Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the Zelda saga, has confessed that Nintendo kept a huge document with the complete chronology of the games. However, for him, that record was not relevant. In a recent interview, he explained that the priority was always gameplay and the player's experience, not the narrative. Each new title tells an independent story, and the essential thing is that players immerse themselves without complications.
Zelda development: gameplay over story 🎮
For years, fans speculated about the temporal order of titles like Ocarina of Time or Skyward Sword. Miyamoto clarifies that, although that internal document existed, the development team never used it as a strict guide. The priority was to design fluid game mechanics and interactive worlds. The story was adapted later, as a flexible framework. This explains why some games have loose connections or contradictions: the player's fun was always above temporal coherence.
The Zelda timeline: the treasure map no one used 🗺️
So it turns out Nintendo had a chronological treasure map, but Miyamoto treated it like a wall decoration. While fans debated whether Link is the same reincarnated hero or a distant cousin, the developers only thought about how to make the new water puzzle less annoying. In the end, the great Zelda timeline is like the instruction manual for Swedish furniture: it exists, but no one follows it to the letter.