Nintendo’s tentpole franchiseThe Legend of Zeldahas built upon its gameplay and lore since the original title was released on the NES in 1986. Many of the series' games have the same thematic elements which have become a universal “mythology,” and Nintendo attempted to explain how each game fits into a timeline in 2011 through theHyrule Historia— a collector’s book published by Dark Horse Comics. However, releasing an “official timeline” at a set point in an ongoing series means all future releases must fit in somehow, and the next game to face that enigmatic task isBreath of the Wild 2.
The originalBreath of the Wild, released to launch the Nintendo Switch in 2017, was an odd addition to the Zelda timeline that already branched into three alternate universes. As far its placement of the timeline, Eiji Aonuma said the game is “at the very end” of the entire timeline.
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Breath of the Wild’s Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi went on to say the team is not averse to altering the timeline to fit in games, but slappingThe Legend of Zelda:Breath of the Wildonto every branch at once is messy from a theoretical physics perspective. Yet this conceit is reflected in the interactive timeline visible on Nintendo Japan’s website, so to understand howBreath of the Wild 2might go forward players need to have a grasp what the branches stipulate.
The Original Timelines of Zelda
All things begin with 2011’sSkyward Sword. It’s the origin story: a tale that explains how Link’s green tunic is a remnant of his status as a Knight of the floating city Skyloft, how theinsignia on the Hylian Shieldbears a red bird because the original Link rode a red Loftwing, and more.Skyward Sword’s Link and Zelda help repopulate the Earth below the clouds, which leads to societies seen in 2004’sThe Minish Capand 2003’sFour Swords, a companion piece to the Game Boy Advance port ofLink to the Past. Those games share a villain, the “Wind Mage” Vaati, who sought power after becoming fascinated with the evil in the hearts of men.
After that the timeline splits three ways during the 1998 golden boyOcarina of Time, which is still popular for speedrunners. If Link fails to defeat Ganon, the demon king is fought by the incarnation in 1991’sA Link to the Past, who becomes the dreaming protagonist of 1993’sLink’s Awakening. Further down the line comes the NES games:The Legend of Zeldaand 1987’sThe Adventure of Link.
IfOcarina of TimeLink defeats Ganon he can choose to stay as a child, after which hebecomes lost in 2000’sMajora’s Mask, and then turns into the Hero’s Shade that teaches the Link in 2006’sTwilight Princess. IfOcarina of TimeLink chooses to stay as an adult the unprotected world is flooded by the time of 2002’sWind Wakerand its two sequels, 2007’sPhantom Hourglassand 2009’sSpirit Tracks.
Breath of the Wild 2’s Role in the Timelines
Breath of the Wildis apparently so far into the future that it becomes aconverging point for all three timelines. Despite this being incredibly strange, it does work from a game design mentality.
The Legend of Zeldahas a history of referencing previous titles going back toOcarina of Time’s Sages sharing their names with the towns fromThe Adventure of Link. The massive, nonlinear open world ofBreath of the Wildthatwill be reused inBreath of the Wild 2takes things a step further by referencing games across all branches of the timeline: Tal Tal Peak named after the mountain range fromLink’s Awakening; Ralis Pond named after the Zora Prince fromTwilight Princess;and Mount Daphnes named after the King fromWind Wakerall exist together.
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Before the game released it was believedBreath of the Wildcould be treated as a rebootof the franchise, even a direct reimagining of the original NES game. It’s still worth thinking that way when pondering whatBreath of the Wild 2will contribute to the timeline as a sequel. Despite Aonuma’s insistence to the contrary, ifBreath of the Wildis a reboot then its sequel can potentially begin to co-opt elements of previousZeldatitles and create a new ongoing timeline befitting the transformative, recycling Internet meme culture that pervades the era of its inception.
What Breath of the Wild 2’s Timeline would look like
Even thoughBreath of the Wild 2was announced at E3 2019, not much has been said about the game’s plot. The teaser trailer, in which a mummified creature believed to be Ganondorf is resurrected deep beneath Hyrule, suggests it will have an outwardly darker tone than the original akin toMajora’s Mask. In terms of recycling older ideas into fresh plot lines, “resurrecting the king of evil” is a tried-and-true part of the series.Link to the Pastsaw Ganon resurrect through a surrogate Agahnim; andThe Adventure of Link’s game over screen constantly reminds players of the threatening “return of Ganon.”
However, few Zelda games have explored the source of this recurring evil’s power beyond him being a reborn form of the Demon King Demise fromSkyward Sword. One fan theory based on the E3 trailer has suggestedZant fromTwilight Princessmay return inBreath of the Wild 2, and it would be a fun twist if the Twili were re-introduced into Hyrule’s cast through a role reversal making him the source of Ganon’s powers.
Then there are possible returning villains who would make thematic sense in continuing theBreath of the Wildtimeline. One of the first game’s key narratives revolved around Zelda anxiously not being able to tap into her divine powers. So what if the villain reviving Ganondorf was a twisted, immensely powerful mirror of Zelda? Someone like Lorule’s Hilda who used Ganon to try and claim Hyrule’s triforce in2013’sA Link Between Worlds.
From that jumping off point the possibilities of recycled plot points creating fresh stories seem endless.Breath of the Wild’s Calamity Ganonwas a world-ending phenomena, so what if a resurrected Ganondorf has the same drive and looks to flood Hyrule by breaking apart the Rutala Dam that once held the Divine Beast Vah Ruta? Or in a somewhat less realistic twist, what if he tries to bring the moon crashing down on Hyrule rather than Termina?
Over three years since its release, one of the biggest complaints about thecritically-acclaimedBreath of the Wildis how its story is weaker than a typical Zelda game. The nonlinearity of the world allowing players to access any story beat at any time, as well as less-than-stellar voice acting, left many long-time fans wanting more. Even ifBreath of the Wild 2decides not to remix its predecessor’s ideas, whatever it brings to the timeline needs to graft a fascinating, memorable story ontoBreath of the Wild’s foundation.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2is in development for the Nintendo Switch.
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