Famed The Legend of Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma has revealed that he doesn’t care much for the series’ chronology. This very much aligns with previous takes in prior reporting.
In an interview with IGN, Aonuma expressed his opinion on where Tears of the Kingdom lands in the series’ expansive timelines. This take isn’t because of some hatred of specific games or how convoluted the timeline itself, but rather because it boxes the developer in and stifles its creativity. It makes sense, as in the end, fans put everything under a microscope and being forced to abide by a specific timeline hinders what Nintendo can and can’t put in its games.
Yes, the team does like how fans enjoy theorizing about the chronology, but they also don’t take it all that seriously at the end of the day, as in the end, it wants to create a compelling game, and restricting itself just won’t help at all. The magic of Tears of the Kingdom was how it understood the timeline, but knew if it kept to it entirely, some features wouldn’t make sense, and the game itself would probably play a lot more differently and perhaps be worse than it is.
“I don’t like to put too much stock in the chronology of the series, because from the design perspective, that can kind of box us in and limit where we’re able to take the story as we continue making games in the series. And so I do think it’s something that is best for people to interpret on their own.”
