Zelda Capital - Game Order Theories

The Legend of Zelda game order is unclear. Nintendo has not released an official order, but Shigeru Miyamoto, Zelda creator, did state at one point that the order was Ocarina of Time, the original The Legend of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and then A Link to the Past is the last story. And Link's Awakening could be anytime after Ocarina of Time. He stated this in an interview with Nintendo Power Magazine. The entire interview was posted online at Zelda64.com or at Nintendo.com. This order has become known as The Miyamoto Order.

Nintendo has not said if The Miyamoto Order is the true order, nor have they given any evidence to back this theory up. They have pretty much left it up to the fans to decide what order the games go in. So, of course, I have my own theory about The Legend of Zelda Timeline. I call it the Zelda Capital Order, and this is the order I believe that the games go in:

The opening story to The Adventure of Link (the part where the sleeping spell is cast on Princess Zelda)
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Twilight Princess
The Wind Waker
Phantom Hourglass
Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
Link's Awakening
The Minish Cap
Four Swords
Four Swords Adventure
A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda
The Adventure of Link

There are also other theories to consider. One of those theories is the NOA/ZHQ order. I'm sure most of you Zelda fans have heard of The Master of Hyrule, the storyline master of the old Zelda Headquarters site; well this theory belongs to him and some of the workers at Nintendo of America. The workers of NOA stated this order around the time A Link to the Past was released. Then The Master of Hyrule took this theory and continued on it. This change affected many people's view on the timeline drastically. The final order was this: (Note: there was nothing stated about the intro story of The Adventure of Link.)

Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda
The Adventure of Link

The normal interpretations of the NOA/ZHQ order are as follows:

Standard Interpretation- Most people refer to this when they refer to the NOA/ZHQ order. This theory says that Ocarina of Time's and Majora's Mask's Link are one and the same. A Link to the Past stars a descendant of the first Link, but the Oracle games have a different Link and Zelda. And The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link have the newest Link and Zelda in them. It is guessed that Link's Awakening comes right after A Link to the Past, or it could come after the oracle games; and The Wind Waker comes after Majora's Mask.

Zelda.com Theory- NOA staffers writing for Zelda.com posted their own interpretation of the original NOA order a while back. I'm only including it for completeness' sake. Dan Owsen stated that this order is just a theory cooked up by NOA staff members after they talked to the true creators. So while it might have some elements of truth in it, but it is still just a theory. It's interesting, but it doesn't always conform to the known facts. It could be changed so that it actually works, but for now I simply leave it as it. Read it at your own risk, and don't be surprised if it confuses you. This storyline was created shortly after the Oracle games were made, so it does not include TWW. (Note: this is the exact theory and is copied directly from Zelda.com) Zelda.com's Storyline.

Here are a few more orders:

The opening story to The Adventure of Link (the part where the sleeping spell is cast on Princess Zelda)
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Twilight Princess
The Wind Waker
Phantom Hourglass
The Legend of Zelda
The Adventure of Link
Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
Link's Awakening
The Minish Cap
Four Swords
Four Swords Adventure
A Link to the Past

Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
The opening story to The Adventure of Link
The Wind Waker
Phantom Hourglass
The Legend of Zelda
The Adventure of Link
Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Ages
Link's Awakening
The Minish Cap
Four Swords
Four Swords Adventure
A Link to the Past

The Minish Cap
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
The Wind Waker
Phantom Hourglass
Four Swords
Four Swords Adventure
A Link to the Past
Link's Awakening
Oracle of Ages
Oracle of Seasons
The Legend of Zelda
The Adventure of Link

And here is a dated timeline of the releases of all of The Legend of Zelda games (including the stupid Philips CD-i system) in chronological order:

The Legend of Zelda - Nintendo Entertainment System - July 1987
The Adventure of Link - Nintendo Entertainment System- December 1988
A Link to the Past - Super Nintendo Entertainment System - April 1992
Link's Awakening - Game Boy - August 1993
Link: The Faces of Evil - Philips CD-i - October 1993
The Wand of Gamelon - Philips CD-i - October 1993
Zelda's Adventure - Philips CD-i - June 1994
Ocarina of Time - Nintendo 64 - November 1998
Link's Awakening DX - Game Boy Color - December 1998
Majora's Mask - Nintendo 64 - October 2000
Oracle of Seasons - Game Boy Color - May 2001
Oracle of Ages - Game Boy Color - May 2001
A Link to the Past/Four Swords - Game Boy Advance - December 2002
Ocarina of Time: Master Quest - GameCube - February 2003
The Wind Waker - GameCube - March 2003
Four Swords Adventures - GameCube - June 2004
The Minish Cap - Game Boy Advance - January 2005
Twilight Princess - Wii/GameCube - November/December 2006
Phantom Hourglass - Nintendo DS - October 2007
Spirit Tracks - Nintendo DS - Unknown