Fans everywhere are excited for Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, as it finally puts the Hyrule Princess in the protagonist role after years of being rescued by Link. While there is excitement, hardcore Zelda enthusiasts are also wondering when in the timeline this game takes place in, because the series has always been consistent with that.
Various posts on the Zelda subreddit (via Eurogamer) have theorized that this game takes place in the same timeline as A Link to The Past on SNES. After all, it uses the same artstyle as the acclaimed Link’s Awakening remake, which is technically a sequel to A Link to The Past.
Some fans are also theorizing that Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom that this game takes place after Ocarina of Time, which is apparently when the timeline splits. Ocarina does deal with quite a bit of time travel, so this would make some sense if fans were to take it seriously.
In the end, Nintendo probably doesn’t think about where these Zelda games take place in the timeline, at least they don’t think about it seriously. Most fans should really only care about the story and gameplay, both of which look pretty good right now. The fact that Nintendo is going back to classic Zelda, while keeping the Tears of the Kingdom-style game-breaking, is really cool.
Making Zelda the protagonist in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was also an inspired choice, since she’s only been playable in Smash and the Hyrule Warriors games. It’s good to see this iconic character finally be the lead in her own game, especially since the series has always been named after her. The fact that this game isn’t called Legend of Link is kind of funny.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will be coming out on September 26, 2024. Anyone who wants a primer on how this game will play should check out the excellent Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake on Switch, which is readily available.