Summary
Fans have been overlayingThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s map withA Link to the Past’s own map, making some surprising discoveries about how the two games manage to “link up” for meaningful lore connections.The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomis the latest installment in Nintendo’s long-running franchise, bucking the trend by making Princess Zelda the main playable character as opposed to Link.
Echoes of Wisdomplays like many previoustop-downZeldagames, such asA Link to the Past,Minish Cap, andLink’s Awakening.A Link to the Pastin particular was the first game to establish this gameplay style for the franchise, which would be carried over into future games, includingEchoes of Wisdom. As fans have been playing the game, many have discovered that not only do the two games share the same gameplay style, but they also have essentially the same map, withEchoes of Wisdombuilding upon what was shown inA Link to the Past.
Some posts on Twitter from fans andIGNhave been comparing the two maps. Observations were made that noted a number of major landmarks fromA Link to the Past’s mapcan be found inEchoes of Wisdom, though they have been ravaged by the passage of time or have been changed to something else. On top of that,Echoes of Wisdomhas a number of areas that exist outsideA Link to the Past’s playable area, giving some implications about how civilizations like the Gerudo and Goron were just outside the boundary but have always existed within the world.
Echoes of Wisdom and A Link to the Past Have Parallel Maps
IGN’s Tom Marks agreed with the fans' assessment of the parallel maps, noting that the landmarks aroundEchoes of Wisdom’s Hyrule Castleshould be familiar to longtimeZeldafans. Some spots include the graveyard, church, and even Link’s house fromA Link to the Past, even ifEchoes of Wisdom’s Link lives in Suthorn Village. Another familiar area that has been changed fromA Link to the PasttoEchoes of Wisdomis Kakariko Village, where there are now ruins, implying the village was moved at some point in between games.
Echoes of Wisdomisn’t the only game to use a variant ofA Link to the Past’s overworld map, considering howA Link Between Worldson the 3DS did the same, albeit that was due to it being a sequel toA Link to the Past. While some lore-mindedZeldafans are theorizing whereEchoes of Wisdomfits in the timeline, others were excited to discover all the Easter Eggs and references that Grezzo included.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
WHERE TO PLAY
Save Hyrule—this time with the wisdom of Princess Zelda!The people of Hyrule are being stolen away by strange rifts—and with a certain swordsman among the missing, it’s up to Princess Zelda to save her kingdom in the latest adventure in The Legend of Zelda™ series!Team up with the ethereal creature Tri and use the Tri Rod to create “echoes,” which are imitations of things you find in the environment—then recreate those echoes whenever you like to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. Use echoes like water blocks to reach new heights, make bridges out of old beds, throw rocks at foes, or find your own combination of echoes to do things your way. You can even make echoes of monsters to fight at your side in combat!
