Breath of the Wild BotW: The most ambiguous Zelda timeline game

[Spirit]

So, i cant think of a title to best get my point across so I'll try and define it.

I know another timeline thread isnt what we need right now with BotW, but this isnt a thread about where its going to be placed, rather this thread is designed to talk about the ambiguity of it all.

We all (used to) have fun placing Zelda games in our timelines before we knew better thanks to the HH. But most of them werent too hard to place.

Breath of the Wild however seems to be an absolute bugger.

Both Twilight Princess and Wind Waker did shake the Zelda timeline up given that it was here where the split timeline really took effect. But we could see obvious links between games enough to place them in their timelines and be close (if not completely correct) in our theorising.

BotW though seems to pull elements from almost every other Zelda game that released before, making it very hard for us to pinpoint even a potential timeline.

So, given your experiences with other Zelda games, if you are or ever were a Zelda theorist, how ambiguous/difficult is BotW to theorise on based on others that youve tried to place/theorise on?

 

[DekuNut]

I wouldn't call it ambiguous yet, for no reason other than the game isn't out yet, and therefore there's plenty of information in it that we don't have yet. Now, this may or may not change come release, but for now I won't cal lit ambiguous

 

[Jirohnagi]

I've had a few thoughts on it, but to be honest i feel like it's an annoyance, becuase of the whole "link awoke from a 100 year sleep" we don't know the length of time between game or hell the length of time in each game itself, the only one we've really can cement is OOT as it happened in a duration of 7-8 years ) i say 7-8 because we don't know how long he took to complete the dungeons and all that funky jazz but it was within a year as he was 10 then 17 respectively.

As for BOTW i feel like it could've been place at the end of the downfall timeline or it could take place after ALTTP, but again issues with placement, i sometimes think the levels of technology present would bump it up to early in the timeline nearer SS, maybe they got the lanaryu bots to work after all, but again we see heavy technological placement in ST and TP so maybe it can go there. The issue is we don't have much to go on.

 

[Cfrock]

I've not seen a lot about Breath of the Wild so there are probably a million things I've missed, but off the top of my head I can think of a whole bunch of stuff that could put it almost anywhere on almost any timeline.

The Koroks and the description of the rock salt or whatever it is suggests Adult Timeline, probably some time after Wind Waker, after the Great Sea has receeded and the Koroks plan of restoring the land has been successful.

But then, like Cthulhu said, the Guardians have a ceratain qualityt about them that's reminiscent of the Lanyru bots, all those glowing blue lines and stuff. That would seem to suggest an earlier placement, before the split even, but given how the Guardians seem to be so old it's possible they are relics of that time and not an indication of the game's placement. Or maybe they were built long after Skyward Sword based on Lanyru designs. How can say? Not me, that's for sure.

Then there's the Temple of Time. It looks a lot like the one from Ocarina, which I think was confirmed as the same one from Twilight Princess (if I'm wrong on that don't hesitate to shout at me). But it's in ruins, which could suggest the game is after Ocarina. But it's not as ruined as in Twilight Princess which could suggest it's before that. Wolf Link further complicates things, but since that's an Amiibo thing it might not be strictly relevent. Again, who can say?

And then there's the idea this is an Imprisoning War story. We know Ganon is back, meaning Ganondorf must have gotten the complete Triforce. That suggests Downfall timeline (which is muddied by Ganon also appearing on the Child Timeline where he didn't get the complete Triforce).

So, basically, from the clues I'm aware of, Breath of the Wild could be on any of the three timeline branches, it could be before or after numerous major titles, or it might pre-date the split entirely.

So yeah, pretty ambiguous at the moment if you ask me.

 

[Jirohnagi]

Ah @Cfrock we don't actually see Beast Ganon in Child Timeline the Title Ganon is just taken by the Dorf to strike fear into hearts.

 

[Cfrock]

@Cthulhu Isn't Ganon in Four Swords Adventures?

 

[Jirohnagi]

@Cthulhu Isn't Ganon in Four Swords Adventures?

Yeah and i just realised i derped badly as TP is in Child Timeline too ^^. Lordy lord, okay imma go take a high dive off a cliff BRB

 

[Jirohnagi]

(back from cliff)

In Four swords that's a reincarnated GANON as well.

So we have clearly seen that the Dorf can assume beast mode and human mode. Holy crap this is like Link in TP as well.

 

[Dio]

So, i cant think of a title to best get my point across so I'll try and define it.

I know another timeline thread isnt what we need right now with BotW, but this isnt a thread about where its going to be placed, rather this thread is designed to talk about the ambiguity of it all.

We all (used to) have fun placing Zelda games in our timelines before we knew better thanks to the HH. But most of them werent too hard to place.

Breath of the Wild however seems to be an absolute bugger.

Both Twilight Princess and Wind Waker did shake the Zelda timeline up given that it was here where the split timeline really took effect. But we could see obvious links between games enough to place them in their timelines and be close (if not completely correct) in our theorising.

BotW though seems to pull elements from almost every other Zelda game that released before, making it very hard for us to pinpoint even a potential timeline.

So, given your experiences with other Zelda games, if you are or ever were a Zelda theorist, how ambiguous/difficult is BotW to theorise on based on others that youve tried to place/theorise on?

This one is very difficult because you find there is evidence suggesting the game could go in multiple places but even if you pick one you find is always evidence suggesting that it shouldn't go there, something that contradicts what we know about established timeline events.

Either there is a perfect explanation we haven't thought of yet or the makers of this game are happy to add more contradictions. I personally hope they dont add many. After releasing HH they really should have been giving more thought to where things fit in timeline wise. However after they released the misaligned sequel to ALTTP in the form of ALBW, we know that unfortunately they dont care too much about adding these contradictions.

 

[GloatingSwine]

Let's all be honest with ourselves.

Zelda games are designed as games first, and squashed into the metanarrative later.

 

[the8thark]

Let's all be honest with ourselves.

Zelda games are designed as games first, and squashed into the metanarrative later.

Well thank you captain obvious

 

[snakeoiltanker]

Do we have any faith that Nintendo maybe abandoned the timeline idea and they are creating an ultimate Zelda game using all the lore they have built over 30 years. I mean just doubtful dream.
But it would be pretty sweet if they did. But if I had to go with anything it would be waaaay after WW and somehow the great sea has dried up and the old hyrule has returned.

 

[Aku]

Do we have any faith that Nintendo maybe abandoned the timeline idea and they are creating an ultimate Zelda game using all the lore they have built over 30 years. I mean just doubtful dream.
But it would be pretty sweet if they did. But if I had to go with anything it would be waaaay after WW and somehow the great sea has dried up and the old hyrule has returned.

Would it be sweet? Hell yeah. Would people flip out gloriously at the same time? OH HELLS YEAH.

Ninty :Watch out peoples, cause I'm firing teh canon off te' port bow."

It could work being after WW. They seem to want to keep it on the timeline though, while sorta making a soft reboot. Showing Hylia in the church/temple, completely stripping any Dorf out of Ganon, making this Link a sort of stranger in a strange land. The old history was kind of severed in Daphne's wish, so this could have resulted.