The Tears of the Kingdom timeline is a bit loose, though some Zelda fans may have pieced together how much time passed since Breath of the Wild. They base their conclusions on a handful of clues, and it’s pretty convincing stuff (thanks, Eurogamer).
One clue is tucked away in Gerudo Town, and it’s easily missable depending on how good your memory of Breath of the Wild’s side quests is. In BotW, the Gerudo Town barkeep asks you to get ingredients for a Noble Pursuit drink, though she says Link is too young to have it. In Tears of the Kingdom, not only can Link order the drink himself, but he can make it using the same recipe.
Zelda sleuths decided that was proof that more than just a few months had passed. The fact that Tulin, your Hebra warrior companion, was but a wee fledgling in Breath of the Wild was further support, but the biggest piece of evidence is Hudson and Rhondson’s child – another facet you could miss in Breath of the Wild depending on which quests you do.
Hudson and Rhondson get married at the end of BotW, and in Tears of the Kingdom, their child Mattison is at least four or five years old. Gerudo custom dictates that all Gerudo children born outside the town must be brought there after they turn four, so fans believe Tears of the Kingdom takes place at least four years after Breath of the Wild, or longer if Rhondson wasn’t pregnant when she married.
My head cannon is 5 years! ✨ Purah as the aging technology from the 1sr game, the daughter seems like 4-5 years, by the gerudo tradicion, at age when they start to speak and think, they are take to the gerudo town and tulin didn't grow that much for 8 years…
— Henolty Stuff ✨ (@henolty) June 2, 2023
It’s a strong theory. Sure, that doesn’t explain how some people haven’t apparently aged much, such as Cottla and her sister, or why some people – Purah, mainly – have aged so much more. Then again, though, the Sheikah aren’t exactly normal Hylians, and Purah is unorthodox even for a Sheikah.
Anomalies aside, if the theory is true, that would put Link and Zelda at roughly 22 or 23 years old. That’s significantly older than usual, as the pair is typically 17 years old in most Zelda games.
Meanwhile, other fans are putting their creative skills to use in different ways. Some of them are nice and impressive, some are terrible (if you’re a Korok), and some are downright ingenious uses of certain Zonai devices.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
