Tears of the Kingdom is the first time the Zelda series has produced a direct, it's-the-same-Link-we-swear-you-guys sequel since 2007's Phantom Hourglass, so this is probably many contemporary fans' first turn on this particular merry-go-round.
Allow me to assure you: there is no great mystery, and there is no master plan. Every worldbuilding inconsistency and every bit of timeline weirdness between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom is purely a product of the fact that the Zelda franchise's writers have the creative impulse control of a pack of squirrels, and don't give a single solitary fuck about continuity.
When you accept that this is true, and you see how cavalierly they're willing to treat continuity even between two games which are ostensibly direct sequels starring the same cast of characters and set just a few years apart, you may begin to understand why the timeline of the series as a whole looks the way that it does.




































mentallyillmaul