While much of the timeline for olderLegend of Zeldatitles has been set in stone by the Hyrule Historia,Tears of the Kingdomand its predecessor hold a strange placement in the ongoing lore of Hyrule. It is already apparent thatBreath of the Wildis at the end of the timeline, as time travel and changes to the established ancient past in this latest title appear to redefine that placement entirely.
After the release ofBreath of the Wildand the lead-up toZelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo has been increasingly cryptic about the current state of theZeldatimeline, only stating for a fact that this takes place at the current end. However, some of the references made within the newly discovered Depths beneath Hyrule and the focus of the story separate this new era ofZelda’s timeline.
RELATED:Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s Sages Prove that Multiplayer Would be a Welcome Feature
References in Hyrule’s Depths
UnlikeZelda: Breath of the Wildwith the majority of its referential gear being hidden across shrines and the later added EX chests, most of the equipment from the past likeOcarina of Time’s armor setcan be found in the depths. While this isn’t the case for every single piece of armor or weapon that comes from the older series, a large amount of these items are found in the forgotten underground, in ancient Zonai chests. The implication here being that most of these gear sets aren’t fromZelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s personal past, but an even older past from before the initial founding of Hyrule.
Of course, references to older games aren’t exactly the most iron-clad evidence of the canon, especially considering the way that bothZelda: Breath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomfail to commit to any of the three established timelines. Instead, this is more of a theme thatZelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s armor setsfollow when it relates to collecting stuff that makes reference back to the rest of the series. More importantly, it is the connection to the Depths, the Zonai, and the founding of Hyrule that makes finding gear from previous games down there specifically so impactful for the larger timeline.
RELATED:Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Player Builds Metal Gear REX In the Game
Founding a Surface Hyrule
Another hint that the timeline inTears of the Kingdomdoesn’t exactly line up with older games in the series is the events that take place in ancient Hyrule, specifically with the founding of the kingdom by King Rauru and Queen Sonia. Going back to the beginning of the previously establishedZeldatimeline, this already conflicts a bit withSkyward Sword, which had Hylians living on Skyloft before descending to the surface. It’s an origin that could be hand-waved to show the Hylians heading back to Skyloft for a time before coming back down to the surface, but that doesn’t appear to be the history ofZelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s Sky Islands.
Even trying to stretch the history of Hyrule out, this still leaves an inconsistency in terms of Ganondorf and the original Demon King Demise, who hadn’t been defeated and reincarnated until after the events ofSkyward Sword. No matter howTears of the KingdomandSkyward Swordare compared, the narratives and lore do not match up with each other. So, the founding of Hyrule coming alongside the rise of Ganondorf as the Demon King appears to set a new continuity for the heroes and villains of the series.
Tears of the Kingdom is a Reset, Not a Continuation
All of these seeming contradictions betweenTears of the Kingdomand the previous lore appear to present a new timeline, rather than a continuation of everything that had come before. Instead, a lot of the evidence appears to suggest that this new version of Ganondorf appearing at the founding of Hyrule and Zelda traveling back in time might have made a completely new split in the timeline. Additionally, otherLegend of Zeldareferencessuggest a separation that establishes past games as legends, suggestingBreath of the Wildis a new start thatTears of the Kingdomsolidifies with its references and storytelling.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis available now for Switch.
MORE:Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s Kraven Gives Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s Ganondorf a Run for His Money
