Perhaps the most intriguing lore part about The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is its place in the convoluted, overarching Zelda timeline. Is it related to the recent Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom games? Is it a sequel to Link’s Awakening? What about A Link to the Past and its Hyrule? Here are my thoughts. Note: full spoilers ahead.
Does The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Connect to BOTW and TOTK?
As mentioned, I am going to be giving full spoilers ahead for all Zelda games, including Echoes of Wisdom. If you haven’t played this latest title to completion, turn away now. With that said, before we can get into where this game falls in the official timeline, it is worth talking about two of the latest games: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
Echoes of Wisdom seems to connect to both of these games, as seen in several areas. For one, there is the Ancient Orb scenario. These orbs highly remind me of the Guardians and their technology, which is seen in both of these games. Plus, there are enemies that resemble their BOTW counterparts like the Lynels. In addition, the powers this particular Zelda has reminds me of the powers we see in this timeline version. That said, I don’t for a moment think this is the same Zelda protagonist from those games.
Where Does Echoes of Wisdom Fall in the Timeline?
While the connections to Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild are certainly there, where does Echoes of Wisdom fall in The Legend of Zelda timeline? Until we get official word, this is my personal opinion on the matter. I do believe this game is in the Fallen Hero branch of the timeline, but I, specifically, think the game is after every game there.
There are absolutely similarities to that particular branch, such as Ganon’s brief appearance. The world map is similar enough in terms of placement, though there are some changes. But the biggest clue of them all is the appearance of both Zora tribes. The only other game to experience this is Oracle of Ages, which is in that branch of the timeline.
If I had to guess, though, it is a bit more complicated than that. It has long been the thought that Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are the culmination of bringing together all three branches. With the similarities this game has to those titles, I actually believe Echoes of Wisdom is the furthest in the Fallen Hero branch and coming up closer to BOTW and TOTK. One of the main proponents behind this placement is how the world map is similar to games like A Link to the Past but it has some BOTW influences like the Faron Wetlands in the southeastern corner. For now, though, we will have to wait and see.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is available right now exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
Published: Sep 26, 2024 05:15 pm