The following contains spoilers forZelda: Echoes of Wisdom.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomis a first for the series in a number of ways, but most notably when it comes to its protagonist. Whereas Link has been the hero since the series' origins in 1987,Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomplaces Zelda in that role for the first time in a mainlineZeldagame. Unfortunately, despite Zelda’s newfound role that should be of the utmost importance,Echoes of Wisdommay have still given her the short end of the stick.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomtries really hard to make Princess Zelda a heroine, and, for the most part, it does. It can’t be denied that she is the one leading the charge in this installment, and she, not Link, is the one traveling to the furthest reaches of the overworld, clearing dungeons, and battling challenging foes to save Hyrule from the looming threat of theStill World. However, despite Zelda’s clear role at the helm of the game’s story,Echoes of Wisdomstill heavily relies on Link.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Is Still About Link
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s Story Relies Heavily on Link’s Heroism
ThroughoutZelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s story, Link’s heroic escapades are not only regularly brought up, but he also occasionally appears in the second half of the game. These mentions and appearances stem from the events leading up toEchoes of Wisdom, which involvedLink getting “stolen away” into the Still Worldwith several other kids, breaking out, and then committing to rid Hyrule of the rifts attempting to swallow it. WhenEchoes of Wisdomstarts, Link has already been hard at work for years protecting Hyrule.
In other words, Link has already had plenty of experience with rifts before Zelda even learns about them.
During the second half ofZelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s story, Link occasionally appears but is unable to stick around as he is chasing down the game’s main antagonist, Null. What this means forZelda’s role in the story— at least, from a certain perspective — is that she is simply continuing Link’s work of closing rifts and rescuing those caught in them while he is off attempting to get to the root of the problem. It’s not necessarily an issue, but it does suggest thatEchoes of Wisdomis, at the end of the day, more about Link than it is Zelda.
Zelda Receives Very Little Characterization in Echoes of Wisdom
Zelda also hardly receives much characterization throughoutZelda: Echoes of Wisdom, as most of Hyrule’s inhabitants seem to care more about Link being gone in the Still World or his past heroics than they do what Zelda is accomplishing on the surface. There are moments when Zelda’s character shines through, like when theKing of Hyrulecompliments his daughter for how far she has come in such a short amount of time, but the game still seems to focus more on the need for Link more than Zelda.
Zelda’s Journey Sees Her Retrieving Link’s Weapons for Him
One of the most rewarding aspects of progression inZelda: Echoes of Wisdomsees Zelda retrieving Link’s sword, bow, and bombs as she moves deeper into unraveling the mystery of the rifts. Upon collecting these items, she is able to use them with her Swordfighter Form. In fact,Echoes of Wisdom’s final boss encounter forces Zelda to hand over the sword, bow, and bombs to Link before the fight begins, leavingZelda with nothing but her Tri Rod and Bind abilityand suggesting that all of her work was just for Link.
All of this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as longtimeZeldafans might have even missedplaying as Link inZelda: Echoes of Wisdom. Still, it’s interesting that a game that initially seemed so intent on making Zelda its star managed to simultaneously revolve around Link.
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!
