If there’s one thing gamers love more than video games, it’s debating the deep lore and history of said video games. Few franchises stir up as much discourse as the infamous Zelda timeline, something fans pondered over for decades before Nintendo finally created an official one. Now the latest title, Echoes of Wisdom, has been given its official spot on the timeline, and as usual, it’s a pretty interesting placement.
If you head to the “History” section of the official Zelda website, you can see the timeline in its entirely, as well as a brief primer on every single game in the franchise. If you’re unfamiliar with the Zelda timeline, it’s surprisingly complex — and we’re talking about in-universe order, not when the games came out.
Skyward Sword is the starting point for everything, the foundation of the series — this is chronologically followed by Minish Cap, Four Swords Adventure, and then Ocarina of Time. From there, however, things get much more complicated as the series split into three different timelines. One timeline is if the hero is defeated in Ocarina of Time, while the other two are the Child and Adult eras of Ocarina of Time if the hero beats Ganondorf.
Echoes of Wisdom takes place in the “hero is defeated” timeline, directly after Triforce Heroes, but before the original The Legend of Zelda. Considering Echoes of Wisdom uses the same art style as Link’s Awakening, it makes sense it’d be in the same timeline. There’s plenty of debate over what Echoes of Wisdom means for Zelda’s lore, especially with the introduction of the villain Null. But what’s continuously hilarious is that Nintendo fans are the only ones to care about the timeline — as Nintendo themselves couldn’t be bothered.
In December 2023, Eiji Aonuma, producer of the Zelda series, told IGN, “I don’t like to put too much stock in the chronology of the series, because from a design perspective, that can kind of box us in.”
This was in reference to the release of Tears of the Kingdom, and its appearance in multiple categories at The Game Awards. Aonuma continued by saying he thinks Zelda in general is “something that is best for people to interpret on their own.”
That’s abundantly clear when you play any recent game in the franchise, whether it’s Tears of the Kingdom or Echoes of Wisdom. Zelda has become a series that heavily puts gameplay ideas and mechanics first — it’s about crafting an experience that draws players in and gives them true freedom to adventure through Hyrule how they want.
While recent Zelda games don’t have bad stories, they’re certainly delivered in a piecemeal way that entirely encourages the exploration of the games, and leaves a lot to interpretation. Take both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom — both game’s stories are almost entirely delivered through flashbacks, Easter Eggs, and item descriptions. There are very few elements that link those games to other entries in the franchise, and even the world map is meticulously designed to provide discovery and reward, rather than agonize over the perfect placement of areas in Hyrule.
If Nintendo cared about making sure it didn’t break Zelda lore, or telling a story that tied directly into the rest of the franchise, we likely wouldn’t have gotten the incredible experiences we’ve seen. But despite not caring about the “lore,” Nintendo continues to put every Zelda game on the official timeline, endlessly creating even more speculation and discussion between fans. It’s hilariously brilliant honestly — Nintendo can make whatever Zelda game it wants, slap it on the timeline, and fans will discuss the series (and new game) ad nauseum. It’s the perfect strategy, Nintendo can have its cake and eat it too.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t care or feel invested in the Zelda timeline. Just do so knowing that Nintendo won’t be afraid to flip the script at any moment.
