The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom given surprising official timeline placement

Nintendo has revealed the timeline placement for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, putting it at a surprising point in the history of Hyrule.

The Legend of Zelda timeline has long been a point of contention among fans, especially as the games generally aren’t strict about chronological events. Nintendo has clarified how the series is broken into three distinct timelines, all converging into Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

However, the official Nintendo website has updated its timeline for The Legend of Zelda series to include Echoes of Wisdom. It has now been confirmed that Echoes of Wisdom happens just before the first game in the franchise.

Echoes of Wisdom takes place before the original Legend of Zelda

Nintendo/The Pokemon Company

Echoes of Wisdom takes place in “The Hero is Defeated” timeline, where Link was killed during the events of Ocarina of Time, prompting a world where Hyrule falls into ruin.

According to the updated timeline, Echoes of Wisdom happens after Tri-Force Heroes, the multiplayer Zelda title on the 3DS, and before Legend of Zelda from 1986.

This is a surprising choice, considering “The Hero is Defeated” timeline is meant to reflect the entries of the series where Hyrule is barren and missing many of its familiar races, which is due to hardware limitations and them not being created yet.

Yet, Echoes of Wisdom is set in a lush and vibrant world, where the people of Hyrule are still plentiful. This means that the period after Echoes of Wisdom is one of darkness and destruction, as the next Link is trapped in a realm of monsters.

It would have made more sense to put Echoes of Wisdom earlier in the timeline, such as nearer to Link’s Awakening, as it’s the game it most closely follows. Then, the Oracle entries on the Game Boy Color could be a closer step to the NES ones.

It’s a strange choice to put Echoes of Wisdom so close to the original Legend of Zelda, but ultimately, it won’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.