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[shouamabane]

I vote Wind Waker Timeline.

 

[MajorMane]

It would basically be like a Warp in the West that was used in The Elder Scrolls series. They all happened.

More importantly the Zelda series timeline doesn't really matter. It's a nice thing for players to see how the various games connect with one another and as jumping off points for new games to utilize stuff mentioned in other games, but it's ultimately never really important in the games themselves. Unless they are direct sequels.

The series is more or less the retelling of the same legend just with varying degrees of accuracy/consistency when it comes to details. At most usually the series will reference an older game with a throwaway line saying "long ago" or "legends tell" or something like that. It's a nod and not much more. The overall setting might fit within events of the timeline but to understand and enjoy the game it's pretty much never required that you know any of that, even with direct sequels.

Converging the timeline could make for an interesting scenario for this game, but for future games it wouldn't really matter. They could choose to acknowledge all or none of the prior games explicitly just like they always had, but usually they just do their own thing with not a whole lot of regard for what supposedly comes before or after it.

I'm going to have to disagree with this. Each Zelda game is designed with a place in the timeline where it fits and has a reason for existing. I know RagnarokX pretty much laid out how each game fits and why it was made out in another post. Just for example, Skyward Sword serves as an overall prequel to the series and also the origin of the Master Sword. Ocarina of Time expands on events told in Link to the Past, as well as the origin of Ganondorf. So the timeline matters.

Hell, Aonuma technically confirms that the timeline is important to the games while in a talk about Skyward Sword prior to its release:

"Yes there is a master timeline but its confidential document! The only people to have access to that document are myself, Mr. Miyamoto and the director of the title. We cant share it with anyone else! I have already talked to Mr. Miyamoto about this so I am comfortable in releasing this information – this title [Skyward Sword] takes place before Ocarina of Time. If I said that a certain title was ‘the first Zelda game’, then that means that we can't ever make a title that takes place before that! So for us to add titles to the series, we have to have a way of putting the titles before or after each other." —Eiji Aonuma (Official Nintendo Magazine interview with Aonuma)

So, with that all in mind, the timeline does make sense, particularly whenever Aonuma is involved as he seems to take his time to make those references and connections.

Breath of the Wild exists 100 years after OoT in the Fallen Hero timeline to explain the existence of said timeline which no one ever even brought up until it was revealed in Hyrule Historia, which in turn had Aonuma as the Chief Editor. It is the parallel to Wind Waker and Twilight Princess.

 

[Enduin]

I'm going to have to disagree with this. Each Zelda game is designed with a place in the timeline where it fits and has a reason for existing. I know RagnarokX pretty much laid out how each game fits and why it was made out in another post. Just for example, Skyward Sword serves as an overall prequel to the series and also the origin of the Master Sword. Ocarina of Time expands on events told in Link to the Past, as well as the origin of Ganondorf. So the timeline matters.

Hell, Aonuma technically confirms that the timeline is important to the games while in a talk about Skyward Sword prior to its release:



So, with that all in mind, the timeline does make sense, particularly whenever Aonuma is involved as he seems to take his time to make those references and connections.

Breath of the Wild exists 100 years after OoT in the Fallen Hero timeline to explain the existence of said timeline which no one ever even brought up until it was revealed in Hyrule Historia, which in turn had Aonuma as the Chief Editor. It is the parallel to Wind Waker and Twilight Princess.

Whether the timeline matches up or not doesn't really matter. I'm talking about how it effectively operates in the view of the average player. Yes, they place each game in order and relation to one another on a larger level, which is fine, it provides the impetus for threads like this for those players who are interested in that kind of discussion. Each game is ostensibly about either expanding on events previously talked about in another game or continuing from the events of one, but effectively for the player the timeline has little impact on the games or experience as a whole.

Despite ostensibly being interconnected the games themselves are rarely concerned with making direct connections with past games and explicitly detailing their connection. The larger framework of the narrative might fit, but the events within the game show little concern with detailing these connections with other titles in the series. Even with direct sequels the connection with the past game isn't always important and often has little impact on that game. It's simply the nature of having a series with a very light and minimalist narrative and a protagonist who doesn't actively and vocally take part in the story.

 

[Breads]

I really hope that they incorporate some sort of system that lets you dynamically change timeline implications depending on your actions. It's done plenty with other world mechanics but I would love to see an ever changing somewhere in between system in place that adds to the replay ability.

 

[lwilliams3]

Aonuma hinted pretty strongly the game is 100 years after OoT.

Where was this hinted at? During the beginning of BotW, it has been revealed that Link has been asleep for exactly 100 years. If that is the case, it would have to be the failed timeline. I have doubts that he would have hinted at such a big detail, though.

 

[Fourth Storm]

That's my current running theory (which RagnarokX has been championing the same general idea since, well, pretty much right at the start of E3)

I hadn't considered that a possible playable Zelda would have played into this, but it's possible.

Thanks for the reply and apologies this took so long. How rude of me. I've been following this topic a bit, and I still am sticking w/ what we discussed, even though things like Koroks make me wonder.

My biggest question if this is 100 years post-OoT: How did the Statue of the Goddess get in the Temple of Time? Where was it between SS and Botw? Last we saw it had fallen outside the Temple of Hylia. Are we to believe that is a precurser to the Temple of Time?

 

[MajorMane]

Whether the timeline matches up or not doesn't really matter. I'm talking about how it effectively operates in the view of the average player. Yes, they place each game in order and relation to one another on a larger level, which is fine, it provides the impetus for threads like this for those players who are interested in that kind of discussion. Each game is ostensibly about either expanding on events previously talked about in another game or continuing from the events of one, but effectively for the player the timeline has little impact on the games or experience as a whole.

Despite ostensibly being interconnected the games themselves are rarely concerned with making direct connections with past games and explicitly detailing their connection. The larger framework of the narrative might fit, but the events within the game show little concern with detailing these connections with other titles in the series. Even with direct sequels the connection with the past game isn't always important and often has little impact on that game. It's simply the nature of having a series with a very light and minimalist narrative and a protagonist who doesn't actively and vocally take part in the story.

Oh, for sure the timeline doesn't matter to some average players. But even if this Link is the Hero of Time that failed to defeat Ganon, that's not any more important than the same Link being in Zelda I and II for the average player. In this scenario, yeah, there will be references to OoT, but the game would still be built for a person who had never heard of Zelda to pick it up and more or less get this game's story.

But just because the average player doesn't care, doesn't mean that the creators of the games don't care. It's not a suitable reason to brush over a timeline convergence wreaking havoc on the timeline itself. It would provide an ending point to three timelines and restrict them from putting a game in that timeline as they wanted if it doesn't line up between OoT and a theoretical end in BotW.

Where was this hinted at? During the beginning of BotW, it has been revealed that Link has been asleep for exactly 100 years. If that is the case, it would have to be the failed timeline. I have doubts that he would have hinted at such a big detail, though.

http://kotaku.com/fans-are-already-trying-to-place-breath-of-the-wild-on-1782089318

At a group Q&A with reporters on Sunday, Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma was asked where the game fit into the franchise timeline. Aonuma said he didn’t want to say much about the story at the moment but said he’d stare a hint. He noted that that the t-shirt he was wearing showed the symbol for the Sheikah stones and that it was the same one from The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. (In Breath of the Wild, the reawakened Link uses a high-tech item called the “Sheikah slate”). Aonuma also reminded people that, at the start of this game, Link is told he’s been asleep for 100 years. “He teased: “You can decide what this means.”

It seems weird for him to reference OoT when that game is hardly the only Zelda with Sheikah imagery.

Thanks for the reply and apologies this took so long. How rude of me. I've been following this topic a bit, and I still am sticking w/ what we discussed, even though things like Koroks make me wonder.

My biggest question if this is 100 years post-OoT: How did the Statue of the Goddess get in the Temple of Time? Where was it between SS and Botw? Last we saw it had fallen outside the Temple of Hylia. Are we to believe that is a precurser to the Temple of Time?

Honestly, the Hylia stuff is hard to place. Most theories would place the games after OoT, but Hylia is barely ever mentioned or alluded to in the games farther down along the timeline. As such, we have seemingly conflicting information as to the placement of the game. Hylia's statue would indicate a placement closer to Skyward Sword. The Temple of Time and other references would indicate a placement after Ocarina of Time.

Regarding the statue in BotW, I do believe it is much smaller than the one we see in SS, so it's possibly just a replica, not necessarily the same one.

 

[sinxtanx]

But Old Man said this is where Hyrule was founded.

yeah, this Hyrule

The end of WW leads directly into Spirit Tracks, however, where the Hero of Winds and Zelda/Tetra find a new continent and dub it New Hyrule. So then you have to wonder, why would they bother leaving this place? King Daphnes explicitly told them that the old Hyrule was not their land. He told them to go out and find a place on their own. There's also the problem of the Master Sword last being seen in the head of Ganondorf.

You don't have to wonder. 5000 years later, they just did. And "they" were dead so it wasn't even them.

/playing along with my own funpost


There are HUNDREDS of solutions to this non-problem of where the game is on the timeline. I think it's more fun to think up multiple solutions rather than trying your hardest to get disproven on launch anyway.


and now for my third theory


this is the Sonic Lost World DLC timeline
-cooking is a reference to chili dogs
-Link can dash; gotta go fast
-rune powers are color coded just like powerups from Sonic Lost World
-the level in Sonic Lost World is on a plateau
-SS Link appears in the DLC and the goddess statue from SS is in BotW
-Guardians were built by Robotnik
.physics engine from Sonic 2006
-map has zones - need I say more?

 

[Efejota]

True, he was killed before but OoT made it a point that this dragon was somehow special and it ties well the knot of the Goron population being nil in Hyrule post OoT in that timeline.
Happy accident or simple coincidence, it ties this particular issue well even though I'm fairly sure it's only because they never really got around showing Gorons in the games after OoT in that timeline.
Heck they could have died out for any number of reasons BUT Volvogia Goron eater finishing them off is more elegant if you ask me

I know it's not Hyrule, but there were Gorons in Oracle of Ages.

 

[MajorMane]

You don't have to wonder. 5000 years later, they just did. And "they" were dead so it wasn't even them.

/playing along with my own funpost


There are HUNDREDS of solutions to this non-problem of where the game is on the timeline. I think it's more fun to think up multiple solutions rather than trying your hardest to get disproven on launch anyway.

Hey, for the record, I've changed my theories several times since we first saw the E3 footage, haha. My initial one was a post-WW theory. I'm now in the Fallen Hero timeline. But I've considered post Zelda II, post TP, post SS pre-OoT... the list goes on.

It is fun to come up with all the solutions, but I'm also the type of person that will gravitate to the solution that definitely has more "evidence" or "argumentative strength" behind it.

 

[Fourth Storm]

Honestly, the Hylia stuff is hard to place. Most theories would place the games after OoT, but Hylia is barely ever mentioned or alluded to in the games farther down along the timeline. As such, we have seemingly conflicting information as to the placement of the game. Hylia's statue would indicate a placement closer to Skyward Sword. The Temple of Time and other references would indicate a placement after Ocarina of Time.

Regarding the statue in BotW, I do believe it is much smaller than the one we see in SS, so it's possibly just a replica, not necessarily the same one.

I just looked at some pictures, and you're right. It can't be the same statue. So I dunno, maybe the Hyrulians rediscovered their religion after the devastation brought on by Calamity Ganon. Maybe the Sheikah put it there after living underground for centuries.

 

[khaaan]

Remember how Ocarina time travel works. The person sent back in time replaces their duplicate in the past. So Link wouldn't encounter a duplicate of this person and this person would still exist after the 7 years. Best bet would be Rauru since he's the one that puts Link in stasis.

YES. That's what I've been saying!

Another theory pulled out of my butt is Nintendo introducing a Wheel of Time-esque twist. I mean it's already sort of established in Skyward Sword and we see it all the time in a lot of the games. Age of peace, Ganon resurrected, Hero rises, Ganon defeated, age of peace...

What if the Sheikah, as mysterious as they are, have the ability to see these threads being woven. Not with a clear picture, but they can sense changes to the pattern. What if a kink in one thread impacts another? What if a knot created a long time ago suddenly begins to unravel? If we're going to accept things like LoRule and Termina existing and impacted by Link, what's stopping this game from pulling some hardcore timeline shenanigans?

 

[Enduin]

Oh, for sure the timeline doesn't matter to some average players. But even if this Link is the Hero of Time that failed to defeat Ganon, that's not any more important than the same Link being in Zelda I and II for the average player. In this scenario, yeah, there will be references to OoT, but the game would still be built for a person who had never heard of Zelda to pick it up and more or less get this game's story.

But just because the average player doesn't care, doesn't mean that the creators of the games don't care. It's not a suitable reason to brush over a timeline convergence wreaking havoc on the timeline itself. It would provide an ending point to three timelines and restrict them from putting a game in that timeline as they wanted if it doesn't line up between OoT and a theoretical end in BotW.

The timeline doesn't matter to the majority of players, as it has never been an integral feature in any game. It's surface level stuff. "Ohh WW is a sequel to OoT, that's kind of cool." And that's about the long and short of their connection as far as the game's plot is concerned. This is my problem with the timeline itself post SS/Hyrule Historia. Before there was a lot of uncertainty. We knew the general progression of the games, but it was still uncertain. Some fans though ALttP/LoZ/AoL came after TP, some after WW/ST. Some thought it was a three part timeline, but ALttP/LoZ/AoL broke off before OoT, not after. Some though the split after OoT converged at somepoint which then lead to ALttP/LoZ/AoL in the new single timeline. Some even thought ALttP and LoZ/AoL were on opposite timelines. It was confusing and fun to read all the theories and ideas of how exactly it all fit together.

Then HH came out and solidified the whole thing. Which in some ways was good and in other ways not so much. Affixing the timeline to one definitive path, at least as far as the players were concerned, and trying too hard to adhere to the timeline and more specifically to complete it and fill in the gaps restricts what you can do with the series already without some possible convergence point possibly confusing things further. The timeline is a nice big picture guide for the creators and some players to see how everything connects broad stroke wise. Placing in references to past or future games, playing what if scenarios for fun, but it also pre-defines what you can and cannot do to a certain degree if you let it.

I don't particularly believe this is a converging of the timeline, but such a story could be a really interesting one, taking on lots of different elements from past games throughout the series and utilizing them all in one game. It could make for a lot of interesting set pieces and moments in the game. Which should all take precedent over the sanctity and preservation of the timeline.

This is a series based around fairy tales, myths and legends, which are often by nature contradictory and inaccurate. That's part of the beauty of them. They aren't rigidly bound to what actually happened or making total sense within the confines of the world they are supposed to take place in. Which is what I want the series to continue to do and possibly do more of in the future. Not attempt to weave a tighter and tighter grand narrative outside of the games that matches up perfectly. Which is why the idea that this game has to explain the inconsistencies between OoT and ALttP is annoying to me. It's fine that the events of OoT don't explain the Imprisoning War and don't perfectly lead up to the events of ALttP. Being neat and accurate is not important. Making fun and engaging games is, and if they happen to mesh well with the events of other games all the better.

They can easily continue to map out a general timeline of events and say this game connects with this game and leads to this game if they converge with BotW. They can pull a Warp in the West and acknowledge all timelines as accurate and having occurred. Having BotW converge the timelines doesn't really affect that ability at all. The timeline is already so vague about when anything occurred they can practically stick a game anywhere if they really wanted to, bar some direct sequels. The series doesn't use dates of any kind and as far as I can recall BotW is the first game to actually reference any set passage of time within in the game itself.

 

[oti]

Rewatched Gametrailer's Zelda Timeline because of this thread. Those videos are still amazing.

 

[zeldablue]

Screw it.

I think this is a new timeline. One where the Sheikah have time traveling technological abilities and are forcing a new timeline where Link wins instead of loses.

They're close to Hylia...and I'm seeing Hylia stuff everywhere. Hylia used Time crystals and is very much related to time travel devices. Old Man says the Sheikah saved Hyrule a bunch. However...the Sheikah should be dead by the time OoT starts...right? Let me reiterate...the tribe was wiped out by the time Ocarina of Time started. In Twilight Princess they reiterate this fact. The Sheikah are suppose to be dead by the time Ocarina of Time starts. !!!

This has to be another new timeline involving the Sheikah manipulating time. I'm calling it now.

 

[Feffe]

I'm going to have to disagree with this. Each Zelda game is designed with a place in the timeline where it fits and has a reason for existing. I know RagnarokX pretty much laid out how each game fits and why it was made out in another post. Just for example, Skyward Sword serves as an overall prequel to the series and also the origin of the Master Sword. Ocarina of Time expands on events told in Link to the Past, as well as the origin of Ganondorf. So the timeline matters.

To be honest it really depends on the game. You can arguably play most Zeldas without knowing their place in the overall timeline: yes, ALBW takes place after ALTTP, and so do LA and the Oracles, but if you play ALBW/LA/OoX not knowing this you lose nothing. The connection between the main games and the Four Sword saga is iffy at best and you can argue the timeline works better without them, with SS flowing directly into OoT. The only games whose timeline place is really important are Wind Waker and, to a lesser extect, the other 3D games and the DS ones.

 

[MajorMane]

The timeline doesn't matter to the majority of players, as it has never been an integral feature in any game. It's surface level stuff. "Ohh WW is a sequel to OoT, that's kind of cool." And that's about the long and short of their connection as far as the game's plot is concerned. This is my problem with the timeline itself post SS/Hyrule Historia. Before there was a lot of uncertainty. We knew the general progression of the games, but it was still uncertain. Some fans though ALttP/LoZ/AoL came after TP, some after WW/ST. Some thought it was a three part timeline, but ALttP/LoZ/AoL broke off before OoT, not after. Some though the split after OoT converged at somepoint which then lead to ALttP/LoZ/AoL in the new single timeline. Some even thought ALttP and LoZ/AoL were on opposite timelines. It was confusing and fun to read all the theories and ideas of how exactly it all fit together.

Then HH came out and solidified the whole thing. Which in some ways was good and in other ways not so much. Affixing the timeline to one definitive path, at least as far as the players were concerned, and trying too hard to adhere to the timeline and more specifically to complete it and fill in the gaps restricts what you can do with the series already without some possible convergence point possibly confusing things further. The timeline is a nice big picture guide for the creators and some players to see how everything connects broad stroke wise. Placing in references to past or future games, playing what if scenarios for fun, but it also pre-defines what you can and cannot do to a certain degree if you let it.

I don't particularly believe this is a converging of the timeline, but such a story could be a really interesting one, taking on lots of different elements from past games throughout the series and utilizing them all in one game. It could make for a lot of interesting set pieces and moments in the game. Which should all take precedent over the sanctity and preservation of the timeline.

This is a series based around fairy tales, myths and legends, which are often by nature contradictory and inaccurate. That's part of the beauty of them. They aren't rigidly bound to what actually happened or making total sense within the confines of the world they are supposed to take place in. Which is what I want the series to continue to do and possibly do more of in the future. Not attempt to weave a tighter and tighter grand narrative outside of the games that matches up perfectly. Which is why the idea that this game has to explain the inconsistencies between OoT and ALttP is annoying to me. It's fine that the events of OoT don't explain the Imprisoning War and don't perfectly lead up to the events of ALttP. Being neat and accurate is not important. Making fun and engaging games is, and if they happen to mesh well with the events of other games all the better.

They can easily continue to map out a general timeline of events and say this game connects with this game and leads to this game if they converge with BotW. They can pull a Warp in the West and acknowledge all timelines as accurate and having occurred. Having BotW converge the timelines doesn't really affect that ability at all. The timeline is already so vague about when anything occurred they can practically stick a game anywhere if they really wanted to, bar some direct sequels. The series doesn't use dates of any kind and as far as I can recall BotW is the first game to actually reference any set passage of time within in the game itself.

I definitely understand the point you're making and I definitely agree with what I bolded. Like it or not, I believe that the creators behind Zelda are beholding themselves to the timeline now. That might not have always been the case, but I do believe in this era of people wanting things to be connected, they keep it in mind. For better or for worse.

Screw it.

I think this is a new timeline. One where the Sheikah have time traveling technological abilities and are forcing a new timeline where Link wins instead of loses.

They're close to Hylia...and I'm seeing Hylia stuff everywhere. Hylia used Time crystals and is very much related to time travel devices. Old Man says the Sheikah saved Hyrule a bunch. However...the Sheikah should be dead by the time OoT starts...right? Let me reiterate...the tribe was wiped out by the time Ocarina of Time started. In Twilight Princess they reiterate this fact. The Sheikah are suppose to be dead by the time Ocarina of Time starts. !!!

This has to be another new timeline involving the Sheikah manipulating time. I'm calling it now.

This is technically feasible, haha, but I hope it's not if only because of another timeline. Which, I guess, Aonuma could just say "screw it" and say each one exists in its own bubble, but his past actions and words wouldn't support this.

The Sheikah are definitely at play regarding the Hylia references (the monks in the temple mention her, so it's likely they are behind the Statue of the Goddess in the Temple of Time.) Technically they're not dead by the time of OoT as Impa exists still at that point. We don't see them ever, so maybe these monks were sealed away long before OoT and lie in waiting, explaining their absence in OoT. We just don't have enough information to shore up inconsistencies in any theories right now and point us to the right path.

To be honest it really depends on the game. You can arguably play most Zeldas without knowing their place in the overall timeline: yes, ALBW takes place after ALTTP, and so do LA and the Oracles, but if you play ALBW/LA/OoX not knowing this you lose nothing. The connection between the main games and the Four Sword saga is iffy at best and you can argue the timeline works better without them, with SS flowing directly into OoT. The only games whose timeline place is really important are Wind Waker and, to a lesser extect, the other 3D games and the DS ones.

For sure this is true. My point is more of that the creators of the game care more about the timeline than the average player. (Anyone discussing the Zelda Timeline is by default, not an average player.)

They set out to make a good game and along the way be sure to find its place in the timeline, at least with their recent games. They definitely weren't thinking this way with their older games, but ever since Aonuma has had influence over these games (since OoT), that feeling has been there.

 

[Big One]

BotW can't be before TP and the Temple of Time is in a much worse state of decay in TP than it is in BotW.

The game likely takes place in the Downfall Timeline immediately following OoT long before ALttP. The Temple of Time is there and not that badly ruined. The last known whereabouts of the Master Sword would have been in Link's battle with Ganon, where it likely got damaged when Link was defeated. It was taken some place for safe keeping.

Aonuma hinted pretty strongly the game is 100 years after OoT.

I was speaking relative to the last time we properly see the Master Sword, but I DO think a Pre ALttP placement is possible, though that means the timespan between OoT and ALttP is much larger than we thought.

 

[Marlowe89]

There's also the muddling of when Wind Waker exactly takes place after OoT. Aonuma has gone on on record saying "100 years" (which could be a mistranslation), but later with Twilight Princess, he says something along the lines that TP is parallel to WW and takes place a couple hundred years later (initially mistranslated as 100 years.)

There's the one TP interview where Aonuma specifically says "hyaku suu nen" (which when properly translated means "a few hundred years") otherwise in most of Aonuma's interviews he uses the much more ambiguous Japanese word for "century" instead which doesn't distinguish between singular and plural. This caused several sources to translate it differently; some going with exactly 100 years and others opting for hundreds instead.

But as I've noted before, I highly doubt that Nintendo devs have a specific amount of years in mind when they decide on the timeline placement for Zelda games - it's almost always invariably just "a very long time after The Legend of Zelda: X" which is why Aonuma usually uses an ambiguous placeholder term for "century" in his interviews. That being said, TWW and TP are obviously several centuries after OoT as opposed to just one (this is verified in TWW's dialogue and in Hyrule Historia) although I'd still like to think that BotW is somehow intended to be parallel to those games.

 

[zeldablue]

There is a tombstone on Windfall that says "813"

which is the only time ever in a Zelda game a year is given. But yes, for ALttP, TP and TWW they all take place centuries after OoT. There's no way you can forget an entire kingdom in only 100 years. Link's Grandma would remember the flood...and Link's Grandma's parents would've been alive during OoT if that were the case.

They mention generations going by. It has to be more than one hundred years.

yeah, this Hyrule

It haaaaaaaaaaaas to be Ocarina of Time's Temple of Time. Just look at this.

 

[SweetDonuts]

It haaaaaaaaaaaas to be Ocarina of Time's Temple of Time. Just look at this.

Hoping we get to see Castle Town before it was ruined. It must look beautiful, and actually grand this time.

 

[otakukidd]

It would be cool to see how the fallen hero timeline got started. Like what would cause there to be a timeline split there in the first place. Something like ganon going back in time from either the adult timeline or the child to stop his demise would be a pretty cool story.

 

[gafneo]

Nice OP!

I will repost what I found in other thread too.

Source: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=207149459&

That's a pig snout, not a helmet.

 

[MajorMane]

It haaaaaaaaaaaas to be Ocarina of Time's Temple of Time. Just look at this.

That's pretty cool. I'm not sure if maybe they removed buildings there from the demo, but it'd be nice to see Castle Town in some way or form...

Hoping we get to see Castle Town before it was ruined. It must look beautiful, and actually grand this time.

... but it'll likely be destroyed in most fashion. Calamity Ganon sounds like he just caused so much damage.

It would be cool to see how the fallen hero timeline got started. Like what would cause there to be a timeline split there in the first place. Something like ganon going back in time from either the adult timeline or the child to stop his demise would be a pretty cool story.

Aonuma caused that timeline split, haha. But really, it's as simple as saying that in that timeline, the Hero of Time failed. Technically, there could be many different timelines, we just only have games in three of them (+ unified timeline pre-OoT).

 

[gafneo]

This game takes place during TP. It is a crack in time. The Deku transformed the Kakuri into mini deku creatures in a devastating time without there being a flood. It's as if WW never took place.

 

[Marlowe89]

It haaaaaaaaaaaas to be Ocarina of Time's Temple of Time. Just look at this.

Whoa, nice catch.

But it also implies that BotW's Hyrule Castle is a different one from OoT's Hyrule Castle, and if that's true I wouldn't be surprised if this game occurred more than just one hundred years after OoT which means that the Link in this game might be an entirely new Link after all.

 

[Fourth Storm]

This game takes place during TP. It is a crack in time. The Deku transformed the Kakuri into mini deku creatures in a devastating time without there being a flood. It's as if WW never took place.

Apparently, the Koroks are the true form of the Kokiri, and what Kokiri transform back into when they are outside the forest. It needn't be a flood event that sparks the change in morphology.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

Whoa, nice catch.

But it also implies that BotW's Hyrule Castle is a different one from OoT's Hyrule Castle, and if that's true I wouldn't be surprised if this game occurred more than just one hundred years after OoT which means that the Link in this game might be an entirely new Link after all.

The castle calamity ganon is trapped in BotW looks VERY similar to Twilight Princess and WW Hyrule castle.
That would explain why the Ocarina of Time Hyrule Castle was so different to those two.
They were never the same or in the same place.

Im going to latch to the theory of the Great Plateau being Ocarina of Time's central field and castle town.

 

[wrowa]

Although Death Mountain should be behind the Temple of Time...Sigh.

You really can't put importance into details like that, since Nintendo doesn't care about continuity once it affects their game design.

Like, in this case they want to show the player the great vista of Hyrule once they leave the cave for the first time. You see a forest in front of you and Hyrule Castle and Death Mountain as striking points of interest on the horizon: You're supposed to feel curious, feel the urge to go there. It sets the tone for the game.

However, you can't go there yet. It's the carrot on a stick. Instead the camera will pan over to your right immediately afterwards, showing you the ruins of the Temple of Time - the first thing in your immediate surroundings that is supposed to catch your interest, that is there for you to explore.

Would the Death Mountain be behind the Temple of Time, this sequence of events wouldn't work. So, even if it's set after Ocarina of Time in the timeline, the positoning of the ToT/DM wouldn't speak for or against it, since actual game design > timeline/geographical continuity.

 

[Inquisitive_Ghost]

Although Death Mountain should be behind the Temple of Time...Sigh.

Plate tectonics are a free action in Zelda games.

 

[BowieZ]

I'm going with the theory that the Sheikah had been in hibernation in magical shrines since before Ocarina of Time, and finally emerged after the Great Flood subsided, reclaiming the original Hyrule, which is of course much higher ground because it was magically sealed underwater for so long, while the rest of the lands were eroded by the great ocean over time to a much deeper degree.

The Sheikah then removed the rusty Master Sword from the head of the stone Ganon and placed it in a special sacred wild glen to recover as quickly as possible; meanwhile they built a new advanced Hyrule Castle (ruled by King Daphnes, who had survived for centuries in boat form, and probably his descendants), and devised guardian robots and other technologies to protect the land. A new Link and Zelda live happily in this era, and Link is known to have an exceptional affinity with the wilderness.

Ganon's spirit then escaped his stone body becoming Calamity Ganon (most likely aided by someone), corrupting some of the guardian technology into evil forces, and resulting in a great battle. The Sheikah knew that the Link of this era was the fated Hero of the Wild and could wield the Master Sword but Fi had not yet recovered enough strength, so with the power of the gods the Sheikah resorted to temporarily sealing Calamity Ganon in the Castle, while placing Link and Zelda into hibernation, hoping against hope that the sword would eventually recover enough by the time the seal faded. Many Hylian villagers fled the region, while the Sheikah returned to their shrines awaiting their opportunity to enlighten the resurrected Hero of the Wild.

Zelda's place of stasis was the Castle itself, and now, a century later, she is awakened by the evil sounds of Calamity Ganon, and is calling to Link...

 

[Lord_Byron28]

They set out to make a good game and along the way be sure to find its place in the timeline, at least with their recent games. They definitely weren't thinking this way with their older games, but ever since Aonuma has had influence over these games (since OoT), that feeling has been there.

I wouldn't solely place the blame on Aonuma. Zelda 2 was obviously a sequel to the original Zelda. ALttP was advertised and sold as a prequel to Zelda 1 and 2. LA was a sequel to ALTTP. OoT was a prequel to ALTTP. It all made sense and gelled together fine. After Aonuma took over, I think he was interested in the Zelda timeline and went with the split timeline. There was a certain portion of fans when OoT released that were really confused and angry about OoT not matching up with the backstory established in ALttP and used that to discredit the timeline. Then WW released and there was a lot of confusion as to how WW and ALTTP were both sequels to OoT. After all of those Capcom Zelda titles released, people didn't take the timeline seriously. However, around the time of TP Aonuma confirmed the split timeline theory and was adamant that there was a master timeline. Leading up to SS they finally released it. The one big missing piece being the Fallen Link timeline. I'd say Aonuma has always been more interested and concerned about the overall Zelda franchise storyline, while Miyamoto was never concerned nor wanted to discuss it much. Now that Miyamoto is no longer directly supervising Zelda we may see a slight change.

 

[MisterHero]

There is a tombstone on Windfall that says "813"

which is the only time ever in a Zelda game a year is given. But yes, for ALttP, TP and TWW they all take place centuries after OoT. There's no way you can forget an entire kingdom in only 100 years. Link's Grandma would remember the flood...and Link's Grandma's parents would've been alive during OoT if that were the case.

They mention generations going by. It has to be more than one hundred years.



It haaaaaaaaaaaas to be Ocarina of Time's Temple of Time. Just look at this.

AaaaaaAahhhhhhhhhhh I'm crazy for Hyrulian archaeology! It's always awesome to see OoT landmarks in other games. However it's usually spoiled by differing artstyles, or weird map orientations.

For example, the Temple of Time is the same one in Skyward, Ocarina, and Twilight Princess. SS and TP are consistent with each other, but are southeast whereas Castle Town was in the North.

If that is indeed the old Castle Town, they are playing layout shenanigans again because the relative locations are 90 degrees turned clockwise. This is most vexing!

 

[MajorMane]

I wouldn't solely place the blame on Aonuma. Zelda 2 was obviously a sequel to the original Zelda. ALttP was advertised and sold as a prequel to Zelda 1 and 2. LA was a sequel to ALTTP. OoT was a prequel to ALTTP. It all made sense and gelled together fine. There was a certain portion of fans when OoT released that were really confused and angry about OoT not matching up with the backstory established in ALttP and used that to discredit the timeline. Then WW released and there was a lot of confusion as to how WW and ALTTP were both sequels to OoT. After all of those Capcom Zelda titles released, people didn't take the timeline seriously. However, around the time of TP Aonuma confirmed the split timeline theory and was adamant that there was a master timeline. Leading up to SS they finally released it. The one big missing piece being the Fallen Link timeline. I'd say Aonuma has always been more interested and concerned about the overall Zelda franchise storyline, while Miyamoto was never concerned nor wanted to discuss it much. Now that Miyamoto is no longer directly supervising Zelda we may see a slight change.

This for sure. And to be clear, I'm not blaming Aonuma for anything (or necessarily giving credit for?). Personally I like the timeline and connecting the games.

My point is that there's more focus on that overall storyline now than there was before. Even with the direct sequels.

 

[Glix]

Super Link Prime punched the walls of reality

I'd buy this but Link isn't the biggest most annoying crybaby in the whole universe.

 

[RagnarokX]

So I found this nice map of OoT and decided to overlay it with the Great Plateau map using the Temple of Time as a scale and orientation base:

So it looks like the Eastern Abby is where Hyrule Castle was.

My problem with this time table is that the master sword, and the general state of Hylia, seems to have been left to the elements for a millennia not a measly hundred years.

The Master Sword looks like it's been damaged in battle and left in the elements. The Temple of Time looks much less damaged than the Twilight Princess version and TP was only about 100 years, too.

I wouldn't solely place the blame on Aonuma. Zelda 2 was obviously a sequel to the original Zelda. ALttP was advertised and sold as a prequel to Zelda 1 and 2. LA was a sequel to ALTTP. OoT was a prequel to ALTTP. It all made sense and gelled together fine. After Aonuma took over, I think he was interested in the Zelda timeline and went with the split timeline. There was a certain portion of fans when OoT released that were really confused and angry about OoT not matching up with the backstory established in ALttP and used that to discredit the timeline. Then WW released and there was a lot of confusion as to how WW and ALTTP were both sequels to OoT. After all of those Capcom Zelda titles released, people didn't take the timeline seriously. However, around the time of TP Aonuma confirmed the split timeline theory and was adamant that there was a master timeline. Leading up to SS they finally released it. The one big missing piece being the Fallen Link timeline. I'd say Aonuma has always been more interested and concerned about the overall Zelda franchise storyline, while Miyamoto was never concerned nor wanted to discuss it much. Now that Miyamoto is no longer directly supervising Zelda we may see a slight change.

This is inaccurate.

Nintendo started building the idea of the split timeline prior to OoT by intentionally putting details into OoT that set it up. The most important detail being that young Link has the triforce of courage in his hand when he meets Zelda for the first time again at the very end of OoT. Young Link is never depicted having the triforce anywhere else in the game, so this is a very subtle detail that sets up huge ideas.

In the build up to the release of The Wind Waker Miyamoto and Aonuma were asked where in the timeline that Wind Waker takes place. Aonuma answered "100 years after OoT." and then Miyamoto corrected him and asked which timeline the 100 years is after.

http://www.zeldalegends.net/index.php?p=233

Q: Where does The Wind Waker fit into the overall Zelda series timeline?

Aonuma: You can think of this game as taking place over a hundred years after Ocarina of Time. You can tell this from the opening story, and there are references to things from Ocarina located throughout the game as well.
Miyamoto: Well, wait, which point does the hundred years start from?
Aonuma: From the end.
Miyamoto: No, I mean, as a child or as a...
Aonuma: Oh, right, let me elaborate on that. Ocarina of Time basically has two endings of sorts; one has Link as a child and the other has him as an adult. This game, The Wind Waker, takes place a hundred years after the adult Link defeats Ganon at the end of Ocarina.
Miyamoto: This is pretty confusing for us, too. (laughs) So be careful.

We don't know exactly where for certain that Nintendo decided to abandon the idea that OoT was the Imprisoning War, but I think it was some time before Wind Waker.

Interestingly, Miyamoto originally wanted Zelda to be in a scifi setting where Link collected computer chips. That's why his name is Link. The computer chips became the pieces of the triforce. Now here we are with every new Zelda game getting closer and closer to Miyamoto's original idea.

 

[sphinx]

just stumbled across this video that explains their theory about time placement of the game,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEk8RcXhr6g

it basically says that this link is the hero that did not appear during the war explained in the wind waker intro, they call him the "hero of the flood". He was put to sleep for 100 years cause for some reason he didn't have the necessary attributes to face evil.

then wnd waker happened.... then Koroks planted seeds and now is all green.

does this make any sense?

 

[Astral Dog]

I'm going to have to disagree with this. Each Zelda game is designed with a place in the timeline where it fits and has a reason for existing. I know RagnarokX pretty much laid out how each game fits and why it was made out in another post. Just for example, Skyward Sword serves as an overall prequel to the series and also the origin of the Master Sword. Ocarina of Time expands on events told in Link to the Past, as well as the origin of Ganondorf. So the timeline matters.

Hell, Aonuma technically confirms that the timeline is important to the games while in a talk about Skyward Sword prior to its release:



So, with that all in mind, the timeline does make sense, particularly whenever Aonuma is involved as he seems to take his time to make those references and connections.

Breath of the Wild exists 100 years after OoT in the Fallen Hero timeline to explain the existence of said timeline which no one ever even brought up until it was revealed in Hyrule Historia, which in turn had Aonuma as the Chief Editor. It is the parallel to Wind Waker and Twilight Princess.

Is that confirned? Why do you speak as if it was

 

[buru5]

I don't think it comes as a surprise to anyone that a Zelda game has many elements from previous Zelda games present. But, besides that, I think it takes place sometime after Twilight Princess or Four Swords.

 

[Astral Dog]

just stumbled across this video that explains their theory about time placement of the game,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEk8RcXhr6g

it basically says that this link is the hero that did not appear during the war explained in the wind waker intro, they call him the "hero of the flood". He was put to sleep for 100 years cause for some reason he didn't have the necessary attributes to face evil.

then wnd waker happened.... then Koroks planted seeds and now is all green.

does this make any sense?

Not at all

 

[MajorMane]

just stumbled across this video that explains their theory about time placement of the game,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEk8RcXhr6g

it basically says that this link is the hero that did not appear during the war explained in the wind waker intro, they call him the "hero of the flood". He was put to sleep for 100 years cause for some reason he didn't have the necessary attributes to face evil.

then wnd waker happened.... then Koroks planted seeds and now is all green.

does this make any sense?

It would make sense except for the massive amount of content that occurs in the 100 years he'd be asleep. Like, Wind Waker, Spirit Tracks, Phantom Hourglass, drain the ocean, etc. etc. So, no, it doesn't work.

Is that confirned? Why do you speak as if it was

Sorry, no. Just me being more confident about that Fallen Hero timeline theory. (Usually I'll preface with "my theory" or whatever, but not this time for whatever reason, haha.)

----------------------------------------------

Here's another video that suggests another timeline split, but this one would happen at the end of WW where Ganondorf would get his wish to have Hyrule restored: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWi0RJVHcZ0

 

[stoff]

What I would like the most is that it's taking place in Wind Waker's Adult Timeline.
Simply because I think it would be the best for the game. The thing about the Great Sea was that Hyrule's former peaks, were the last remnants of that country and consequentially settled by all the different surviving tribes. And BotW seems so focussed on making Link scale mountains in order to discover stuff atop, it would be such a missed opportunity for him not to encounter the old Shrines, Dungeons, Settlements and other remnants of these people there. A land still bearing the scars of a giant flood screams to have every nook and cranny explored.

If we really have to go with another Timeline I'd hope they at least do something about the Downfall Timeline and create a better explanantion of why it even exists, than the "What if?"-cop-out we have currently.

 

[The Hermit]

Don't you guys get it? The Old Man isn't the King of Red Lions. 100 years. Link has been asleep for 100 years. Look how old that guy is he''s pretty old. And Link picked up hang-gliding pretty quickly.

The Old Man is obviously Old Link

I like this theory

a LOT!

Another Link from another timeline

 

[MisterHero]

So I found this nice map of OoT and decided to overlay it with the Great Plateau map using the Temple of Time as a scale and orientation base:

So it looks like the Eastern Abby is where Hyrule Castle was.

Yes, but why is OoT's North suddenly East? Did the whole continent turn around???

WHYYYYYYYYYYY

 

[MajorMane]

Yes, but why is OoT's North suddenly East? Did the whole continent turn around???

WHYYYYYYYYYYY

A lot of shit goes down when Calamity Ganon comes to town.

North becomes East.

Forest children become actual trees.

Left-handed people become right-handed.

So on and so forth.

 

[RobotMoses]

A lot of shit goes down when Calamity Ganon comes to town.

North becomes East.

Forest children become actual trees.

Left-handed people become right-handed.

So on and so forth.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Mahjong.

 

[Big Nikus]

it basically says that this link is the hero that did not appear during the war explained in the wind waker intro, they call him the "hero of the flood". He was put to sleep for 100 years cause for some reason he didn't have the necessary attributes to face evil.

...the necessary attributes ?
Oh boy, imagine the awful twist: The hero of the flood was actually a woman, and couldn't defeat evil. So the sages put her in stasis for a hundred years to equip her with the "necessary attributes".

 

[The Boat]

Plate tectonics are a free action in Zelda games.

I believe the official term is open air.

 

[BowieZ]

I see a lot of people assuming that this takes place 100 years after OOT but where is that confirmed? All we know is that there was some sort of battle at some recent juncture, Ganon was sealed in a castle, and Link has been asleep for 100 years, right?

 

[Inquisitive_Ghost]

I believe the official term is open air.

I don't see how this relates to a joke about Hyrule's constantly changing geography.