Since 1986, Zelda games have been pushing not only the scope of RPGs but also the technical aspects of video games. Although not every game is a hit, there is no denying that the series has been monumental to the video game art form. Generations of players have sat down to enjoy the beautiful worlds created by Nintendo’s insightful and dedicated team. To this date, 29 games have been released, selling over 52 million copies worldwide. This makes the canon of Zelda a little hard to follow. Therefore, with the latest release of Tears of The Kingdom, it takes a historian to determine when it takes place.
When does Tears of The Kingdom take place?
Convoluted is the word I would use to describe the complex timeline of the Zelda games leading up to Tears of The Kingdom. Since the franchise’s birth, we have seen prequels, sequels, fillers, and spin-offs that leave even the more dedicated players scratching their heads. In short, Tears of The Kingdom takes place right near the end of the current timeline, ignoring the Tingle storyline.
Warning: This may contain spoilers.
In the beginning
Skyward Sword sees the beginning of Hyrule and the worlds in which the plot all exists. The Triforce is created. Link must save Zelda (of course), Destroy Demise, and create the Master Sword by imbuing it with power. Zelda is granted the power of a reincarnated Goddess, Hylia, and so begins the story of Zelda.
Once we jump forward a few games, we get to the Ocarina of Time. This is the child/adult era of Link. We finally meet Ganon, the eternal bain of the Zelda series, and the series splits into three possible storylines. The first leads to the original game – The Legend of Zelda, a plot in which Link is defeated and must fight a resurrected Ganon, and the two others in which Link is either a child or an adult.
A muddled middle
Screenshot via Nintendo
Undefeated Ganon
In an alternate universe, Ganon was not defeated in the Ocarina of Time and instead managed to collect the Triforce. He lives on through an avatar called Agahnim. Zelda is, again, locked away and needs rescuing. Using the Master Sword, Link frees the princess and defeats Ganon.
Throughout this timeline, Ganon is resurrected and defeated, allowing Tears of The Kingdom to take place.
Majora’s Mask
A personal childhood favorite for me is Majora’s Mask. This timeline follows the protection of the Sacred Realm and Link messing around with a mask that leads to him preventing the moon from crashing into the Earth, of course. Adventures with Skull Kid and the Giants results in an extraordinary tale straight out of a children’s story. The timeline ends with Ganondorf, the human form of Ganon, being resurrected, leading to Tears of The Kingdom taking place.
Ganondorf’s Ressurection
With the highly acclaimed Wind Waker, this storyline follows the resurrection of the human form Ganon and the flooding of Hyrule. This is the storyline that Tingle gets his own little offshoot, but we don’t need to complicate matters further with that.
The joining of the three
The three worlds become one with the revival of Ganon. Hyrule Warriors is the only game so far in this little prelude to Tears of The Kingdom, but there is definitely space for another game before Tears of The Kingdom takes place.
Tears of The Kingdom and Breath of The Wild take place
Screenshot: PC Invasion
Finally, with the awakening of Calamity Ganon, we see the latest part of the Zelda storyline take place. It begins with Breath of The Wild, in which Calamity is defeated. This took the gaming world by storm with its beautiful art style, poetic story writing, and vast map. New and old fans alike were left begging for the next installment.
But, of course, Ganon was not defeated. We finally get to the point that Tears of The Kingdom will take place. Without giving too much away, Calamity Ganon is back, and it is down to Link to work beside Zelda to defeat him once and for all… Probably. I won’t give too much away, but there will be a Master Sword, and there will be dragons.
