The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom lets you play as Zelda to save Link
With the Nintendo Switch approaching its end-of-life cycle, we weren't expecting much from the June 2024 Nintendo Direct. Still, as one of Nintendo's big three, alongside Mario and Pokemon, we always guessed there would be some Zelda news.
As a pleasant surprise, we're getting a brand-new Zelda game in the form of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. With Link MIA, it's over to Zelda herself to lead the game, giving us some serious Princess Peach: Showtime vibes.
Zelda herself takes the lead in Echoes of Wisdom
Even though Echoes of Wisdom doesn't quite put a sword in Zelda's hand, Eiji Aonuma was on hand to explain what's going on in this top-down adventure. Strange rifts have appeared across Hyrule and taken Link with them. Teaming up with a mysterious fairy called Tri, it's up to Zelda to save the day.
Using the Tri Rod, Zelda uses 'echoes' to get around Hyrule, recreating everything from beds to water blocks. There's also the option to create enemy echoes to fight by your side. We're reminded of a similar creative crafting sister to Tears of the Kingdom, where it looks like imagination is your only limit.
Giving us a style reminiscent of Link's Awakening, Echoes of Wisdom has that old-school handheld nostalgia of the Zelda games but is cleary pushing some modern techniques. Also, if a Zelda-led game is a hit, it could lead to her being a playable character in whatever comes after Tears.
Echoes of Wisdom is coming on September 26, 2024, and after Zelda had a much bigger part to play in Tears of the Kingdom, we're glad she's getting her own time to shine - after all, the franchise is named after her.
