A brand new 2D Legend of Zelda title has been announced called The Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom, where we get to play as Zelda rather than Link. Plus we don’t have to wait long, it’s being released later this year on 26th September 2024. Today I’m going to go over everything we know so far about the new Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom.

Echoes of Wisdom was announced today during the latest Nintendo Direct, and at first this looked like it could be a remake of A Link To The Past or a Link Between Worlds. However, it was revealed to be a brand new 2D Zelda title called Echoes of Wisdom.

Eji Anonuma said there is going to be a lot of variety between playthroughs given each players experience is ging to be different depending on the echoes they make. Nintendo also announced a gold-coloured Nintendo Switch Lite to pair with the release of Echoes of Wisdom.

Early in the trailer Link is engulfed in a purple chasm, and it’s up to Princess Zelda to find Link and save him. It was also interesting to see Pig Ganon back in the frey, we haven’t seen him for a long time. In the opening sequence of the trailer Link defeats Ganon, then gets lost in the rift with his last action being saving Princess Zelda with an arrow, breaking her out of the crystal.

Zelda is then seen running away from the rift, and seemingly once she’s safe she runs to the top of a hill to look over what we presume to be Hyrule below. Zelda receives the Tri Rod from a fairy named Tri. A hooded Zelda is then seen walking out of a castle, past some guards, and she sets off on an adventure.

The Tri Rod is the focus of the new gameplay. Zelda can wave the Tri Rod in front of an item, like a table we see in the trailer, and this creates an echo. Zelda than then replicate the item over and over again, using the Tri Rod, and these replicated items help her traverse the environment. In the trailer we saw a few echoes being created including wooden boxes, tables and old beds. All were used to solve traversal puzzles to help Zelda navigate the environment. Zelda even created water blocks which allowed her to swim to new locations. Zelda was also seen using an echo of a tree to help her block a wind gust coming out of the side of a mountain, plus also a trampoline to help her jump over a wall.

This gameplay system is going to be used for battle too, not just solving puzzles. For example, Zelda can create rock echoes, then pick them up and throw them, or use them to defend against enemy sword attacks. Zelda can even create echoes of monsters, which then allows Zelda to fight alongside echoes that help her in battle. Monsters have different abilities, so we’re going to need to use different monsters in various situations to help us gain the upper hand.

This game certainly looks like the Link’s Awakening Remake which released on Nintendo Switch in 2019. Since then we’ve known Grezzo has been working on something, and I would assume this is it, given the similar look and feel to that remake.

This is the first time we get to play as Zelda as the lead character in-game, however, it’s not the first time she’s been playable. Other games where we’ve been able to play as Zelda include Hyrule Warriors, Super Smash Bros and also Cadence of Hyrule to name a few. In 2009’s Spirit Tracks we also played as Zelda in her spirit form, but only for certain sections in the game.

This is huge news, and very exciting, and also so soon after Tears of the Kingdom, which released last year in 2023. I think at most we were hoping for a remake of an old Legend of Zelda game, perhaps Oracle of Ages or Seasons, or perhaps A Link To The Past or A Link Between Worlds, but a brand new Zelda game, and one where we get to play as Princess Zelda, this is beyond the dreams of most Legend of Zelda fans, especially given the timeframe.

It’s not clear right now where Echoes of Wisdom fits into the timeline, or just how different this is going to be from other top-down Zelda titles. However, we’ve been waiting such a long time for Zelda to star in her own adventure, it’s great to see Nintendo announce Echoes of Wisdom. Also, shout to the fact this didn’t leak. So many games these days leak, and to have a genuine surprise during the Nintendo Direct today was something special. The game releases on 26th September 2024, I can’t wait, and I’ll be doing full coverage here on Triforce Times.

That’s not all for the Zelda news today as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Four Swords has also been announced, releasing today on the Game Boy Advance via Nintendo Switch Online.

Let me know what you think about the Zelda Echoes of Wisdom announcement in the comments.