Home > A Fan Take on the Flooded Timeline
Oh no! Hyrule is flooding! Quick, everyone evolve into birds! Yep, the Zora really did evolve into the Rito. This is possibly the best example of Nintendo Logic there ever was and ever will be. We all know what happened on the Wind Waker timeline, with the flooding, then the boating, and three generations later, the new continent was discovered. Obviously, we have the direct connection from Wind Waker HD to Phantom Hourglass, and the somewhat direct connection from Phantom Hourglass to Spirit Tracks, but has Nintendo forgotten all about this part of the timeline, or are they just waiting for the right time to revive it?
Let's look at what has happened in the main timeline section itself. In Wind Waker, you have Ganon, who is then defeated and killed. Then, in Phantom Hourglass, you have Bellum, who was also defeated and killed. In Spirit Tracks, you have Malladus. The thing is, if Nintendo were to ever make another game in the timeline, they'd first have to connect it to the end of Spirit Tracks, and then introduce a totally new boss, with possibly new protagonists and such. After all, the Lokomo's did leave for the heavens at the end of Spirit Tracks. That could make for a decent storyline though. Needing to get the Lokomo's back from the heavens to prevent impending doom, and the only way to communicate with them is by going to the heavens yourself, or collecting three special things or something like that, and then you get there only to find each of them has been imprisoned.
You then have to work with Byrne to rescue them and so on. Of course Wind Waker is seen as an indirect sequel to Ocarina of Time, which happened because Hyrule flooded. They could explain this whole concept better through the process of a game and having this be a major impending doom thing you try to not let happen, but then at the end it's the only way to hide the Castle and such. Either way, it really wouldn't be too difficult for the team to come up with a properly good storyline to work with. As long as the overall game was good with the gameplay and music, the storyline wouldn't matter as much, especially if it were a handheld game rather than a console game.
Next, let us think about the change from a boat to a train. The point of a boat is to sail between two places not connected by land that are typically really far away from each-other. The point of a train is to travel across land at a more rapid pace than walking or by horse, and to transport people or goods. Both of these themes were used in both games, with Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass having vast bodies of primarily water, and Spirit Tracks having little side-quests where you could transport goods or people. The thing about Wind Waker to Phantom Hourglass, is that Phantom Hourglass brought about boats with some kind of motor in it. Probably a steam engine since the smoke coming out of the little chimney is white, which means it wasn't coal-powered. Spirit Tracks brought about the use of a train (Steam powered as well). The type of revolution that really came after a train, were motor carriages (cars), or even heavier-than-air-craft. In Spirit Tracks, Beedle did have a hot-air balloon, but that's a lighter-than-air-craft. Since Zelda has never been one to be futuristic, except (ironically) in the past of Skyward Sword, it's difficult to fathom that Nintendo would really move forward from trains to other vehicles.
Finally, the last thing you need for any new game, is the fan support for it. After Spirit Tracks, a lot of people were left with a sour taste in their mouths so to speak. I personally loved Spirit Tracks and the fact that the difficulty really progressed the further you got into the game, but others apparently didn't. So I ask, is there really enough fan support for a new game in the Wind Waker timeline? I should think so. Just look at Wind Waker HD. Nintendo is trying to revive that aspect of the timeline, just like they've been reviving the Link to the Past timeline through their support of an anime program and the direct sequel, and such. Since the 3DS has a lot less limitations than the DS, and the Wii U's only limitation is power (which really isn't that much of a limitation,) Nintendo could easily create the greatest game in the timeline. The GameCube, at the time, seemed to have very little limitations, and just look what Nintendo was able to accomplish with it. It's easy to imagine that they could create a fantastic Zelda game with their current pieces of hardware, and have the fan support to back it up.
Overall, I think it's possible for a new game to exist in the timeline, but odds are, it would either occur directly after Spirit Tracks, or way off in the distant future where they can bring Hyrule back to the past. It might even occur during that down-time between Phantom Hourglass and Wind Waker. What do you think Nintendo would need to revive the timeline? Is it possible that we could see a new entry in the timeline during the current console generation, or do you think they'll wait another 5 or so years to launch their new console to put the game on that? For all we know, the new Zelda U game already is a new entry in the Wind Waker timeline.
About the Author:
Christopher Weil
The 2006 Time Magazine person of the year, born in Toronto, Canada, Christopher developed a passion for gaming at a young age. His favorite franchise has always been The Legend of Zelda, but he can also usually be found playing SimRacing games such as iRacing. He's in university studying mechanical engineering and looking to start his own 3D printing business.
