Whether you’ve been following the timeline ofThe Legend of Zeldasince the beginning or attempting to get caught up after playing recent titles, I think it’s safe to say that you’re probably at a loss in terms of understanding how everything correlates. Unfortunately, that’s largely becausemost of what is considered canon depends on which timeline you’re looking at.
- Spoiler Alert: This article contains major spoilers for several games in The Legend of Zelda franchise, including BOTW & TOTK * * *
With recentThe Legend of Zeldareleases, especiallyBreath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, the timeline has gotten especially messy and difficult to follow. SinceTOTKfeatures a time-traveling element that takes Zelda back to pre-Hyrule,TOTKalone basically rewrites all ofZelda’s history from the very beginning without clarifying how everything else fits in.
The Zelda Timeline Has Only Gotten More Confusing
Tears Of The Kingdom Completely Rewrote The Zelda Timeline
If you’ve ever owned any books on theZeldafranchise, then you’ve probably come across what is considered theofficialLegend of Zeldatimeline.It begins canonically withSkyward Swordand then continues until it reachesOcarina of Timein what is a pretty easy-to-follow timeline. Unfortunately, that’s where things start to get confusing.
FollowingOcarina of Time, there arethree technically branchingZeldatimelines, two in which Link is successful followingOoTand one where he is defeated. All of these timelines, while being contradictory to one another, are considered canonical. So, right from the start, things are already a bit rocky in terms of what exactly happens in Hyrule.
Then Nintendo gave usBOTWandTOTK, and things only got worse from there.BOTWkicked things off by directly referencing two events that don’t even happen in the same branching timeline as part of its history, and thenTOTKfollowed it up by basically throwing everything we knew up to that point right out the window.
DuringTOTK, in a surprise time travel element of the narrative, Zelda ends up in the past, specifically pre-Hyrule. There,she meets Sonia and Rauru, the eventual founders of Hyrule. That’s right, the founders of Hyrule, which ultimately means that, if true, not only is a version of Ganon locked away throughout nearly the entire Zelda timeline, but there’s also a Zelda dragon floating around out there the whole time, too, with a Master Sword in her head.
Now, since that would be completely absurd, players have chosen to simply accept that there must be so much time between the end of the otherZeldatimelines andBOTWthat the past Zelda travels to is actually between the events of the old canonical timeline and the start ofBOTW, andit’s not the true founding of Hyrule, but a second founding after the original Hyrule was destroyed. Which ultimately leavesBOTWandTOTKas yet another separate timeline.
With Age of Imprisonment Adding Canon Lore, It’s Getting Stuffed
Nintendo And Fans Need To Accept That The Zelda Timeline Should Formally Be Left Behind
While we don’t get to see a ton of what goes on with Zelda while she’s with Rauru and Sonia inTOTK, that’s about to change with therelease ofHyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment.The latestHyrule Warriorsgame will focus entirely on Zelda and the Sages,who are working to stop Ganondorf from invading Hyrule in the past.
Although we haven’t seen much in terms of what story details this might expose,there’s undoubtedly going to be even more lore revealed that will only continue to make things more complicated, and it’s likely this won’t be the last time either. Which is why I think it’d be best if Nintendo just dropped the idea ofan officialZeldatimelinealtogether.
I can appreciate as much as anyone how great it feels to play a game and have the characters mention a brave hero from the past who just so happened to be you in a previous game in the series, but when you’re 10+ games deep, I think it’s finally time to let it go. Plus,Easter eggs can still work as references to other games without disrupting the new game’s narrative.
That’s not to say that Zelda should just forget its lore, but it shouldn’t feel restrained by it either. I’d love to see what Nintendo would do withThe Legend of Zeldaif given the freedom to do so, since I don’t feel it was ever truly their intention to have a fully connected timeline in the first place.
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda franchise follows the adventures of Link, an elf-like Hylian, and Princess Zelda as they protect the land of Hyrule from the evil warlord-turned-demon king Ganon. The series is known for its mix of action, adventure, and puzzle-solving elements, often revolving around the collection of the Triforce, a powerful relic left by the goddesses who created Hyrule. Each game features different incarnations of Link and Zelda, maintaining core elements while introducing new characters and settings.
