The Zelda timeline has ignited all sorts of debates and theories over the years, and now it seems Nintendo has officially added the newest entry Echoes of Wisdom.
It files Zelda’s new adventure under the ‘Hero is defeated’ timeline, placing it after Tri Force Heroes and before the ‘Decline of the Hyrule Kingdom’. Here is Nintendo’s official description of Echoes of Wisdom in the timeline:
“The hero Link sets out to rescue Princess Zelda, who was captured by Ganon. Following a fierce battle, Link defeats Ganon, only to be swallowed up by an eerie rift. It was as if he’d been stolen away… All across Hyrule, more mysterious rifts are forming and taking the people of Hyrule away. Nobody is safe—not even the king himself and his advisers, who have also gone missing. Princess Zelda must set out on an adventure to save her father—the king of Hyrule—the people, and Link.”
As the official page further notes, this timeline stems from the Ocarina of Time ‘lose’ outcome when the Hero of Time is defeated in battle by Ganondorf. A victory outcome, known as ‘The Hero is Triumphant’, leads to Link’s ‘child’ and ‘adult’ eras.
As you can also see in the image above, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are placed separately on the timeline.
Nintendo has previously claimed it only considers Zelda timelines “to an extent” during the development process. More recently, producer Eiji Aonuma also explained why gameplay tends to take priority over story in this particular series.
