I think this game is taking place somewhere between ALttP, LA, OoS, OoA and ALBW. I think it may even be the same Link featured in the latter games. One of the big giveaways is when Link jump’s over Ganon’s Trident attack, which means he must have Roc’s Feather. We’ve never seen that item used outside of LA, OoS, and OoA. And he doesn’t have it in ALBW either.
I know that may be a bit of a grasp here, but it’s usage of the same map and the version of Ganon we’re seeing here certainly places it on the Fallen Timeline. So currently, I’d say we’re looking at:
ALttP->LA->OoS->OoA->EoW->ALBW
Also, it’s notable that ALBW was absent of of the races seen in all of the games prior to ALBW as well as the games that followed, being LoZ and AoL. Those races being Koroks, Kokiri, Goron, Gerudo, Sheikah, Sea Zora, and Rito. And we’ve seen several of those races already just in this trailer alone: River Zora, Zora, and Gerudo.
So I’m feeling pretty confident of my current placement on the timeline down the game here.
I know all of this could be very, very wrong, but I’m loving theorizing as I always do for a new Zelda game.
It seems that Zelda can also jump in this game without Roc’s Feather, so I’m not sure that really points towards it being ALttP/LA or OoS/OoA Link (which
are two different Links). Also, Roc’s Feather is in FSA as well. But yeah, if this game were to be set in the Downfall Timeline, it would almost certainly have to take place before ALBW, likely close to OoS/OoA, since, as you point out, ALBW makes a point to show that the races of Hyrule have diminished by that point—particularly notable with Rosso seemingly being a Hylian of Goron descent, Impa
potentially being Sheikah but looking much closer to a Hylian if so, and the complete lack of Gerudo, sea Zora, or other races that they could have featured as well.
But then the Downfall Timeline doesn’t feature Gerudo (outside of Kotake and Koume—somehow revived??—in OoS/OoA) or prominent Sheikah (there are some examples of characters that are likely of Sheikah descent, but nothing like the Sheikah we’re seeing in EoW which are more like the Sheikah as seen in BotW/TotK)
at all, and while this doesn’t necessarily prove that EoW can’t take place on the Downfall Timeline (those races could still exist and just aren’t shown in games…but you’d think they would have taken the opportunity to use them in ALBW if that was supposed to be the case), it may suggest a different timeline placement.
The Child Timeline still has Gerudo even at the currently known end of it in FSA (unlike the Adult and Downfall Timelines), so EoW could potentially go there, too. FSA is also very much based on ALttP, too, after all. But I think another option is more likely—the Hylia Timeline, AKA the proposed fourth timeline on which BotW/TotK must take place (as they can’t take place on the other timelines since OoT is replaced with TotK’s Imprisoning War in that timeline) which, I believe, branches from the time travel in SS where Ghirahim revives Demise in the past after he was eradicated by the Triforce in the present. In this timeline, I think EoW may be the equivalent of ALttP, as TotK’s Imprisoning War is the equivalent of OoT.
This would be a timeline where Demise was defeated early, Hylia never had to become mortal and would still be worshiped as a goddess, and as such the history of the thousands of years between the Era of the Goddess Hylia and the Era of Sky would likely play out very differently. This would explain a lot, like Hylia’s absence in the other timelines, why Sheikah are much more prominent in this timeline compared to the others where they’re said to live in the shadows and are rarely seen (if they even exist anymore at all towards the end of the timelines), and, of course, how BotW/TotK exist in a timeline where OoT as we know it doesn’t happen, among other things.
If the Hylia Timeline is true, then EoW likely takes place on this timeline not only due to the presence of Gerudo and BotW/TotK-like Sheikah, but also because we see a Goddess Statue in the trailer, meaning Hylia is likely still worshiped as a goddess in this timeline! Plus the Zonai-like outfit and weapons that Link has may also suggest some connection to the BotW/TotK timeline, too. This timeline would also be a nearly completely blank slate for the developers to mess around with, and they’ve previously voiced a desire for something of the sort so their gameplay ideas aren’t constrained by the existing timelines, so it would make a lot of sense for this game to be taking place in a newly established timeline for development reasons, too!
I will say that one thing that could point towards your idea of EoW potentially being on the Downfall Timeline and featuring the same Link as OoS/OoA is Zelda’s design, as it appears to be most closely match that of OoS/OoA’s Zelda, however it’s not a perfect match and seems to combine elements from a number of different Zelda incarnations.
I have long loved the discussions around the timeline, but I sincerely think that the creative managers of the series have absolutely nothing to do with it in reality. We must take each episode as the variation of the same story or all of the world of a common narrative universe.
Nintendo literally released multiple books detailing the chronology of these games, and they continue to stick to that on their
official Zelda website—are you suggesting that’s all some big made up lie that they continue to push for some reason? And we know that the creative managers are
absolutely involved with the timeline—Aonuma has said, even before the Hyrule Historia was released and the timeline was officially disclosed in full, that a master timeline document existed and only he, Miyamoto, and the game director have access to it. Plus you don’t make games like The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, etc. without considering the timeline of the series at all.
