Ever since Nintendo confirmed that The Legend of Zelda has an official, branching timeline, fans have been curious about precisely when every new game in Nintendo’s beloved action-adventure franchise takes place. That includes the newly announced The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. While nothing’s confirmed yet, fans are already scrubbing through the first trailer and screenshots to figure out where Zelda’s starring adventure falls on the timeline.
The biggest clue to just when on the timeline Echoes of Wisdom is set is that it appears to use the map from A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds. Reddit user FelipeKits compared one of the shots from the trailer showing Zelda looking at Hyrule from a high vantage point to the map from those games (thanks, IGN). You can see enough of the area to tell it looks almost identical in design, with details such as the placement of Hyrule Castle and small island formations in bodies of water reinforcing the idea, though Death Mountain is slightly displaced in the transition. However, as user Scdsco points out, some of the environments seen in the trailer never appeared in A Link to the Past. That doesn’t preclude it being the same part of the timeline, however, as it’s entirely possible Echoes of Wisdom is expanding upon the old map.
That’s the theory some folks are running with, for now. Even with more detailed breakdowns like Reddit user Ryon21_’s, the map seems to be mostly the same with some minor changes and clear expansions. That part seems cut and dry, so we can probably safely assume Echoes of Wisdom takes place in the “Hero is Defeated” timeline, in which Link is defeated by Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time. This branch begins with A Link to the Past, then continues in Link’s Awakening, Oracle of Seasons/Ages, A Link Between Worlds, and Tri Force Heroes, before concluding with the first two Legend of Zelda games.
If that’s not specific enough for you, there is one thing in the early footage that might narrow down when Echoes of Wisdom takes place. The game features both iterations of the Zora, an aquatic race that has appeared in multiple Zelda games, but in two distinct forms. Echoes of Wisdom includes both the “river” and “sea” versions of the Zora, which differ greatly in appearance and their place in the world. The river Zora are more violent, and often appear as enemies throughout the series, while the sea Zora are the peaceful people like Prince Sidon from Breath of the Wild most people associate with the name. Both iterations of these characters were featured in Oracle of Ages, which is the only time they’ve both been in one game. The two didn’t associate with one another before, but as NintendoLife points out, the trailer features a scene in which they both appear in what seems to be some kind of peaceful meeting. So it stands to reason Echoes of Wisdom might follow Oracle of Ages and have the two groups looking to coexist.
But all of that is speculation at this point. It’s unclear if we will even get a real answer, as Nintendo hasn’t been super married to the timeline since it revealed the thing. Theorycrafting can be fun, but I can imagine trying to hold all of these disparate timelines together in an overarching continuity becomes a pain when the Zelda series has been going on for so long. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is coming to Switch on September 16.