company executive. Since 1984, he has directed, produced, or supervised development of numerous games released by Nintendo. He is currently the executive officer of their board of directors, and senior officer of their Entertainment Planning & Development division. He is set to retire from his position on the company's board on June 26, 2026.

The Legend of Zelda is a 1986 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer Disk System. It is the first game in the Legend of Zelda series. It is set in the fantasy land of Hyrule and centers on an elf-like boy named Link, who aims to collect the eight fragments of the Triforce of Wisdom to rescue Princess Zelda from Ganon. The player controls Link from a top-down perspective and navigates the overworld and dungeons, collecting weapons, defeating enemies and uncovering secrets. It was designed and directed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, being in development alongside Super Mario Bros. that released the previous year.

Princess Zelda is a character in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda video game series. She was created by Shigeru Miyamoto for the original 1986 game The Legend of Zelda. As one of the central characters in the series, she has appeared in the majority of the games in various incarnations. Zelda is the elf-like Hylian princess of the kingdom of Hyrule, an associate of the series protagonist Link, and bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom.

Ganon is a character and the main antagonist of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda video game series and franchise, as well as the final boss in many Zelda titles. In his humanoid Gerudo form, he is known as Ganondorf. A massive and malevolent porcine monster, Ganon first appeared in the original The Legend of Zelda game in 1986, while his alter ego, Ganondorf, was introduced in A Link to the Past and made a physical appearance in Ocarina of Time. He has since appeared in the majority of the games in the series in various forms. He is the archenemy of the protagonist Link and Princess Zelda of Hyrule and originally the leader of the Gerudo, a race of humanoid desert nomads before becoming the ruler of his demon army.

Link is a character and the protagonist of Nintendo's video game franchise The Legend of Zelda. He was created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Link was introduced as the hero of the original The Legend of Zelda video game in 1986 and has appeared in a total of 21 entries in the series, as well as a number of spin-offs. Common elements in the series include Link travelling through Hyrule whilst exploring dungeons, battling creatures, and solving puzzles until he eventually defeats the series' primary antagonist, Ganon, and saves Princess Zelda.

The Triforce is a fictional artifact and icon of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda video game franchise. It first appeared in the original The Legend of Zelda video game (1986) and has appeared in every subsequent game in the series. It consists of three equilateral triangles that are joined to form a large equilateral triangle. In-universe, it represents the essences of the Golden Goddesses—Din, Nayru, and Farore—who created Hyrule. Imbued with divine power, it is capable of granting any wish to anyone who possesses it.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is a 1991 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is the third game in The Legend of Zelda series, following Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1987). It was released in Japan in 1991, and in North America and Europe in 1992.

The Satellaview is a satellite modem peripheral for the Super Famicom, produced by Nintendo as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released in Japan on April 23, 1995, as the successor to the Famicom's Network System. Containing a megabyte of ROM space and 512 kilobytes of RAM, the Satellaview allowed players to download games, magazines, and other media through satellite broadcasts provided by St.GIGA. Players purchased or rented a broadcast satellite tuner. It attaches to the expansion port on the bottom of the Super Famicom. The Satellaview received extensive support from third-party developers, including SquareSoft, Taito, Konami, Capcom, and Seta.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a 1998 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was the first Legend of Zelda game with 3D graphics. It was released in Japan and North America in November 1998 and in PAL regions the following month.

Monolith Software Inc., trading as Monolith Soft, is a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo. It is best known for creating the Xeno series. Originally founded in 1999 by Square alumnus Tetsuya Takahashi as a studio under Namco, it was bought out by Nintendo in 2007. Their first project was the Xenosaga series, a spiritual successor to the Square-developed Xenogears. With Nintendo, they developed the Xenoblade series in addition to developmental assistance on Nintendo-developed games. Multiple Square alumni would join Takahashi at Monolith Soft, including Hirohide Sugiura and Yasuyuki Honne.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is a 2000 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It is the second game in The Legend of Zelda series to use 3D graphics, following Ocarina of Time (1998). Designed by a creative team led by Eiji Aonuma, Yoshiaki Koizumi, and Shigeru Miyamoto, Majora's Mask was completed in less than two years. It features enhanced graphics and several gameplay changes, but reuses elements and character models from Ocarina of Time, a creative decision made necessary by time constraints.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is a 2002 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. An installment in The Legend of Zelda series, it was released in Japan on December 13, 2002, in North America on March 23, 2003, and in Europe on May 2, 2003.

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer, game director and filmmaker at Nintendo, where he has served as one of its representative directors as an executive since 2002. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in video games, he is the creator of some of the most acclaimed and best-selling game franchises of all time, including Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Star Fox and Pikmin. More than 1 billion copies of games featuring franchises created by Miyamoto have been sold.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a 2006 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube and Wii. Originally planned for release exclusively on the GameCube in November 2005, Nintendo delayed the release to refine the game, add more content, and port it to the Wii. The Wii version was a launch game in North America in November 2006, and in Japan, Europe, and Australia the following month. The GameCube version was released in December 2006 as the final first-party game for the console.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is a 2011 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. A mainline entry in The Legend of Zelda series, Skyward Sword is the first game in the Zelda timeline, and details the origins of the Master Sword, a recurring weapon within the series. Series protagonist Link, a resident of a floating town called Skyloft, sets out to rescue his childhood friend Zelda after she is kidnapped and brought to the abandoned lands below the clouds. As Link, players navigate Skyloft and the lands below it, completing quests that advance the story and solving environmental and dungeon-based puzzles.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a 2017 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo EPD for the Wii U and Nintendo Switch. Set near the end of the Zelda timeline, it follows Link as he sets out to save Princess Zelda and prevent Calamity Ganon from destroying the world. The player explores the open world of Hyrule, collects items, and completes objectives such as puzzles and side quests. Breath of the Wild's world is unstructured and encourages exploration and experimentation; the story can be completed in a nonlinear fashion.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a 2023 action-adventure game developed by Nintendo EPD for the Nintendo Switch. The player controls Link as he searches for Princess Zelda and fights to prevent Ganondorf from destroying Hyrule. Tears of the Kingdom retains the open-world gameplay and setting of its predecessor, Breath of the Wild (2017), but features new environments, including islands floating in the sky and a vast underground area called the Depths. It introduces construction elements, allowing the player to create devices that aid in combat or exploration.