[nextpage title=”Intro/Creation Era” ]With the release of the next new Legend of Zelda game slowly approaching for Wii U, we hardly know anything about it. We know that there will be a constantly changing open world, you can utilise electric arrows, and Epona will be making a mighty return, but that’s basically it… we don’t even have a subtitle yet. Hopefully, this should all change during the Summer (or sooner, we know how Nintendo loves to surprise us), but in the meantime, it won’t hurt to try and theorise some of the details for the next Zelda release?

One of the most important parts of coming up with theories for unreleased games of the franchise is trying to figure out where the game will be set on the timeline. Nintendo have kept the Zelda timeline secret for a very long time (either because they wanted us to keep guessing or they just didn’t have one) but that was finally unveiled in the 2011’s Hyrule Historia (which was released a couple years later in English).

Today, we will be discussing where we think Zelda Wii U could be placed on the Timeline, and of course, feel free to join the fun… after the break!

PLEASE NOTE – The following may contain some crucial story spoilers of currently release The Legend of Zelda games!

Skyward Sword Story

The Creation Era 

The Creation Era, as the name suggests, is the very beginning of the timeline, and leads onto the Era of the Goddess Hylia and the Sky Era. I honestly think it would be interesting for Nintendo to explore the uprising and fall of the land of Hylia, to experience the events leading up to Skyward Sword. Though playing Skyward Sword does answer a lot of questions, it also asks some new ones too. Questions like “Where did Demise and Ghirahim come from?”, “How did the Master Sword loose its power?”, and “What was the original hero like?”. These are all questions one of my fellow writer’s, Chris, has been asking himself since 2011.

The war leading to the departure of the land to the sky is briefly touched on in a brilliant short manga featured at the back of the Hyrule Historia, but that just makes me want to see more. Why was Link imprisoned? What did he do? Recently, I’ve been replaying Skyward Sword as I haven’t touched it for a couple years. I only just finished the Lanayru Sand Sea, one of my favourite areas of the game, and after seeing glimpses of the past using the Time Stones makes me want to explore the land before the desert moved in. Just seeing small glimpses isn’t enough, I want to see the beauty of Lanyru in its prime.

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The little footage we have seen does suggest (at least to me) that this part of the timeline could be a possibility for when Zelda Wii U is set. Firstly, the areas we have seen all seem very underdeveloped, other Zelda games do feature this, but from what we have seen, it looks more pure and untouched. The settlements are far smaller and spread apart rather than massive civilisations. Though it could just signify the rebirth of the land of Hylia/Hyrule (more on that later), there’s something else which strikes the idea that the game could have this timeline placement. The technology!

Both Link’s ‘Lightning Arrows’ (my own name for them) and, more importantly, the massive robot giving chase to him are incredibly similar to the technology witnessed within the Lanayru Mining Facility and the Sandship. You only encounter the technology of enemies like Beamos and Armos (these cares scare the crap out of me) when you are in a Time Shift zone, during a glimpse of Ancient Lanayru. The robot essentially looks like the Bemos on steroids.

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The Sky Era

Another interesting point of the timeline that Zelda Wii U could be set is during the end of the Sky Era. It would be interesting to see how the Skyloftians cope with being returned to beneath the clouds? How will Link and Zelda carry on with their lives?

The possibility of the title taking place here is once again supported by the fact that the land looks untouched in all the footage we have seen, as the Skyloftians would presumably start to take back the land and settle it which has been mostly untouched by humans for thousands of years.

It could pose some very interesting story lines and quests too, as it would be the first Zelda game which could focus on resettling on abandoned land and recolonising. It could add some Animal Crossing-esque side-quests too. Imagine being able to build settlements and farming crops, so not only would it be an action/adventure game, but also a life sim!

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The Era of Hyrule’s Rebirth

Several generations later, the Era of the Great Sea is born with Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass. The timeline is then blank for a couple hundred years, until it’s full steam ahead with Spirit Tracks. But what happened between the events of Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks? How did the Great Sea dry up to give birth to the new Hyrule?

This is another interesting direction the series could take. Not only would it be interesting to see this branch of the timeline in a completely different art-style, but it could easily answer the above questions. If this were to happen, it would likely take place directly after the rebirth of Hyrule, which would explain why the land looks rather untouched in the released footage.

It would most likely play similarly to my previous theory. It would follow the life of Link and the people of the Great Sea accommodating to the new land. It would be pretty cool to see Zelda in her Tetra form in the art style the new game is going for.

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The Twilight Era

The final theory I have in mind, which was actually suggested by Chris, is that the game could be set during/after the Twilight Era, more specifically a successor to Twilight Princess. The ending of Twilight Princess was left incredibly open with it’s tear jerking finale. Midna’s final words, before fleeing back to the Twilight Realm and destroying the Mirror of Twilight, were “See you later…”, this is something she said quite a few times, so this could have an underlying meaning that she knows that they will meet again and she isn’t ready to say goodbye.

It would also make sense for the timing of the release of Twilight Princess HD. It would give players the chance to visit the previous game if they have never played Twilight Princess, in preparation for Zelda Wii U. Another point of notice is the Wolf Link and Midna Amiibo. It has been previously announced that the Amiibo, which is mainly used for Twilight Princess HD, will carry some sort of data from Twilight Princess HD to Zelda Wii U, which makes some of us consider the possibility that the two games may be directly related.

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It sure would be interesting to see how the story would pan out if this were the case. Perhaps the Twilight Realm will go rogue, and will blame the Light world for their demise. Or perhaps Zant isn’t really dead or is revived… hey, if Ganondorf can survive as much thrashing as he has received from Ocarina of Time to Twilight Princess, I don’t see why a Twilight being can’t survive breaking his neck!

So, there we have it. These are all the theories we could come up with, but at the end of the day, it really is anyone’s game until the game has finally been released. For all we know, Zelda Wii U could produce a new branch in the timeline or even be set in a more modern setting.

Do you have any theories on when Zelda Wii U will be set? If so, feel free to explain in the comments below!

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Leon Fletcher

I am a huge Nintendo fan, hence why NintyBuzz exists. I especially love all things Zelda and Metroid. NintyBuzz was started by me back in the Summer of 2014, it started out mainly as a hobby, though the site has gradually grown, and I hope it grows for many years to come!