Never thoughts Ganon, anybody who has ever been courageous sufficient to look will let you know that the true Dark Beast of the Zelda franchise is its timeline. Up till Skyward Sword, many people had been completely satisfied sufficient to kind our personal theories about how the video games slotted collectively, or simply play blissfully unaware of the intricacies of how one flowed into the following. Then the Hyrule Historia got here alongside in 2011 and shook all the things up.
Instead of 1 cohesive timeline, this official tie-in e-book means that there are in reality three separate strands to maintain monitor of after the occasions of Ocarina of Time — ‘The Hero is Defeated’ and ‘The Hero is Triumphant (Child and Adult eras)’. And this does not account for any of the video games that launch after Skyward Sword, so we have now solely been in a position to speculate on the place the likes of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom slot into the combination. Simply put, it will get actually sophisticated, actually quick.
Fortunately, we’re right here to assist try to make sense of all of it. We have pored over official Hyrule chronologies from the books, appeared for clues within the video games, and browse by sufficient theories to make a Zonai go zany, all within the title of making an attempt to work out the place Tears of the Kingdom (and Breath of the Wild) fall on the order of occasions.
We will do a short recap of the ‘official’ timeline earlier than we delve into this newest era simply in order that we’re all on the identical web page. And sure, we will probably be discussing set occasions and plot factors from nearly all Zelda video games on this one (although we have now gone simple round Tears of the Kingdom for now), so do be ready for spoilers forward.
Notepads on the prepared. Let’s do some (ocarina of) time travelling…
The Zelda Timeline, Explained
The Timeline According To Hyrule Historia
We are going to be very temporary with our summaries right here, so maintain on tight.
The Legend of the Goddesses and the Hero
Hyrule and the Triforce are created by three goddesses (Din, Nayru, and Farore) and are left within the management of one other goddess referred to as Hylia. War rapidly breaks out after an evil being referred to as Demise makes an attempt to get the Triforce however is sealed away by Hylia and her armies. Hylia lifts the Triforce and people into the sky on an enormous floating island referred to as Skyloft.
Hylia is reborn as a human (Zelda) who’s kidnapped by one in all Demise’s servants and pulled to the floor in an try to get the Triforce. She is saved by her pal Link, who defeats Demise, however not earlier than the villain curses the pair, swearing that his quest for vengeance will probably be everlasting, and a model of his evil will without end hunt these with the blood of the goddess — spooky stuff.
Years go. The folks of Skyloft return to the floor and title it Hyrule. There is a few nasty enterprise with a mage referred to as Vaati, who’s ultimately sealed into a robust Picori blade generally known as The Four Sword.
After some years of peace, Hyrule descends into Civil War. A child is entrusted to the Great Deku Tree to be raised as a Kokiri, rising as much as develop into Link. Link meets a brand new model of Princess Zelda (there’s going to be numerous this reincarnation enterprise, to be clear) and the pair study that an evil Gerudo referred to as Ganondorf is making an attempt to steal the Triforce, and Link travels forwards seven years in time in order that he can wield the legendary Master Sword and defeat the evil.
Games included:
The Twilight Realm and the Legacy of the Hero (The Hero is Triumphant — youngster timeline)
Having defeated Ganondorf on the finish of Ocarina of Time, Link is distributed again in time to stay out his childhood. He locations the Master Sword again in its pedestal, warns Zelda of Ganondorf’s plans and flees with the Ocarina in order that the Gerudo can by no means open the Seal of Time simply in case he manages to flee punishment (spoiler: he does).
Link visits a parallel world, fights a scary moon, and returns to Hyrule to stay out the remainder of his days unremembered as a hero — it is all very unhappy, and the video games do not go into all of it that a lot.
One hundred years go, Ganondorf escapes his execution (who would have thought it?!) and is banished to the Twilight Realm the place he builds his energy and ultimately kidnaps Princess Zelda. A direct descendent of the Hero of Time (additionally referred to as Link) goes on a quest to avoid wasting the Princess. He kills Ganondorf, saves Hyrule, and the gateway between the 2 realms is shattered.
Ganondorf is reincarnated and frees Vaati from the Four Sword, however Link makes gentle work of them each.
Games included:
The Hero of Winds and a New World (The Hero is Triumphant — grownup timeline)
Rewind to the top of Ocarina of Time. Link defeats Ganondorf (who’s sealed away by the sages) and is distributed again in time, so what occurs to the timeline with out Link? Well, carnage.
Ganondorf escapes the seal and takes over Hyrule. With no hero there to guard them, the king of Hyrule leaves the destiny of the world to the gods who swiftly flood the lands, letting solely a choose few survive.
Years go and Ganondorf escapes from his watery grave (yep, as soon as once more). Link gathers collectively the damaged shards of the Triforce, repowers the Master Sword, and descends to the underside of the ocean to place an finish to Ganondorf for good — he stabs the sword into his head, turning the Gerudo to stone (this one is severe). On the needs of the King of Hyrule, the Triforce, Ganondorf, and Hyrule itself are washed away within the hopes of a greater future.
Link and Zelda (right here referred to as Tetra) go on a quest to discover a new Hyrule. There are some shenanigans with a Ghost Ship alongside the way in which, however they ultimately discover a new land (and it even has its personal railway community). Hundreds of years later, Zelda and Link (reincarnated) free the land from evil and so they stay fortunately ever after…
Games included:
The Decline of Hyrule and the Last Hero (The Hero is Defeated)
Back to the top of Ocarina, however this time Link is defeated by Ganondorf. The Demon King takes the Triforce and is sealed away within the Sacred Realm by the seven Sages, corrupting it into the Dark World. The Sages seal off the Dark World fully.
Ganondorf’s energy grows and a hero referred to as Link (shock shock) ventures to the realm to defeat him. He is profitable and takes management of the Triforce, wishing for peace and entrusting the logo to the royal household.
There are various adventures within the ensuing years, with varied reincarnations taking the starring position. These contain fish islands, flame resurrections, and hopping between worlds. The quick model is that there is some household drama with the royals and Zelda is put into an everlasting coma.
Ganon is resurrected once more however is defeated by Link. Link regains the total Triforce, makes use of it to awaken the sleeping Zelda, and peace is restored to Hyrule.
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