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The Legend of Hyrule — Explore the Zelda timeline from Creation to the Upheaval

The Legend of Hyrule is a free fan-made reference site that lays out the chronology of The Legend of Zelda series — Hyrule's history from the creation of the world by the Golden Goddesses through to the Upheaval in Tears of the Kingdom. It presents Nintendo's official timeline structure, in which the games branch after Ocarina of Time into the child, adult and fallen-hero eras, and pairs each game with a short plot summary. It also offers a 'River of Time' view for the chronological order and a release-order view spanning 1986 to 2025, tagged by platform from the Famicom Disk System to the Nintendo Switch 2.

Key Features

Chronological timeline of the Zelda series

Covers Hyrule's history from the Golden Goddesses creating the world, through the Kingdom of Hyrule's founding and the Imprisoning War, to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom's 'long after the legends' era.

Branching timeline structure

Reflects Nintendo's official timeline, showing how after Ocarina of Time the story splits into the child era, the adult era, and the fallen-hero ('The Hero is Defeated') era.

Per-game plot summaries

Each of the ~20 mainline games — from The Legend of Zelda (1986) and Skyward Sword (2011) to Echoes of Wisdom (2024) — has a short story synopsis, e.g. Majora's Mask's three-day moon fall or Twilight Princess's wolf Link and Midna.

Historical era events between games

Includes in-lore events not covered by specific games, such as the Interlopers' banishment to the Twilight Realm, the building of the Temple of Time, the Hyrulean Civil War, the Great Flood, and Tetra founding New Hyrule.

Release order view with years and platforms

An alternative arrangement lists games by release year (1986–2025) and tags them by platform, including Famicom Disk System, Game Boy, SNES, Nintendo 64, GameCube, DS, Wii, 3DS, Wii U, Switch, and Switch 2.

The River of Time

A visual timeline view titled 'The River of Time' alongside the 'Hyrule's History' presentation.

Play-through countdown timer

The homepage includes a countdown element ('Ocarina of Time · 20 days') under a 'Before you play' heading.

How It Works

Choose an ordering

Switch between 'Hyrule's History' (chronological order) and 'Release order' depending on whether you want the in-world timeline or the games as they were published.

Read the timeline eras

Follow the eras — Era of Myth, Era of Myth to the Hero of Time, The Hero is Defeated, Child Era, Adult Era, and Long After the Legends — and see where each game and historical event sits.

Read each game's synopsis

Each entry gives a paragraph-level summary of that game's story and how it connects to the entries before and after it.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Free to access, with no sign-up implied by the page.
Covers the full span of the series chronologically, from creation myth to Tears of the Kingdom.
Offers both chronological and release-order perspectives, including platform tags.
Includes between-game historical events, not just the games themselves.
Summaries are concise and specific rather than generic marketing copy.

Cons

Who It's For

Best for

Zelda players who want to know where each game falls in Hyrule's chronology.
Fans confused by the post-Ocarina of Time timeline branches (child, adult, fallen-hero eras).
Players deciding a sensible story order to play the games in.
Anyone who wants quick plot recaps of entries they haven't played or finished.

Not ideal for

People looking for gameplay guides, tips, or walkthroughs.
Users who want official Nintendo materials rather than a fan-made reference.

Use Cases

Working out where a given Zelda game sits in the overall chronology before or after playing it.

Understanding the child, adult and fallen-hero timeline branches that split after Ocarina of Time.

Filling in the gaps between games with historical events like the Imprisoning War, the Great Flood, and the Great Calamity.

Checking which console each Zelda game originally released on and in which year.

FAQ

What is The Legend of Hyrule?

It is a website that maps out the timeline of The Legend of Zelda series — Hyrule's history from the world's creation to the Upheaval — with short summaries of each game and the historical events between them.

Does the site follow the official Nintendo timeline?

Yes. The page states it presents Nintendo's official timeline, in which the story branches after Ocarina of Time into the child, adult and fallen-hero eras.

Which games are covered?

The page lists the mainline entries from The Legend of Zelda (1986) through Echoes of Wisdom (2024), including Skyward Sword, The Minish Cap, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, A Link to the Past, the Oracle games, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom.

How is the content organized?

The Legend of Hyrule