The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma has provided a disclaimer that the timeline produced within the Hyrule Historia book is only a rough representation.
Such clarification was made within the book itself, but as fans are still continually translating it this hadn’t previously come to light.
“Chapter 2, ‘The Full History of Hyrule’, arranges the series in chronological order so it’s easier to understand but, from the very beginning, Zelda games have been developed with the top priority of focusing on the game mechanics rather than the story”, Aonuma explains. “For example, in Ocarina of Time, the first installment of the series I was involved in, the main theme was how to create a game with pleasant controls in a 3D world. Or in the DS game, Phantom Hourglass, the focus was having comfortable stylus controls. Finally, in the most recent game, Skyward Sword, we focused on an easy way to swing the sword using the Wii Motion Plus.”
He continues, “Thinking of that way of developing the games, it may be correct to say that the story is an appendix to that. I even think that setting Skyward Sword as the ‘first story,’ was merely a coincidence.
“While reading over ‘The Full History of Hyrule’, it’s possible that some parts may look contradictory. For instance, the Mogma race or the beetle item that appear on the very first story do not appear on any other game that takes place in the future. I’d like to ask everyone just to enjoy the book and to be broad-minded, and to think that those parts are the way they are because of the way Zelda games are developed.”
[Thanks Kotaku]
Aonuma: Zelda timeline only a chronological guideline
