The Nintendo Direct from June had a lot of great reveals in it like a new RPG in the Mario franchise, Mario & Luigi: Brothership. Another big reveal was The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. Not only was it a surprise to see Zelda as the star, but Nintendo announced its release date was imminent.
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More companies should adopt this strategy instead of revealing something years before its release. 2017’s teaser trailer for Metroid Prime 4 says hello. Now, there were a lot of things shown in the trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. Let’s get into some of the more exciting confirmed features.
6 The Power Of The Tri Rod
Creative Solutions To Problems
The biggest feature shown in the trailer is the overall gimmick of the game and one of the strangest in the Zelda series. Zelda befriends a fairy named Tri who gives her the Tri Rod. With it, Zelda can create copies of objects in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom called Echoes.
With a simple tap of her Tri Rod, Zelda can copy objects like tables, boxes, and even trampolines. It seems like she can create an endless supply of them, so right now it is unknown if there is a hidden magic meter or a limit. As to how many Echoes there are in the game, even the producer, Eiji Aonuma, doesn’t know as he says in the trailer. It’s an interesting weapon to give Zelda instead of a sword like Link.
5 Experimenting With Objects
From Riding Tops To Gliding
Zelda can not only make objects appear to solve puzzles by hopping on them, but she can use them in more creative ways. Having the direct ability to jump, as a side note, is a big deal for the Zelda franchise too. Anyway, in the trailer, she can conjure an object that looks like the Spinner item from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. She stands on it and destroys enemies in her path.
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So, it is confirmed that Zelda can at least ride some objects in the game but whether there are more is a mystery. Besides riding atop objects, Zelda can hold some too. At one point she can be seen gliding in a volcano via a bird. In another instance, Zelda can be seen using a robotic Octorok-looking creature who shoots rocks at enemies.
4 Collecting And Controlling Baddies
Pokemon + Pikmin
As if creating Echoes wasn’t cool enough, Zelda can zap enemies with the Tri Rod too. In the trailer, it seems like enemies can sometimes leave an Echo behind as much as they can leave materials like Hearts or Rupees behind. Players can then harness monsters to send after others.
Nintendo is no stranger to making games wherein players catch monsters and unleash them onto enemies aka the Pokemon series. There are some strategies for this mechanic as well. Players can turn meat into an Echo to lure others away, like the Crows seen in the trailer. Once gathered, players can then make a trap via hungry plants to finish enemies like the Crows off in one fell swoop.
3 Exploring A New Version Of Hyrule In This Art Style
From Jungles To Deserts
It’s exciting to get another top-down Zelda game as it has been a while. Not counting The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake in 2019, the last new top-down entry was in 2015 via The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. The top-down perspective is classic but there is another cool angle shown in the trailer.
Zelda can go into 2D areas just like in The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. She’s shown several times underwater and even once traversing a cave full of spiders. The game is set in Hyrule which looks like it has a diverse set of biomes from normal plains to dusty deserts to tropical jungles. The jungle setting even has rain so maybe the weather will play a big factor in exploration too which is exciting.
2 Interacting With The Rifts
Solve Puzzles In An Inter-Dimensional Adventure
Besides the Tri Rod, the other big gimmick in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is that rifts are opening up all over Hyrule. Link is sucked in but some NPCs fall victim too. It’s not shown how, but Zelda can be seen in the trailer within a rift, harvesting water.
She then uses that water on land to scale up a cliff. Later, fire is shown which can also be manipulated to burn a field of grass, so elements will play a role beyond the aforementioned rainy jungle. As for the rifts, it will be interesting to see how Nintendo uses these areas to engage players.
1 Link Is Also Playable
Will There Be More Characters
This is a revelation not shown in the trailer but it has been revealed that Link will be playable. This news comes from the official ESRB website for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s rating. The direct quote is as follows: “As Link, players use a sword and arrows to defeat enemies.” It's odd when the ESRB makes leaks like this unintentionally.
Now is not the time for speculation as it is unknown how far this playtime with Link will extend. Will Link be playable just in that opening dungeon to defeat Ganon or can players try and escape the rift dimension as Link? Hopefully, Nintendo will leave this as a surprise and not show Link in any more trailers. It’s more fun going into a game to find a new hero playable kind of like how Solid Snake was replaced by Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- Released
- September 26, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo, Grezzo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
