Every new Zelda game feels like an event, and yet Nintendo managed to keep a new mainline entry hidden almost all the way up until its release. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is not the same size and scale as the 3D entries like Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom — it’s actually the long-awaited continuation of Zelda’s 2D titles. The last game we got in this style was 2019’s The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, which was a remake of the 1993 Game Boy title.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom caught the attention of everyone at the June Nintendo Direct where it was announced for many reasons, chief among them being Zelda taking on the starring role instead of Link. The perspective and style might look familiar, but there’s a lot to learn about Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom before you jump back into Hyrule.
Release date
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will be released on September 26, 2024.
Platforms
It almost goes without saying, but Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a Nintendo Switch exclusive. It’s possible that it may be playable on the eventual Switch 2, but for now, it’s arrival on the Switch is all that is confirmed.
Trailers
The announcement trailer for Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom begins with what looks like the end of a traditional Zelda game. Link has reached the end of a dungeon where Ganon has Zelda held captive in a crystal. After a battle, Link manages to free Zeld, but falls into a mysterious pink rift. After Zelda escapes, we realize that she will be the protagonist of this title.
Zelda isn’t alone on her journey, however. A new fairy named Tri will accompany her throughout Hyrule to find a way to stop the spread of these rifts that are sucking in people and places.
The Traversing Hyrule Trailer is less of a trailer and more of a walkthrough. A narrator takes us through a handful of locations we will be able to explore in the game, plus some new mechanics for traversal.
A lot of exciting information was shared in the Traversing the Still World trailer. Aside from seeing what the world inside the purple rifts will look like, we learn a lot more about how dungeons and puzzles will work with the new Echo system. But perhaps most exciting of all, was the reveal of Swordfighter Form. Once Zelda finds a Mysterious Sword, she can temporarily wield a sword and shield to fight just like Link would in a traditional Zelda title.
What will likely be the final trailer for Echoes of Wisdom is the Overview trailer. This is just what it sounds like, and it uses footage from all the previous trailers to give a more holistic look at the game now that we’ve seen all that Nintendo appears to want to reveal before release. We see the basic plot, gameplay mechanics, world, and puzzles, but nothing that wasn’t previously shown off.
Gameplay
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will play from the usual isometric perspective, but Zelda isn’t Link and doesn’t wield a sword. Instead, as the title suggests, she uses her smarts (and magic) to fight, solve puzzles, and navigate the world.
Your main tool will be the Tri Rod. This staff lets you make echoes of almost any object or enemy in the game and spawn them wherever you want. It will help players traverse the world by placing tables to climb up cliffs, navigate dungeons by using objects to block wind currents, and in combat by summoning friendly enemies to fight for you.
The Traversing Hyrule trailer didn’t just show off locations but also new gameplay mechanics. There will be a fast-travel system using Waypoints, but also speed up normal travel using a horse that you can summon once you unlock the Carrot Echo. Riding on your horse can let you trample over some enemies and leap over obstacles.
Two new powers besides Echo were revealed as well. Bind allows you to cause any object you attach to to follow Zelda’s movements. The example shown was an impassible boulder that you can Bind and then walk downward so you reposition it out of the way, drop it, and then can move forward.
The second is called Reverse Bind, which does the opposite of Bind. Whatever you connect to forces Zelda to move in that same pattern, such as connecting to a bird to fly in the same path.
We only got a glimpse of it, but there will also be new outfits and items of clothing that you can purchase and wear for different upgrades, such as fins to make you swim faster.
Finally, you will be able to make all kinds of buff-granting smoothies at various smoothie stands by combining various ingredients you find in the world.
While the trailer and marketing heavily implied that Zelda would be the only playable character, the official ESRB rating has spoiled the fact that Link will also be playable. “As Link, players use a sword and arrows to defeat enemies; Zelda can use a magic wand to summon creatures (e.g., wind-up knights, pig soldiers, slime) for battle.”
Preorder
Even though Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is only a few months away, preorders are not available quite yet. However, we do know that there will also be a special Hyrule Edition of the Nintendo Switch Lite made for this game that will be available on September 26 as well. As soon as details are available, we will update this article