Very well-done, Ziggy, so far as your coverage of a number of the relevant facts in The Minish Cap. However, I'm still not so convinced that Minish Cap indicates any sort of timeline placement within itself at all, even given your evidence, and here's why:


You said: People called humans rather than Hylians.

At the time of the release of Minish Cap, it marked the only game in which references to humankind as opposed to Hylians, Hyrulians, etc. existed on any sort of large scale. So, at the time, this was an admissible argument; the Hylians had inherited the tales of the creation and of the Triforce, so it would be unreasonable to say that "humans" preceded the "Hylians", as placing Minish Cap first would imply.

However, Twilight Princess also liberally employs the use of this term as applied to Hyliakind, so this point has essentially evaporated into the ether. Hylians are humans, and are referred to as humans, so the use of the term "human" doesn't mean Minish Cap comes after an event such as the flood, or even after Ocarina of Time.


You said: Hyrule only very recently been unified for the first time in OoT, preventing TMC from coming before it.

Do we know that Hyrule had been united for the first time in Ocarina? Isn't it conceivable that it had been united before, especially since all the sages seem to be subordinate to the Hyrulian Princess, and that groups such as the Zoras have been "longtime allies" of the royal family? Doesn't the very existence of a royal family of Hyrule (before Ocarina, I might add) suggest some sort of unity in and of itself?


You said: Very different races in OoT and TMC.

Ocarina of Time: Hylians/humans, Zoras, Gorons, Gerudo, Sheikah, Kokiri
The Minish Cap: Humans/hylians?, Gorons, Picori/Minish, Wind Tribe

I really don't see that much of a difference. The Minish, being thought of as fairy tales by the time of Minish Cap anyway, likely passed out of knowledge entirely (which you have happening no matter how you slice it), and the wind tribe is obviously absent from Hyrule proper, since they dwell in the heavens (although perhaps PH will feature them).


You said: Process of evolution works with TWW-TMC, but not with TMC-OoT.

Graphic presentation of enemies can change for reasons entirely unrelated to story, as a number of people are so intent on reminding me relentlessly. Your best bet to this end is to focus on the Octoroks, who differ in their abilities as well as their appearance, although, to be quite honest, Big Octo could travel on land in Ocarina, so I imagine the other Octoroks were able to as well, albeit, not exclusively, as the Minish Cap Octos do.


You said: Knowledge of the Triforce is against TMC-OoT.

Depends. How many people talk openly about the Triforce in Ocarina of Time? Not many, and most of those who do only do so because the unfolding events involve the Triforce. This is probably the only reason reference to it doesn't appear in Minish Cap, much less any other game that doesn't feature Triforce references.


You said: Enemies and items near identical to TWW, and very different from OoT.

This is one of the more compelling points, but not especially remarkable (especially since no actual remarks to this end are made within any game, which would be expected if this were to have any meaning). I will give that Roc's items, Magic Canes/Rods, and the Pegasus Boots appear mostly in the 2D games, but this could be for gameplay reasons. Those items would not be as practically-applied in 3D.


You said: Hyrule is an island on a vast sea in TMC, which is unlikely to be so if TMC is pre-Flood.

Are you suggesting that there was not an ocean prior to the flood?


Yes, I'm playing the devil's advocate. It's one of my favorite roles.

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