It’s finally happened, fellow Zelda fans! In today’s Nintendo Direct, we got news of a brand new Legend of Zelda adventure coming our way, this year! It’s called The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.
This time around, we get to play as the beautiful Princess Zelda herself. For over a decade, fans have been clamoring for a playable princess, and we finally got it. And the game looks amazing.
The trailer begins with a hooded figure stalking a bunch of Darknut enemies, before jumping out and eliminating them in one fell swoop. We then see Princess Zelda caught in a crystal barrier by a familiar, pig-like monster. The mysterious swordsman then throws off his hood to reveal none other than our favorite Hylian Hero, Link.
The scene then pans to his arch nemesis, Ganon, who is wielding his traditional Trident. The two square off in an epic battle very reminiscent of the final battle in A Link to the Past. Link defeats Ganon, but upon his defeat, Ganon’s trident flips up and falls into the ground, sticking there. Link then approaches Zelda to save her but as he does, a rift of sorts opens up in the ground where the trident landed and starts to draw in Link.
Before he is ultimately swallowed by the rift, he manages to free Zelda by shooting one last arrow at her crystal cage, causing it crack and break open. Zelda lands on her feet and has barely enough time to make her way outside the dungeon before it is swallowed by the ever-growing rift. The scene then pans out to Zelda looking at this new world of Hyrule from a view very reminiscent of the beginning of Breath of the Wild.
It’s finally time for Zelda to shine. In this game, she will have to save Link and the other people of Hyrule that have been swallowed up by these rifts. Following the footsteps of games where Link had a fairy companion such as Navi in Ocarina of Time, this time Zelda gets her own fairy companion, who goes by Tri.
Tri grants Zelda a magic staff called the Tri Rod. This Tri Rod allows Zelda to make imitations of things she sees, called Echoes. These Echoes range from things like tables, boxes, beds, water blocks and even enemies that will fight for you. These magic abilities go hand-in-hand with our fair princess, a character historically associated with having great magical prowess.
Done in the same art style as the Link’s Awakening remake, it seems that the game might not be in that same Hyrule. So far in the trailer, we can see elements from other Zelda games such as the Deku Tree placed in front of a pedestal where the Master Sword could possibly rest. We also get to see the Business Deku Scrub from Majora’s Mask.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will be released on September 26, 2024.
