The Zelda Timeline in Tears of the Kingdom Master Works!

Tears of the Kingdom Master Works might have introduced a new beginning but also connection between the old and new parts of the Zelda Timeline!

#tearsofthekingdom #zelda #legendofzelda

Tears of the Kingdom Master Works Translation Credits:

Music Credits - Cleffernotes Rise and Fall

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[SerpentineDeity]

TLDR: Nothing changes and the Zonai singled and readied to mingled themselves out of history until the Hylians inherited their genes and memes. Holy genes!

[christianj]

While Nintendo is always kinda making things up as they go along, one thing I will say is that I never understood why anyone thought Tears of the Kingdom contradicted Skyward Sword. I guess it has to do with the line "Hyrule's founding" - but here's the thing. Humans returning to the surface is not the same thing as founding a kingdom. There is no rule that immediately upon arriving a place, humans would immediately organize themselves into kingdoms. That's like saying the kingdom of Norway was immediately founded the first time humans arrived on the Scandinavian peninsula - it's just not true (hei btw, I am also from Norway lol). You can live somewhere without founding a specific kingdom. And humans were ALSO there before they were lifted to the surface, so maybe a version of Hyrule already existed and was then destroyed. Because the timeline is so vague and stretches over so many years, and they're clearly a "gameplay before story" company, I never really expected more specificity than that. That's probably always going to be the case. I just wish they would hire writers (rather than just designers) for individual games, so their own stories could individually be stronger.

[cerealkilleryt]

I like the idea of the Hero of Legend having 4 games, which is why I chose to believe, despite Nintendo telling me otherwise, that ALttP, LA, OoS, and OoA Link are all the same.

[Ramielpoint]

So the masterworks lore aligns with my headcanon? Love it! Thanks so much for covering this for us. 🙂

[linkzelda]

This is Awesome! I wonder where echoes of wisdom will fit into the timeline

[a.jthomas]

I can’t believe we were robbed by Nintendo for not putting in the Hyrule restoration festival into Tears of the Kingdom.

Fujibayashi and Eiji Aonuma should’ve saved this content for the proper climax of the game to show Hyrule is ready to move forward instead of looking back, Link and Zelda be wedded, and the inhabitants were blue as a tribute to the fallen champions made sacrifices to save Hyrule in the second Great Calamity.

The Master Works have so many amazing contents that would’ve helped better the game’s story and more such as the Mural of Ganondorf’s history, the mural of Ganondorf’s history (as seen in the 2019 teaser announcement, Zelda bonding with Sonia, and Link and Zelda’s exploration into the Temple of Light beneath Hyrule Castle.

[darthsonic]

0:46 Truly, it is the Year of Shadow.

[Frozen_Death_Knight]

4:40 That's not really true, though. After all, the name of the land Hyrule still exists in Rauru's Age and he built the Kingdom of Hyrule over the course of his life. The Zora even have recorded history stretching as far back as Ocarina of Time through stone tablets, so those have to be absolutely ancient. The Triforce and the purpose of guarding it would likely still exist even before the Zonai came back to re-establish Hyrule, since the Triforce is clearly in Zelda's possession in Breath of the Wild (still bothers me how TotK doesn't even address this). The fact that the Triforce and Loftwing insignia survived to the present day along with other iconography like the Sheikah symbol also suggest that not everything about the old history was lost to time, including the Sheikah Tribe's purpose of serving the bloodline of the Goddess Hylia.

There is a lot of the old world knowledge persisting to the present day, so the only way for that to happen is if those clues were still left for people to rediscover or were but a memory passed down through folk lore. Wouldn't be too dissimilar to how in Breath of the Wild where the Hylians find out about the ancient Sheikah and the powers they possessed to defeat Calamity Ganon. There are tons of ancient landmarks and references to different Zelda games going as far back as Skyward Sword, so that history has to exist somewhere.

This new information makes me pretty disappointed in how little of it is actually being addressed in the actual game. The fact that the Secret Stones are basically as old as Skyward Sword and they've been in that temple for millenia is information that would have actually helped fill in the gaping holes in a very bare bones story that is Tears of the Kingdom. Rauru just going up to a door to give all the Sages these Stones with little fanfare without even addressing the significance of where they came from and why they were hidden for millenia by the 3 Goddesses is kind of baffling if you ask me.

Also, why did Sonia and Rauru walk around with these ultra secret artifacts so casually if they are so powerful as to rival the creation of the Triforce? The only reason Ganondorf even learned of their existence after millenia was because of Rauru and Sonia just wearing them like casual trinkets to make their outfits more fancy and not of any purpose that would warrant them to be used besides Rauru channeling his Light powers to defeat Ganondorf's invasion.

What the heck were Nintendo thinking?

[a.jthomas]

The history of how Hylia entrusted the Sacred Stones to the Zonai and the Age of the Gods is a shocking revelation.

I wish this was included in the actual TOTK game. It would’ve help better the story where Zelda is living in the distant past in the Era of Hyrule’s Founding.

If Hidemaro Fujibayashi and Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma decided to a Torna-esque DLC for TOTK, would you agree if a playable Princess Zelda would’ve helped better the game’s story?

[AzureGreatheart]

I’m still bitter about some of the decisions made with the Encyclopedia and reworked timeline.

[Lilwhitelily]

If the TotK’s past, was closer to Skyward Sword than TotK there would be Skyward Sword references or at least a monumental tribute sky island.

Also the surface would be more like Skyward Sword. They could do it, we don’t explore it just get cut scenes.

So no, I do not believe that Ganondorf could be under the same exact castle, under all timelines for at the very very least 30, 000-40, 000 years.

Just bc it’s a ‘founding’ and brought back the creation story means that it’s the first founding. Just take a look at what people around the world believe that god or Christian’s say Jesus is coming back. Reestablishing the core principles of religions and faith. It’s not out of the realm (literally) to suggest that that’s what’s happening in a video game after that many years has passed. Otherwise it contradicts the whole timeline.

(“Don’t always count on the map to be right”) no, Nintendo knew where TotK was in the timeline before they released the game. TotK and BotW are a direct time loop on their own. The sky islands are from TotK/BotW’s map not Skyward Swords’. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Note: this might seem ranty but no, I’m just too passionate 😭

[darklotus_]

I was FINE until they said they began mining in the depths before leaving the surface, during what would have to be before the great flood to explain why they aren’t in skyward sword, which directly counters my “depths are the old ocean floor hyrule after the koroks planted the trees and built a new surface” headcanon 😢

[Cosmosis-]

What blows my mind is essentially for a period of time in the ‘wild era’ there are two Zelda’s and two masters swords due to introduction and closure of the loop in TOTK.
I’m not a huge fan of time travel notions and prior to the release of TOTK, I was so hoping that there would not be time travel elements but here we are and it is what it is 😅

[lethallohn]

My theory is that these two games take place in one of the three timelines and there was an event that wiped out the land like a flood and then somehow was removed/ drained. Hyrule was then re-founded.

[Alanmaycry]

Great video man! Hope youre doing well cant wait for new Zelda!

[nickkalm]

in other words: nothing makes sense anymore

[cameronfield]

Refounding theorist here, going through the comments i get a sense that commonwealth was underselling the rest of the book becajse a lot of others who have read it say that the rest of MW really downplays the refounding theory and its the true founding instead

Now i would lile a member of the true founding or a once refounding theorist now converted to tell me whats jn the rest of MW that contradicts the refounding theory

I am genuinely interested, not trying to start a fight here. Ive been on the front lines supporting the refounding theory for years now because evidence wise it made the most sense. If someone can give me the extra evidence i am missing thats revealed in MW i would really appreciate it

[DaimonAnimations]

This is pretty much like saying All the events after Ocarina of time (the three time lines), were lost to time. (the Egyptian civilizations and their beginnings)

And the beginning of the Zonai (Rauru and Sonya) are the Mayan / Aztec civilization moving forward for thousands of years in the future to BOTW and TOTK.

[ajerjavec]

Plus, I don’t think it’s been officially stated that skyward sword, Zelda, and maybe her link were the first king and queen of the kingdom just that the Royal family is descended from it quite possible they found the settlement that would grow into a city state, and then the kingdom is not unheard of nation to be conquered incorporated into another nation and then restart the nation even say that’s what happened in the adult timeline. I highly doubt anyone would consider. The seven years the demon king was ruin the land to be part of kingdoms official history

[Skywalker]

Hear me out on this theory. Botw and Totk are not just a reboot of the series but a reboot of Hyrule. I know it sounds weird but listen.

We know that from Skyward Sword to Oot time it all take place in one timeline until Zelda in Oot sent link back in time creating two other universes that being the Downfall and Child timeline which all share the same history of Hyrule but everything else after Oot is different. We also know that every game in all three Timelines are connected through the same world like MM and Twilight Princess for example.

My theory is that eventually all three realities ended and then converged creating both Botw and Totk. And when they created Botw and Totk they left behind stories, legends, and artifacts about the heroes from the three timelines. If you look at the description for the hero of time tunic it says legends say this was once worn by a hero who traveled across time. Mipha writes in her diary about the legend of a Zora from long ago falling in love with a Hylian this obviously references Ruto falling for Link.

And this could explain why we know hardly anything about the Zonai they aren’t hinted at in previous games because they are quite literally a new ancient species.

The founding of Hyrule we see in Totk doesn’t take place after skyward sword, it is the founding of a brand new Hyrule. This could also apply to the secret stones