Believe it or not, and despite the art style of each instalment varying, the entire Legend of Zelda saga is connected. There’s one big story that starts with Skyward Sword and branches out into three starting with Ocarina of Time due to the consequences of its protagonist’s time travel. Since 2017, there’s been speculation about where Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its sequel fit in. Now we’re really clear on that, but as you’ll see, even those still have a convenient halo of mystery.
First things first: since 2018 we know that Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are the deliveries that occur at the end of the entire chronology of The Legend of ZeldaBut, as we mentioned, there are three timelines, so the big question was not to find out when, but where. Now, on the eve of the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Nintendo is introducing an interesting novelty to what we already knew.
From the start, we already ruled out one option: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild does not follow the timeline that begins when Link is defeated in Ocarina of Time. That’s not a bad thing, mind you, since it spawned cult classics like the original The Legend of Zelda and its sequel, and before that, Link’s Awakening and A Link to the Past. In other words, in the chronology of the most recent installments, the hero of Hyrule has defeated Ganon. And that leaves two possible paths:
Now, through a mural with the updated timeline shown at Nintendo’s event in Sydney, it is established that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its sequel are at the end of both eras in which Link defeats Ganon. Both of them. At least, for now. And that means that there are still new stories to tell in between, but that events are not set in stone, but can change.
Does that mean that the story of The Legend of Zelda Is it pre-defined or is it created on the fly game by game? In practice, it’s both. In an interview with Famitsu six years ago, producer Eiji Aonuma and Breath of the Wild director Hidemaro Fujibayashi not only confirmed that previous games have introduced changes retroactively, but that spaces are intentionally left open in order to be more creative.
The story of the Kingdom of Hyrule changes over time. When we think about the next game and what we want to do with it, we often think, “Oh, this fits really well,” and then we carefully place it in the timeline. Sometimes we think, “Oh, crap,” and we have to change its place. In reality, the story has been modified many times.
In fact, Fujibayashi specifies the creative process more and better
A new term has emerged within the company.Lately the one we call “New interpretation.” This means that we don’t change the story, but rather add more details and new truths come to light.
Logically, from here we get a second, even more interesting reading: despite the fact that we know both the beginning and the end of the chronology of the entire saga of The Legend of ZeldaNintendo still has big and small stories to tell until it is complete. Next up: a The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom which, as we can tell you, takes place in the timeline in which Link is defeated. The saga can expand in any direction!
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