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Where is Echoes of Wisdom on the Zelda timeline?

Echoes of Wisdom’s timeline placement is a hot debate right now given the game’s release and the reveal of it’s story and lore, locations and characters. Today I want to review all the evidence since the games release and try to pinpoint exactly where on the Legend of Zelda timeline Echoes of Wisdom falls.

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Recently I discussed a theory that Echoes of Wisdom could be the earliest story in the Legend of Zelda series, and could be before Skyward Sword. This was based on the very thin similarities between the events of Echoes of Wisdom and the Skyward Sword Prologue. However, having reviewed that information, there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that theory cannot be correct. Before I dive into the another Echoes of Wisdom timeline theory, I’d like to go over the details.

Here’s the reasons why it’s unlikely Echoes of Wisdom isn’t before Skyward Sword:

Ganon

We have Ganon in the game, not Ganondorf but Ganon who looks very similar to the Ganon found in A Link To The Past, plus Zelda 1 and Zelda 2. It’s unlikely to be before the events of Skyward Sword given the story hasn’t played out with Demise, leading to the curse where Link, Zelda and Ganon are reborn in cycles.

Zelda

It’s unlikely to be before the events of Skyward Sword because of the existence of Zelda herself. Hylia is reborn on Skyloft as a mortal girl named Zelda in Skyward Sword, so the very existence of Zelda is enough to debunk the theory.

Hyrule

During the events of Echoes of Wisdom, Null describes Hyrule as being well established. Hyrule was once ruled by Hylia as the unnamed land in ancient times, and it became established as the Kingdom of Hyrule by the descendants of the Zelda in Skyward Sword.

A Link To The Past

There are many locations in Echoes of Wisdom that are very similar to A LinK To The Past. We can see The Pond of Happiness at Lake Hylia. Also the Swamp Ruins. The Weathercock from Kakariko Village can be found, even the bushes next to Hyrule Castle. Metroid Mike 64 on Twitter lays out some more locations like the Destroyed Ruins of the Desert Palace. We also have the Haunted Grove where Flute Boy once played his songs.

There’s plenty of evidence to confirm that Echoes of Wisdom is not before Skyward Sword, but some interesting questions remain. Where is the Master Sword? Also, why doesn’t Zelda know Link? These may not be lore-breaking questions though because there have been many other games that don’t feature the master sword, plus Zelda often meets Link in-game.

Echoes of Wisdom Timeline placement

Given Echoes os Wisdom isn’t likely to be before Skyward Sword, then where does it sit? It’s likely that Echoes of Wisdom takes place within the Fallen Timeline. This is after the events of Ocarina of Time where the Hero of Time fails to defeat Ganondorf, which resulted in him stealing the Triforce of Wisdom and Triforce of Courage.

Hyrule’s map is a clue to the timeline placement. It’s very similar to A Link Between Worlds, plus also looks like an extended map from A Link To The Past which has been pieced together by the twitter user @hikaru_tsukushi.

Echoes of Wisdom could take place after A Link To The Past. We can see many places in Echoes of Wisdom that appear to be ruined versions of locations from A Link To The Past. Plus we have the two Zora races, which were only shown previously together in the Oracle games.

Echoes of Wisdom shares much of the aesthetics of The Fallen Hero Timeline, and while it may seem to most obvious answer, it’s highly likely to be the simplest explanation. The exact placement on this timeline is still up for debate though. It appears as if it’s after the events of A Link To The Past because of the similarities of the locations.

The lack of Ganondorf in the game is also a good indicator of the Fallen Timeline. The Ganon Echo in Echoes of Wisdom may very well be an Echo of the original Ganon defeated in A Link To The Past. This version of Ganon appeared in A Link To The Past, the Oracle games and A Link Between Worlds, however pre-release fans we wondering how this could be Ganon given he was defeated in A Link To The Past. Given Null’s echo ability Null could have captured Ganon at one point in time and then copied him, storing his Echo for future use then deploying him here in Echoes of Wisdom to cause chaos.

Echoes of Wisdom could also be a Link’s Awakening sequel. The events of that game played out in Link’s dreams, so Zelda may not have known Link, as we see in Echoes of Wisdom. I don’t think we have a direct sequel situiation here much like we see in Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask.

Nintendo have said in the past they prioritise gameplay over story, however, Eiji Aonuma did mention the story componets in the Ask The Developer interview.

“When we’ve adopted a game plot that was not in line with the other games in the series because we prioritized the gameplay, we’ve been told by our fans that it didn’t make sense. We realized that even if the developers didn’t intend to make nonsensical changes, players could interpret otherwise.”

He is almost apologising there saying “the developers didn’t intend to make nonsensical changes, players could interpret otherwise”. It’s an interesting bit of context, as Nintendo aren’t known for commenting on the interconnected nature of the story and lore.

Another connection to Link’s Awakening is the visual style, which may seem obvious. Other games that have seen a visual styoe connection like Ocarina/Majora’s Mask plus BOTW and TOTK, they share a visual style and are continuations of the story. Given the lack of traditional elements in Link’s Awakening like no hyrule, no Zelda, no Triforce it’s hard to say if it’s a sequel.

Ultimately we’re going to have to wait for Nintendo to place Echoes of Wisdom in the timeline, but the evidence we see in the game, I think it’s safe to assume Echoes of Wisdom takes part in the Fallen timeline.

One interesting detail regarding the exact placement of Echoes of Wisdom could be related to the Triforce still being whole in Echoes of Wisdom. In the events of the Oracle games the Triforce splits apart, turns into a bird and flys off in different directions. The Triforce is still split in Link Between Worlds, therefore Echoes of Wisdom could take place after A Link To The Past.

Let me know in the comments what you think.

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