Summary
The latest iteration of theLegend of Zeldaseries timeline has placedBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomin spots completely separate from all the other games in the series.The Legend of Zeldafranchise has a long and complicated history, especially when it comes to its timeline. While there had been direct sequels and references between otherwise unrelatedZeldagames, the series went without an official timeline for decades. That changed in 2011 with the release ofHyrule Historia.
Hyrule Historiarevealed the officialZeldaseries timeline, confirmingSkyward Swordas the first chronological entry in the series, followed byMinish Cap,Four Swords, andOcarina of Time.Ocarina of Timethen splits theZeldauniverse into three different timelines. Link being defeated creates a timeline that starts withA Link to the Pastand is followed byLink’s Awakening, theOracleduology,A Link Between Worlds,Triforce Heroes, the originalLegend of Zelda, andZelda 2. If Link is successful inOcarina of Time, the timelines are split into the Child Era and the Adult Era.The Child Era includesMajora’s Mask,Twilight Princess, andFour Swords Adventures, while the Adult Era consists ofThe Wind Waker,Phantom Hourglass, andSpirit Tracks.
Breath of the Wildhas been completely disconnected from theZeldatimeline since launch, and now an updated graphic has reiterated thatTears of the Kingdomshares the same fate. Both games are listed separately from the three establishedZeldatimelines. Nintendo brought theZeldatimeline to the Nintendo Live 2024 event in Australia, which was attended by Vooks, who in turnshared it on social media. As pointed out byNintendo Life, the image mimics the timeline that iscurrently available to see on Nintendo’s website. However, one difference is that this new timeline doesn’t feature a connecting line betweenBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdom, though the one on the Nintendo website does.
Image Shows Where Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom Sit on the Zelda Timeline
Tears of the Kingdomis a direct sequel toBreath of the Wild, and so the lack of a connecting line isn’t something fans shouldn’t read into too much. However, the fact thatBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomare seemingly not a part of the threeZeldafranchise timelinesmay be surprising to some fans.
Now, that’s not to say thatBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomwill remain this way forever. Nintendo is never going to let the timeline get in the way of what it wants to do with theZeldaseries from a story standpoint, but it’s possible that the games could be slotted in at some point down the line. A common theory is thatBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomwill eventually be put afterZelda 2, which would put them inthe Hero is Defeated timeline.
In the meantime, fans may be wonderingwhere the upcomingZelda: Echoes of Wisdomfits on the timeline. Many seem to agree that it is likely in the Hero is Defeated timeline as well, somewhere aroundLink’s AwakeningandA Link to the Past.Echoes of Wisdomshares the same art style as theLink’s AwakeningSwitch remake, and so some have used that to claim thatEchoes of Wisdomis a direct sequel, but that doesn’t actually seem to be the case. Fans may have a better idea of where exactlyEchoes of Wisdomfits once they play it for themselves, though there’s also the chance that Nintendo updates the timeline again to include it.
