Legend of Zelda Timeline Discussion

[RogersBase]

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA Timeline Rap - RogersBase feat. DistantReality:

Because, why not?

 

[Ghirahilda]

Why is this thread dead? We have to discuss where BotW fits on the timeline

 

[Arcadenik]

So... where do you think Breath of the Wild fits in the timeline?

Spoiler: Breath of the Wild spoilers

One memory with Zelda referred Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time, and Twilight Princess. So I thought it took place in the Child Timeline.

But the description of the rock salt item mentions the ancient sea... referring the Great Sea in The Wind Water... so it could be in the Adult Timeline. But the last time the Master Sword was seen was in Ganondorf's head...

Oh... and the map of Breath of the Wild is similar to the map of A Link to the Past.... with Lost Woods to the west of Death Mountain... and the Master Sword is in Lost Woods in both games... so it could be in the Decline Timeline, especially when the world looks like post apocalyptic Hyrule.

I guess I'm going with Child Timeline since the memory with Zelda alluding Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time, and Twilight Princess is canon.

 

[Aetheri]

My theory on Breath of the Wild's Timeline placement

Spoiler

Reclaimed Memory #1: Subdued Ceremony
-This is definitely the most important piece of evidence regarding it's placement since Zelda outright references Twilight Princess, along with the likes of Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time seemingly marking important events in history where the Master Sword served a chosen hero...
-There are some discrepancies as her speech also references Wind Waker and A Link to the Past, but only in other languahes as the references are not nearly as strong in the English version of the game, however all localizations of the game retain teh same references to Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess, twilight princess being a lot more obvious in the English version but uses of the word Shadows and Dusk still hold some ground as a reference to the game...
-It's also important to note that the references to Wind Waker and A Link to the Past are only heard during background dialogue as the second half of Zelda's speech is drowned out by the dialogue from the Champion's from the same scene...Differences in localized versions of background dialogue makes it hard for me to take this as evidence against the more consistent dialogue which is featured rather prominently within the memory...

The Zora, Goron, and Gerudo Races (To a lesser extent the Rito as well)
-The Zora as we see them in Breath of the Wild took on a much different form in the Downfall Timeline as they were generally more hostile and monstrous in comparison, aside from the Oracle games...In Breath of the Wild the Zora not only retain their more belevolent forms but also more closely resemble how they appeared in Twilight Princess than they did in any other game...
-The Gorons (once again apart from the Oracle games) were completely absent from the Downfall Timeline altogether...whereas they're still present within Twilight Princess
-The Gerudo, were also absent for the majority of both Downfall and Child Timelines, have made a resurgence during Four Swords Adventures as they have rekinkled their alliance with the rest of Hyrule after losing the war after the events of Ocarina of Time
-The Rito don't have a very strong case pointing to either the Downfall nor Child Timelines as they've only had on appearance previously being Wind Waker (where they differed quite a bit in appearance) however, albeit conveniently we have in TPHD these carvings found throughout Castle Town featuring three of the major races in Breath of the Wild, being Gorons, Zoras as well as a bird-like race that strongly resembles the Rito...while not a very strong piece of evidence it does give the race some precedence within a different timeline other than the Adult timeline...and in a game that was released during BotW's development, I have a hard time believing it was just a random easter egg (unlike the very obvious screenshots of BotW's first trailer) and is possibly one of those 'oh, I see' moments Aonuma was referring to upon the release of TPHD and it's connection to BotW...

Arbiter's Grounds, Bridge of Hylia
-while Lake Hylia has made several appearances in different Zelda games the bridge itself has only made one other appearance other than Breath of the Wild being Twilight Princess...
-Not much is left of this notable dungeon but the remains of Arbiter's Grounds from Twilight Princess can be found in Gerudo Desert...However the exact origin of Arbiter's Grounds is unknown and while there are theories that suggest that it was once the Spirit Temple from OoT it's possible it's a separate structure entirely...

Hyrule Castle, Castle Town
-The resemblance is rather uncanny though in the downfall Timeline Hyrule Castle and Castle Town were never really as 'grand' as they were in Twilight Princess, but the layout for Castle Town is consistent with TP including the fountain at the center and Hyrule Castle resembling that of TP also, though the castle was destroyed by the end of the game when Ganondorf's Malice defeated Midna...speaking of...

Malice
-In Hyrule Historia, (p113) Ganondorf's Malice was described to have been sealed away with Ganondorf into the Twilight Realm and there it personified into a spiritual fire of sorts with the ability to corrupt and empower other beings as it has done with Zant within the Twilight Realm, Ganondorf's Malice is the embodiment of his hatred and wickedness with the power to corrupt...Very much like it does in Breath of the Wild as it literally became a physical substance over the many with once again the power to corrupt very much like it does in Twilight Princess...which leads me to the theory that Calamity Ganon is the reincarnated embodiment of Ganondorf's Malice (rather than the Ganon that was sealed within the Four Sword) as a result of Demise's Curse...Ganondorf's physical being was killed in Twilight Princess but his Malice manifested into Calamity Ganon over time...

Ganon
-It's reasonable to note just how much Calamity Ganon bears a resemblance to Ganondorf as if the Malice was making an attempt to resurrect itself back into Ganondorf with the use of the sheikah technology (it possibly became so deformed due to Zelda's intervention which disallowed Ganon to fully form itself into a new reincarnation
-Dark Beast Ganon, is yet again a giant monstrous boar as seen in Twilight Princess

Common trends: Skyward Sword-Ocarina of Time-Twilight Princess
-I think it's rather important to look at the three games that are referenced quite a lot in Breath of the Wild, while sure pretty much every game in the series has some references scattered throughout the game, but playing through the game and seeing just how much it takes from Twilight Princess in comparison to most other games...Then you got the presence of all of the major races in Twilight Princess with just Rito and Sheikah (who were also largely absent in the Downfall Timeline) being the only real unexplained in the game...as well as Zelda's speech in the first memory has me heavily leaning towards a Child Timeline placement...yes there are some contradictions such as the Zora monument referring to Ruto's awakening as a sage, but we also have Koroks and Rito which also serve as a contradiction of sorts...