Recent Legend of Zelda games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have taken the series in a new direction with the open-world, a different way of storytelling and breakable weapons. However, something very important has been missing from these games, and that is the Trifroce. With Echoes of Wisdom just around the corner, together with Link, Zelda and Ganon in the same game, there’s a good chance the Triforce will return. Today I want to have a look at the liklihood of the Triforce returning in the upcoming Zelda Echoes of Wisdom.

Breath of the Wild was a huge success and Tears of the Kingdom built on many of the successes, however recently opinions among the Zelda community appear to have soured when it comes to Tears. While these games introduced many new features and built on the past of the Zelda series, many Zelda traditions were left behind. Dungeon design changed, linear story telling and progression was out the window, and the Triforce was only briefly hinted at. Echoes of Wisdom could be about to change all that and bring back the Triforce to the front and centre.

The Legend of Zelda games, while connected via the overall timeline, they are largely independent stories unless we have a rare sequel like with Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. While the games can be different, they would generally follow similar themes and the stories focused on three main characters; Link, Zelda and Ganondorf.

Skyward Sword introduced us to the history of these characters. Link defeated Demise at the end of the Skyward Sword, which kicked off the cycle where Link and Zelda are reincarnated through the generations, often battling against Ganondorf in a battle of good vs evil.

The Triforce

Demise’s curse weaves together the stories of Link, Zelda and Ganondorf, however this isn’t the only thing that connects them. The Triforce also binds them together. This is known as The Golden Power, or the Ultimate Power and it’s a sacred golden relic left behind by the Golden Godesses Din, Nayru and Farore. The Goddess Hylia was given the job of protecting both Hyrule and The Trifroce, she was reborn mortal and eventually the protection fell into the hands of the Royal Family of Hyrule alongside The Sages and The Sheikah. The Trifroce consists of three pieces; Power, Courage and Wisdom.

It has the ability to grant any wish of those who obtain it. Some known wishes are King Daphnes’ wish in The Wind Waker to give hope to “these children”, Link and Zelda, and to wash away the old Hyrule. The Triforce can also change the appearance of the Sacred Realm to reflect the heart of the person who enters it, as seen in A Link to the Past.

The Triforce of Courage belongs to Link, The Triforce of Power belongs to Ganondorf and The Triforce of Wisdom belongs to Zelda. The Triforce has appeared in many of the Zelda games, and it’s one of the most iconic symbols of the series. Before Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, the Triforce would be the major focus of the game. While it’s referenced in the modern Switch era games, it’s never referred to by name and it certainly doesn’t feature prominently. With the new entry called Echoes of Wisdom, we know about the echoes and Zelda’s copy abilities, but the focus on Wisdom remains a mystery.

Echoes of Wisdom is bringing back the 2D forumla, and with that other major traditions from the Zelda series could come back with it, including the Triforce. Much of the criticism of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom focused on the story, with the lack of coherence. With Echoes of Wisdom there’s a good chance to bring back some classic Legend of Zelda storytelling.

Let’s have a closer look at the the Triforce of Wisdom, and see if there’s any clues that could point to Echoes of Wisdom.

The Triforce of Wisdom

The Triforce of Wisom embodies the essence of the Goddess of Wisdom, Nayru. The Triforce of Wisdom grants the holder untold mystical abilities, including the ability to heal and communicate telepathically. It leads it’s holder to making the right decisions and makes them wider than any mortal.

The Triforce of Wisdom is one of the two Triforce pieces introduced in the original Legend of Zelda, where Zelda splits the Triforce of Wisdom into 8 fragments and hides them throghout Hyrule. Link has to gather the pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom, enter Death Mountain and defeat Ganon. Before the final battle, Link uses the retored Triforce of Wisdom to reveal Ganon from the darkness.

In Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, after defeating Shadow Link and getting the Triforce of Courage, Link merges the two Triforce pieces together to wake Princess Zelda from her sleep. Link then uses the Triforce of Wisdom, Power and Courage to restore Hyrule back to peace at the end of A Link To the Past.

In Ocarina of Time the Triforce was split into 3; Link has the Triforce of Courage, Ganon has the Triforce of Power and Zelda has the Triforce of Wisdom. The Triforce of Wisdom allowed Zelda to disguise herself as Sheik. The Triforce’s power also allows Zelda to send Link back to his own time at the end of Ocarina.

The Triforce of Wisdom has had a huge impact across the series, as has the whole Triforce. In Echoes of Wisdom one of Zelda’s main abilities appears to be creating objects with the help of Tri the fairy and her new Tri-Rod. How Tri, the Tri-Rod and the Triforce of Wisdom are connected, we don’t yet know, we’ll have to wait until the game is released or Nintendo to do a deep-dive on the story and lore of the game. Perhaps Tri is the embodiment of the Triforce itself, and Nintendo are bringing back two big series traditions in one go – the Triforce and a companion for Link. Both haven’t been seen in the series for some time, and I think it’s high time the Triforce played a starring role once again.

Let me know what you think in the comments.