The beginning ofThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomsees you jump right into the story discovering secrets below Hyrule Castle. However, without a nice cutscene showing the events from the end ofBreath of the Wild(BOTW) and the beginning ofTears of the Kingdom(TOTK), we are left wondering what the time gap is between the two games. For answers to this interestingly complicated question, you’ve come to the right place.
How much time has passed betweenBOTWandTOTK?
Our guess is thatThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomtakes place somewherebetween three to five years after we defeated Calamity Ganon, which is the ending ofBOTW. While it may be true (but we doubt it) that the very next story beat after defeating Calamity Ganon is Link and Zelda exploring the ruins under Hyrule Castle, the true beginning ofTOTKis somewhere between three to five years. This extended period of time is due mainly because Link awakens on Great Sky Island after an unknown amount of time.
The reason we believe the time gap betweenTOTKandBOTWis three to five years is because ofthe NPCs and the landscape. The Surface of Hyrule has changed thanks to the floating islands crashing into the earth. Many NPCs you talk to either directly mention how long it’s been or hint at the fact that it’s been a while since the final events inBOTW.
If you look at the main characters, you’ll notice their changes. Purah is the best example. InBOTW, Purah was a teenager. InTOTK, she is a young adult. It’s characters like this that lead us to believethe time gap betweenTOTKandBOTWis somewhere between three to five years.
All of that said, there are moments inTOTK‘s story thatdive into ancient history beforeBOTWandTOTK. Because the story arc ofBOTWandTOTKare closely tied, there is a lot of lore and prophecies that allow this open-worldZeldaepic to be a linear story.
Noah Nelson
From his early days of blog-style music, movie, and game reviews to working as the Esports Writer at Coastline Community College, Noah Nelson now works fulltime as a Staff Writer for Attack of the Fanboy and PC Invasion. He has been helping gamers everywhere with Destiny 2 god rolls, Warzone 2 DMZ missions, and collectibles in any indie game for over a year and a half. His Bachelor’s Degree in English Rhetoric and Composition with a minor in Journalism from CSULB has shaped him to be a strong writer and editor. His fondest gaming memory is playing Sly Cooper 2 after begging his mom (for hours) to play it before his birthday and he still cries myself to sleep remembering the time he accidentally saved over his 99% completion save file in Kingdom Hearts 2.
