Continuity in The Legend of Zelda (Part I - Replay Theory)

This will be the first part in a series of posts about how the different Zelda games relate to one another in their more obvious details, as well as their relationship on a broader, more all encompassing scale. I'm going to attempt to do one of these every Wednesday. So anyone who reads these, there will be more, so keep checking up!

To start, I'm going to relate the entirety of the canonical Zelda series, including 'The Legend of Zelda,' 'The Adventure of Link' (hereafter referred to as Zelda II), 'A Link to the Past,' Link's Awakening,' 'The Ocarina of Time,' 'Oracle of Seasons' and 'Oracle of Ages,' 'Four Swords' and 'Four Swords Adventures,' 'The Minish Cap,' 'Twilight Princess,' and 'Phantom Hourglass.' The 'Zelda' CD-I games will not be included, as they are considered by many to be non-canon because of their complete lack of respect for the 'Zelda' characters and the fact that they are overall some of the worst games ever created. Seriously. They're a complete waste of anyone's time. But let's not go into that right now.

My original theory about how the majority of the Zelda games worked together was what I like to call the 'Replay Theory'. Think of the first Zelda game. You have the basic story elements: The Hero (Link), a magic sword (The Magic Sword), an evil being bent on ruling everything (Ganon), a 'damsel in distress' (Zelda), and a magical artifact integral to the story (Triforce pieces). All of these elements are present in each Zelda game, with few exceptions. All of these elements combine to make The Legend of Zelda story. The idea behind this theory is basically that each Zelda game is a retelling of the same basic story. Sometimes the story is only somewhat different, sometimes it's more detailed, sometimes it might even be heavily altered. Of course this doesn't apply to all of the games, such as sequels (Majora's Mask, Phantom Hourglass) , but it can apply to most of the games.

Every game has the hero, Link. This, besides the title itself, is the most noticeable repeated aspect of each game. Link (though of course you can name him differently) is always the hero that you play as, whether you are saving Hyrule, or foreign lands such as Termina (Majora's Mask), Labrynna (Oracle of Ages), Holodrum (Oracle of Seasons), etc.

Every game has some sort of evil being that you must go up against. If you've played a Zelda game, chances are good that you know who Ganon is. Ganon, fully named Ganondorf Dragmire, is the most common major antagonist of the Zelda universe. The only games in which he does not appear are The Minish Cap, Zelda II, Four Swords, Link's Awakening, and Majora's Mask. He does make an appearance in Zelda II, and is symbolically referenced in Link's Awakening, but does not actually retain his usual role. Because the two Oracle games together bring about an ultimate confrontation with Ganon, I still count them as including Ganon as the final boss.

Every game has some sort of magical sword. Usually this blade is the Master Sword or to a lesser extent the Four Sword. In Zelda I and Zelda II this sword is simply known as the Magical Sword. The only real exceptions here are Link's Awakening and the two 'Oracle' games. While each of these does have an advanced sword, they are not necessary for normal game play.

Zelda, though included in the title, is not in every game in person, but is mentioned at least once in each game. Most notably, she does not appear anywhere in Link's Awakening; she only is referred to in the very beginning. She is not directly in either 'Oracle' game, but when playing both together she makes an entrance into the story. Also, she is not technically in Majora's Mask, however she does make an appearance in a flashback sequence where she teaches Link the Song of Time.

All of these similarities form a loose correlation between these games. The repeatability of each of these elements makes them easily interchangeable with their alternate version counterparts. You could call the Master Sword the Magical Sword, or vice versa, for example. Link's personality and purpose, as well as Zelda's and Ganon's, are somewhat similar for each game, despite their differing appearances.

This theory, like any theory, has holes. I went with it for some time, and I still believe it has some merit. However, I believe, at least on some scale, the games lend themselves to a chronological relationship. I'll go into time lines beginning with my next post.