Trying to piece together Zelda continuity is like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle with different sized pieces, no artwork, and a finished picture that doesn’t line up. You’re left staring at a jumbled mess with edges shoved into ill-fitting openings and a painting that kind of resembles a forest, but also looks vaguely like a volcano. That hasn’t stopped theorists from painstakingly working to make a cohesive timeline, though.
Even if strict continuity isn’t important to Shigeru Miyamoto and the creatives behind the series, there is an official Zelda timeline that gets updated with each new game for these dedicated fans. And with the upcoming release of the Ocarina of Time remake, that timeline has been updated once again, offering even more evidence that there are in fact two Hyrules.
The theory goes that Zelda witnessed a second Hyrule being founded in Tears of the Kingdom, not the original as many had assumed. Indeed, as noted by YouTube channel Zeltik, the Japanese timeline now lists the “Establishment of the Kingdom of Hyrule” twice, once right before Minish Cap, and once right before Breath of the Wild.
So, let’s get into the weeds of what this means for the...
