Is Hyrule Warriors Cannon?

The Legend of Zelda timeline is not one that follows one straight line. Throughout the years the timeline has branched out creating three different paths following the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The first timeline is created when the Hero of Time is defeated by Ganon, but the Seven Sages can seal away the King of Evil. The Second outcome occurs is when The Hero of Time is triumphant in his battle against Ganon. After defeating Ganon two branches were created. The first is the Child Timeline in which Ganondorf’s plot is stopped and the second is the Adult Timeline in which Ganon is sealed away. Within the timeline in which the Hero of Time is defeated there are seven Zelda titles that follow the fallout of the battle. The Following titles were not released in chronological order, but the chronological order is as follows; A link to the Past, Link’s Awakening, Oracle of Seasons/Ages, A Link Between Worlds, Triforce Heroes, Legend of Zelda, and The Adventure of Link. Following the events of The Hero of Time defeating Ganon Zelda sends Link back in time for him to create his own future. Within this timeline Majora’s Mask comes right followed by Twilight princess which takes place at least a hundred years later and ending this timeline is the Four Swords Adventures. There have been a handful of Zelda titles to be released before the events of Ocarina of time, these are the Skyward Sword, The Minish Cap and Four Swords. The only installment not mentioned so far has been the newest game to the franchise. Breath of the Wild sits long after the events of all the Zelda titles which makes it difficult to explain where because of the branching timelines. It cannot be possible for this game to be in all these timelines without somehow merging the timelines, which is exactly what happened in Hyrule Warriors. 

Hyrule Warriors was released originally on the Wii U in 2014 by Omega Force games and Tecmo Games and was eventually ported to the Nintendo Switch. This title was called Hyrule Warriors: Definitive edition included downloadable content included. The main story sees an Evil sorceress Cia who wishes to take over all the land of Hyrule. in her way is the Hyrulian army backed by many familiar faces from Hyrules history and timelines. When playing the definitive edition many characters come together from different timelines. We can see characters like Fi fighting alongside wolf link and Midna as well as Toon Link fighting alongside Impa and Darunia. At the end of the story all the timelines come together battle the army of Cia and Gannondorf. When evil is defeated the timelines, merge together creating a new Hyrule. Having the timelines come together is a very important key event when it comes to Breath of the Wild. This title takes place years after all of the other Zelda games. For this to happen Hyrule Warriors must be canon.