Skyward Sword timeline

Wii · 2011Switch HD · 2021Switch 2 · backward compatible

Sources reviewed: 2026-11-10

Story order and release order are different lists. This game is first in the story. Ocarina of Time is not.

The public plot summary places the game in the Sky Era. Hyrule Historia page 69, as cited by the wiki, puts the adventure thousands of years after Hylia’s war with Demise.

The spine I will retell: Hylia is reborn as Zelda. Ghirahim’s tornado drops her to the surface. Impa hides her. Link draws the Goddess Sword, tempers it in three sacred flames, reaches the Gate of Time, and watches Zelda seal herself. The Triforce wish, Demise’s return, and the last duel follow. Demise’s curse is the line people connect to later Ganons. That connection is the story’s own closing speech plus later timeline books, not a sentence printed on the Switch box.


First Zelda game released	False. This is a 2011 game.	1 source
Earliest story	Yes, in the published timeline.	1 source
HD changes the plot	No. HD is the same story with interface changes.	1 source
Years until Minish Cap	No number I will print.	1 source says the gap is unspecified

Original illustration of floating islands over a teal cloud sea — Original illustration. Not a captured game frame.

Original illustration of a stone gate with teal flames — Original illustration of a trial gate. Not a captured game frame.

FAQ

Is Link in this game the first Link?

In the published timeline, this is the earliest Link story. It is not the first Link game Nintendo shipped.

Where does Tears of the Kingdom sit?

Later. I am not pinning an official year between them.

Official overview trailer

Sources

Wikipedia: Skyward Sword — checked 2026-11-10
Zelda Wiki: Timeline — checked 2026-11-10

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