The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

The player controls Princess Zelda, who can use the power of the magical Tri Rod to create "echoes", which are imitations of objects and monsters that can be used freely. However, there is a limit on how many can be summoned and each echo has a different cost; how many echoes can be created is indicated by the number of triangles visible behind Tri.^[4][5] She can also "bind" objects with Bond, allowing an object to move with her, or move with an object using Reverse Bond.^[6][7] In addition to having echoes fight enemies, Zelda can fight enemies directly by wielding a sword that transforms her into the Swordfighter form, which resembles Link.^[8] This form can only be used for a limited time before its energy must be replenished by collecting orbs of energy found in the Still World.^[9]

Zelda can travel through various methods, including echoes, fast travel sites called Waypoints, on foot, or on horseback. She can also change outfits or equipment and combine ingredients to purchase smoothies.^[10]

In addition to Hyrule, the game features the Still World, which is connected to Hyrule through rifts that each lead to a different section of it, where people, objects, and terrain transported there are frozen in time. There are also dungeons that Zelda explores, each with a boss that must be defeated in order to progress.^[9]

Many of the people of Hyrule appear throughout the game, including the Deku Scrubs, Gerudo, Gorons, river and ocean Zora, and Yetis.^[6] Dampé also appears, creating automatons that function similarly to echoes.^[8]

While rescuing Zelda from Ganon, Link disappears into the Still World after falling into a mysterious rift; similar rifts appear throughout Hyrule, causing others to disappear into the Still World, including its king and his advisors, General Wright and Minister Lefte. Upon returning to Hyrule Castle, imposters of the King and his advisors frame Zelda for causing the rifts and imprison her in the castle's dungeons to be executed. Zelda escapes with help from the fairy Tri, who gives her the Tri Rod, and ventures throughout Hyrule to repair the rifts and rescue those trapped in the Still World.

During her adventure, she confronts an evil version of Link who is also an imposter and rescues the real Link from Ganon after confronting him in Hyrule Castle, but Ganon is revealed to be an imposter created by the primordial evil Null, who captures Link. Null is a being who resided in the Void that existed before reality, consuming life forms whenever it developed in order to remain the only being in existence. However, the Golden Goddesses, Farore, Nayru and Din, created the universe over the Void to seal away Null. After Hyrule was founded, Null attempted to break its seal by creating rifts in order to destroy Hyrule and return existence to the Void. To counteract the rifts, the Goddesses sent the Tris, magical fairies connected to the Triforce and capable of closing the rifts, to repair the rifts and return to the Goddesses once their mission was accomplished.

Null attempts to take the power of the Prime Energy for itself by creating an imposter of Zelda, whom the Goddesses deemed worthy of possessing part of its power, but Zelda confronts and destroys it with help from Link.

The game features a similar art style to the Nintendo Switch remake of Link's Awakening (2019).^[4]

Echoes of Wisdom is the first main Zelda game with Princess Zelda as the playable character.^[11] She was previously playable in games developed by third-party companies, including Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon (1993) and Zelda's Adventure (1996) for the Philips CD-i, and spin-off games such as Hyrule Warriors (2014) and Cadence of Hyrule (2019).^[5][12]

Echoes of Wisdom was announced on June 18, 2024, during a Nintendo Direct.^[13] It was released on September 26, 2024.^[11]

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic,^[14] and 89% of critics recommended the game, according to OpenCritic.^[15]

• Official website