Daily Debate: Should Nintendo Give Breath of the Wild a Definitive Timeline Placement?
Posted on January 01 2021 by Charles Xavier
It’s a new year, and with tons of possibilities on what the next 12 months have in store, there comes refreshed hopes of game releases! I’m definitely hoping that this year we can look forward to the release of the sequel to Breath of the Wild; but with that prospect looming, it makes me wonder: will these games finally be given a timeline placement, or is Nintendo content to never pin them down?
Zelda fans typically have a mixed bag of opinions on the Official Zelda Timeline; some liked that it was finally revealed, others disliked it because it ruined timeline theorizing. I can imagine some fans enjoying Breath of the Wild‘s ambiguity, because it could eventually rekindle timeline theories moving forward. On the other hand, not updating the timeline seems a bit counter-intuitive to releasing it to begin with, because it gave an impression that clarity on the continuity was going to be a focus moving into the future.
The types of theories we’ll see throughout this decade rests on whichever decision Nintendo makes. We’ll either see a resurgence of timeline theorizing if a placement for Breath of the Wild is never resolved, or we’ll get deeper analytical theorizing about individual games – rather than trying to establish connections between titles – if they do find a spot for it. There are pros and cons for both of these possibilities depending on theoretical preference. I probably lean more in favor of the latter scenario, simply because I participated in timeline theorizing for many years, and I think a change of the climate within the fandom, in terms of content, would be good. That’s not to say I’d dislike Nintendo leaving Breath of the Wild and its subsequent games in limbo; there could be some cool aspects of timeline theorizing again with a common reference point for theorists to utilize.
But where do you stand on the matter? Should Breath of the Wild be given a timeline placement, or do you prefer the hands off approach to the timeline? Sound off 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.
