The Legend of Zelda Echoes Of Wisdom will be a big departure from many past games in the series for multiple reasons. Obviously, the biggest one is that the game doesn’t feature Link as the protagonist; it features the one and only Princess Zelda! She’s always been a part of the main games but never had a true starring role in them. The second reason that the game is different is how Zelda’s overall gameplay compares to Links. In past titles, the same kind of “gameplay loop” would follow Link wherever he went. He would search out Hyrule or other lands for items, use those items to defeat dungeons and monsters, and then move on to the next one until he was done.
In this game, though, there’s a lot more freedom, not unlike a pair of Link-focused Switch games that were GOTY winners. That’s because of Princess Zelda’s ability to create “Echoes” via a staff a new friend gives her. Through the various Echoes she collects, you’ll be able to guide Zelda across Hyrule and the newly unveiled Still World in whatever way you see fit. That creative freedom is highlighted perfectly in the newest commercial for the title:
As you can see, despite the fact that the players in this commercial are twins, they each have a unique way of handling situations based on the Echoes that are available to them. One chooses a more head-on approach to take on challenges, while the other gets clever and avoids all possible conflict. Then, in another situation, they both use a different Echo to ascend up a cliff, ensuring that they can get to the next area that they want. Past trailers have also noted the gameplay freedom that Zelda will unleash, and the game’s own producer hasn’t confirmed how many Echoes there are! That means there could be millions of ways to take on the video game, and then you can play it again and see how much differently you’ll do it the second time.
Plus, while Zelda isn’t meant to play “like Link,” it was revealed recently that she will get a special sword that, for a brief time, allows her to play more like Link. The catch, though, is that she can only use it for a limited time.
Either way, the game will be fun to play simply because many will want to come up with clever ways to beat the challenges before them.
The Legend of Zelda Echoes Of Wisdom arrives on Nintendo Switch on September 26th.
