Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom remain outside the official timeline
Nintendo states that Nintendo Switch titles stand on their own.
Placing each game in The Legend of Zelda saga in its proper chronological place has always been a complicated task. The battle between good and evil, the appearance of the hero who will save Hyrule, the constant return of Ganon? a story that repeats itself, changing some elements, but usually pitting the champion of the legend against the villain who will try to destroy the world. Until now, Nintendo has always established that video games are set in a specific chronology, but The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, were left out.
- You may be interested in: Nintendo Explains How They Made TOTK’s Depths Without Load Times
This is the timeline for The Legend of Zelda
This was confirmed by Nintendo itself at Nintendo Live 2024 in Sydney, where it showed an illustration with the full chronology. As we know, the first of the stories is Skyward Sword, followed by The Minish Cap, Four Swords and Ocarina of Time. The timeline then splits into two: that of the defeated hero and that of the triumphant hero. The latter is divided into the time when Link is a child and the time when the hero is an adult. Meanwhile, the two Nintendo Switch titles remain completely separate.
Not that The Legend of Zelda’s chronology ever made much sense, but at least now it’s clearer why these titles couldn’t possibly fit together.
The next game in the series is The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, the first game (by Nintendo) to feature Princess Zelda. This time, the world has been covered with a cloak of darkness and the hero has succumbed. The princess manages to save herself and comes to Link’s aid, equipped with magical abilities that allow her to copy objects and monsters. This mechanic will help the player avoid all kinds of obstacles, advance and reduce his enemies. It will be released on September 26th exclusively for Nintendo Switch.