Implicitly, A Link to the Past‘s Link goes to sea on a journey of self-discovery, gets shipwrecked, and voilá -Link’s Awakening.īy the way, there’s also a pretty hefty (and dark) inference that Twilight Princess‘s “Hero’s Spirit” is the Link from Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask-only dead and deeply disillusioned.

Also explicitly, the Link and Zelda/Tetra from Wind Waker venture on to Phantom Hourglass. Explicitly, Ocarina of Time‘s Link goes back to relive his childhood properly, which spawns the events of Majora’s Mask. Besides Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, there are three other sets of direct sequels among all the Zelda games. “Direct sequel” here meaning that the same Link is the protagonist in all of them. Okay, but Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel?Īll that said, there are very few games which are “direct sequels” to each other. But most fans think they come at the very end, perhaps so far in the future that they once again unite the three disparate branches. Of course! (The Zelda timeline is an exercise in imagination and forgiveness.)īreath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have yet to be placed on the official timeline. And “Zelda” is a passed-down name in the royal family.

Don’t worry about that right now.Īt this point, you might be asking: Why are all these different people named “Link” and “Zelda” if some of them live hundreds, if not thousands, of years apart? Well, “Link” is a very popular name because so many famous heroes were named Link. Later, during Ocarina of Time (1998), the timeline splits into three due to Link’s time-traveling shenanigans. The earliest entry and “point of origin” for the series’ story is 2011’s Skyward Sword. However, the order of the games’ release doesn’t correspond in any way with how they’re ordered on the timeline. All Zelda games exist on the same timeline. Get it, girl!) Are all Zelda games sequels?Īs a giddy Zelda-ologist, this is one of my favorite questions. (At least enough for Zelda to get a cute new haircut. But we don’t yet know how much time has elapsed between the two games. During Aonuma’s gameplay video, we even see the incredibly familiar sight of Dueling Peaks Stable, just as we all remember it. We’re dealing with the same Link and the same Zelda. So yes, Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild. That first 2019 teaser introduced what we know now as Tears of the Kingdom as “the sequel to Breath of the Wild.” Out of laziness and lack of a better shorthand, fans and journalists alike referred to the game as “ Breath of the Wild 2” until the official subtitle was finally revealed in September 2022. So, is Tears of the Kingdom really a sequel?! What does that even mean? Still, in a franchise known for his wonky timeline, the word “sequel” here is quite explosive and could mean a lot of things. Hell, they have yet to acknowledge what is obviously Skyloft floating prominently in the background of gameplay as such. Nintendo has kept details about the game quite close to the chest. Since it was first announced during Nintendo’s 2019 E3 Direct (alas, RIP), there has been a lot of mystery around the Legend of Zelda‘s successor to Breath of the Wild.

Zelda breath of the wild case art