Highlights

  • Zelda stars as the main playable character in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, featuring a top-down perspective and object-copying abilities.
  • The game shares art style and 2D gameplay elements with Link's Awakening, including underwater side-scrolling sections.
  • Echoes of Wisdom's 2D gameplay will likely be used for platforming and puzzle-solving, building on Link's Awakening's strengths.

Very soon, Zelda fans will be graced with a new title, just one year after the bombshell Tears of the Kingdom dropped. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will be the first mainline Zelda game to star Princess Zelda herself as the main playable character, and it's celebrating the occasion by bringing a unique spin to the franchise's traditional gameplay. Returning to a top-down perspective, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will allow players to copy and generate objects and enemies to take a free-form approach in their quest to rescue Link.

It's an exciting and surprising title that's also fulfilling an old fan request, so it's no wonder why many count it among the June 2024 Nintendo Direct’s highlights. The one sticking point some viewers have had is its art style, which is shared with the Nintendo Switch remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. By looks alone, both Echoes of Wisdom and Link's Awakening are built on the same bones, but that should become especially apparent when an alternate gameplay style associated with the old Game Boy Zelda takes over.

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Why Link Probably Won't Be Totally Absent in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is making series history by featuring Zelda as the protagonist, but she may not replace Link entirely.

Echoes of Wisdom Mixes Original Design With Other Zelda’s Strengths

A large portion of Echoes of Wisdom’s reveal trailer and preview footage is devoted to the new Echo ability. Having been granted a Trip Rod by the fairy Tri, Princess Zelda can make imitations of objects, certain environmental fixtures, and even enemies to solve puzzles, fight monsters, and navigate Hyrule. For the most part, this process resembles A Link to the Past, with fans even noticing some physical similarities between Echoes of Wisdom and ALttP’s Hyrule Kingdom. However, fans should not make the mistake of thinking an art style is all Echoes of Wisdom has in common with Link’s Awakening as well.

One of the shots in the Echoes of Wisdom trailer footage shows Zelda fully submerged underwater, with the camera assuming a side profile instead of the normal top-down view. Considering how committed the game otherwise is to being a top-down adventure, going fully 2D at points comes as a surprise. This particular scene resembles the side view swimming found in Link’s Awakening, especially the Angler’s Tunnel where Link fights the Angler Fish dungeon boss. It's safe to assume that this won't be the only time Echoes of Wisdom shares this quirk with Link’s Awakening, which could be to its benefit.

2D Gameplay Has Always Been An Option For The Legend of Zelda

Side-scrolling gameplay has a greater presence in The Legend of Zelda than many fans realize. Its dominance in Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link is well-remembered, but even the original NES Legend of Zelda had screens faking a 2D perspective whenever players found dungeon items. The Game Boy trio of Link’s Awakening, Oracle of Seasons, and Oracle of Ages all make sporadic use of it, and Four Swords Adventures fittingly renders roughly half of its GBA screen gameplay in 2D. Link’s Awakening’s hybrid approach is the most recognizable of its kind, and now it has another chance to share its rare view of Zelda gameplay.

Chances are good that the ratio of 2D-to-top-down gameplay in Echoes of Wisdom will be similar to Link’s Awakening. It will come up occasionally, often underground as another brief trailer scene demonstrates, and there could even be an entirely 2D boss. Echoes of Wisdom has an air meter that will keep water areas brief, but, in a notable change from Link's Awakening, Zelda can jump like Tears of the Kingdom Link without the aid of a Roc’s Feather. Combining these 2D areas’ typical platforming emphasis and the many Echoes that can help Zelda change elevation, the 2D areas of Echoes of Wisdom should play off of one of Link's Awakening's strengths in a delightful way.