We can argue for another 3 pages about every nitpick in the overall Zelda timeline again but even the individual stories in those games are mostly self contained as well.
That's where we differ, I guess. I can't dismiss certain things as nitpicking. Placing a canon destroying plot-point right at the beginning of a series chronologically isn't a nitpick. It's bad storytelling. I don't expect Tolkien-level world building, but give a couple fucks maybe. Was anything really gained by Skyward Sword being first chronologically? Change a few things and it makes a lot more sense almost anywhere else.
Some people prefer Nintendo continue to stay with their gameplay first, story last approach to games since that's what makes many so great. They're not constrained by some overarching canon everything has to fit into, they can just do whatever the **** they want.
Except Nintendo is constrained by an overarching canon. Adhering to it hurts the games now because Nintendo insists on having one. I'm taken out of a game when the plot causes me to say, "Wait, that doesn't make any sense." This isn't mutually exclusive. Nintendo can have fun gameplay and tell a good story. A story doesn't have to be epic, but it does have to be smart. If Nintendo is going to have a canon, respect the canon. Otherwise, don't have one. Everything would have been just fine if Nintendo said:
1. There's no Zelda canon. Some games have direct sequels, but overall, each game can exist as its own entity.
2. Metroid Prime is a non-canon side-story.
3. What's Other M? I have no idea what you're talking about.
Plus it's not like the rest of the industry is ahead of Nintendo in the story department. Many of the major videogame storylines now a days are the usual generic Hollywood blockbuster **** in the West, or over-complicated anime **** from Japan. Yeah Nintendo could try a little harder but it's not like the rest of the industry is pumping out masterpieces left and right either.
Dude, these are just excuses.
If Nintendo was to reboot games like Zelda and Metroid to have a more constant overall storyline, that would be nice for the first game in said reboot but what about the second or third? Eventually said franchises start to reach a point where things the developers want to do are going to conflict with certain plot points anyway which will require another reboot to stay consistent.
That isn't even remotely true. Maybe Nintendo should stop fucking with prequels if it can't be bothered to respect over two decades of storytelling it insists is related.