The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is one of the most distinctive Zelda titles ever created. And its new and only protagonist is enough to differentiate it from the rest of the group. However, at the end of the day, this installment is still a Zelda game. This means it has to fit somewhere in the official timeline of the saga (or so one might assume).
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom shows us a special case in terms of its location in the saga's timeline. His lore, which makes things be a little confused In that sense, it gives various possibilities to fit the plot into different timelines. With its numerous references to other Zelda games, especially its design of Ganon and that given to the Triforce, it is almost impossible to establish an explicit timeline for Echoes of Wisdom.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom's position in the timeline feels messy
Ganon's design connects him to both the Hero's Failure and Child Link timelines.
One of the first and most significant indicators of the possible timeline in Echoes of Wisdom is his Ganon design. Throughout the series, Ganon has taken on a wide variety of forms, with the villain's most notable appearances being in human form.
Other content in this category:
In A Link to the Past, however, Ganon's form is quite different from the others. Our main enemy appears in the adventure as a bipedal porcine creature blue in color who wields a large trident. Furthermore, although A Link to the Past was the first Zelda game to depict Ganon in this way, the tradition continued. In games like Oracles of Ages/Seasons, Four Swords Adventures and A Link Between Worlds we will also find Ganon represented in this way.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom shows Ganon taking on the blue bipedal pig form that he has been seen before. This, it suggests, is a connection with the other installments that have presented it this way. If there is a connection between this installment and A Link to the Past, Oracles of Ages/Seasons, and A Link Between Worlds, it would potentially place it in the timeline of the Hero's Failure.
Where things get complicated is in Echoes of Wisdom's possible connection to Four Swords Adventures, which is in the Child Link's timeline. However, the Triforce's role in Echoes of Wisdom makes things more confusing as to its location in the saga's timeline.
The role of the Triforce makes things even more confusing
One of the unique elements of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom's story is that it treats the Triforce as a mysterious and unknown powerunlike many other installments in the series. Additionally, instead of referring to the Triforce as such, the game calls it the “Primary Energy.”
What ultimately peculiarizes this installment's placement in the timeline with its handling of the Triforce is its unknown status. In almost all games in the Legend of Zelda series, the existence and power of the Triforce They are known throughout Hyruleexcept in those of the timeline of Link Adulto.
From The Wind Waker onwards, the Triforce is more of a legend than anything else, and generally unknown to people. But things get even more complicated here, as Adult Link's timeline features a previously broken Triforce. The Triforce from Echoes of Wisdom? This is not broken until the end of its story.
It could be that Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom takes place in its own timeline, just as Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are now officially confirmed. A more radical perspective might suggest that Echoes of Wisdom is actually the first major game to establish a multiverse of The Legend of Zeldawhich would make a lot of sense given how many references it makes to each of the series' timelines.
However, that might be going a little too far and Echoes of Wisdom just be part of the club that BotW and TotK established.
