During the latest Nintendo Direct, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was announced which finally let players and fans of the franchise control the titular princess in peril.
This is the franchise's first foray into letting Zelda be the one journeying through the world in order to save the world from destruction. The story takes place after Ganon, the series' main antagonist, defeats the original protagonist, Link, in battle.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
(Photo : Nintendo / Screenshot taken from official website)
That leaves the princess alone to her own devices and will have to face off against hordes of monsters that continue to descend upon the game's take on Hyrule. The environment seems to have been heavily inspired by 2019's Link's Awakening remake.
Series producer Eiji Aonuma said that Zelda will have to navigate and fight through the world somewhat differently in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. The princess is seen wielding a magical staff that is known as the Tri Rod and is assisted by a fairy named Tri, according to The Verge.
The announcement trailer for the latest game in the franchise details how Princess Zelda will be able to use the Tri Rod in order to create so-called "echoes" of objects and monsters that she has previously encountered. These are then the ones that she can use to overcome obstacles across the world.
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News about The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom comes during a relatively good time for the franchise. Last year, fans finally saw the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the much-anticipated sequel to the highly popular The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
After that, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was released and Nintendo is said to be developing a live-action version of The Legend of Zelda in partnership with Sony.
So far, it remains unclear how the latest game in the franchise will fit into the larger timeline or how different its combat will be from previous top-down titles in the series.
A New Game in the Franchise
The latest Nintendo Direct also showed off some gameplay footage of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. This showcased both combat and non-combat mechanics and how Zelda seems to use her echoes as something like Pokemon partners, said Forbes.
The announcement of the new game in the franchise also included a release date, which has been set for Sept. 27, 2024. For decades now, fans of the Legend of Zelda franchise have been waiting for a new game to get their hands on that actually features the princess in peril as the main protagonist.
Many players have now taken to social media platforms to speculate about The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom's timeline. Users on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Reddit have pointed out that several parts of Hyrule line up nicely with the map from A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds.
One user in particular pointed out that many of the things that fans saw in the recent trailer simply are not in A Link to the Past. He noted that these areas include a rainforest area, a volcano, a Gerudo town, and an icy mountain, according to IGN.
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