Breath of the Wild Timeline: Where is the game going to go?

[Deleted member 81859]

I don't use the Manga as canon, sorry.

The manga isn't considered canon by Nintendo- it was just included in HH as a bonus.

Funny, as Prequel Link is my third favorite Link.

 

[DeactivatedUser2]

The manga isn't considered canon by Nintendo- it was just included in HH as a bonus.

Funny, as Prequel Link is my third favorite Link.

Can you find a quote where they said this? It was included in HH which details all of Zelda's canon history as most of it was written by Aonuma, and I'd like to know where they said this wasn't canon.

 

[Justac00lguy]

I remember people saying, but really canon is such a touchy subject anyway. It sometimes comes down to the fanbases general consensus. Lord of the Rings is a mind**** when it comes to what's canon and what's not, lol.

 

[DeactivatedUser2]

I remember people saying, but really canon is such a touchy subject anyway. It sometimes comes down to the fanbases general consensus. Lord of the Rings is a mind**** when it comes to what's canon and what's not, lol.

True, and the manga honestly kind of does disregard the canon (Demise says that all humans ran from him, but Link stood up to him in the prequel) but I don't remember Nintendo commenting on it, meaning it could either be canon or not and it comes down to the opinion of the reader.

 

[Turo602]

While Breath of the Wild shares many similarities to The Wind Waker and therefore, making people believe there might be a connection, I believe those similarities are as superficial as the inclusion of Wolf Link which is nothing more than an added gameplay bonus. After all, development for Breath of the Wild gave birth to The Wind Waker remaster. So I wouldn't be surprised if Wind Waker itself inspired certain elements of Breath of the Wild such as its visuals, music, and even the presence of Koroks which all have no bearing on the story.

With that said, I believe this game takes place in the fallen hero timeline. For one, the villain is referred to as just Ganon and not Ganondorf. This is interesting because Ganon is primarily present in the fallen hero timeline with the exception of Four Swords Adventures which is set in the child timeline. But that's not all as Link himself is sporting longer hair which gives him the look of classic Link with the dark hair and longer sideburns which is a design currently specific to the fallen hero timeline as well. The game is also very reminiscent of the original which is also placed on the fallen hero timeline. While this could just be Nintendo going back to their roots, I suspect there might be more to it than that.

As far as the timeline itself goes, it's a jumbled mess. Given the games present on the fallen hero timeline, it's pretty obvious Nintendo just threw together all the old games from before they started to take the whole timeline thing seriously and placed them in an unsuspecting third branch of Ocarina of Time because they didn't fit anywhere else. And since this is the first major Zelda title since they revealed the timeline with Skyward Sword, it's not too crazy to think that maybe they're trying to lend some creditability to this new timeline by expanding upon it.

Which makes me think that maybe this Link is actually the Ocarina of Time Link who failed. That could explain why Hyrule is in a state of decline, being run by Ganon, and also why the game starts with Link being resurrected. I think it makes tons of sense for them to go this route as it would be the first game to actually establish this event. Now if we're to believe this, then the game would have a definitive spot on the timeline, right after Ocarina of Time and before A Link to the Past. This connection is also important because the location of the Master Sword in the Breath of the Wild trailer shows a place that bears a striking resemblance to the artwork depicting the Master Sword's resting place from A Link to the Past.

 

[Libk]

Idk what timeline it may be in, and I think it could very well be any of the three or before the split IMO, but I think we know one thing for sure. BotW Link is SS Link. Handedness

 

[Dio]

Idk what timeline it may be in, and I think it could very well be any of the three or before the split IMO, but I think we know one thing for sure. BotW Link is SS Link. Handedness

It cant be SS Link or pre split. And Handedness doesnt confirm it. Links right handedness doesnt have to be only confined to SS link.

Why is this not SS link? Well...This game has Hyrule Castle in it. 100 years prior to BoTW, Ganon was sealed in it. It is also said Link had been sleeping for 100 years before BoTW takes place. Looking at him, he is no older than SS link. For him not to be older they would have had to have built all of Hyrule in less than a year after SS, Ganon would have also had to attacked less than a year after Demise's demise. So you see it is impossible for this to be SS link.

Its not pre split because Ganon was not around pre Split, only Ganondorf the Gerudo was. There are also Koroks which the Kokiri became long after the split. Pre split they would have been in the Kokiri forms.

 

[Libk]

It cant be SS Link or pre split. And Handedness doesnt confirm it. Links right handedness doesnt have to be only confined to SS link.

BotW Link is supposed to be a precious link that already saved Hyrule once and the only other link that is right handed is SS Link. I don't deny your other points, but the only link this can be is SS. It cant be the hero of time, or the hero of twilight, or any other version of link because they're all left handed.

 

[DeactivatedUser2]

I get this is supposed to be a Link that has already saved (or failed) Hyrule, but I don't get why that automatically makes him a Link we've already seen. There are probably many, MANY Zelda games that are going to go on the timeline in the future that will feature completely new eras in history with new Links saving Hyrule. Why does this Link have to be one we already know of? We already know many Links already have (and will) save(d) Hyrule, and there's not a lot of evidence pointing at this being a preexisting Link that has been in a game besides the fact that Zelda says he must save Hyrule again. If anything, it's just an incredibly massive assumption people are taking in guessing it's a Link we've seen.

 

[Libk]

Fair point. I don't know if nintendo would do that honestly so if it's not one we've already seen I guess we'll end up learning how he already saved Hyrule in the games story. If it is one that we've already seen it has to be SS Link. Though I agree SS LINK makes no sense for trying to place it on the timeline. Has anyone talked about the possibility of all 3 timelines converging into one again? If so I'd like to see their points on that one.

 

[Dio]

Fair point. I don't know if nintendo would do that honestly so if it's not one we've already seen I guess we'll end up learning how he already saved Hyrule in the games story. If it is one that we've already seen it has to be SS Link. Though I agree SS LINK makes no sense for trying to place it on the timeline. Has anyone talked about the possibility of all 3 timelines converging into one again? If so I'd like to see their points on that one.

From a developers perspective having the timelines merge is a bad idea. There are currently 3 different versions of Hyrule shown in Zelda, by only having one again it would restrict where they can place games.

From a story perspecive merging the three would just be an insane thing to do. It wouldnt even work as the three versions of Hyrule have completely different histories.

 

[CrimsonCavalier]

There's still the hope that they'll scrap the entire stupid timeline idea, and just go back to having each game be its own game. Or scrap everything else, and start a brand new timeline, with new history and new lore. Either would be welcome in my eyes.

 

[Dio]

There's still the hope that they'll scrap the entire stupid timeline idea, and just go back to having each game be its own game. Or scrap everything else, and start a brand new timeline, with new history and new lore. Either would be welcome in my eyes.

A few of the Zelda games had a clear connection like WW and OOT but with most the connection seemed forced.

I would love for this new game to begin a new timeline. A fresh start for the series so they can build a more cohesive lore.

However there is no hope for this to happen. Aounuma had said he had a plan for this game and the other games he makes and that he had/has a plan for where they fit in to the timeline. This tells us it is going in the established mess rather than making a new timeline and for sure that this wont be a standalone game isolated from the rest of the series.

 

[CrimsonCavalier]

However there is no hope for this to happen. Aounuma had said he had a plan for this game and the other games he makes and that he had/has a plan for where they fit in to the timeline. This tells us it is going in the established mess rather than making a new timeline and for sure that this wont be a standalone game isolated from the rest of the series.

Maybe in the future, with a completely different team working on it. I mean, if the games are still fun, it really doesn't make that much of a difference. However, the series as a whole could benefit from having a coherent story, whether that be a true, unified timeline that makes sense, or not having a timeline at all.

 

[DeactivatedUser2]

I think just putting a little more background thought into it would overall better help the story in terms of development. For example, they easily could have explained why the Triforce went back to the original owners in aLBW after we saw it still together in aLttP and OoX. Possibly in the Hyrule Historia 2.0, they could add something like

"A few decades after Link's adventure in Koholint, the Triforce of Courage and Power randomly dispersed! The Triforce of Wisdom remained in Hyrule Castle, and it was inferred that the Triforce of Power returned to Ganon. It was unknown where the Triforce of Courage returned to, but many assume it returned to the descendant of the Hero. Nobody knows if the Triforce itself wanted to disperse, or if it was done by somebody acting behind the scenes."