The Laziest Response Possible to One of the Biggest Questions in Recent Zelda Lore
The Zelda timeline has become a central part of the discussion surrounding the beloved series since it’s official reveal in the Hyrule Historia back in 2011, and players have been wondering how the latest entry, Breath of the Wild, fits into such a convoluted lineage. Nintendo recently revealed exactly where everyone’s favorite Switch title fits, and from the looks of it, they may as well have said nothing at all.
Over on Nintendo’s Japanese website, the timeline has been updated to include Breath of the Wild, where it lays at the very bottom, disconnected from the rest of the timeline. In an interview with Famitsu (translated by Siliconera), the game’s director, Hidemaro Fujibayashi says the actual placement is “up to the player’s imagination.” Poop emoji.
Series producer Eiji Aonuma went on to say “Hyrule’s history changes with time…When we think of the next game and what we want to do with it, we might think ‘Oh this’ll fit well,’ and place it neatly into the timeline, but sometimes we think ‘Oh crap,” and have to change the placement. Actually, the decided history has been tweaked many times.”
It may be true that the Zelda timeline ultimately doesn’t matter as it doesn’t affect gameplay or the storyline of each individual games with very, very few, often minute exceptions, but in that case, along with the new “it’s up to the player’s imagination” stance on the latest, most successful title, why even bother creating the timeline at all?
Breath of the Wild and it’s expansion, The Champions Ballad, are available for Wii U and Nintendo Switch.
Let us know what you think in the comments and be sure to stay tuned to COGconnected for all the latest gaming news.
SOURCE: Nintendo, Famitsu/Siliconera