Breath of the Wild Timeline Theory and Ideas

[ahighland]

So, I think that Breath of the Wild may still take place after Skyward Sword. There is so much that we’ve seen already that doesn’t make sense for it to be in one of the three branched timelines. It’s like they’ve literally taken bits from multiple games and combined it into one. I jotted down a list of my ideas I had about the timeline placement, and I thought I'd share and get your guy's opinion.

• With the Goddess Hylia and the Sheikah taking such a major role again, and the heavy influence of technology, it really makes me feel like this will be set after Skyward Sword, since the further into the future a timeline gets, the less relevant Hylia and the Sheikah are, and the more medieval it becomes, rather than advanced.
• The Sheikah were the only humans left on the surface before Skyward Sword, so it’d make sense that they were the ones who protected the land, like the Old Man states, and why there are still so many of them in the shrines, and potentially throughout Hyrule, if this is still set in a time before Impa becomes the last of the Sheikah.
• At the end of Skyward Sword, it has the Master Sword being shown in the Sealed Temple surrounded by the forest of Faron Woods, resting in a similar pedestal to that which was shown in the Breath of the Wild trailer. The Sealed Temple could have completely decayed by the time of Breath of the Wild, as it already had started in Skyward Sword.
• Calamity Ganon could be the first incarnation of Ganon, literally being the hatred of Demise in a more spiritual form. The color scheme of The Imprisoned matches very closely to that of Calamity Ganon. A lot of people say that the Ganon in Ocarina of Time is the first appearance of Ganon, and that is true so far, but that could be after the spiritual form of Ganon gets a physical host in a human, and why that human gets named Ganondorf.
• What if this Link is Hylia’s Chosen Hero from before Skyward Sword brought back to life by the Sheikah? I don’t think it said Link was asleep for 100 years, just that Calamity Ganon appeared 100 years ago. That could be why he awakens from the Chamber of Resurrection and he seems to already know how to fight, why he’s right handed (since he’s not a previously lefty Link), and the voice in his head is could actually be Hylia. It could also be why his name is oficially Link in the game as well, if that was the name of the Chosen Hero. Maybe that’s why the Sheikah monks say they are testing those who are trying to become the hero? Maybe that’s how Hylia’s original hero was chosen?
• Originally, Link had the Goddess Sailcloth, which would tie directly to Skyward Sword. Maybe you still get it in the game, but later, as it is tied into the story and they didn't want to spoil that in the demo?
• In Skyward Sword, the Faron Woods get's flooded, which could be why there are puddles and ponds throughout the wooded area of Hyrule, rather than the great flood in Wind Waker, like many people suggest.

And, I think that's it. I don’t know, I just have a bunch of thoughts, and it seems like there is A LOT linking it to Skyward Sword that people seem to be intentionally ignoring? (also, this is my first ever forum post, so I am sorry if I did it wrong)

 

[DeactivatedUser2]

But why are there ruins of OoT's Hyrule Market Town, which can be proven by the Temple of Time having the 3 tall spires similar to the Ocarina of Time incarnation and the large ruined fountain found close to the proximity? The Temple of Time in Breath of the Wild is clearly just a ruined version of the one in Ocarina of Time, especially considering it plays a very broken up and jumbled version of the Song of Time when you enter it, and it wouldn't make sense if it happened prior to OoT and after SS because the Master Sword is still sealed in the Temple of Time, untouched by people.

 

[Ver-go-a-go-go]

I'm still maintaining the idea that this game actually take place towards the end of the timeline as we know it thus far, in my eyes most likely the Fallen Timeline. You make a fair point that Zelda games have indeed seemed to be more "futuristic" in technology the further back you go, but I also feel like we do already have established examples of technology actually progressing instead of regressing, namely in the Adult Timeline with ST.

Everything just looks far too worn/ancient for this to happen after SS and before OoT. @The Hero of Legend makes a good point with the ruins that we've seen so far clearly being the Temple of Time from OoT with surrounding areas. This alone seems to point to it being post-split and not the Adult Timeline, as there's no reason to currently believe that the remains of Old Hyrule were somehow restored (plus that was A LOT of water.... there wouldn't be anything left of OoT masonic structures, at least not in the state that we've seen in BotW). It's possible it could take place in the Child Timeline, but the ruins of the ToT in TP (obviously the very same from OoT) indicates that it had fallen into much worse disrepair than the version that we've seen in BotW. I don't see how it could take place between MM and TP either, as the current state of Demise's Curse/Ganon would seem to contradict that.

The Fallen Timeline seems ripe for speculation, as I don't believe we have any clue as to what the state of the ToT is. We do know due to other timelines that it's definitely possible for the Master Sword to be relocated (something I think is incredibly stupid and lame, but WW is pre-existing canon regardless). I've always been a fan of theory that the location of the Master Sword's residence in ALttP is indeed the ToT which has all but disappeared over the years, but it was unfortunately never confirmed (despite the similarities the location had to the Sacred Grove in TP) - for all we know, the Master Sword was permanently removed from the ToT following OoT and put elsewhere (Lost Woods), where it was eventually found in ALttP/ALBW. Something worthy of note is that (I believe unless I missed something), there's no sign of the Master Sword in the ruins of the ToT that we've seen in BotW, which would seem to support this theory.

I also think it's absolutely critical that the Master Sword was shown as having rusted over and being in extreme disrepair, along with its location looking strikingly similar to the Lost Woods that we've already seen in ALttP/ALBW. This is so important because it's unprecedented - despite functionally losing its power in WW, it was still a physically capable blade although obviously lacking its mystical qualities. BotW's Master Sword looks like it couldn't even function as a proper sword, let along be the bane of evil.

With all this in mind, I personally think it's most likely that this takes place in the Fallen Timeline (due to the state of the Temple of Time and it lacking the Master Sword), and perhaps at the very end of it past AoL and in the far future due to the Master Sword being in an incredibly dilapidated state.

And, I think that's it. I don’t know, I just have a bunch of thoughts, and it seems like there is A LOT linking it to Skyward Sword that people seem to be intentionally ignoring? (also, this is my first ever forum post, so I am sorry if I did it wrong)

I don't think people are intentionally trying to not link the game to SS, but I think a fair amount of theory junkies/timeline enthusiasts would like to move past SS because of all the discrepancies and contradictions it brought to the table, which can't even be explained away with alternate timeline mumbojumbo because of it being confirmed pre-split.

 

[ahighland]

@The Hero of Legend
But there is no Master Sword in the ruined Temple of Time in Breath of the Wild, but there IS a statute of the Goddess like the one from Skyward Sword inside, unlike in any previous games. Also, the Temple of Time in Breath of the Wild is on the side of a mountain, with water around it, and parts of the ruins are submerged. That wouldn't fit with it also being a large city and castle residing in a flat field area near Death Mountain like it is Ocarina of Time. And where are all the ruins of the castle and the rest of the town, if that IS the same Temple of Time? If the Temple is still there, then there should be at least something left of a huge castle and town all around it, but there isn't.

@Ver-go-a-go-go


Also, it WAS confirmed in Hyrule Historia that the Lost Woods where you find the Master Sword in ALttP IS the completely decayed remains of the Temple of Time. So that being said, the only places so far that we know the Master Sword isn't in the Temple of Time, is at the end of Skyward Sword and during Wind Waker.

I believe in Wind Waker's case, it still was in the Temple of Time, but Hyrule Castle was rebuilt around it, or that OoT Link never put the Master Sword back into it's pedestal before being sent back to the past, so the royal family sealed it inside the castle instead, because they couldn't return it to the pedestal in the Temple of Time. As for Skyward Sword, we know it is placed in the Sealed Temple, which much later becomes the Temple of Time in OoT.

So out of all that, to me, it still seems most likely that this is a post Skyward Sword game set sometime before the OoT Temple of Time was built, and the ruined one we see in Breath of the Wild is a completely different temple, built soon after they returned to the surface, which is why there is a Hylia statue inside, since the Skyloftians still worshiped her. And we know other Temple of Times exist, like the one in the Lanayru Desert in Skyward Sword.

Sorry if that's confusing...

 

[DeactivatedUser2]

But there is no Master Sword in the ruined Temple of Time in Breath of the Wild, but there IS a statute of the Goddess like the one from Skyward Sword inside, unlike in any previous games. Also, the Temple of Time in Breath of the Wild is on the side of a mountain, with water around it, and parts of the ruins are submerged. That wouldn't fit with it also being a large city and castle residing in a flat field area near Death Mountain like it is Ocarina of Time. And where are all the ruins of the castle and the rest of the town, if that IS the same Temple of Time? If the Temple is still there, then there should be at least something left of a huge castle and town all around it, but there isn't.

View attachment 37681

Also, it WAS confirmed in Hyrule Historia that the Lost Woods where you find the Master Sword in ALttP IS the completely decayed remains of the Temple of Time. So that being said, the only places so far that we know the Master Sword isn't in the Temple of Time, is at the end of Skyward Sword and during Wind Waker.

I believe in Wind Waker's case, it still was in the Temple of Time, but Hyrule Castle was rebuilt around it, or that OoT Link never put the Master Sword back into it's pedestal before being sent back to the past, so the royal family sealed it inside the castle instead, because they couldn't return it to the pedestal in the Temple of Time. As for Skyward Sword, we know it is placed in the Sealed Temple, which much later becomes the Temple of Time.

So out of all that, to me, it still seems most likely that this is a post Skyward Sword game set sometime before the OoT Temple of Time was built, and the ruined one we see in Breath of the Wild is a completely different temple, built soon after they returned to the surface, which is why there is a Hylia statue inside, since the Skyloftians still worshiped her. And we know other Temple of Times exist, like the one in the Lanayru Desert in Skyward Sword.

Sorry if that's confusing...

It's incredibly likely that Hylia is just going to be retconned into future games now that Skyward Sword is out and brought up the concept of a new idea and what caused the identity of the Hylians.

In Breath of the Wild, we see that the Master Sword is clearly in an outdoor location where any remnant of the Temple of Time it was originally held in was completely lost to the ages. There's no way that the Sealed Temple would've decayed to the point where it would've been just the pedestal in that amount of time; it held for at least 2000 years, and there's no reason that it would give now, considering that the first major event that happened in Hyrule was the plague of monsters that engulfed Hyrule in bloodshed, (only to be ended by the Hero of Men) and Minish Cap only takes place 100 years later. It says in the Historia that Rauru restored the Sealed Temple and sealed the Sacred Realm within the Temple of Time long before either of those events took place.

 

[ahighland]

It's incredibly likely that Hylia is just going to be retconned into future games now that Skyward Sword is out and brought up the concept of a new idea and what caused the identity of the Hylians.

In Breath of the Wild, we see that the Master Sword is clearly in an outdoor location where any remnant of the Temple of Time it was originally held in was completely lost to the ages. There's no way that the Sealed Temple would've decayed to the point where it would've been just the pedestal in that amount of time; it held for at least 2000 years, and there's no reason that it would give now, considering that the first major event that happened in Hyrule was the plague of monsters that engulfed Hyrule in bloodshed, (only to be ended by the Hero of Men) and Minish Cap only takes place 100 years later. It says in the Historia that Rauru restored the Sealed Temple and sealed the Sacred Realm within the Temple of Time long before either of those events took place.

If they were going to retcon the Goddess Hylia into games later down the timeline, why didn't they add it to the HD remakes of Twilight Princess and Wind Waker in subtle ways, like they did other things? And why would they even bring back Hylia in general if she has been gone for thousands of years? She reincarnated as the first Zelda and then later she died, but her bloodline became the royal family of Hyrule and the people of Hyrule began to worship the three Goddesses because of the Triforce. I think it'd only make sense for the early Hylians to still worship Hylia, since it's more relevant to them.

I didn't see anywhere officially where a specific time frame for how long the Sealed Temple existed before the events of Skyward Sword, and we do not know how many years are between Skyward Sword and Minish Cap. How many years was between OoT and ALttP? The Temple of Time went from completely intact to completely decayed and gone in that time frame. It is perfectly reasonable for the Sealed Temple to degenerate completely as well if it is exposed to harsh elements and no upkeep. We saw that between the past and present in Skyward Sword that the Sealed Temple had begun to decay in just that amount of time. Even if Impa lives longer than most humans, she shouldn't be able to live thousands of years, so the Sealed Temple had begun to decay in closer to a hundred years.

Also, I just wanted to throw in a side by side comparison



In Breath of the Wild we see what looks like stone steps in front of the Master Sword, some stones behind the sword, something big enough to block the sun light behind/around the sword, what appears to be a large tree trunk on the left, and some white five petal flowers. In Skyward Sword we know there are already decaying/moss covered steps in front of the Master Sword, other small stone structures behind the sword, a stone wall covered in moss and ivy that is blocking the sun light behind/around the sword, a large tree on the left, and some white five petal flowers behind the sword.



But with the Master Sword in the Lost Woods, we still have the similar tree on the left and being on a stone pedestal, and that's about the only similarities between the two. We clearly can see more woods and light behind the Master Sword than in the BotW and SS pictures. Also, there are no stones or flowers behind/around the sword and no steps in front of it.

 

[DeactivatedUser2]

I'll finish my full response later because I'm busy right now, but we know that the Gate of Time has at least a 2000 year difference because Impa refers to the fact Link stands ages before his time. In astrological ages, an "age" is 2160 years, and we know that the characters in Zelda use astrological symbols because of the Wise One that we see in Spirit Tracks, so technically, 2000 would be the minimum amount of years, because she refers to it as ages. Also, we don't know how much time has passed between OoT and ALTTP, but there was definitely enough time for the Imprisoning War to take place and the Master Sword to be lost.

 

[el :BeoWolf:]

Personally I feel it is too vague at this time for me to really make any case at all. BotW could potentially fit in almost any timeline.
I'll take a shot, and say TP prequel/OoT sequel.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

My perceptions on this game have changed drastically. I'm thinking that it probably will be on the downfall timeline. Or at least towards the end of the child timeline if it is placed there. It seems like Hyrule is in a decline. Everything just looks like it is in ruins. I doubt it will be a sequel to Skyward Sword. I'm leaning towards the child timeline still because the eldin bridge appears to have been shown.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Alternatively, it could be on the pre-split section, but only if we assume that Hyrule, as a kingdom, didn't start out easily.

My idea is that during construction and settlement of the surface monster populations grew rapidly, and counter measures were not applied to keep their populations in check. Thus, localism would be adopted. Any communication between villages would cease, as it would be too dangerous to travel anymore. So villages would need to become self sufficient.

The constructions, like the castle, the bridge we've seen, would be abandoned and un-maintained. Link would be rediscovering these constructions as he travels. Also, he would go back to the areas where other villagers originated from, like the Sealed Temple which I'm assuming was where first settlements where made, but abandoned.

 

[Dio]

Alternatively, it could be on the pre-split section, but only if we assume that Hyrule, as a kingdom, didn't start out easily.

My idea is that during construction and settlement of the surface monster populations grew rapidly, and counter measures were not applied to keep their populations in check. Thus, localism would be adopted. Any communication between villages would cease, as it would be too dangerous to travel anymore. So villages would need to become self sufficient.

The constructions, like the castle, the bridge we've seen, would be abandoned and un-maintained. Link would be rediscovering these constructions as he travels. Also, he would go back to the areas where other villagers originated from, like the Sealed Temple which I'm assuming was where first settlements where made, but abandoned.

But why would Ganon or the Koroks be around pre split. Ganon could be explained by there being a Ganon before the Dorf and that OOT's Dorf was named after the original Ganon.

But Koroks should really come about from Kokiri. Unless they were Koroks who became Kokiri who became Koroks again down the line.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

But why would Ganon or the Koroks be around pre split. Ganon could be explained by there being a Ganon before the Dorf and that OOT's Dorf was named after the original Ganon.

But Koroks should really come about from Kokiri. Unless they were Koroks who became Kokiri who became Koroks again down the line.

You have to excuse me, I'm not caught up with all breath of the wild news...

 

[CM30]

Well, I personally think it's likely to be set after a bad ending in The Wind Waker. Where say, Ganon defeats Link and gets his hands on the Triforce before the king can enter the picture. That could explain why Wind Waker elements like Koroks exist in a somewhat traditional (yet ruined) version of Hyrule.

But I've also sometimes pondered a far stranger possibility.

What if it's set in a downfall timeline... off the existing downfall timeline?

Remember, Zelda 2 said Ganon could be revived by his minions sprinkling Link's blood over his ashes.

Which means in theory, that's pretty much inevitable. Link has to die at some point, which leaves time for someone to revive Ganon again and Hyrule to get destroyed.

So perhaps it's set in a downfall timeline branching off of Zelda 2? I mean, it's crazy, but it's certainly possible. Maybe Link didn't quite make it through the Great Palace, or got defeated while wandering through Death Mountain's caves...

 

[DeactivatedUser2]

Well, I personally think it's likely to be set after a bad ending in The Wind Waker. Where say, Ganon defeats Link and gets his hands on the Triforce before the king can enter the picture. That could explain why Wind Waker elements like Koroks exist in a somewhat traditional (yet ruined) version of Hyrule.

But I've also sometimes pondered a far stranger possibility.

What if it's set in a downfall timeline... off the existing downfall timeline?

Remember, Zelda 2 said Ganon could be revived by his minions sprinkling Link's blood over his ashes.

Which means in theory, that's pretty much inevitable. Link has to die at some point, which leaves time for someone to revive Ganon again and Hyrule to get destroyed.

So perhaps it's set in a downfall timeline branching off of Zelda 2? I mean, it's crazy, but it's certainly possible. Maybe Link didn't quite make it through the Great Palace, or got defeated while wandering through Death Mountain's caves...

My main problem with this theory is that it's based off a cutscene; sure, a bad ending in AoL is possible, just like a bad ending in OoT can totally cause the downfall timeline. This is seen because Link can die at any point in the game, which is what could possibly cause a "bad ending."

However, this isn't the case with the end of Wind Waker. This is a cutscene, a 100% scripted event where Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule touches the Triforce and makes his wish before Ganondorf is able to do so himself. Even if Link were to somehow die in the final battle that proceeded afterwards, nothing would really happen. Hyrule would still be doomed to a watery grave. Of course, this could open up a possibility of a sequel where a new Link born on the Great Seas battles this Ganondorf (assuming he could escape from Hyrule as it drowned.) If Link died before this, say, really early on, when he's still pretty weak, nothing would happen then either. The Triforce of Courage would still be below the waves, and Ganondorf would still be left with only the Triforce of Power. There's really no opening for a "what if" scenario in a scripted cutscene.

 

[CM30]

That's a good point. I guess an alternative for the 'post Great Sea' concept might be that the waters receded for another reason? Maybe magic of some kind?

At which point, a loyal follower of Ganon could easily remove the sword from his head and possibly revive him again.