I still think that this Link is the Hero of Time from the Non-TP-timeline (where he is presumably the Hero's Shade/Spirit), and that this game is somehow connected to WW. Link being kept in some sort of stasis by the Sheikah could definitely be a reason why "the Hero did not return" in WW's pre-story.
Also, while there have been of course several Hero of "Whatever", i think that the Hero of Time is one of the most important ones, seeing as he was basically tailored to become the hero in OoT from the beginning instead of becoming the hero during the adventure, like it was in WW and TP.
First thought was that it's a sequel to WW with Hyrule freed from the ocean, but the Master Sword being in it's resting stone and Ganon being held "prisoner" in what looks like to be Hyrule Castle somehow break this thought.
Of course, Ganon looking like a Demon Spirit could mean that he has no body (see end of WW and what happens with him) but then either removed the sword to put it back into it's resting place or someone made the stone out of ... well you know, can't see that.
Is there a direct feed video of the whole demo with all the story bits/old man dialogues/sequences?
I found long direct feed exploration videos from Polygon and Gamexplain, but I think they are from a different Demo with all the story stuff removed and they also start in the forest and not in the cave.
I love these kind of threads because I am pretty sure nobody over at Nintendo is nearly making the same efforts in coming up with a away how to fit a new Zelda game into the timelines. I think they kinda just try to squeeze it in when the game is almost done.
Love the Wind Waker idea with the Koroks creating the new land though.
I think it takes places after Wind Waker, too many clues to that to ignore. Money > timeline consistency, so Wolf Link is just there as a bonus.
There are similarities to Twilight Princess and aLttP, which makes sense. They are different timelines but that does not mean everything is different; geology and build styles would be similar.
The translated Hylian suggests Link is in a 'care unit'. My theory would be that Link was injured during his last battle with Ganon and placed in this capsule to heal. Ganon was not completely vanished and his lingering spirit caused the world to decay. Now Link is healed and Ganon tries to restore his full power and thus he needs to wake up.
Edit: the resurrection of Hyrule is happening during the events of Spirit Tracks, that means that for a time Hyrule is without it's hero and Zelda as the wielder of the Triforce of Wisdom.
As for the floating sky thing, it does look a lot like Skyloft. It makes sense the tech is in Skyward Sword but not in OoT, you can argue that this is simply because of a changing style in Zelda games but you can also explain this using Skyward Sword: the tech was mostly in the desert area, far from the Temple of Time. So in OoT they did not have access to that tech. The civilization that had was far away. After the draining of the sea the Sheikah found the tech and used it to improve Hyrule.
I can't believe I am thinking about Zelda timelines again.
There is only one clue that connects this to WW: The Koroks, and it's not necessary that they are exclusive to Wind Waker's timeline.
Most of the clues connect the game to OoT and Skyward Sword and put the game much earlier in the timeline than later. OoT didn't have this technology because the Sheikah kept it underground.
If this ends up being a Timeline convergence event which will end up in a climactic rescue mission to save all versions of Hyrule, ending up with a new, reborn version with no more timeline shenanigans (for now), I'd be SO down for that.
Is there a direct feed video of the whole demo with all the story bits/old man dialogues/sequences?
I found long direct feed exploration videos from Polygon and Gamexplain, but I think they are from a different Demo with all the story stuff removed and they also start in the forest and not in the cave.
I don't know if it fits the discussion, but do we already have theories on what the Dark World/Time Travel/Wolf Link-"Gimmick" of this version might be? Have there been any hints or ideas stemming from quotes or stuff people saw in the demo?
I'm convinced it is a timeline convergence. Not only of the Zelda franchise, but also Donkey Kong.
We don't know what happens after Barrel Blast. If K. Rool does indeed become victorious, I can easily see Donkey Kong Island falling to despair. Perhaps Ganon is banished to the Kongo Jungle by accident, similar to how he was thrust into the Twilight Realm. Using the might of the Kremlings and fueled by the banana hoard, his goal is to invade Hyrule and conquer the realm. This results in items from DK Island (such as the vast abundance of fruit) coming to Hyrule for the first time.
Note that the red exploding barrels in BotW look suspiciously similar to the TNT barrels in Donkey Kong 64.
Plus the Shiekah have advanced technology when Zelda has traditionally been fairly low tech. We all know the residents of DK Island have advanced mining and rocket building techniques. Perhaps the Kongs allied with the Sheikah and sparked a technological exchange.
I really hope it's a sequel to Zelda 1 and 2. The world really gives me that vibe. It'd be awesome if this was that original Link again too, but visually it doesn't match up.
I think the Koroks and the salt indicate Wind Waker more than anything. Wind Waker also followed OoT, so the Temple of Time isn't really much of a clue. The Bridge could have also existed in WW, underwater.
Aonuma's quote about towns in BotW also seems... interesting...
He also wouldnt talk about towns. I can't share too much about villages because to tell you how the villages work, they're interconnected to the story and overall world.
It's possible that all towns are ghost towns with most people having disappeared. Someone somewhere suggested that the big castle is the last bastion before being consumed by evil/purply things. Maybe there are people there, and the whole place is under constant siege/panic. That would be really interesting.
I haven't read everything but if there was a timeline convergence then all of the locations, races, items, etc from other games could have been brought in when it happened. The placement in the timeline just needs to be in a place that could have had advanced technology.
I don't know if it fits the discussion, but do we already have theories on what the Dark World/Time Travel/Wolf Link-"Gimmick" of this version might be? Have there been any hints or ideas stemming from quotes or stuff people saw in the demo?
There is only one clue that connects this to WW: The Koroks, and it's not necessary that they are exclusive to Wind Waker's timeline.
Most of the clues connect the game to OoT and Skyward Sword and put the game much earlier in the timeline than later. OoT didn't have this technology because the Sheikah kept it underground.
Still the existence of the Master Sword, the Temple of Time, and Ganon really contradicts it being in the Adult Timeline. That's literally three major plotholes right there that would drive NIntendo nuts trying to cover if they were to ever fill that gap. Though I'm not opposed to the idea of a convergence (actually, makes things a lot smoother) I just don't see much evidence for it.
Regarding the Master Sword: At the end of WW, Link plunges the Master Sword into the head of Ganondorf, turning Ganondorf into stone. As King Daphnes has made his wish to wash away this land of Hyrule, after Ganondorf is defeated, the water finally starts to fill into what was the time-locked area of Hyrule Castle. I couldn't actually remember how this happened, so I watched the ending of the game again. There's no violent crashing of water. The water just sort of... takes the place of where the air was. No visible destruction noted, so we can assume that the Ganondorf statue with the Master Sword survived this. Now, we follow along the theory that Koroks were successful in their mission of draining the sea. People return to Hyrule and find the castle, as well as the sword. We know that in BotW, the sword is not found within the castle or even the Temple of Time, so it's likely it was moved... thus allowing for the return of Ganon himself.
Regarding the Temple of Time: First off, it's possible that it's just a replica of the Temple that we know from OoT. They're not perfectly identical and there's a statue of Hylia in BotW which never appeared in OoT. If you assume it's the same Temple, well, it's likely that it too was locked in stasis as Hyrule Castle was. Again, watching the ending of WW, we see that when the sea "washes away" Hyrule, it actually doesn't seem to be doing any damage. The structures are all still standing. Thus, it would still be around when the sea receded.
Regarding Ganon: As I alluded to with the Master Sword, I believe that when someone moved the sword, this allowed for Ganon to return. We've seen him resurrected and reincarnate across the timelines, so both seem like possible explanations. The Master Sword was simply stopping him from doing so before (hence why he doesn't appear in Phantom Tracks). Hell, it's possible that someone pulled the sword from the statue of Ganondorf and that's what lead to Calamity Ganon appearing, almost immediately. All of a sudden.
I was toying around with this idea. We know that there was a time period between OoT and before the floods where Ganon was trapped. He broke the seal suddenly and ravaged the land of Hyrule in his beast form, which we know Calamity Ganon appears to be. In WW, we learn that no Hero ever appeared to stop Ganon which led to the gods flooding Hyrule, resulting in the great sea of WW. Now, it's possible that there's the missing piece of a 100 year lapse in the story, but it's not likely. Of course, for this game to happen in that timeline, we know exactly how the story will end for Hyrule.
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I was also trying to see if the story could fit into a post Skyward Sword, pre-OoT era. There's a lot going in this period that we don't necessarily know about. It would explain the references to Hylia which seem rather absent from later series. It would give an explanation for a right-handed Link beyond just game design (which I feel is the most likely). It does feel almost like the least likely, however.
No it wasn't, the end of Wind Waker clearly shows the structures still standing even after Hyrule was flooded. It's entirely possible that the Koroks succeeded in draining old Hyrule, then sometime later (possibly over centuries) the Temple of Time is restored and descendants of the islanders comprise this Hyrule's civilization, then Ganon is resurrected/reincarnated and defeats this era's Link (who is later forced to go into stasis) and subsequently takes over the land, then a century passes and the events of BotW begin.
-New Hyrule was settled and people were enjoying an industrial revolution. Even if the Great Sea was drained, why would anyone go back to hicksville Hyrule?
Why are you assuming the people of New Hyrule went back to Old Hyrule? It's not like the Great Sea was devoid of inhabitants.
-The games getting the most references are OoT and Skyward Sword. The general geography is very OoT, the Temple of Time is straight out of OoT. Lots of references to Hylia and the pre-Skyward Sword technologically advance Sheikah civilization.
The small number of references to OoT and SS do not contradict this game occuring post-WW, since both OoT and SS precede that era anyway. Also, there is no full confirmation that the Sheikah are actually extinct by Wind Waker, especially since they're a race known for existing in obscurity.
How do you know he "straight up" died, and what's the issue with him being resurrected or reincarnated?
The Koroks and the Rock Salt item description combined is a pretty strong hint that this game occurs late in the Adult Timeline IMO, and I don't think your counterpoints necessarily contradict that notion.
One thing that would be cool is if the game takes place after WW and Link is basically Adult Link that was in a stasis chamber with his soul being in the Child timeline so the empty body of Adult Link is awakened someway after Hyrule has been flooded and back.
doesn't work for multiple reasons but still.
calamity ganon being the antagonist points to ganondorf being gone.
Could be post WW or failed timeline.
Can't be post TP because the Temple of time is entirely gone by the time of TP so that can't be it.
UNLESS they rebuilt the temple post TP... I need to finish my playthrough of TPHD...
But the Hylia statue is a big question mark, Hylia isn't revered post SS so...
There was a part in the Treehouse Gameplay where the old man talks about a lot of stuff, but the Treehouse skipped it. Do we have any photos of every textbox the old man had? I think it was on a mountain but I'm not sure.
The only thing making me think that it isn't after WW is the Master Sword not being firmly planted in Ganon's head. It could be a shot that takes place at a different point in the game, but I doubt it.
My guess is this is the Twilight Princess timeline at the same point in time as Wind Waker would have taken place.
Ah, Zelda lore. What mysteries will we uncover as we go down the rabbit hole?
As for Breath of the Wild, it's pretty clearly taking place after Wind Waker. It's the only timeline with Koroks and the only timeline with advanced technology leading to trains and the like being developed.
No it wasn't, the end of Wind Waker clearly shows the structures still standing even after Hyrule was flooded. It's entirely possible that the Koroks succeeded in draining old Hyrule, then sometime later (possibly over centuries) the Temple of Time is restored and descendants of the islanders comprise this Hyrule's civilization, then Ganon is resurrected/reincarnated and defeats this era's Link (who is later forced to go into stasis) and subsequently takes over the land, then a century passes and the events of BotW begin.
Why are you assuming the people of New Hyrule went back to Old Hyrule? It's not like the Great Sea was devoid of inhabitants.
The small number of references to OoT and SS do not contradict this game occuring post-WW, since both OoT and SS precede that era anyway. Also, there is no full confirmation that the Sheikah are actually extinct by Wind Waker, especially since they're a race known for existing in obscurity.
How do you know he "straight up" died, and what's the issue with him being resurrected or reincarnated?
The Koroks and the Rock Salt item description combined is a pretty strong hint that this game occurs late in the Adult Timeline IMO, and I don't think your counterpoints necessarily contradict that notion.
We do not see the structures still standing after Hyrule is flooded. After the waters start coming down we never see them again. All we see is the top of Ganon's Tower. The King wished for Hyrule to be washed away.
Zelda is clearly in this game, so the royal family would have had to leave New Hyrule to come here.
There aren't a small number of OoT and SS references, especially not compared to the single possible WW reference that this theory hinges on. The nature of the references, especially with the importance placed on Hylia and the Sheikah, ties it much more closely to an earlier point in the timeline when those things were stronger in the lore.
The most important evidence is that this game stars a Hero who failed 100 years ago and had to be put in a medical chamber to recuperate.
Ah, Zelda lore. What mysteries will we uncover as we go down the rabbit hole?
As for Breath of the Wild, it's pretty clearly taking place after Wind Waker. It's the only timeline with Koroks and the only timeline with advanced technology leading to trains and the like being developed.
It's not the only timeline with advanced technology. The ancient past had advanced technology developed by the sheikah, which is the kind of technology we are seeing in this game. The Hylians appear to still be medieval.
There was a part in the Treehouse Gameplay where the old man talks about a lot of stuff, but the Treehouse skipped it. Do we have any photos of every textbox the old man had? I think it was on a mountain but I'm not sure.
We do not see the structures still standing after Hyrule is flooded. After the waters start coming down we never see them again. All we see is the top of Ganon's Tower. The King wished for Hyrule to be washed away.
Ganon's Tower is a structure that's a part of Hyrule the same as everything else. It was not destroyed by the flood.
The burden of proof is on you to substantiate the (completely baseless) claim that Hyrule's buildings were outright destroyed by the flood, and as far as we know they weren't since Ganon's Tower itself seemed to be perfectly fine. Wishing for Hyrule to be "washed away" does not necessarily imply literal, complete obliteration.
Zelda is clearly in this game, so the royal family would have had to leave New Hyrule to come here.
Or the Goddess Hylia was reincarnated once more. Or there were members of the royal family that - unbeknownst to others - survived the initial flood, stayed behind and had descendants of their own. Not only are there alternative explanations to go on here, there are easy ones.
There aren't a small number of OoT and SS references
They're extremely small. Hylia is a single Skyward Sword reference and anything related to a divine figure of that nature could surface literally ANYWHERE in the timeline. There's no hard-set rule preventing namedrops and symbols of Hylia from reappearing very late in the timeline, and Nintendo certainly wouldn't limit themselves in such a capacity when it comes to lore-building. The Koroks on the other hand are very specific characters whose race had a very specific evolution period, not to mention the very specific implication that at least the plateau was once under an "ancient sea" (and given that the plateau was said to be the origin place for Hyrule, it's hardly comparable to SS's Lanayru province which was only established to have previously been a sea because of the Timeshift gameplay). The reference to Wind Waker is extremely precise and not just a reference to vague mythological elements of the series unlike the case with SS and OoT.
As far as I'm aware, there isn't a single Ocarina of Time reference beyond the Temple of Time.
The most important evidence is that this game stars a Hero who failed 100 years ago and had to be put in a medical chamber to recuperate.
There's nothing that even tangentially ties this part into Ocarina of Time's narrative. You're just assuming that it refers to the hypothetical "Link failed" split, not that I would personally have an issue with that (I actually quite like your idea) but it doesn't change the fact that there's no absolute conflict with the post-WW theory either. Moreover, the Link in this game is right-handed.
I do agree with you in regards to the whole "convergence" idea; it does sound a bit silly and nonsensical for what Nintendo's trying to go for here so I think we can safely throw that one out, although it's not impossible.
We do not see the structures still standing after Hyrule is flooded. After the waters start coming down we never see them again. All we see is the top of Ganon's Tower. The King wished for Hyrule to be washed away.
...
There aren't a small number of OoT and SS references, especially not compared to the single possible WW reference that this theory hinges on. The nature of the references, especially with the importance placed on Hylia and the Sheikah, ties it much more closely to an earlier point in the timeline when those things were stronger in the lore..
Right, we see the top of the tower and it's clearly not falling apart or anything. It's seemingly fine against a bunch of water coming/crashing down. The act of the flooding of Old Hyrule definitely doesn't seem like a violent act, so to me, it's not unlikely for buildings to survive, even with King Daphnes wish for Hyrule to be washed away.
In terms of the Sheikah references, it's certainly possible that some Sheikah survived throughout WW (we don't see them) and survived long enough to move to Old Hyrule. An era of peace occurs and they're able to grow with advanced technology. They're the ones that step up to protect Hyrule several times (we've never heard this before in the games), until eventually Calamity Ganon appears and they're unable to stop the force.
The Hylia references are perplexing. They would make sense only in a timeline before OoT, after Skyward Sword, due to us never getting any references or statues in later games. It's possible she was rediscovered or something like that.
No matter what, at this point, everything is a stretch. I do believe that whatever timeline this occurs in, it's far down the road, making the references we do get not exactly strong in any way.
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Been playing around with the idea that the game takes place before OoT but after Skyward Sword. It seems possible that it might take place in the Era of Chaos. During this era, we know the Sacred Realm was sealed by Rauru due to people trying to access the Triforce. Is it possible that the Temple of Time we see here is in fact the predecessor to the one we see in OoT? After Rauru sealed the Sacred Realm, perhaps he recognized its importance and brought it into pristine condition.
I was also looking into the Sheikah. There's a theory out there that the Twili were a subset of the Sheikah that were banished for a betrayal sometime in the Era of Chaos. This era is arguably the time that the Sheikah seemed to be at their largest, and with Aonuma hinting a connection with TPHD and BotW, perhaps we'll gain insight into this time period with the Sheikah.
I think the only options for this game is Child timeline or the Fallen Hero one. If this game were the old Hyrule emerging from the seas in the Adult timeline, what about New Hyrule? They have their own Hyrule Castle, Princess Zelda etc... And if the great sea is gone that means somewhere New Hyrule is isolated in the sky with a big abyss surrounding them. Also you have to deal with who took the Master Sword from Ganondorf's head and put it in a pedestal in a remote forest... and why. I know we have the Koroks and rests of rock salt in BOW but there are other possible explanations to it. The only option would be this happening before the flood but it creates a new series of questions, wouldn't explain Koroks and rock salt and would mean a sad ending where we, the player, fails its mission.
This game is better suited in the Fallen Hero Timeline IMO, where Ganon is more common than its human form and Hyrule is at decay. But you also have clues that can point to the Child Timeline: Shekiah /Twili technology. I believe the dark interlopers in TP are really a Shekiah faction as you can see their technology/magic is similar. Maybe this is why Aonuma said we'd remember TP while playing BOW and maybe that's the reason we got Wolf Link...
I also believe the reason Goddess Hylia statue is at the Temple of Time is directly related to Shekiah intervention in sealing Calamity Ganon. Maybe this Goddess is long forgotten to Hyrule people but highly venerated in secret by the Shekiah (not in vain they're secret protectors of the Royal Family and Princess Zelda, directly related to Hylia). That could explain how the ancient people at the Shrines mention Hylia and not the usual Din, Nayru and Farore.
It'll be delightful to explore this big land looking for lore and explanations of what happened in those 100 years (maybe using the Shekiah Slate as a scanning artifact ala Metroid Prime). I hope we could also see some video secuences when the guardians in the field were alive and fighting...
My theory? This hyrule is after the apocalypictic even that stemmed from an extreme advancement in hylian technology. Think horizon zero dawn. It could potentially be after twiglight princess, and the tech in hand came from what the hylians learned from the twilight realm
Alternatively, I think that if we're to go with the theory that OoT Link failed against Ganon and this game occurs a century later in the "Decline of Hyrule" timeline, perhaps the Koroks could be explained to be alternate versions of the ones in Wind Waker as the events of Wind Waker are (theoretically) parallel to the events of Breath of the Wild. As long as the narrative/dialogue establishes that or at least hints at it in some way, I can certainly accept that the Koroks wouldn't feel so out of place anymore.
Link being right-handed is still a lingering problem for that hypothesis though.
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. You're playing a clone.
I imagine Calamity Ganon is going to be a manifestation of the split caused by Ocarina, and after the other timelines went to ruin Ganon reached full power and somehow timelines converged and Calamity Ganon was born and fucking ran a train on the newly converged Hyrule. New Zelda reincarnate probably sacrificed herself and is barely holding Ganon back, and now Link is back from his slumber (which btw is also the same length of time as the slumber of Zelda in Adventure of Link) and is ready to kill of Ganon/Demise.
There's another too - pretty much every standard enemy shown in the demo, aside from those new golem creatures, seemed to be in Wind Waker too, like Bokoblins as the main (and red) enemy grunts, and the jelly enemies are called Chu Chu, rather than the TP variation. They also match Skyward Sword's so far though.
Maybe this game's scale is actually closer to Zelda II's? The central plateau might be meant to match the entire classic Hyrule area (it's described as the birth place of the kingdom and seems to have geographic components to match most of Hyrule's classic locations), while the modern Hyrule Kingdom proper would be elsewhere, corresponding to its location in Spirits Tracks, like how the overworld of Zelda 1 is a tiny part of Zelda 2's map.
Alternatively, I think that if we're to go with the theory that OoT Link failed against Ganon and this game occurs a century later in the "Decline of Hyrule" timeline, perhaps the Koroks could be explained to be alternate versions of the ones in Wind Waker as the events of Wind Waker are (theoretically) parallel to the events of Breath of the Wild. As long as the narrative/dialogue establishes that or at least hints at it in some way, I can certainly accept that the Koroks wouldn't feel so out of place anymore.
Link being right-handed is still a lingering problem for that hypothesis though.
The Koroks can be very easily explained away within the context of what we already know about this game: Calamity Ganon destroyed Hyrule 100 years ago when it first appeared. The Hyrule of Breath of the Wild is a post-apocalyptic one. It stands to reason that the Great Deku Tree of this non-Adult Timeline could have survived the mayhem, see the aftermath and have the forest kids evolve into Koroks in order to restore the green of Hyrule.
As for Link being right-handed, Aonuma's already gone on record that that's purely because of gameplay reasons. If this Link is the Hero of Time or another pre-existing Link we've played before, it'd basically just be a retcon or minor alteration.
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. You're playing a clone.
That'd be interesting. I lean more towards the theory that the Old Man is
somehow Ganondorf split off from the demon "Calamity Ganon" and/or whatever curse Demise exactly was that influenced his actions. Could be evil, could be tragically good, but I'm thinking this dude is Old Manondorf.
Hell, the Old Man even has the darker skin and big nose. Definitely seems like a possibility to me.
As for Link being right-handed, Aonuma's already gone on record that that's purely because of gameplay reasons. If this Link is the Hero of Time or another pre-existing Link we've played before, it'd basically just be a retcon or minor alteration.
I'm aware that it's ultimately for gameplay reasons, but OoT Link is pretty darn iconic in the grand scheme of things so I highly doubt they're suddenly willing to retcon him into being right-handed. If BotW's Link is the same Link, I think a proper in-universe explanation is due. Even something relatively small like "Oh well he has amnesia so this is how he fights now" I'd be willing to accept, as long as we get some sort of justification behind it.
So Aonuma's gone on record that using the Sheikah insignia in this game is a nod to Ocarina specifically and made a point to remind folks that this Link has been asleep for 100 years.
Originally I was more of the opinion that this game might be a retelling of Zelda 1 or set after AoL, but with this info... yeah. I'm starting to think this Link is the Hero of Time in the Downfall Timeline.
Okay, so after reading this Kotaku article from another thread (which just so happens to source this very thread several times, good job Feltrol), I'm beginning to try and piece together a timeline where the game takes place in the Fallen Hero timeline as RagnarokX has been suggesting.
According to the Hyrule Historia (which we'll assume is accurate given that we're basing most of the timeline speculation off of its timeline explanation), in the Fallen Hero timeline, the Hero of Time fails in his final battle with Ganon and Ganon successfully gains access to the entire Triforce:
"At last, Ganondorf found himself in the possession of the Triforce of Wisdom that dwelt within Princess Zelda, and the Triforce of Courage that dwelt in Link. [...] The Seven Sages of Hyrule, led by Princess Zelda, sealed Ganon and the Triforce in the Sacred Realm as a final resort."
So, from this passage we can learn a few things. Namely, Princess Zelda is seemingly not killed by Ganon and she leads the Seven Sages to seal Ganon in the Sacred Realm. This leads to a short-lived era of peace.
Eventually, greedy people who had heard legends of the Triforce seek it out, disappearing into the former Sacred Realm, which has been transformed into the Dark World from Ganondorf's interference. (His initial interference where he steals the Triforce of Power.) Soon enough the seal on the Realm is broken and evil power begins to escape. The current King of Hyrule orders the Seven Sages of that era to seal the Dark World as before. Many knights of Hyrule die protecting the Sages until they're able to complete the seal. This event eventually is known as the Imprisoning War and is mentioned in A Link to the Past.
Now, to me, for BotW to fit into this era, there has to be some stretching at one of the two points where Ganon is sealed into the Sacred Realm. We know he has to end up there for the events of A Link to the Past to occur. It's unlikely that the game occurs during the Imprisoning War as it's mentioned that the Sages of that era first attempted to find the Master Sword and a suitable hero to wield it:
"The Sages first had to search for the existence of the Master Sword and a hero to use it. However, the situation was urgent, and Ganon's malice was enclosing on the royal palace."
Thus, we have to stretch the original time Ganon is sealed away, which occurs directly after the events of OoT.
Here's my take on how that would work: Ganon defeats Link and gains access to the Triforce, becoming a violent force. He rampages across Hyrule, seemingly appearing "suddenly" to the people of Hyrule. They only knew of the evils of Ganondorf, so to them, Ganon is a new and frightening force.
Zelda and the other Sages somehow survive this rampage and band together to seal Ganon at Hyrule Castle
(it's actually Ganon Castle at this point but..)
. The Hero of Time is taken to the Shrine of Resurrection where he sleeps for 100 years. (Or he's resurrected 100 years later...)
At this point, the Sages are either required to stay and keep the seal on the castle or they die. Same with Princess Zelda.
100 years later, Ganon, now known as Calamity Ganon by the people of Hyrule for his devastation on Hyrule, has grown in power and the seal on Hyrule Castle is waning. Link hears a mysterious voice and awakens from his slumber.
Now, if this is the case, then we know that in the game we'll have to seal Ganon in the Sacred Realm (for the events of the timeline to occur). Hyrule Historia explicity states that Princess Zelda leads the Sages in this effort, but it's possible that they're different versions of Princess Zelda (though if you have the same Hero of Time, you might as well have the same Princess Zelda) and the Sages.
There are a couple problems with this theory:
The Old Man refers to the place where Calamity Ganon is trapped as Hyrule Castle, but in the Fallen Hero timeline, the castle was destroyed and replaced with Ganon's Castle.
It takes quite a bit of stretching to match the pages of Hyrule Historia. I suppose this could be chalked up to "legends" and so on, but it's still quite a bit of a stretch to make it work.
The Koroks. I've stated before that I believe their evolution is spurred on only because of the great flood in the Wind Waker timeline. Two possible explanations are that they're just a cool cameo or that they evolved in this timeline as well. The second explanation, however, would require that Kokiri evolved into these new forms in a span of 100 years or less, as well that the Great Deku Tree survives the rampage of Ganon to help aid the Kokiri in this process.
The Guardians. And Sheikah technology. Less of a problem and more of a we have no idea about them.
And honestly, there's probably a few more there too, but I was just doing my best to try and make it a possible explanation for it.
Aonuma stresses a link to Ocarina of Time (though the Sheikah symbol appears elsewhere too) and that link has been asleep for 100 years for whatever reason. This theory would explain that.
