Introduction
Before anyone says anything, I'm back, and, in branding fashion, with a Zelda blog! I got the idea because I've been doing my first playthrough of Twilight Princess recently, and was interested as a few of the locations are in Breath of the Wild. Anyway, let's get started!
The Timeline in 2016
In 2016, right before Breath of the Wild, the Zelda timeline was already pretty confusing overall, as it split into three timelines after Ocarina of Time. One where Link is defeated by Ganon (the left), one where Link is victorious, but is sent back to being a child (the middle), and one where Link is victorious but stays an adult (the right). But somehow, Breath of the Wild contains elements from ALL 3 splits of the timeline.
Timeline from Hyrule Historia
The Elements of Confusion
Let us start with the adult timeline, with Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks. Breath of the Wild obviously contains Rito, with Champion Revali, Teba, and the loveable Tulin. Rito are said to have evolved from Zora after the gods flooded Hyrule before the events of Wind Waker, yet somehow Breath of the Wild has both Rito and Sea Zora. See what I mean, confusing right? The Island Lobster Shirt, the Sea-Breeze Shield, and the Sea-Breeze Boomerang are also in, but aren't really a reference.
According to him, it's all just asinine.
Best Sage from Tears of the Kingdom
Which that last section perfectly segways into the middle timeline, with Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess, and Four Swords Adventures, which has the Sea Zora. Nothing wrong there, except, as stated, the Rito also exist. But some other aspects from this are the Arbiter's Grounds from Twilight Princess are in Breath of the Wild, I could make a case for the Bridge of Eldin, although it's very different in Breath of the Wild, but the coolest one is the Mirror of Twilight is found, broken, and you must repair it for a shrine quest. They even have a Majora's Mask area with the Astral Observatory in Hyrule Castle. You can also find the Twilight Bow, the Sword of the Six Sages, Midna's Helmet, Zant's Helmet, the Twilight Link outfit, the Fierce Deity outfit and Sword, and Majora's Mask in Tears of the Kingdom, but like I said before, aren't really a reference.
Broken Mirror of Twilight
Majora's Mask Zora vs. Breath of the WIld Zora
Now the fallen hero timeline doesn't have as much of a strong relationship to Breath of the Wild other than amiibo items being from their games, although Mekar Island does look very similar to the first dungeon of Zelda I, Eventide Island is oddly similar to Koholint Island from Link's Awakening, even sharing Toronbo Beach and Koholit Rock, and Spectacle Rock from Zelda I being in the Gerudo Desert.
Level 1 from Zelda I
Koholint Island from Link's Awakening
But that's not all! Even before the timeline split, there are places from Ocarina of Time and Skyward Sword in Breath of the Wild. You can find the ruins of the Springs of Power, Wisdom, and Courage from Skyward Sword, and the ruins of Lon Lon Ranch, the Temple of Time, the Kakariko Village Well and consequently the Shadow Temple, in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. And obviously a bunch of amiibo items.
Lon Lon Ranch Comparison
Spring of Courage
Also just some of the provinces in general come from many different games. Faron was in Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, Eldin has been in a lot of games, the Gerudo Desert from multiple games, and even Lanayru, although it was a desert in Skyward Sword, was the Zora's home in Twilight Princess.
Conclusion
In my personal opinion, we need a new timeline and an updated Hyrule Historia. This is very convoluted and confusing, although they have mentioned that they don't focus on story and more on gameplay, so that may be the cause of this mess of a timeline. Also, I just can't wait to see how Echoes of Wisdom messes this up even more! Let me know your thoughts, and I'll see y'all later!
Oops, almost forgot to cite my sources! I used the Hyrule Historia book, my general Zelda knowledge, this Zeltik video, and the Zelda Dungeon website. Bye!
