Headcanon of the week: More of a map theory, actually. (Part 1)
Map theories archive
I'm gonna go through some games and talk about how I think the maps relate.
Part 1: NES The Legend of Zelda and Echoes of Wisdom.
I was very impressed by Echoes of Wisdom's map, so I'm very excited to talk about some interesting things I noticed while playing the game.
First things first, I'm just gonna slap TLoZ on EoW's map. It's much easier than I thought it would be:
Make sure to click/tap on the photos to easily swipe between them to see the similarities. The shore to the east has changed a bit over time, but even that is in the right place. I'll display some common features between the two locations:
The most notable similarities are the gravesite and the bodies of water in the center of TLoZ. Both maps have a lake south of a mountain with two islands. The lake has a river running south from it on both maps. The graveyard is west of the river. East of the two-island lake are two more lakes in TLoZ. At first, the lakes seem to be missing in Echoes, but I was amazed to discover that there is a depression in the ground in the exact spots where the lakes will be. You can see it more clearly here:
The two dry lakes are marked by Zelda's head. The location matches exactly. You can also have a clearer view of the possible future shoreline to the east. There are a few possible ways the shoreline could end up, based on the cliffs jutting out of the waters in the Zora area. I personally take great interest in the particularly tall cliff that goes east from the reticle and then goes south. Then the greenery ends, but there is a cliff that continues west at the bottom with water south of that. I think that's a very similar shape to the shoreline of TLoZ. I'll let you decide which cliffs you think mark the future shore.
Going back to the previous pictures with my notes scribbled on top, you'll see a few lines that connect circles. These are locations that may be connected. So far, I haven't had to stretch the map at all, but these northern locations are a bit off, so the relationship is more tenuous. The body of water to the northeast is especially questionable, but I found it worth mentioning. The connected circles more in the middle of the northern area have a little more evidence backing their possible connection. If you look closely at the LoZ map, you can hopefully see a river running from the smaller lake to the north into the larger two-island lake. Actually, let me get a better picture for you.
Ah, now you can see that river. It mostly runs east to west across the northern section of the map. On the maps with my markings, I marked that river with a purple line with an arrow pointing up to another purple line. Because the northern lake I circled in Echoes also has a river flowing from that body of water to the two-island lake. Part of it is much wider and contains little ice flows, but it could very well be the same northern lake with the same river flowing into the larger lake.
How this relates to other maps and the importance of it:
Finding NES The Legend of Zelda's location on the Echoes of Wisdom map is very useful because it was hard to figure out where TLoZ and Zelda II: Adventure of Link (AoL) were in relation to Lesser Hyrule (the ALttP/ALBW map). We knew AoL takes place primarily north of Death Mountain, and TLoZ is in the southwestern part of AoL's map, but it wasn't so clear where that was compared to earlier games on the downfall timeline. But since Echoes is just an extended version of the ALttP/ALBW map, we can see that TLoZ takes place just northeast of the castle, easily marked by the shared gravesite. Is the castle that the EoW princess lives in the same one that the LoZ princess lives in? Possibly! Or maybe Echoes' castle has been destroyed by the time of TLoZ, and that Zelda lives elsewhere. We can't say for sure.
Part 2 - Zelda II: Adventure of Link and Breath of the Wild (with a side of NES The Legend of Zelda)
Part 3 - Echoes of Wisdom and Breath of the Wild/TOTK
Part 4 - Discrepancies when putting it all together
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Lots of locations to explore in this one. I have to say this map was incredibly fun to make, figuring out locations, painting the details, and making sure they read well, as well as all the lively colors.
I have to share the credit with @tsukinoshinjiu who guided me with her obsession expertise on all things LoZ. Thanks sis!
Want a map of your own? Message me or check out my carrd for more details ('. • ᵕ •. `)
Carrd | Ko-fi
More close-ups under the cut! Reblogs and likes are greatly appreciated!
I’ve been working on this idea that the Hyrule we see in Breath of the Wild is actually just Lesser Hyrule—the southern half everyone knows, but not the full picture. In my version, there’s a whole northern territory that’s always existed—just never shown in the games. It’s where parts of the Hylian nobility, old Sheikah outposts, and hidden settlements might have been, way before and even after the Calamity.
I’ve been mapping it out for my fanfiction and audiodrama, trying to keep it consistent with the established geography so it feels like it fits. Continuing climate zones, same sense of ancient ruins and half-forgotten roads—just… more space for stories to happen.
I love the idea that if you kept walking past the edges of the map, you’d find other provinces, maybe with their own legends and conflicts that never made it into the game.
Anyway, I’m calling it Greater Hyrule for now. That’s where a lot of my characters and plotlines end up crossing paths as they venture down south.
Eventually I'll have the entire world map to showcase that will be my take on every country/kingdom in the Zelda world and how they fit in the Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom Era.
Lastly, the text used is my take on in game Hylian Script but changed so it can be read in English, but having that same aesthetic.
If anyone’s interested I have that font for download as well. It’s been a fun way to make the world feel bigger and more alive.
Letter transcript:
"Receiving your request was something truly unexpected, yet very exciting. I hope you know that every mountain, every forest, and every village was made with the utmost care. And all throughout I enjoyed every moment, because I knew this mao would be very important to someone in the near future.
And now the map is complete. I hope it serves you well on your journey.
