Zelda Wii U Timeline Should Take Place in the Era of Decline

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Ever since Nintendo teased us at E3 with what could be The Legend of Zelda for the Wii U, I have been mulling over in my head where this game could rationally fit in the timeline. And I’m sure I’m not the only one. But then I really started to speculate and guess the plot and time placement of the upcoming Zelda Wii U and I realized this: I don’t want another title that is set in a time era before the NES Legend of Zelda.

Why?

As a fan of the series, I’m kind of bored with stories that have rules to adhere to. This will be the first original HD Zelda title making its way to the Wii U (The Wind Waker HD is a remake, and Hyrule Warriors is a one-off title), so why not set the standard for what is to come?

era of decline

If we look at Hyrule Historia, The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: Link’s Adventure are the last in the timeline, or at least in the timeline split where the hero is defeated. The era these titles rest in is referred to as The Era of Decline, which begs the question: How can we create a new age in the Zelda world and bring Hyrule back to its former glory?

The previous asked question just happens to illustrate what could be posed as a scenario could be wonderfully executed in a game that doesn’t have to be bound in expectation of what is to come, but would leave the player eagerly looking forward to the final moment of a game set in this part of the timeline as it is unknown territory.

The Era of Decline just sounds like it’d make for an “all hope is lost” kind of game, which can make for great storytelling. If ever a game scenario could utilize the darker elements explored in Majora’s Mask and Twilight Princess, it sounds like it would be in this era, with a hero trying to restore peace or magic or whatever to the land.

tp dark

The first question I was asked when I brought this topic up was “wouldn’t you be afraid that it’s still going to alter the timeline?”

Not really is my answer. Sure, it’s going to alter the timeline regardless because it will be added in somewhere. But if this new title were to be set after Zelda II, motifs from previous games can still be utilized. For example, though it would be set after the fall of Ganon, Ganon is an evil force that has been imbued with the Triforce of Power – so there has to be some mystical way for him to come back. Because true evil is NEVER defeated. Maybe borrow from Hyrule Warriors and have some dark figure claim the Triforce and wish for Ganon to be revived. This is single handedly my biggest regret about Hyrule Warriors not being in the official canon of the timeline – the story is actually really clever and very Zelda appropriate. Sure, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link ends on a pretty prosperous note, but this is Hyrule. There is always some evil brewing.

If this game has a rooted history stemming from Ocarina of Time and before, then we can finally get an explanation for the lack of The Master Sword in both NES adventures. Sure there was The White Sword, but it is not The Master Sword. I feel that is what could make for compelling storytelling in a future era based Zelda game – this is where we were, and here we are now. A game set after Zelda II can also open up so many more future stories that don’t have to be constrained to fit in the Pandora’s Box that is the Legend of Zelda Timeline.

master sword [tp] white sword [LoZ]

I think that is what disappointed me about Skyward Sword. It was fascinating that Nintendo chose this game as the first game in the series (at least for now), but to me, there can’t really be a game that goes before Skyward Sword now as the game plays out to formation of both The Master Sword and Hyrule. While Skyward Sword did a fairly decent job at introducing a lot of new characters and explain the ancestry of the heroes chosen by fate, I felt like I got nothing completely new out of a Zelda experience. Yes, the game had innovative controls and made for a debatable fun (or not as fun, depending on your stance) game.

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I think it’s hard for most to picture the grand scale of lore that was introduced back in the 80’s from the first two NES titles and then to compare that to these large, epic in comparison adventures such as Skyward Sword or Twilight Princess, when these later games have really built upon their previous entries and The Legend of Zelda and Link’s Adventure are just “those other Zelda games.”

The other aspect of why I feel a future era game makes sense is this speculation of open-world feel. The original NES title was very much an open-world game in comparison to Ocarina of Time. How? If you look at how you’re able to play the two games, Ocarina of Time follows a formula, and short of mods for the game, you have to follow the story. The Legend of Zelda for the NES was you do whatever dungeon you wanted. We saw this idea return for A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds, albeit a little more structured.

Zelda U Background

Overall, the lore from the franchise is relatively unexplored in the decline part of the timeline and perhaps an “end of days” Zelda could be fun to explore again – maybe get that intended darkness from Twilight Princess mixed with a world of citizens abandoning all hope could make for an interesting tale to be told in the franchise, and it sounds like a Majora’s Mask worthy entry.

Of course this was not even a playable reveal for Zelda for the Wii U. What was displayed at E3 could and could not be the final product. So, while we’re all grasping at straws for what we’re hoping to see at E3 2015 from Nintendo, this is my hope – that we open up another branch of the timeline and get a chance to explore new stories and times.

green tunic

What are your thoughts about Zelda Wii U’s timeline placement? Sound off in the comments below.

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About Author

Ben Cornett is graduate of Western Michigan University. He serves as managing editor of The Hidden Triforce. In his spare time, he maintains his own blog. Ben currently resides in Ann Arbor.

  • Noah Glaser

    The technology we see is similar to that of Skyward Sword. I would be interested in seeing a game prior to the events Skyward Sword or right after.

    • starscream1180

      i would be interested in seeing anything …dying for a new zelda game …i havent turned on my wii u since mk8

      • Noah Glaser

        Did you play Hyrule Warriors?

        • starscream1180

          i played the demo at gamestop ..but not worth the 59 bucks imo..esp wwith all the games released for xbox and ps4

  • hollander

    Adult timeline.
    Are you bored with the formula and zelda rules?
    Solution New Hyrule, it has dozens of advantages.
    Btw the era of decline is already full of zelda games
    no nostalgia think with your brains instead of your heart.
    (not personally pointed towards someone)
    The era of decline deserves a long holiday.

  • Nebraska Lewis

    From what I’ve seen, there is a 75% chance that tis game takes place before Skyward Sword. No matter what, I’m putting my money on that.

  • Sarah

    I think it would have to be after Skyward Sword rather than before. I say this because he has been seen using the sailcloth zelda gave him on SS. I guess they could change everything before its actual release which is now being rumoured to be in 2017. uhhhhgggg. Im soooo tired of waiting!

  • Chase

    I think it could be before skyward sword. It having such a vast map could it be before the land was destroyed and darkness took over. What if he is the original hero. I know this is an old post but after seeing more recent gameplay it hit me what if he’s the start

  • Chris Ramer

    I agree with what Noah says regarding the technology seen in both this game and in Skyward Sword. Technology hasn’t been real prevalent in most Zelda games, with the exceptions of technology used by ancient races (like aliens in our world). The Zelda series doesn’t involve much in the way of technology because of it taking place almost in medieval times, with heroes saving princesses by slaying mythical dragons with swords. In the medieval times, there was no technology.

    However, if some ancient, highly advanced race were to have left some things behind, that would explain the existence of technology. The only technology we’ve seen so far in the previews for Zelda 2016 was with the bow and possibly the boss. From this point on, all that’s left to do is speculate…

    I’m assuming that the bow is made primarily out of metal and wood components. I suspect metal due to the sounds it makes when it changes form in the trailer. The technology regarding the boss is a bit harder to figure out with how little information we have at our disposal right now. However, seeing as how the machine (let’s just call it that…) reacts to Link’s attacks and it feels threatened and feels a need to defend itself or whomever it’s protecting/helping, it shows that the machine is already more advanced than the computers we have today. The machine in this game feels the need to survive-it’s self-aware. This says a lot about the technology it’s made with. If the game would have any sense of realism regarding evolution, it would’ve taken thousands of years to develop that kind of technology which means that this game might actually come before Skyward Sword in the timeline, particularly in the decline branch. I realize that it’s a game and it doesn’t have to conform to real-life standards, but this is all based on assumption and guesstimates, so let’s just assume it does. There is no specified amount of time between when the Golden Goddesses departed Hyrule after having created it. There is also no mention of whom the first race of creatures to inhabit the planet were, so for all we know, it could’ve been 2 million years after the creation of Hyrule for the events of Skyward Sword to take place. All we would need is a few thousand years to have the technology that is around in Skyward Sword. The Ooccoo found in Twilight Princess appear to be a more advanced race than the Hylians, and they have also been around much, much longer. The Ooccoo had built cannons before Hylians did, which proves their technological superiority among Hylians. However, (this is completely based on my own observations) the design and colors of the bow in this game show somewhat similar characteristics to that of certain technologies in Skyward Sword, specifically looking at the Beamos. If you compare the eye of a SS Beamos to that of the eye of this beast, you will notice that they are almost identical (sure, not perfect, but it might be something worth noting). This is probably just a coincidence, but if you look at the texturing on the beast’s rocky exterior, it appears to have a similar design to that of which can be seen on an Ampilus from SS. That’s a bit of a stretch though…

    This is all probably just nonsense though. It’s nearly impossible to say with any sort of accuracy where this game will fall in the timeline. Although, I’m almost certain that the advancement of technology in this game is key to pinpointing its spot. Maybe with some more footage we can put more of the pieces together. Just right now we are missing far too many pieces.

    Let me know what you think of my lengthy theory. :)