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We all love a good legend. It wraps us up in its grand adventures, even if it doesn't all make sense. The details twist and turn with each retelling, but the core details remain the same. As a result of that, The Legend of Zelda is pretty true to its name.
Ever since the games were released, fans have been trying to establish a formal timeline for the whole series, the Hyrule Historia book giving us our closest look at an official timeline yet. Even still, details don't always seem to match up, making the games very much seem like nothing but legends, stories passed through time.
Games Definitely Considered Canon
- Skyward Sword establishes the beginning of the timelines. It setups the birth of Hyrule, the creation of the Triforce and Master Sword and the cycle of rebirth headed by Link, Zelda and Demise. Nothing has since contradicted this nor attempted to set itself beforehand or dramatically retell it.
- Ocarina Of Time is where things get a bit more confusing, though just as essential. Set right in the middle of all the games, Ocarina of Time sets up the diverging timelines that split into most other entries in the series. The canon nature of the timelines are more vague, though Ocarina of Time itself is very solid.
- Twilight Princess follows on from Ocarina of Time where Link is a child and Ganondorf is executed for his future crimes. The thread tying the timelines together, made explicit by Hyrule Historia, is that the old hero training Link is the very same Link from Ocarina of Time.
- The Wind Waker takes place in the adult timeline where Ganondorf was sealed away, with The Wind Waker following his release from the dark Realm. However, the Link of Ocarina of Time has been memorialised in this Hyrule, once again tying it and Ganondorf to previous entries.
- Breath of the Wild has much fewer signs of where it takes place in the continuity, with most theories stating it is one where all the timelines ultimately converge. Both the Rito and Zora exist despite previously only existing in opposite timelines, and Ganon appears in a more manifest evil form, implying his form as the demon king has not yet reoccured from his previous defeats in both Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker
- Tears of the Kingdom definitely straddles the lines. In many ways, it retells the story of Skyward Sword of a godly people descending from the sky above and communicating with the Hylians above. However, Raura and Sonia are also the first rulers of Hyrule who also seem to praise the same goddess as established in Skyward Sword. Ganondorf also appears, implying it takes place after Skyward Sword.
Many of the Zelda games establish their own story with more references to other games than direct connections, though still end up finding a way to appear canon. As such, the majority of mainline games end up being canon.
If you're looking to know which games are canon so you can follow the story, it's really not relevant for any entry.
The only games that strictly follow on with their sequels are Breath of the Wild and The Wind Waker.
Games Of Dubious Canon
- Majora's Mask is a direct sequel to Ocarina of Time, yet shares very little in terms of history or lore with basically any other entry. The land of Termina, or really any lands beyond Hyrule, are seemingly ever mentioned or even exist in future games. Blood moons are a common occurrence in other games, but the spooky-faced moon itself is not. In many ways, Majora's mask should be canon but ends up feeling like it was all just a bad dream.
- Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass exist in a similar vein to Majora's Mask. Both are direct sequels to Wind Waker, yet feature no Ganon and only scant mention of the Triforce. It is possible the Hyrule discovered here is that of future games like Breath of the Wild, yet the evidence of its own evils, such as Malladus, are never seen again.
- A Link To The Past and A Link Between Worlds are both set in an alternate timeline where Zelda and Link fail to defeat Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time. Already this puts the games in a dubious scenario that does not actually occur in Ocarina of Time, but the land of Lorule, present in both games, makes no appearance in other games nor does their own inverted Triforce have an explanation for existing.
- The Legend Of Zelda, despite being the actual original game, exists far at the end of an already alternate timeline that feels more like a what-if scenario than a scenario that plausibly occurred.
The diverging timelines of Zelda makes the games hard enough to connect as is, though many that exist within the timeline of Ganon's success or those that are sequels to previous games tend to eschew a bit too far from the established lore.
How Many Spin-off Games Are Canon?
Unlike most other Nintendo properties (looking at you, Mario), Zelda doesn't tend to get a large amount of spin-offs, and the ones we do get often end up being partly considered mainline because of how rare they are. All that said, spin-off games tend to be much looser with the lore.
Link's Awakening, for example, takes place on Koholint Island and shares basically nothing with any other aspect of the series. It features Kirby himself and Mario enemies, which doesn't feel strictly like something you'd call canon.
Meanwhile, something like Cadence of Hyrule follows the structure of a Zelda story pretty closely, paying great homage to the games. Though it doesn't do much history-making and as such makes it hard to place in the timeline, it's impossible to say it's not canon either.
Then there's both Hyrule Warriors games. The original feels more like a fun fantasy, not something that could be considered in any way canon. On the other hand, Age of Calamity shows us the world of Breath of the Wild 100 years ago, yet is also itself a slight retelling of that specific history, as it uses time travel, which doesn't occur in Breath of the Wild.
How Many Games Are Actually Canon?
It's a question that's a bit more difficult to answer than you might imagine. It's safe to say every mainline game is canon, though not their sequels.
When it comes to spin-offs, it's safe to say none of them are definitely canon, though there are some exceptions. The most important part of Zelda, really, is to just not focus on the timeline too much. Nintendo sure doesn't.