User:Tony/Sandbox/Guidelines
Article Construction
Release Order
Below is a list of material starring Zelda content alongside their standing within the series canon in order of release.
| Media | Release Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| The Legend of Zelda | August 22, 1987 | Canon |
| The Adventure of Link | December 1, 1988 | Canon |
| The Legend of Zelda TV series | September 8, 1989 | Non-canon |
| Zelda (Game & Watch) | August 26, 1989 | |
| Captain N: The Game Master | September 9, 1989 | Non-canon |
| The Legend of Zelda (Mishouzaki) | September 1989 | Non-canon |
| The Legend of Zelda Game Watch | October 5, 1989 | |
| Molblin's Magic Spear | February 1, 1990 | Non-canon |
| The Legend of Zelda (Valiant Comics) | February 1990 | Non-canon |
| The Crystal Trap | January 1, 1992 | Non-canon |
| A Link to the Past | April 13, 1992 | Canon |
| A Link to the Past (Ishinomori) | January 1992 | Non-canon |
| The Shadow Prince | February 1, 1992 | Non-canon |
| Link's Awakening | August, 1993 | Canon (superseded by Link's Awakening DX) |
| The Faces of Evil | October 10, 1993 | |
| The Wand of Gamelon | October 10, 1993 | |
| Link's Awakening (Cagiva) | May 1994 | Non-canon |
| A Link to the Past (Cagiva) | June 27, 1995 | Non-canon |
| Oath of Riruto | June 1995 | |
| BS The Legend of Zelda | August 9, 1995 | |
| Zelda's Adventure | 1995 | Non-canon |
| Ancient Stone Tablets | March 30, 1997 | |
| Ocarina of Time comic by the German Nintendo Power | 1998 | Ambiguous |
| Ocarina of Time | November 23, 1998 | Canon (superseded by Ocarina of Time 3D) |
| Link's Awakening DX | December 15, 1998 | Canon |
| Super Smash Bros. | April 26, 1999 | Non-canon |
| Ocarina of Time Pathways to Adventure | November 1999 | Ambiguous |
| Majora's Mask | October 26, 2000 | Canon (superseded by Majora's Mask 3D) |
| Oracle of Ages | May 14, 2001 | Canon |
| Oracle of Seasons | May 14, 2001 | Canon |
| Super Smash Bros. Melee | December 1, 2001 | Non-canon |
| Oracle of Seasons book by Craig Wessel | December 1, 2001 | |
| Animal Crossing | September 16, 2002 | |
| Four Swords | December 2, 2002 | Canon (superseded by Four Swords Anniversary Edition) |
| Oracle of Ages book by Craig Wessel | February 1, 2003 | |
| Master Quest | February 17, 2003 | Non-canon (superseded by Ocarina of Time 3D's Master Quest mode) |
| The Wind Waker | March 24, 2003 | Canon (superseded by The Wind Waker HD) |
| WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! | May 26, 2003 | Non-canon |
| SoulCalibur II | August 27, 2003 | Non-canon |
| Link's 4-Koma Nautical Logbook | October 28, 2003 | |
| How to Draw The Legend of Zelda | February 1, 2004 | Non-canon |
| WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Party Game$! | April 5, 2004 | Non-canon |
| Four Swords Adventures | June 7, 2004 | Canon |
| The Minish Cap | January 10, 2005 | Canon |
| WarioWare: Touched! | February 14, 2005 | Non-canon |
| WarioWare: Twisted! | May 23, 2005 | Non-canon |
| Animal Crossing: Wild World | December 5, 2005 | |
| Link and the Portal of Doom | 2006 | Non-canon |
| Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland | September 2, 2006 | |
| Twilight Princess | November 19, 2006 | Canon (superseded by Twilight Princess HD) |
| WarioWare: Smooth Moves | January 15, 2007 | Non-canon |
| Tingle's Balloon Fight DS | April, 2007 | |
| Phantom Hourglass | October 1, 2007 | Canon |
| Link's Crossbow Training | November 19, 2007 | |
| Super Smash Bros. Brawl | March 9, 2008 | Non-canon |
| Captain Rainbow | August 28, 2008 | Non-canon |
| Ocarina of Time (Himekawa) | October 7, 2008 | Non-canon |
| Animal Crossing: City Folk | November 16, 2008 | Non-canon |
| Majora's Mask (Himekawa) | February 3, 2009 | Non-canon |
| Oracle of Seasons (Himekawa) | April 7, 2009 | Non-canon |
| Oracle of Ages (Himekawa) | June 2, 2009 | Non-canon |
| Too Much Tingle Pack | June 24, 2009 | |
| Four Swords (Himekawa) | August 4, 2009 | |
| Ripened Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love | August 6, 2009 | |
| The Minish Cap (Himekawa) | December 1, 2009 | |
| Spirit Tracks | December 7, 2009 | Canon |
| A Link to the Past (Himekawa) | February 2, 2010 | Non-canon |
| WarioWare: D.I.Y. | March 28, 2010 | Non-canon |
| WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase | March 29, 2010 | Non-canon |
| Phantom Hourglass (Himekawa) | September 7, 2010 | |
| Four Swords Anniversary Edition | September 28, 2011 | Canon |
| Skyward Sword | November 20, 2011 | Canon |
| Scribblenauts Unlimited | November 13, 2012 | Non-canon |
| Battle Quest | November 18, 2012 | Non-canon |
| Skyward Sword (Himekawa) | January 29, 2013 | Non-canon |
| Animal Crossing: New Leaf | June 9, 2013 | Non-canon |
| The Wind Waker HD | September 20, 2013 | Canon |
| The Misadventures of Link | November 1, 2013 | Non-canon |
| A Link Between Worlds | November 22, 2013 | Canon |
| Mario Kart 8 | May 30, 2014 | Non-canon |
| Hyrule Warriors | September 26, 2014 | Non-canon (superseded by Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition) |
| Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS | October 3, 2014 | Non-canon |
| Super Smash Bros. for Wii U | November 21, 2014 | Non-canon |
| Majora's Mask 3D | February 13, 2015 | Canon |
| Link's Hijinks | August 7, 2015 | Non-canon |
| Super Mario Maker | September 10, 2015 | Non-canon |
| Tri Force Heroes | October 23, 2015 | Canon |
| Twilight Princess HD | March 4, 2016 | Canon |
| Hyrule Warriors Legends | March 25, 2016 | Non-canon (superseded by Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition) |
| My Nintendo Picross: Twilight Princess | March 31, 2016 | Non-canon |
| Breath of the Wild | March 3, 2017 | Canon |
| Twilight Princess (Himekawa) | March 14, 2017 | Non-canon |
| Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition | May 18, 2018 | Non-canon |
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | December 7, 2018 | Non-canon |
Infoboxes
Image
The image displayed in the infobox must be an artwork coming from the latest main-series iteration where it was present, or in order of elimination from the latest appearance in ambiguously canon titles to non-canon titles. If no artwork is present for the given game, the hierarchic order is to be followed the same way as in galleries (Artworks, Renders, Models, Sprites, Screenshots, Concept Artworks.)
Sizing
The image section of the infobox should not exceed 300 pixels. This can be managed by adding either |300px or |x300px to images which are wider or taller, respectively. If an image is even in both width and height, it is usually acceptable to simply add the former. An image that is smaller than either 300px wide or 300px tall should also retain this scaled property on the principle that it may be replaced by a wider or taller revision at a later time.
In the event that the image section requires multiple images, the sum of their height and/or width should not exceed 300 pixels. See example below.
The only exception to this rule are games. On those pages, the height may exceed 300 pixels as it should display both the logo and the box artwork of the game. Though it may still not exceed 300 pixels in width.
Examples
| Sizing | N/A | 300px
|
x300px
|
[[...|150px]][[...|150px]]
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | image |
image |
image |
image image |
Caption
A caption must be added if the subject of the article is present in more than one article of media (games, manga, etc.). When used, the caption of the image must be formatted as such: <depiction> from <game>.
Galleries
Ordering of Files within Galleries
The hierarchic order of the images is as follows:
- Canon
- Ambiguously Canon
- Non-Canon
Media from remakes of a given title are to be placed after all files of the original title. Within each of the previous elements, the order of the files themselves is as follows:
- Artworks
- Renders
- Models
- Sprites
- Screenshots
- Concept Artworks
Image Gallery
Image galleries on an article is included in its own Gallery section. Images that are present in the article are not to be added in the gallery. The gallery is formatted as such:
<gallery> File:Image.png|Caption File:Image 2.png|Caption 2 File:Image 3.png|Caption 3 </gallery>
Video Gallery
Videos must be separated from images in their own Video Gallery subsection within the Gallery section.
Cameos
Official cameos in and of Zelda material should be documented by iteration of media in their respective pages, Cameos in The Legend of Zelda for instances where non-Zelda media appear, and Cameos of The Legend of Zelda in Nintendo Media and Cameos of The Legend of Zelda in Third-Party Media for instances where Zelda media appear in other media from Nintendo and licensed third-party material respectively. Unlicensed references to the Zelda series may be documented on The Legend of Zelda in Popular Culture instead.
Officially licensed cameos of Zelda material in other media may also be documented on the pages related to the subject that appears.
Canon Policy
There are specific expectations of what is and isn't considered Canon on Zelda Wiki. Canon refers to a body of materials considered to be an official or genuine part of a fictional universe. It is what can be specifically referenced as factual information within the given universe, and so therefore, canon is often seen as the official, main series as authorized by Nintendo. Zelda Wiki operates foremost on the canon derived from the American English narrative in the series.
There are three primary levels of canonicity regarding The Legend of Zelda: canon, ambiguously-canon and non-canon. A hierarchical supplementary canon exists for all three tiers, which serves to fill in any missed information in each respective tier. Additionally, certain portions of the canon may be revised canon meaning that while the information presented in a given title may have once been regarded as true for its time, it has since been revised and is no longer intended to be presented as fact.
Canon media largely concern the official Zelda Timeline, as well as official statements from Nintendo. The initial order for the Timeline was established in 2011 with the release of Hyrule Historia, an official encyclopedia written by Shigeru Miyamoto and Eiji Aonuma. Subsequent titles were confirmed to take place within the Timeline via social media, amending the Timeline. All games illustrated on the Timeline are considered part of the main series, which can be considered analogous to the canon. Any games that have been confirmed to either not fall in the main series or not relate to the timeline are non-canon.
Ambiguously-canon media is any iteration in the franchise that has neither been confirmed nor denied to take place within the official Timeline. Provided that a title does not contradict the established canon and/or representatives from Nintendo have made no claim about its relation to the Timeline, its canonicity is considered ambiguous.
Non-canon media is any iteration that contradicts the Timeline or exists separately from the Timeline. Unless otherwise stated, cameos of Zelda subjects in officially-licensed Nintendo media that isn't fundamentally related to The Legend of Zelda are considered non-canon.
Supplementary canon is a concept that is individually applied to all three tiers of canon wherein information offered in official supplementary media (such as manuals, guides, websites, magazines) can be considered canon provided that the information in question does not contradict the canon for that canon tier. For example, supplementary media for ambiguously-canon material can be considered ambiguously-canon as long as it does not contradict the information established in the highest hierarchical source of that ambiguously-canon material. Similarly, supplementary non-canon material only affects the relevant non-canon material and in no way affects either ambiguously-canon or canon material. The hierarchical order for canon among each tier is as follows:
Original material
- Manuals, official statements from a representative of the development team
- Strategy guides released by the company who owns the property, trailers, and websites from the development team
- Strategy guides released by a licensed third-party, any other official material
- Strategy guides released by the company who owns the property, trailers, and websites from the development team
In lieu of material released for American English, material in this hierarchical order may be used from British English if available or from Japanese (if British English is not available).
Due to the long and changing history of the series, certain portions of the established canon have been changed through later works or official statements, forcing the overall series canon to be revised to reflect these details. In these instances, the overall narrative of the series should be documented in harmony with the latest series-wide canon. Each contained canon entry may still document the canon as depicted in its iteration, though it must be accompanied by a note whenever its details no longer match contemporary canon. In contrast, canon that has been revised through the form of a remake must report the canon as depicted in the latest narrative presented by the remake and all content that was revised must be documented through notes instead.
Version Differences
The latest version or publication of an iteration in the series is considered to be the canon version of that article of media, even if Nintendo publishes an earlier version of that media at a later date. The manual accompanying the latest version release of a game during that version's initial run is considered to be the latest viable canon material of its kind, even under the condition that the latest version is ported to another console, and the accompanying manual is derived from an earlier version of that game. If the manual for a ported release of that game's latest version is newly-made for that port, any revised information from the newer manual is considered canon instead.
Remakes
A remake of a game is considered superior in terms of canon to a port, even if the port occurred after a remake.
Terminology and Nomenclature
Nomenclature
Nomenclature is the section in which all foreign terms or names of a subject and their meanings are displayed by the Nomenclature template. The etymology behind the American English name of a subject may be placed above either template, though all other languages must have their etymologies placed within the aforementioned templates. Every nomenclature table should be in its own section and with a left alignment (|align= left). Names derived from a non-Latin alphabet must use the Romanize template and must be accompanied by a transliteration of the given text.
Entries in the meaning column may be translated from the original language, though any stylizations of names which aren't loanwords should be retained as a transliteration of the name in the original language. It is acceptable to omit a period from entries in the meaning field if they are translations of the given text and not an explanation concerning the translation. Explanations must be separated from translations by one line.
Terminology
- For conditional use of non-English terms, see #Nomenclature.
Terminology is the means by which articles on Zelda Wiki are named. Terms are determined by two independent—but complementary—conditions:
- If a word is surrounded by differently-colored text in any officially licensed media.
- If a word is capitalized in any officially licensed media, to indicate a titular sense.
Both of these conditions respect the canon hierarchy. If a given word does not fit either condition, it is not applicable as terminology. If a term is present in English and a given piece of media has been confirmed to have been localized into a foreign language, the direct comparative instance of a term in English may be considered as a term in that language, even if it does not follow the two aforementioned conditions. If a term is not present in American English but exists in either British English or Japanese (in that order), it may be borrowed from those languages, provided they follow the two established conditions and are marked with the corresponding types on the Name template for British English and Japanese respectively where appropriate.
To determine the name or title of a character, enemy, boss, location, dungeon, or item in a game, the following hierarchy should be followed:
- On-screen introductory names/titles
- Text card name/title, Figurine/in-game collectible name/title, name/title given from companion "tattle"
- Self-introduction
- Reference to character/enemy/boss from other third-party
- Self-introduction
- Text card name/title, Figurine/in-game collectible name/title, name/title given from companion "tattle"
- Sign names
- Names from dialogue
- Obtention name
- Other names from text
Names always take priority over titles through this hierarchy.
Terminology may occasionally change between multiple instances of a subject. In this case, the general term for the subject is drawn from the latest main-series title to meet the terminology conditions above. Remakes of a game fit within this condition and may supersede a prior main-series title, though ports of a title do not qualify. If no main-series title is available for a term, the canon hierarchy may be followed until an applicable term is reached. If a recurring subject of a term appears but goes unnamed in a given iteration, it is acceptable to borrow from the latest term applying to that subject provided that it is clearly established that it goes unnamed in that iteration's respective section. These instances must be updated to the latest term each time that term changes. However, if a term exists for a subject in a given article of media, regardless of the general term, it is applied in every instance regarding that iteration.
Partial omissions of terms (for instance, when characters say "the Ceremony" in reference to the Wing Ceremony), should not be taken as alternatives or replacements of the whole terms they belong to. However, if a term appears as an omission but places higher than the "full name" in the hierarchy above (such as "Graveyard" and "Kakariko Village Graveyard"), these are to be treated as two separate terms.
Names of articles should almost always be singular, while the lead sentence therein must be plural if more than one of the subject exists and the subject is not a character or boss.
When used outside of citations, all terminology must be capitalized. Similarly, partial omissions of a term must be capitalized (such as saying the Temple as short for the Temple of Time, or the Sword in lieu of the Master Sword).