Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom truly begins with Zelda imprisoned. Our favorite princess is the star player — you’ll take direct control of her, and her powers are very, very different. Instead of using Link’s sword, arrows and bombs you’ll be copying tables, beds and bushes to make your escape.
Zelda’s gameplay is so different, we wanted to break down exactly what you need to do to escape. If you’re struggling with the opening sequence or just need help figuring out the controls, here’s how to escape Hyrule Casle at the very start of Echoes of Wisdom.
How To Escape The First Cell
At the start of Echoes of Wisdom, Zelda finds herself trapped in Hyrule dungeon by imposter versions of the king and his advisors. To escape the castle and avoid execution, you’ll need to learn the basics of Zelda’s new abilities. She has a special wand called the Tri Rod. After the cutscene with Tri — your fairy companion — ends, here’s what you need to do to escape the cell.
- Use the Tri Rod to ‘Learn‘ [Hold ZR] near the table in Zelda’s cell.
- Press [Y] to summon an Echo of a table.
- Place a table on the left side to climb onto the high wooden shelf, then another to jump through the crack in the wall.
This leads to a hallway full of guards. If you’re caught, Zelda will be put back into her cell. You’ll have to restart the section from the beginning.
How To Sneak Past The Guard Hallway
You don’t want to alert the guards, so Zelda needs to stay out of their line-of-sight.
- Create stairs (place three Table echoes) near the cabinets to climb up and reach the top. Check the image above for more details.
- Walk left — you should be above the first guard. Walk past him and drop down to the glowing crates. Again, ‘Learn’ [Hold ZR] to unlock the Wooden-box echo.
You can use the wooden-box echoes to block and trap the patrolling guards to the left — or you can simply stick behind one of them as they move up and then left. As long as you don’t touch them, you can follow and avoid being spotted.
Next, you’ll encounter two guards standing side-by-side and looking up. They’ll talk about breaking pots. Walk past them and climb the ladder. Up the ladder, cross the barrels to find glowing pots. Learn the Hyrule-castle-pot echo — you’ll need it to progress.
Ahead, a guard is looking right. The only way to avoid them is to sneak by. Summon a pot [Hold D-Pad Right to select a new Echo] and throw it north of the guard. Then run south while the guard is investigating. Cross left to encounter another guard.
The last guard patrols up and down. Throw a pot up and then circle down and to the left while the guard is investigating the sound. If they spot you, you can quickly switch to a wooden-box echo and place it to block their path — or just keep running to reach the exit.
In the next room, Impa will appear and help you. She’ll defeat the guards, but Zelda still needs to escape on her own.
Navigate The Shrub & Bed Hallway
Upstairs, Zelda will need to learn the Decorative-shrub echo. Interact with the glowing planter in the room to unlock it. Climb the ladder to the left and place two Decorative-shrub echoes to create a bridge across the gap in green plants.
Cross the bridge we’ve made left, then make another small bridge (x2 Decorative-shrub) to reach the old-bed echo. Learn it and then use it to create yet another bridge.
You’ll see one bed on the left, hanging over the top of the shelf. Place two more old-bed echoes to create a bridge to the exit window on the upper-left side of the room. You can also create a stair path from below. There are always multiple ways to solve puzzles in Echoes of Wisdom — so don’t think our solution is the only one.
Courtyard & Well Escape
Outside in the courtyard, use [R] to perform a spin that will break shrubs and grass. Cut through the shrubs to reach the well and drop inside. The interior of the well is your first side-scrolling sequence.
In the well, swim down and then up to dry land. To the left, use what you’ve learned to summon a table or old-bed echo and climb the small ledge. Ahead, learn the boulder echo. The boulder is a heavy rock that will sink when placed in water.
Push the boulder over the side and into the water. Next, you’ll need to figure out how to cross this small body of water. Looks tricky? There are multiple ways to get across. We used the old-bed echo to create a bridge to the floating crate, then jumped to the ledge on the left side.
Next, you’ll find a barrier of three wooden crates. To clear a path, summon a boulder echo and place it on a crate. The weight of the boulder will force the crate to sink, allowing Zelda to swim down and up to exit this side-scrolling sequence.
Leaving the well, Zelda will encounter a growing rift. Run down and to the right, jumping into the flowing water to escape the growing rift. Once you’re in the water, the current will take Zelda out of the castle. You’ve just escaped the dungeon! Now you’ve got all of Hyrule to save.
