How can the events surrounding the Imprisoning War be described through the lens of retcon? : An in-game and transmedia analysis of The Legend of Zelda franchise

Sammanfattning

This paper attempted to investigate the use of retcons (retroactive continuity) across the long running franchise The Legend of Zelda, focusing on the Imprisoning War storyline. It aimed at understanding how narrative revisions function across multiple games and mediums, and how these changes can affect coherence. The analysis done in this paper is relevant to anyone interested in the phenomenon of retcons in video games. Research was conducted using a combination of theoretical frameworks, game analysis and transmedia sources. The findings produced by this thesis were that retcons can be used to enhance world building and expand on in-game lore. However, retcons are difficult to analyse in myth heavy franchises which also supports that reboots can occur without erasing previous continuity.