Love Zelda, second game I ever owned after Mario Bros/Duck Hunt. I played almost every entry in the series. Followed everything Nintendo did with it from that day I made my first save on that gold cartridge when I was 8 years old.
So, I was thrilled to learn, Nintendo are putting out a book that details the art and general work that has gone on through the years. (Something better to celebrate it's anniversary than the poor showing for Mario).
News trickled out about an official Zelda timeline in the book and
IGN has the news on that.
It's interesting, but, I have to admit, I was one of those that thought the series never had a timeline. I thought it would be better if it didn't. I likened the 'LEGEND of Zelda' to the story of Robin Hood. A fable passed down through generations and retold in different ways until any semblance of truth had been overwritten by a more elaborate romantic rendition. I likened thought to put Zelda into a timeline was as easy as trying to put all the Robin Hood movies into a chronological order.
Each Zelda to me was a kind of retelling of the story passed on through lore. Or the invention of side stories to further tell the story of who Link was. With key elements remaining: Ganon, a Triforce, a princess called Zelda... oh but he travelled through time, I heard he got shipwrecked after that... a story about him sailing over the flooded lands... He grew up in the woods as a child before travelling Hyrule and finding his destiny... He lived in the Sky...