The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake launches on November 5, and newcomers who jumped into the series with Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom may wonder if they need to play other games first. The short answer is no.
Ocarina of Time's story is simple and entirely self-contained, with no overt connections to earlier timeline entries. Characters like Link and Zelda share names across games but are often different incarnations, so no prior knowledge is required to understand the plot.
Do you need to play other Zelda games first?
For those who want deeper lore, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the chronological first game. Originally released for Wii in 2011, it's available via a 2021 Switch remaster. It serves as an origin story for the Master Sword and explains why Ganondorf reincarnates to threaten Hyrule.
Skyward Sword also received a 32-page prequel manga included in the Hyrule Historia encyclopaedia. It depicts Link's earliest incarnation and his meeting with goddess Hylia, who discarded her divinity to be reborn as Zelda. However, no game references this manga, so its canon status is unclear.
Sequels and timeline branches
Ocarina of Time splits into three timeline branches. In the Child era, Majora's Mask follows the same Link but is set in Termina, with no ties to Ocarina's plot. Twilight Princess, set after Majora's Mask, features the same Ganondorf from Ocarina of Time, who was imprisoned and later banished.
In the Adult era, The Wind Waker follows Ganondorf's return after the seal broke, leading the gods to flood Hyrule. This is the same Ganondorf from Ocarina of Time, but Link and Zelda are new incarnations. A third timeline, where Link is defeated, leads into A Link to the Past.
Does the timeline really matter?
Nintendo has not treated the timeline as a strict constraint. Tears of the Kingdom director Hidemaro Fujibayashi said in a 2023 interview with Game Informer that detailed placement can restrict creativity. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have no exact timeline placement, and recent games like Echoes of Wisdom fit loosely without affecting their stories.
Ultimately, there is no 'correct' way to start the series, and skipping the remake won't leave you lost in future games. The only entry to avoid is the Philips CD-i titles, which Nintendo prefers to ignore.
