Yep, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Takes Place After Ocarina of Time

Did anyone think otherwise?

That just creates even more questions!!

Just watched the video and was smiling the whole way through. These dudes are amazing, and I love everything they do. Not sure why you picked your title as 'BotW takes place after OoT', and not 'there's this awesome interview with Aonuma and Shigsy', or something of the like, but whatever! Thanks for sharing.

That's interesting. I have only played wind water got an hour, so for all intent and purposes, BOTW will be my first Zelda. I'm hoping that vc will be available, along with Mario sunshine, maybe I can try out some other Zeldas.

What one is a good starting point?

I have only played wind waker once and for about a hour. For all intents BOTW will be my first. Assuming VC will be ready, what Zelda should I start with?

I think it takes place 100 years after the Hero of Time fails. This is right where the grey box is before A Link to the Past where it says Hyrules decline and the last hero.

I think that the Master Sword being in the forest infront of the Great Deku try also hints at this.

@zionich
ooh i like that line of thinking

You don't say

Zelda CDi will have to take place at the end of the timeline since no one wants to continue the generation after them.

My bet is this happen in the Link fail timeline.

Hey NintendoLife, how bout not putting spoilers in the title?

"Eiji Aonuma Confirms Timeline Placement" would have been a better title. This info has huge story implications.

@Rumncoke25 Ocarina of Time for sure. If your into 16bit, Link to the Past is amazing and the Zelda that hooked me for life.

@Rumncoke25
Ocarina of time

Of course it takes place after OOT, it's not like they can go back in time and release it on the SNES before OOT even came out.

This game is all over the place in the timeline. And I LOVE IT!

@Frank-The-Tank That's what I was thinking. Thanks for the spoilers Nintendo Life.

In other news, Mario's hat is red.

The timelines pretty dumb anyways. GI is posting more stuff tomorrow so I'm hoping it's something a bit more interesting. Although, this was in itself funny.

@abbyhitter @Frank-The-Tank

You guys do know Thomas wrote this, right? He did the title.

The website shouldn't really be blamed.

i still think breath of the wild's look tells me 'wind waker grew up'.

Well then, hey Thomas, how about not putting spoilers in the title? This info has huge story implications. I'm going to have to stop visiting NintendoLife altogether if you're happy putting spoilers on homepage titles.

I'm more impressed with the fact they're trying so hard to force a timeline into a series of games that have essentially the same story. At least some basic connections make sense, like BOTW happening AFTER Skyward Sword (since it has several callbacks of statues and buildings), Twilight Princess AFTER Majora's Mask (since Skull Kid is there) and, of course, the mandatory sequels to OoT (that's Majora's) and Wind Waker (Phantom Hourglass). But organizing everything into a timeline, including very very old releases from NES and SNES? Nah. Doesn't make any sense AT ALL.

It's almost like saying Super Mario Bros 3 actually came after Super Mario Galaxy and before Galaxy 2.

Well, Already needed something 'new' for the "internet" in addition to the recent "news" of the Switch, XD
oh my...
upsi...

Sighs.

Cool. In any case, I can't wait to demo this at a kiosk, which will probably be at my local Gamestop.

3 weeks. I think I'm going to go live under a rock for awhile...

Still think this takes place in the Downfall timeline or whatever it's called, what with all the callbacks and similarities to the original Zeldo and whatnot.

@lizuka, @bigwhoady, @liberatedanimal
Thanks for the replies. I think OOT should be where I start, I asked a few people I know and of the 7 I asked, 6 said OOT. My roomie was the lone dissenter, said majoras mask.

I really am almost as excited for virtual console as I am for the Switch. If it's live within the first month or so, I czn just play classics to tide me over from BOTW to the holidays.

Lets hope they didn't lie as much as Sean Murray did in his quickfire interview

I see a lot of comments suggesting this takes place in the adult Timeline. Aonuma confirmed early on that it didn't. The common hypothesis right now in the Zelda community is that it's in the decline timeline.

Also, to all the people constantly berating the timeline, what's officiall is official. You need to start appreciating franchises with lore and stop being debby downers. I find that the Zelda timeline enhances individual stories quite a bit, especially OoT, MM, TP, and SS. All of those are made specifically with the timeline in mind. Pretending it doesn't exist would render them (especially Skyward Sword) confusing from a narrative angle, since they clearly build off of previous and future events. Story is just as important as gameplay.

@Rumncoke25 You should play Majora's Mask after OOT then, since it's also a fantastic game, it's different then other Zelda games, but a very good game nonetheless.

@Braneman I always thought some sort of multi-dimensional Zelda on the WiiU would have worked quite well. A top- down SNES view on the Gamepad but a 3rd person view on the TV. The plot would depict 2 different Link's from parallel worlds teaming up. This could then be played in co-op using a Pro Controller.

As for the 'timeline'? Surely this is a post-flood, receded floodwater Hyrule? It does have the Rito in after all. Perhaps waaaaaay after Spirit Tracks?

HAHAH. Oh man, that full clip is the best video I've seen in a while. Those two are hilarious.

Personally I'd love to see the CDi games get a VC release. I'd really love to give them a shot. They can't be all that bad just like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is way better than Milons secret castle.

@Rumncoke25 I remember not liking the original Zelda game on NES, but Ocarina of Time on N64 is still one of my favorite games that I've ever played. That'd be a pretty good place to start as - if I read the Hyrule Historia right - that's the game that causes the timeline to split apart.

I personally subscribe to the theory that this is after OoT and before ALttP and refuse to accept any other. Then again, they could also make a fourth split but idk.

That interview was amazing!

@Rumncoke25

Ocarina of Time..........

Wind Waker

I'll probably take a crack at this, sometime over the next year or so...but all this cell-shaded animation styling has gone completely overboard. I'd much rather have another entry like "A Link to the Past", only exponentially bigger with multiple endings. The 2D entries being relegated to handhelds just irks me.

But what about Majora's Mask?

The timeline doesn't matter. It's a load of made up nonsense. All that matters is that it plays great.

That interview was really enjoyable. Both Miyamoto and Aonuma look relaxed and comfortable with the quicker pace of the questions.

Ocarina of Time is my jam!!! Hopefully this game carries the mantle well. Enjoy everyone!

@Frank-The-Tank If it had real spoiler potential, Miyamoto and Aonuma wouldn't have told use in an interview a month before the game release.

I thought so, seeing the korok, so that means the great deku is the deku sprout all grown up. I want to know every bit of the story there is to find in the game. And all the extra before finishing it.

Seriously, even the official timeline contains errors. Now they tell us, where BotW takes place...It IS possible, to put the Zelda-episodes in a correct timeline but the fans do better than the producers. Just browse the internet for Zelda-fansites.

So actually it will be a new interesting discussion where to put the new Zelda-title. But the producer`s view is just a sign, an inspiration.

Awww men SPOILER ALERT :/
That's not cool for those trying to be on sort of a media black out for this game... You could have avoided to put this directly in the title (I didn't read the article)

I'm still trying to figure out the Rito/Zora thing. I'm getting a lot of Skyward Sword vibes from this.

I personally think that it's at the end of all the timelines, converged into a single, new one. Just so they don't have to bother with the timeline nonsense anymore.

After Ocarina is pretty open to speculation still. I mean, the timeline splits in 3 so there are multiple paths and also, it doesn't say 'directly' so could be after wind waker still, not before!

SPOILER: Ending shows Hyrule getting flooded with water...

@eltomo There's confirmed to be multiple (maybe two?) endings, so that is possible!

Ok that was brilliant.

@2CUTE4YOU or taking sleeping pills buhahaha I can't wait either

I think it's after wind waker too.

Well, even without knowing that a ruined Hyrule could only take place after OoT, a rusted Master Sword is kind of a dead giveaway.

There`s kokiri and rock salt. So that decline timeline is looking good!

It could be placed after spirit tracks, but placing it between tracks and hourglass would be the most logical.

Even better: what if we split the windwake r. This is the timeline where link failed. Thus hyrule was lifted above the ocean once more.

@erv I think it's after The Legend of Mira: Breath of the Evello.

BTW @ThomasBW84 and Nintendo Life can we report on that new trailer!!!? It's stunning!

@Spanjard the mighty neck testicle creatures approve.

Personally, when dealing with the jumble of timelines, I go more by multi-world theory than anything else.

@Rumncoke25 I think who starts with Breath of the Wild won't have the sames feedbacks like the fans that have played much games of the series.
I recommend you to play at least Skyward Sword and Ocarina of Time, and if you can also Wind Waker.

Ayyy this is when link loses

I get the feeling this is the Gold era after the hero of time is defeated. A lot of the new races shown remind me of the wind fish from Link's Awakening....but "A Link Between Worlds" slightly breaks that theory.

Or, it could be the start of a new split in the Defeated Hero timeline. Where Ganon isnt defeated but sealed in Hyrule Castle.

Who knows, I just want to play this game so good lol

As soon as I had seen the E3 trailer and read the description on Nintendo's YouTube upload of it, I felt 100% sure this game would take place after Ocarina of Time. I don't see how anyone else thought otherwise, but I guess people interpreted some story details differently.

Just want to say thank you Nintendo Life for opening my eyes (no reference intended). My social media blackout started last night and I was planning to start my Internet blackout on February 17th, but now you've convinced me to start it tonight.
You could have easily put "Aonuma gives an idea of Breath of the Wild's timeline placement: Spoilers within! or something like that as the title, but of course that wouldn't get you clicks so you just put the spoiler in the title instead. At least it wasn't a major one, but it's still wrong in my opinion.
Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys Breath of the Wild when it launches and I bid good luck to anyone else trying to avoid spoilers.

The timeline is wonky fanon horse hockey. Anyone who follows it is a fool.

@Frank-The-Tank This is as much spoiler as the game's trailer. They talk about the "calamity ganon", and anyone knows that Ganondorf doesn't exist (not as ganon/ganondorf) before Ocarina of Time, so this was quite obvious.

That full interview was pretty good. Fun to see these legends answering rapid fire questions.

The full interview is great, had to watch it twice!

He also said that Link can wear the Green tunic.
So yeah nice. I think u will get that when searching for your lost memories.
And i personaly think this game is in the adult timeline, where something really bad happened. Young link traveled alot in search of navi, termina majoras mask etc. So we wil hear what happened in the adult timeline.
Its fun to see darunia in the game. And its comlnfirmed that the bird craeture is from the Ruto tribe.
The more i see the more hyped i get.

Well that was misleading. I thought from the bold tone the title was giving thatthis confirms the game places right after OoT, and before aLttP, MM, or WW. Which would really narrow it down! Now that I see how the question is worded, it really just rules out the SS timeline split theory.

I say is after Wind Wakes.

@rushiosan You mean Mario 3 didn't take place between Galaxy 1 and 2? We all know Bowser decided to scale back on his world domination plans by enslaving small-time kings instead of using black holes. All in order to get a slice of Peach's cake.

We also know Super Mario Land came imediatelly after SMB3. Therefore he decided to cheat on her with Daisy for a while before joining her on vacation to Dinosaur Land.

@Lewieboy124 Yeah, the whole plot is in the title.

Of course this takes place after the ruin of Hyrule. In the demo videos online, you can clearly see Link crawling about the ancient ruins of a vast empire.

I honestly don't even care about Aonuma's assessments concerning canon between Zelda titles.

It never makes a lick of sense, and is never important to any title's self contained story anyway.

It doesn't matter that much, since the game looks all over te place with its characters and places. You can't really place it anywhere.

As for the voice-acting: Its a small step in the right direction. I have a feeling they skimped out on the lip-sync (I guess the only lips I saw moving for a moment so far are the lips of the Deku tree), but at least its a start. Oh, and the crying of Zelda.

I got so surprised, I thought Thomas meant that BotW takes place directly after OoT!

I'm not bothered by the timeline stuff. Only Skyward Sword worked for me in that context. This interview made me laugh out loud a couple of times though. Especially the relationship between these two and the way they react to the questions. I love that they disagree on things quite a bit.

Paper Zelda confirmed! (I'd rather have Zelda Maker, but okay this fake confirmation will do)

Thought that was a bit obvious already. The debate was when and what timeline after OoT does the game take place

They could have said it takes place anywhere in the time line and it would have worked. That just goes to show that it doesn't matter in the slightest.

Last I remember the timeline, there were 3 branches from OoT: Young Link, Adult Link, and missing Link (no pun intended, though well...ahem). I think this game follows the path of "missing Link" and lands right between OoT and LTTP in the storyline (since LTTP was supposed to be the "missing Link" branch anyway). Also, I've noticed in some of the artwork that Death Mountain is in the north with Hyrule Castle in the center, which would make even more sense. Can't wait to find out for sure

Edit: Also, the way the sunlight hits the Master Sword in the forest is almost one to one with how the Master Sword was in the forest in LttP. I simply have to know where this story resides!

I don't understand the whole "oh no spoilers" comments here. Whether BoTW takes place before or after OoT gives you no idea at all what the story actually is. Assuming the timelines were coherent or made sense, it still wouldn't tell use what's happening, why or how in the game, and since the timelines don't ever make sense, and each story is standalone but with a few small tokens to what comes before and after, it still doesn't tell us anything. You don't know any more about the game than you did. Even TLOZ1 takes place after OoT, that's the last story of the entire franchise, supposedly. So you already know the end: Spoiler alert: Link defeats Ganon.

What you don't know is the details over the ages. And each story tells you that.

This headline is like saying "Film takes place in France" after seeing 2 years of trailers for a movie with people in Napoleonic military costumes.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE the degree to which things matter is always subjective. For some people they like this stuff. Besides, I don't know anyone whose interest in the timeline interferes with how enjoy playing the game.

@Lizuka That's a good theory. I'm not even sure what that new bird race is if it is the Rito, seeing as they're less human and more birdlike. Some theories talk about how the flood may have caused some species to get separated and then evolve in different ways.
All I know is the story, from what little we've seen so far, is going to be epic

@NEStalgia

Not to mention they already showed the temple of time in ruins.

@zionich Very true. Technically what Nintendo has been putting out there itself is pretty spoilerish, far more than this headline anyway.

As with most stories, and the best ones, just because you know how it ends doesn't mean it's not an interesting story. In fact that's a solid writing gimmick, reveal the end early in the story, but the reader doesn't know how and why the characters got to that point. When it comes to Zelda we already know the story, it's the same each time, that's why it's a fairy tale legend. The whole idea is the same history keeps repeating itself, but the details are different every time. That's the part we still have to play to learn!

So I should probably get around to finally playing Ocarina of Time then?

It's cool that they have kept up with placing Zelda games in this mystical timeline.
I enjoy it because the timeline gives a lot of people inspiration to image how things looked when going from game to game. What happened to the Temple of Time? How did death mountain change? How did the world getting flooded affect everything?

Then when you mix it with the idea that each game is a legend that gets passed down with time, it makes me smile.

@Braneman Skyward Sword takes place before Ocarina of Time.

@zionich Yes and also the hair style is leaning more towards the defeated timeline with the really long sideburns. Also they created a comparison artwork showing a similar picture to the first Zelda. Back to square one.

Anyone else thinking this could actually be set AFTER Wind Waker? The Great Deku Tree recalls a previous meeting with Link, which this Link doesn't remember from 100 years ago. The Korok's are also there. This may be after the flood is over, not before. And I'm telling you, those Sheikah Towers look awfully like the Spirit Tower. Maybe a refit or extension? I'm saying this game fits between Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks...

When are American journalists going to get that the plural of Joy-Con is Joy-Con?