Where BoTW Fits

[Leviathaninwaves]

I'm betting all my money on this... see attachment.

Ganon obtains the triforce whole, the timelines converge, perhaps due to a wish to rule over everything. This time period might explain the lack of triforce symbolism in the architecture seen around the kingdom.

 

[DragonEleven]

I think the inclusion of references to so many different games in the Zelda series within BotW means that despite all of the arguments in favour of a specific timeline placement, there are plenty of others in opposition to it.
Many of the arguments in favour of a specific timeline are also weakened when you consider that just because an element only appears in one timeline does not mean that it cannot appear in others... just because we haven't seen them does not mean they're not there.

So the most logical conclusion we can draw from this is that BotW likely does not fit into any of the timelines... not any of the established ones, at least.
It would need to be in a fourth timeline that splits off from one of the existing three during an event major enough to determine the future of Hyrule, while not affecting the events of the already established timelines.

I personally think that a split like this would fit best in the adult timeline, prior to the Great Flood... we know next to nothing about this period of time at the moment, and we've only had a small glimpse of Hyrule after this, making it easy to add in any elements that has previously been exclusive to one of the other timelines.

 

[DJ Twitch]

If it's not post-AoL, I will use an embarrassing sig for a whole year.

 

[KingRhoam629]

I've been deciphering some of the hard to find Hylian text in the game and I've found some interesting things so far, there is specifically one stone tablet that I found that actually read something, I just can't figure out if it's a hint for the timeline or if it's nothing. Check out the video here of text I've found so far https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4KeFBSlAf8. Let me know what you guys can make of it.

 

[DragonEleven]

I've been deciphering some of the hard to find Hylian text in the game and I've found some interesting things so far, there is specifically one stone tablet that I found that actually read something, I just can't figure out if it's a hint for the timeline or if it's nothing. Check out the video here of text I've found so far https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4KeFBSlAf8. Let me know what you guys can make of it.

Sounds like a standard landmark plaque to me... probably doesn't mean anything.

 

[KingRhoam629]

Sounds like a standard landmark plaque to me... probably doesn't mean anything.

I was thinking maybe it appeared in another Zelda game and I missed it, otherwise you're right it is pretty normal

 

[ReveredPartisan]

A pre-WW split in which the Calamity in BotW is the backstory of WW is an impossibility, because we have two separate kings, Daphnes in WW and Rhoam in BotW.

I suppose it's possible, actually, that they are in fact alternate versions of the same character, and that the split occurs at his birth. Rhoam goes on to raise Zelda, who is able to harness the powers of Hylia and save Link, who'll eventually restore the kingdom; while to Daphnes, no daughters/inadequate daughters are born, and they are not able to save Link. Thus, without hope for a hero, the flood begins. But I'd consider this a stretch.

The most likely option, imo, is a pre-TP split-- this allows both BotW to occur on the Child Timeline and Castle Town to remain in its OoT position/the Temple of Time to remain standing without any inconsistency. But it may also occur simply post-TP, on the CT.

 

[DragonEleven]

A pre-WW split in which the Calamity in BotW is the backstory of WW is an impossibility, because we have two separate kings, Daphnes in WW and Rhoam in BotW.

Rhoam is the King from 100 years before BotW... but that doesn't rule out Daphnes being the King from 10,000 years before BotW, which is the latest point at which the split could take place.

 

[ReveredPartisan]

Rhoam is the King from 100 years before BotW... but that doesn't rule out Daphnes being the King from 10,000 years before BotW, which is the latest point at which the split could take place.

I'm pretty sure the 10,000 years is referring to the events of pre-SS. A single kingdom-- Hyrule-- can't sustain itself for 10,000 years-- that's twice exceeding the approximate age of human civilization.

 

[DragonEleven]

I'm pretty sure the 10,000 years is referring to the events of pre-SS. A single kingdom-- Hyrule-- can't sustain itself for 10,000 years-- that's twice exceeding the approximate age of human civilization.

It couldn't possibly be pre-SS.
Princess Zelda and the Hylian royal family didn't exist until after SS, and Ganondorf/Ganon didn't exist until around the time of OoT.
And what makes you think a kingdom could not sustain itself for 10,000 years?
Just because human civilisation hasn't been about that long does not mean it's not possible... we haven't been about long enough to prove whether it's possible or not... it could easily be possible in a fantasy world regardless.

 

[Moblinking5000]

The most likely option, imo, is a pre-TP split-- this allows both BotW to occur on the Child Timeline and Castle Town to remain in its OoT position/the Temple of Time to remain standing without any inconsistency. But it may also occur simply post-TP, on the CT.

Or place it on the DT, as we don't know the fate of the ToT on that line. Also, we have precedence for multiple ToTs. And geography probably isn't the best indicator of timeline placement when you compare it to the lore references. And most lore references support the DT:

-The events from later parts of OoT are remembered(Ruto fighting Ganondorf alongside the HoT, Nabooru being awakened as a sage) these could theoretically also work on the AT, but Hyrule was destroyed in the AT.
-The Royal Family has the complete Triforce, something that has only happened in the DT as far as we know, and is something that's a recurring theme on the DT.
-Ganon is a primal evil as said by Impa, and is at his most inhuman ever in this game, with Zelda in the JP version of the final battle saying that he has been revived many times and destroyed, something that has only happened in the DT. Also, Aonuma said that this is in the timeline that has many battles with Ganon, and the DT has the most.
-Hylia is worshipped. The only evidence of Hylia worship post-SS is in AoL due to the Goddess Statue, and ALBW where Yuga says that Zelda reminds him of ''Her Grace''. These games are both in the DT.
-The MS is in the forest, with the flowers in the same position as in ALttP and ALBW.
-Hyrule is in a state of decline, something that we only see in the DT, and is a recurring theme.
-Lynels have only appeared in the DT. Although admittedly minor, maybe even weak, evidence, it's something to think about.
-The Tunic of the Wild resembles the tunic that LoZ/AoL Link wore, and is said to have belonged to a previous hero in its description. It's also the only green tunic you get without an amiibo, making it the only canon green tunic.

 

[Vaati101]

The events from later parts of OoT are remembered(Ruto fighting Ganondorf alongside the HoT

Referring to the Zora monument talking about Ruto. I do not believe the Zora monument is talking about Ruto's role in the adult events of Ocarina of Time. Firstly, the evil man it's referring to is indeed Ganondorf, but if the monument is talking about Ruto awakening as a sage in the adult timeline, then isn't it peculiar that the current Zoras can remember the name of a Zora princess from that era, but not remember a big threat known as Ganondorf, the King of Evil who brought Hyrule to it's knees? That's something you couldn't forget even in legend because of how colossal of a threat Ganondorf posed after entering the Sacred Realm, obtaining the Triforce of Power and taking over Hyrule.

Secondly the fact that the monument refers to Ganondorf as an evil man with designs of taking over the world suggests that Ganondorf didn't gain access to the Sacred Realm and didn't become the King of Evil. To call Ganondorf simply an evil man as opposed to the King of Evil, this implies that the Zora monument is actually referring to Ruto's role in capturing Ganondorf in the child timeline after Link returned from defeating him in the adult timeline to warn the Royal Family of Ganondorf's evil intentions. So when the monument refers to Ruto fighting alongside Link and Zelda, considering that Ganondorf didn't rise to power, this may actually reference her time with Link inside Lord Jabu-Jabu's Belly in the child quest as opposed to the Water Temple in the adult quest.

Aonuma said that this is in the timeline that has many battles with Ganon, and the DT has the most.

I think this point is a result of misunderstanding or misinterpretation. Aonuma does say the game takes place where the world your in has suffered many battles with Ganon, but keep in mind that Aonuma is referring to Ganon's attacks on the Kingdom of Hyrule. Although Ganon does in fact appear more times on the downfall timeline than any other timeline, He doesn't attack Hyrule very much at all. The only times he does attack Hyrule in the downfall timeline is in A Link to the Past and the original Legend of Zelda. Technically he doesn't appear in AoL, only when you get a Game over which is the non-canon chain of events. In ALBW, (Yuga)Ganon threatens Lorule instead of Hyrule and in the Oracle games, it's Holodrum/Labrynna where Link fights Ganon after being resurrected. Ultimately Ganon doesn't attack Hyrule much despite appearing more in the downfall timeline, however the same could be said about the child timeline, although where Ganon has appeared in the child timeline, it has always been an attack on the Kingdom of Hyrule.

 

[Moblinking5000]

Referring to the Zora monument talking about Ruto. I do not believe the Zora monument is talking about Ruto's role in the adult events of Ocarina of Time. Firstly, the evil man it's referring to is indeed Ganondorf, but if the monument is talking about Ruto awakening as a sage in the adult timeline, then isn't it peculiar that the current Zoras can remember the name of a Zora princess from that era, but not remember a big threat known as Ganondorf, the King of Evil who brought Hyrule to it's knees? That's something you couldn't forget even in legend because of how colossal of a threat Ganondorf posed after entering the Sacred Realm, obtaining the Triforce of Power and taking over Hyrule.

Secondly the fact that the monument refers to Ganondorf as an evil man with designs of taking over the world suggests that Ganondorf didn't gain access to the Sacred Realm and didn't become the King of Evil. To call Ganondorf simply an evil man as opposed to the King of Evil, this implies that the Zora monument is actually referring to Ruto's role in capturing Ganondorf in the child timeline after Link returned from defeating him in the adult timeline to warn the Royal Family of Ganondorf's evil intentions. So when the monument refers to Ruto fighting alongside Link and Zelda, considering that Ganondorf didn't rise to power, this may actually reference her time with Link inside Lord Jabu-Jabu's Belly in the child quest.

The sages from OoT never awakened in the CT. The sages who sealed Ganon in the Twilight Realm where the Ancient Sages who have been watching over the Mirror of Twilight since Ancient Times. And they did remember Ganondorf, hence the reference to an ''evil man''. Evil Man/King of Evil is semantics; Even if he gained the ToP and gained a title, he was still a man throughout OoT, and an evil one. This was written from the perspective of the Zora, it makes sense for Ruto to be mentioned by name. It also said that Ruto awakened as a sage at this time, eliminating the possibility of it being in the Child Era, and I'm pretty sure that HH mentions Link warning Zelda as their first meeting being taken in a new direction, which would make it before Link even met Ruto anyway.

I think this point is a result of misunderstanding or misinterpretation. Aonuma does say the game takes place where the world your in has suffered many battles with Ganon, but keep in mind that Aonuma is referring to Ganon's attacks on the Kingdom of Hyrule. Although Ganon does in fact appear more times on the downfall timeline than any other timeline, He doesn't attack Hyrule very much at all. The only times he does attack Hyrule in the downfall timeline is in A Link to the Past and the original Legend of Zelda. Technically he doesn't appear in AoL, only when you get a Game over which is the non-canon chain of events. In ALBW, (Yuga)Ganon threatens Lorule instead of Hyrule and in the Oracle games, it's Holodrum/Labrynna where Link fights Ganon after being resurrected. Ultimately Ganon doesn't attack Hyrule much despite appearing more in the downfall timeline, however the same could be said about the child timeline, although where Ganon has appeared in the child timeline, it has always been an attack on the Kingdom of Hyrule.

DT Ganon Hyrule Attacks:OoT, IW, ALttP, ALBWBS, LoZ. Five.
AT Ganon Hyrule Attacks: OoT, TWWBS, TWW. Three.
CT Ganon Hyrule attacks: TPBS, TP, FSA. Three, Two if we exclude Ganon II in FSA.

 

[YIGAhim]

I'm quite sure it's a fourth timeline split, in the general area of the downfall timeline. Since the game showcases unique things from all of the timelines, there's no way it can't be in a fourth timeline, unless all three come together somewhere... There are Koroks, The Look of the Zoras, and The Lynels (All from different timelines) among other things that lead me to believe it's a fourth timeline.

 

[DragonEleven]

I'm quite sure it's a fourth timeline split, in the general area of the downfall timeline. Since the game showcases unique things from all of the timelines, there's no way it can't be in a fourth timeline, unless all three come together somewhere... There are Koroks, The Look of the Zoras, and The Lynels (All from different timelines) among other things that lead me to believe it's a fourth timeline.

I've been suggesting a fourth timeline for quite a while now, so I'm glad to see I'm not alone.
The only difference is that I'd guess it would split off from the adult timeline, prior to the Great Flood... we know next to nothing about that era, so it would be easy for them to insert a timeline splitting event (which could easily be tied into why the hero didn't appear before the great flood)... plus there's the similarity between Ganon in the backstory of WW, and Calamity Ganon in BotW.