How Does ‘Echoes Of Wisdom’ Fit Into The Zelda Timeline? Here Are 3 Theories
Get your cork and red string ready, the theory is about to begin…
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Timeline: Three Theories
That’s the ultimate question, right? At the time of writing, we’ve only seen a four-minute trailer, and Nintendo has had the nerve to focus all of it on the game’s story and mechanics rather than catering to the small group of curious geeks wondering about the game’s relationship to Imprisoning War (we know, shocker).
When the game was released on September 26, we can There are some indications of its place in the ‘official’ chronology, but don’t get your hopes up. As we said, Nintendo is usually tight-lipped about this kind of information, so we wouldn’t expect to see any Echoes of Wisdom dialogue, where a random NPC tells Zelda, “Link’s gone?! But he just got back from a mysterious trip to Koholint Island!”
With no official answers out there right now, we’ll do what timeline fans do best: make theories based on seemingly insignificant details.
Let’s start with our favorites and go from there.
Theory #1: The Defeated Hero’s Timeline – A Link to the Past Prequel
If you’ve ever skimmed through the official Zelda timeline, you’ll probably be familiar with the ‘Defeated Hero’ branch. representative fall behind Ocarina of Time with Link flipping his clogs and the Demon King stealing the Triforce and being sealed in the Sacred Realm by the Seven Sages. This representative leading to the events of A path to the past. Representative.
Why do we keep saying “usually”? Because there’s every chance that Echoes of Wisdom is a retelling of the origins of this timeline and the first time we actually see Link fall to the Demon King’s clutches—unless you succumbed to ol’ Dorf at the end of OOT and never stayed around to try again.
This is probably the most obvious answer, but it makes sense. Link’s defeat is a pretty important event in the ‘Hero Defeated’ timeline (who would have thought?) and from what we saw in the Echoes of Wisdom trailer, the next 2D adventure will revolve around that scenario. This timeline branch has always been a hypothetical branch that operates on a ‘what if?’ premise that most of us have never seen in-game.
But the echo of wisdom maybe is its definitive starting point, a true prequel to A Link to the Past. Fun!
There is more evidence to suggest that this timeline branch could also be a potential home for the Echoes of Wisdom. Fans were quick to point out that The game’s Hyrule looks identical to the Hyrule we saw in A Link to the Past. Additionally, Ganon looks large and pale in a way that more closely resembles his physical appearance. Prophet of the times/Seasons, The Connection Between Worldsetc. than the ‘realistic’ wild boar model from Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time.
However (and it’s pretty big However), the Echoes of Wisdom reveal trailer differs from what we know of the ‘Heroes Defeated’ timeline in one important respect: Ganon is But also defeated. According to Hyrule Historia, this branch was supposed to see the Demon King defeat Link and obtain the Triforce before the Seven Sages sealed him away. It seems that’s not how things played out here.
Hmm. Should we assume it’s a mistake? Could there be another battle between Link and Ganon at the end of the game? Is this a complete retelling? Perhaps another theory is the answer.
Theory #2: The Defeated Hero Timeline – Link’s Awakening Sequel
Okay, now this puts everything in the same timeline. branch like our previous theory, but it changes the order a bit to suggest that Echoes of Wisdom could be a sequel to Link’s Awakening.
This is a theory that we have seen proposed on Reddit a few times and it holds water pretty well.
There are all the ‘Hero is Defeated’ branching connections we mentioned (similar maps, Ganon design, etc.), but we also have a larger visual connection: this game looks very similar to the Switch remake of Link’s Awakening.
Now, as we’ve reiterated many times, Nintendo doesn’t usually pay much attention to the Zelda timeline, but when it’s implied that we’re seeing the same Link in two different games, we tend to to see the same visual style return. Here’s what we saw with The Wind Waker And Ghost HourglassOcarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Not always (see Small hat And The Adventure of Four Swordshas the same art style but isn’t directly related to the sequel), but it tends to be Nintendo’s shorthand for “Remember that other game that looked like this? This is the sequel to it.”
We also get the sticky detail of the Zora types. According to the Echoes of Wisdom trailer, the upcoming game will feature both ‘Sea’ and ‘River’ variants—something we’ve never seen in a Zelda game outside of Oracle of Ages. Of course, that adventure takes place in Labrynna, not Hyrule (and there’s some dispute over whether it’s chronologically set before or after Link’s Awakening), but seeing both designs pop up again here makes us wonder if things are set after Link’s Labrynna and Koholint’s imaginary seafaring adventures.
Though even this theory has holes — what was Ganon doing in the Sacred Realm before A Link Between Worlds? Where was the Deku Tree in ALTTP if he appeared in Echoes of Wisdom? — so maybe we’re still barking up the wrong tree.
Theory #3: A New Timeline Branch
We cannot stress enough how much we hope this happens. not The answer, but annoyingly, might be yes.
What if Echoes of Wisdom erases the timeline as we know it? It might not match the ‘Hero is Defeated’ branch, the ‘Hero is Triumphant’ branch, or the original branch. Sword in the sky let Ocarina run and start it all. What if this is a whole new timeline branch we’ve never seen before?
Don’t worry, we’re groaning at the thought of it too. But it makes some sense. Almost every timeline theory has its contradictions, and if this happened before some of the other main entries, then where were all those references to ‘That time Princess Zelda used her magic wand to defeat the Demon King’? The ‘Heroes Triumphant’ timeline has two separate branches, so who’s to say Nintendo didn’t do the same with ‘Heroes Defeated’? One branch is where the Seven Sages sealed the Demon King away, and one is where Princess Zelda stepped in.
This would explain why the Hylian landscape looks lightly different from what we saw in LTTP and ALBW, why did Ganondorf come back in such a form, why does Link seem to be holding a sword that looks like most of like Master Sword, but not quite. Any continuity question can be answered with a simple “A different timeline, mate”, which, if we’re Nintendo, seems like a pretty good way to avoid any potential trouble.
Sure, giving us another timeline branch would put the series dangerously close to a multiverse setup (as if it hasn’t been since the ‘official’ timeline was announced) that even the MCU would envy. But look at the upside: it makes room for more games with Zelda as the hero.
We bet all our Rupees that the Hylian king will save Link at the end of the game, but if this is the timeline that Zelda As the main character, we don’t need to treat Echoes of Wisdom as a standalone work. Not that we need a separate branch for that, but learning the lore of a new timeline wouldn’t be a bad trade-off since it opens the door for more Zelda-led adventures in the future.
