Nintendo has revealed The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom 's official place on the Zelda timeline, and it turns out that the princess's adventure happens directly before the events of the first game.

After the recent absolute horror of learning that Breath of the Wild does not exist on the official timeline of Zelda games, we can all rest easy in the knowledge that Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom has been given its place in the holy records.

For anyone familiar with the deeply confusing Legend of Zelda timeline, you’ll know there are some multiverse shenanigans that make it difficult to track where an instalment falls in the official franchise’s universe.

It files Zelda's new adventure under the 'Hero is defeated' timeline, placing it after Tri Force Heroes and before the 'Decline of the Hyrule Kingdom'. Here is Nintendo's official description of Echoes of Wisdom in the timeline:

Echoes of Wisdom willingness to break franchise tradition in numerous ways should make it anything but the last of its kind.

According to the Zelda loremasters, Echoes of Wisdom exists on the alternate timeline created ... games while also not really affecting the games themselves all that much. Princess Zelda’s emotional breakdown in Breath of the Wild, for instance, was ...

Echoes of Wisdom, which flips the franchise's famous formula on its head by having Zelda as the playable character, is part of the ‘Hero is defeated’ timeline, a fork generated by the seminal Ocarina of Time if Ganon defeats Link.

The Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom had over 100 Echoes to use. But how did the team decide which ones to have Zelda use?

Nintendo has added The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom to the official series timeline. The adorable top-down game is part of the 'Hero is defeated' timeline, slotting in behind Tri-Force Heroes and the original The Legend of Zelda.

Nintendo has updated the official Zelda history page and included Echoes of Wisdom's place on the timeline. Appearing in the timeline where The Hero is defeated in Ocarina of Time