On the topic of where the upcoming Tri Force Heroes fits in the official Zelda timeline, Director Hiromasa Shikata told us that this wasn’t yet decided. Now, Nintendo of Canada spokesperson Julie Gagnon has a more firm statement on the matter, telling Nintendo Enthusiast that the game doesn’t have a place in the timeline at all.
Gagnon was asked about Nintendo’s annualisation strategy on their key franchises, such as Zelda, Mario and Pokemon. In her response, she revealed something interesting regarding Tri Force Heroes. “It really depends on what the developer has in mind for the franchises. Sometimes you have Zelda sequels and what we have today with Zelda: Triforce [sic] Heroes is completely different and not in the timeline of Zelda.”
“Sometimes you have Zelda sequels […] Tri Force Heroes is completely different and not in the timeline of Zelda.”
“So, it really depends on what the developer has in mind and what they propose,” she continues, getting to the root of her answer. “So, I think it’s more a coincidence that we have all these great franchises that people like for each year. This isn’t necessarily something we will see for all the years in the future.”
From what we currently know about the simplicity and light-hearted nature of the game’s plot compared to many of its predecessors, it doesn’t seem all that surprising that Tri Force Heroes doesn’t fit into the overarching lore of Zelda. While this may disappoint eager enthusiasts of the timeline, this could be a great thing for a game of this style. Shikata won’t be bound to the timeline and forced to make Tri Force Heroes fit into it, and can instead focus on just creating another amazing game and a fun co-op experience.
