Nintendo has finally allocated a place for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom on its sprawling and baffling Zelda timeline, although one rather wonders if that constitutes wasted effort on the Japanese gaming giant's part.
As spotted by IGN, Echoes of Wisdom is now located just before the original 1986 The Legend of Zelda and just after Tri-Force Heroes on the official timeline, which means that it takes place in the branch in which Link was defeated in Ocarina of Time.
In case you need reminding, the Zelda timeline is unified until Ocarina of Time, at which point two divergent branches are created: one in which Link is defeated by Ganondorf and one in which he emerges victorious.
The branch in which Link is triumphant has its own two branches, too: one set in Link's "child era" and one in his "adult era". The former gives rise to Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess, while the latter leads to The Wind Waker and its DS sequels.
If you're wondering exactly where Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom fit into the timeline...well, they don't. They're part of their own branch, one that's not connected to any previous Zelda games.
I've never quite understood the appeal of creating an overarching Zelda timeline. The series doesn't feel like it fits neatly into a chronology, and imposing a rigid timeline on things arguably makes it harder for fans to create fun theories, like the one that posits all Zelda games are retellings of the same story.
Still, if you were wondering exactly where Echoes of Wisdom fits into the broader Zelda...storyline, then now you know.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is the latest entry in the long-running Zelda series. It combines the top-down perspective of classic Zelda games with the experimental systems-based style of Breath of the Wild.
Unlike previous Zelda games, you'll play as Princess Zelda in this one, and you'll use Echoes to conjure everything from objects to monsters in order to help you solve freeform puzzles.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is available right now exclusively on Nintendo Switch. You can check out our review here to find out what we thought of it.
