During the latest Nitendo Direct, we finally got the thing that we’ve been clamoring for years for: a Legend of Zelda game in which you can play as Zelda. Reader, I cannot believe it.
Called The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, the latest game takes visual inspiration from the Link’s Awakening remake from several years ago, but puts players in control of the titular princess as Link has been spirited away to another realm.. Though the game seems like it takes a somewhat more puzzle-oriented approach to adventuring than the series is known for, it’s incredible nonetheless to see that Nintendo is finally making Zelda into a playable protagonist.
The trailer for the game opens on Link attempting to save Zelda, who’s encased in a crystal. Though he manages to dispatch Ganon, seen here in his classic pig form, he’s quickly swallowed by a void that opens in the world, presumably leading to the Dark World, but not before shattering Zelda’s crystal and setting her free. As the void begins to swallow more of the world, Zelda manages to narrowly escape it as we are then treated to a vista of Hyrule and the game’s title.
Eiji Aonuma, the producer who’s been at the helm of the series for some time, introduced The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and its break from the series’ typical gameplay. It seems that Zelda will receive the help of a fairy named Tri, who gives her a staff called the Tri Rod. Using the Tri Rod allows Zelda to conjure echoes of items in the world, such as a table or a box. At one point, she can be seen blocking a vent with a shrub so that she may pass across a perilous bridge. In another scene, she can be seen stacking beds atop one another to make a staircase that allows her to climb over a wall.
The Tri Rod will also allow Zelda to use echoes in battle, and she can even take echoes of enemies to use against other enemies. At one point, Zelda can be seen conjuring a boulder and then throwing it at an enemy. Seconds later, she grabs the echo of the recently slain creature and makes two copies of it to help her gang up on a lesser monster.
Though much remains unknown, the mechanic feels like something that might be used in an immersive sim, which increasingly seems like the direction the series is going in, especially after Breath of the Wild. Echoes of Wisdom looks to shrink it down quite a bit, but the spirit is still there. It’s a shame that Nintendo seemingly felt it needed to strip the series’ typical emphasis on combat out of the game to make it a “Zelda” game, but I can also appreciate that she’s not simply a reskin of Link and has her own gameplay identity. I’m just saying, the princess has shown across various games and timelines that she’s more than capable of holding her own, and Echoes of Wisdom could (and should) lean into that.
Still, it’s a little hard to be too upset when we’re finally getting a Legend of Zelda game where the titular character is not only front and center, but playable! Echoes of Wisdom launches on September 26, 2024 and will be released alongside a gorgeous gold Nintendo Switch Lite embossed with the series’ iconic Triforce.
