The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom: release date, trailers, gameplay and more

Every new Zelda game feels like an event, but Nintendo has managed to keep the new lineup hidden almost until just before release. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is nothing like the size and scale of 3D versions like Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom — it’s actually a long-awaited sequel to the 2D Zelda games. The last game in this style was 2019’s Link’s Awakening, which was a remake of the 1993 Game Boy game.

Link’s Awakening was a remake of the 1993 Game Boy game.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom caught everyone’s attention at June’s Nintendo Direct, where it was announced for many reasons, chief among them —Zelda in the title role instead of Link. The perspective and style may seem familiar, but you’ll have a lot to learn about the new installment before you return to Hyrule.

At the end of the day, you’ll have to learn a lot more about the new installment before you return to Hyrule.

Release date

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The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will be released on September 26, 2024. That’s it. That’s probably the most important information this article has to offer. All that’s left is to wait for the release itself and enjoy the new installment of your favorite game series

Platforms

It goes without saying that The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom — is a Nintendo Switch exclusive. It’s possible that it will also appear on Switch 2 in the future, but for now, its appearance on Switch — that’s all that’s confirmed. And it’s unlikely that there will be support for other platforms in the future.

Trailers

The announcement trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom begins with what looks like the end of a traditional Zelda game. Link has made it to the end of the dungeon where Ganon is holding Zelda captive in a crystal. After a battle, Link manages to free Zelda, but she falls into a mysterious pink rift. After Zelda’s escape, we realize that she will be the protagonist of this game.

After Zelda’s escape, we realize that she will be the main character of this game.

Zelda is not alone on her journey, however. A new fairy named Tri will accompany her throughout Hyrule to find a way to stop the spread of these rifts that are sucking in not only people, but places.

A new fairy named Tri will accompany her throughout Hyrule to find a way to stop the spread of these rifts that are sucking in not only people, but places.

The Traversing Hyrule Trailer — it’s not so much a trailer as it is a walkthrough. The narrator walks us through a few of the locations we’ll be able to explore in the game, and also talks about some new movement mechanics.

The narrator walks us through a few of the locations we’ll be able to explore in the game.

Gameplay

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom game will take place in the familiar isometric perspective, but Zelda — is not Link or wielding a sword. Instead, as the title suggests, she uses her smarts (and magic) to fight, solve puzzles, and navigate the world.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

Your main tool will be the Three of Wands. This staff allows you to create copies of almost any item or enemy in the game and spawn them anywhere. With it, players can navigate the world by setting up cliff-climbing tables, navigate dungeons by using items to block wind currents, and fight by summoning enemies.

The Traversing Hyrule trailer not only showed off locations, but also new gameplay mechanics. The game will feature a fast travel system using waypoints, as well as speeding up normal movement with a horse that can be summoned by unlocking Carrot Echo. On horseback you will be able to stomp some enemies and jump over obstacles.

Two new abilities besides Echo have also been revealed. Bind allows you to make any object you are bound to follow Zelda’s movements. An impassable boulder was shown as an example, which you can bind to and then walk down to get it out of the way, drop it, and move on.

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The second method is called Reverse Bind, which does the opposite of Bind. What you connect to causes Zelda to move in the same pattern, like connecting to a bird to fly along the same path.

It was almost unnoticeable, but the game will also introduce new outfits and clothing items that can be bought and worn for various improvements, such as flippers to swim faster.

And finally, you’ll be able to make all sorts of cocktails to enhance your buffs at various shops, combining all sorts of ingredients you can find in the world.

Although the trailer and marketing materials strongly hinted that Zelda would be the only playable character, the official ESRB rating revealed the fact that Link will also be playable.

As Link, players use a sword and arrows to defeat enemies; Zelda can use a magic wand to summon creatures (e.g., wind-up knights, pig soldiers, slime) to fight.

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Pre-order

Although The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is only a few months away from release, pre-orders are not yet available. However, it’s already known that there will be a special Hyrule Edition Nintendo Switch Lite edition for the game, which will also go on sale on September 26.