Daily Debate: Does Breath Of The Wild Give The Zelda Timeline A “Soft Reboot”?
Posted on July 30 2019 by Charles Xavier
As a Zelda theorist, Breath of the Wild has ended up being dubious for me. I was on Cloud Nine when I came across it’s call backs to previous Zelda games. At first, those nods to other games excited me, but then I began to notice conflicting references that make Breath of the Wild a headache to place anywhere on the Zelda timeline. I’ve seen multiple theories created to rectify the issues, and one that sticks with me is the possibility that Breath of the Wild is a “soft reboot” of the Zelda timeline.
The concept suggests the references to each timeline split in Breath of the Wild are only mythical rather than historical. This allows for those references to be made while the game doesn’t necessarily need to be weighed down by what came before. Essentially, it’s still the same universe but Breath of the Wild is so far removed from the other entries in the Zelda timeline that they don’t really matter. A lot of what came before might have happened, but some details would be in doubt, allowing the timeline to be bent without contradiction.
So, what do you all think? Is Breath of the Wild a “soft reboot” of the Zelda Timeline? If not, which of the three splits of the official Zelda timeline do you theorize it to be on? We’re interested to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
Charles is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon. He is a Visual Development artist focused on enviroments and pitch paintings. Check out his Instagram and Twitter to see his latest artworks, a lot of which is Zelda fan art! His favorite candy is Skittles – he feels the world should know this.
