With every new Zelda title comes new speculation, and fans everywhere are wondering where The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will take place in the official Zelda timeline. Based on footage shown at E3 so far, all signs as of yet indicate that Zelda is returning to the world of Wind Waker, only this time Link will explore what previously sat below the ocean.
Let’s start at the very beginning of both of these stories. The first footage shown of Breath of the Wind featured Link wearing a blue top with brown pants, which was immediately compared to Link’s pajamas at the beginning of Wind Waker, similar in both color palette and design. While this similarity is by no means concrete evidence to connect the two games chronologically, it could be Nintendo’s way of subtly connecting the two games in the timeline. Another symbolic piece of evidence is presented when Link wakes up for the first time. Link is sitting in some sort of tub, and water is drained from the tub immediately before Link opens his eyes. This could easily be referencing the draining of the ocean from Wind Waker, causing our hero to awaken.
The overworld in Wind Waker was very expansive, it just felt very empty since most of the time in the overworld was spent sailing through lonely waters. Imagine how large the world would be if the water was drained out and Hyrule Castle was once again the center of a large kingdom. Nintendo claims the world in Breath of the Wild is roughly the size of 12 Twilight Princess overworlds combined. It is very reasonable to argue the size of the sea in Wind Waker is that size as well, making it easy to conclude that the sea in Wind Waker is the same area as the field in Breath of the Wild. The key difference, obviously, is that this time Link will be exploring what formerly rested below the sea, providing a whole new world to discover.
Hyrule also seems very damaged, with even the Master Sword seeming dilapidated and unused. How could this have happened? Well, hundreds of years of water damage would probably do the trick.
If we accept this line of reasoning you may be asking yourself: “When was the water drained from Hyrule?” During the Nintendo Treehouse Live stream, it was revealed that Link is awakening from a 100-year slumber, only waking up to find out that the fate of Hyrule rests on his shoulders. If past Zelda titles are any indication, such as Spirit Tracks, events progress very quickly in the land of Hyrule, meaning 100 years is plenty of time for a series of events to unfold leading to the restoration of classic Hyrule.
The new Zelda footage was lacking characters aside from Link, a mysterious old man and various enemies, but there was a species worth making note of: the Koroks. Introduced in Wind Waker, the Korok species evolved from the Kokiri and spent their days looking after the Great Deku Tree and setting out to grow trees across the ocean’s many islands. In Breath of the Wild, we see Link interact with one of these creatures, providing yet another connection to Wind Waker.
Is Breath of the Wild a very late sequel to Wind Waker? Only time will tell, but all evidence thus far seems to say so. While a lot could change as more news comes out about the new game, it would be very exciting to explore what was constantly below us as we traveled across the Great Sea.
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Written by Logan Plant
Logan loves voicing his opinions just as much as writing them. When he isn’t gaming or writing, Logan’s probably recording a podcast or chatting on the radio. Video game journalism is his passion, and he hopes to cover video games for years to come.
