The Legend of Zelda owned and produced by Nintendo.

One of the most expansive and successful gaming franchises of all time, The Legend of Zelda is also one of the more difficult stories to map chronologically, thanks to time-travelling shenanigans. That said, you can bet on a few common elements in virtually every game: The hero, Link, wants to save the heroine, Zelda, from the villain, Ganon / Ganondorf. One or more triangular relics of incredible power may or may not be involved.

The chronology of The Legend of Zelda is complicated by the fact that the timeline splits thanks to the events of The Ocarina of Time. Consequently, there are three different time lines, detailed separately below. The complete nature of the split in the timeline is detailed in The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia. (Though it is a few games out-of-date by now.) The latest games, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, so far ignore the three timelines and sit in a continuity of their own.

There are a few non-canonical entries in the Zelda franchise. They are included under Release Order only. Also included are the animated iteration and a few manga, as none of them contribute to the storyline of the games.

In-Universe Chronological Order

Original Timeline
Split 1: Link Loses to Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time
Split 2: Link Defeats Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time (Childhood Timeline)
Split 3: Link Defeats Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time (Adult Timeline)
Breath of the Wild Timeline
Release Order (video games)
Release Order (manga)
  • (coming soon)
Release Order (television)