Spoiler I disagree when people say BOTW is before OoT

[Zachie]

Breath of the Wild has been 100% confirmed by Nintendo to take place post-OoT. There should be no doubt about this.

 

[Moblinking5000]

It's more or less a fact that this game is long after OoT. It is most likely at the end of the DT.

The events of OoT are mentioned, with Ruta and Naboris being named after Ruto and Nabooru, as mentioned ingame. This rules out the CT.
It takes place in Old Hyrule, ruling out the AT.
It has Ganon and is mentioned by Aonuma to take place after OoT, with BotW mentioning historical events from OoT, ruling out a Pre-Split placement.

The DT should win based on that, but to be more specific:

-The Royal Family has the complete Triforce, as Zelda uses it to seal Ganon
-Ganon has lost his humanity, has been destroyed and revived multiple times as mentioned during the final battle in the JP version, has attacked Hyrule multiple times:
.AT: OoT, TWWBS, TWW. Three times.
.CT: TP, FSA. Twice, one of them being a different Ganon.
.DT: OoT, IW, ALttP, ALBWBS, LoZ. Five times. Seven if you include his botched resurrection in OoX and his revival and fusion with Yuga in ALBW.
-Hyrule is in a state of decline, which happens all the time in the DT
-Tunic of the Wild, stated to belong to a previous hero and not requiring an out of game item like an Amiibo to obtain it, making it the only Green Tunic that's canon, looks identical to the Tunic used by LoZ/AoL Link.

 

[Wolfie]

The mention of twilight, supporting the child timeline, is also opposed by a mention of Ruto awakening as a sage and facing Ganondorf alongside Link and Zelda, which only happened within the downfall and adult timelines (it doesn't mention whether or not Link survived, and the sages ultimately ended up sealing Ganon away in both).
The Twilight Realm is also implied to exist in all three timelines, so there could have been another event involving the Twilight Realm in one of the other timelines that we haven't seen yet.

The mention of Twilight seems more like a cameo than anything, I don't think it was meant to be related to the timeline and as you say Ruto awakening as a Sage is much more telling.

But yeah, everyone knows it's after OoT

The fact that she specifically mentions the key words from three game names in a row is clearly meant as a shoutout to those games. Thinking otherwise is just silly. Also they added Breath of the Wild art to the stupidly expensive shop in Twilight Princess Hd.

 

[Moblinking5000]

The fact that she specifically mentions the key words from three game names in a row is clearly meant as a shoutout to those games. Thinking otherwise is just silly. Also they added Breath of the Wild art to the stupidly expensive shop in Twilight Princess Hd.

It's definitely a shoutout from a meta standpoint, but the details are not specific enough to say that it's referring to the events of Twilight Princess, especially since people like Zant and Midna aren't mentioned. Not to mention that arguing that BotW art in TPHD is canon is like saying that Majora's Mask hanging in Link's house in ALBW proves that ALBW is in the CT.

 

[DragonEleven]

It seems at least conceivable that the "10,000 years ago" parts are meant to predate some of the other games, as other Zelda games have had ancient robots before. Consider the character Fi, a being who is explicitly of divine origin and implicitly a robot. There was also an entire race of explicit robots from the ancient past who lived in the Lanayru desert. So it's possible, given some artistic license, that the Guardians are supposed created by the same civilization as the one that created these other ancient robots.

It's implied that the 'ancient people of Hyrule' who created the Guardians were the Sheikah... who appear to have inhabited Hyrule long before SS.
The absence of the Sheikah in Hyrule also coincides with the absence of the advanced technology, but even in their absence, traces of the Sheikah have implied that they were far more advanced than Hylians.

It's highly unlikely that any of the existing Zelda games take place in the 10,000 preceding BotW, seeing as Ganon was imprisoned throughout that time, but they could easily set future games during that period with another evil character as the antagonist.

The DT should win based on that, but to be more specific:

-The Royal Family has the complete Triforce, as Zelda uses it to seal Ganon
-Ganon has lost his humanity, has been destroyed and revived multiple times as mentioned during the final battle in the JP version, has attacked Hyrule multiple times:
.AT: OoT, TWWBS, TWW. Three times.
.CT: TP, FSA. Twice, one of them being a different Ganon.
.DT: OoT, IW, ALttP, ALBWBS, LoZ. Five times. Seven if you include his botched resurrection in OoX and his revival and fusion with Yuga in ALBW.
-Hyrule is in a state of decline, which happens all the time in the DT
-Tunic of the Wild, stated to belong to a previous hero and not requiring an out of game item like an Amiibo to obtain it, making it the only Green Tunic that's canon, looks identical to the Tunic used by LoZ/AoL Link.

The backstory of BotW adds another two attacks to each potential timeline placement, taking them up to a minimum of four times, so multiple attacks could apply to any of the timelines.
The Tunic of the Wild can also be assumed to have belonged to the hero from 10,000 years before BotW... the Tunic of the Hero is the one from LoZ/AoL, and while similar like all of the green tunics, is not identical.
There's also the possibility of BotW being in a new timeline split, which would explain all of the inconsistencies with the other timelines.

The fact that she specifically mentions the key words from three game names in a row is clearly meant as a shoutout to those games. Thinking otherwise is just silly. Also they added Breath of the Wild art to the stupidly expensive shop in Twilight Princess Hd.

As we've already said, keywords alone are not a strong argument, as they could easily be present in currently unseen periods of other timelines... and there are just as many keywords from the other timelines scattered throughout BotW... they are likely nothing more than easter eggs for players to find... just like the picture in TP, which would completely screw up the timeline if it was meant to be an indication of the timeline placement.

 

[Wolfie]

It's definitely a shoutout from a meta standpoint, but the details are not specific enough to say that it's referring to the events of Twilight Princess, especially since people like Zant and Midna aren't mentioned. Not to mention that arguing that BotW art in TPHD is canon is like saying that Majora's Mask hanging in Link's house in ALBW proves that ALBW is in the CT.

It's a shoutout from a shoutout standpoint.

Zant is also heavily hinted at by the Yiga clan.

It makes no sense to reference 2 games in the timeline followed by a third that isn't. Just use basic logic. If it was in another timeline then the third time she mentioned heroics she would have picked something from the name of a game in the timeline they were actually in.

 

[Fraxinus]

Zant is also heavily hinted at by the Yiga clan.

When tf was Zant hinted at by the Yiga?

 

[Wolfie]

When tf was Zant hinted at by the Yiga?

A theory with a lot of evidence behind it that isn't contested much is that the Twili were originally Sheikah defectors before they got sent into Twilight and evolved.
https://youtu.be/jBiqDDmWiJY

The Yiga are also Sheikah defectors.

Notice the incredibly strong similarities between the Yiga boss in how he moves and his ridiculous nature and the way he throws tantrums and thrashes when he is losing.
https://youtu.be/EI0wHefTLFo

Do his movements... remind you of someone?
https://youtu.be/pDkuU6lp6fs

 

[Fraxinus]

Fighting style says nothing. Kohga must be related to Ghirahim too because he flaunts his body like Ghirahim.

I have no opinion on who the Twili were previously, and therefore won't argue about it, but it's worth noting their emblem resembles that of the Gerudo's, furthermore there are no Gerudo in Twilight Princess, and Midna says they lost one of their kings to his lust for power. I think it's more likely the Twili were Gerudo rather than Sheikah, although I'm reluctant to pursue either idea.

 

[Wolfie]

Fighting style says nothing. Kohga must be related to Ghirahim too because he flaunts his body like Ghirahim.

I have no opinion on who the Twili were previously, and therefore won't argue about it, but it's worth noting their emblem resembles that of the Gerudo's, furthermore there are no Gerudo in Twilight Princess, and Midna says they lost one of their kings to his lust for power. I think it's more likely the Twili were Gerudo rather than Sheikah.

Believe what you want but imo Twilight Princess was given a Hd remake for a reason, The Twili are obviously Sheikah defectors, the Yiga clan's fighting style and temperament bears an incredible resemblance to an active Sheikah defector we encountered previously who was a boss in Twilight Princess, and oh yea, they reference the game while listing heroics after mentioning 2 other games. What they are trying to do is very obvious, I don't know why anyone would think otherwise.

 

[DragonEleven]

Twilight Princess was given a Hd remake for a reason

They needed a filler while we waited for BotW and TP was the oldest 3D Zelda game to have not been received a remake.

The Twili are obviously Sheikah defectors, the Yiga clan's fighting style and temperament bears an incredible resemblance to an active Sheikah defector we encountered previously who was a boss in Twilight Princess

Assuming the Twili theory to be true, that only means they have an indirect connection via the Sheikah... not a direct connection.
They could even be alternate versions of one another from different timelines... that would actually make a lot more sense.

 

[Wolfie]

They needed a filler while we waited for BotW and TP was the oldest 3D Zelda game to have not been received a remake.


Assuming the Twili theory to be true, that only means they have an indirect connection via the Sheikah... not a direct connection.
They could even be alternate versions of one another from different timelines... that would actually make a lot more sense.

I like to imagine that incarnations happen in tandem across the timelines. Like they would still be born at about the same time in whichever of the three was going on (assuming they get born at all). I don't have anything to back that up but the Yiga clan boss being Zant in this timeline so many years later just feels wrong. Does that mean Midna is just gone? She definitely isn't Aya and I can't imagine they would incarnate separate from each other.

And yea I agree the TP remaster was probably not plot specific, Zelda tends to make the lore fit the game. If anything the remaster would have made them feel like making Botw be involved with Tp somehow. Either way though I feel that they clearly intended them to be ...linked.

In a press release they even said that playing through TP for Botw would give you many "aha" moments so I can't help but feel like they are directly linked in the chain of events.

 

[DragonEleven]

I like to imagine that incarnations happen in tandem across the timelines. Like they would still be born at about the same time in whichever of the three was going on (assuming they get born at all). I don't have anything to back that up but the Yiga clan boss being Zant in this timeline so many years later just feels wrong. Does that mean Midna is just gone? She definitely isn't Aya and I can't imagine they would incarnate separate from each other.

I meant the Yiga Clan and the Twili in general were alternate versions of one another... not individual characters.
Both would be the result of a faction of Sheikah turning against them, but differing events in each timeline would cause this to happen at different points in history, so different individuals would be involved in each.

 

[Wolfie]

I meant the Yiga Clan and the Twili in general were alternate versions of one another... not individual characters.
Both would be the result of a faction of Sheikah turning against them, but differing events in each timeline would cause this to happen at different points in history, so different individuals would be involved in each.

Usually though people that are strongly ...linked seem to appear together. I really couldn't fathom Zant showing up but not Midna. And botw has enough npcs to throw her in as well. So I think if they were going to have one show up the other would as well.

 

[Jamie]

It's a shoutout from a shoutout standpoint.

Zant is also heavily hinted at by the Yiga clan.

It makes no sense to reference 2 games in the timeline followed by a third that isn't. Just use basic logic. If it was in another timeline then the third time she mentioned heroics she would have picked something from the name of a game in the timeline they were actually in.

And Princess Ruta becoming a sage is mentioned in BotW too, which didn't happen in the Child Timeline, which is a lot more of a direct reference than Zelda's speech which I agree was a meta comment.