Things You Might Have Missed In The Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Trailer
Fortunately, after a much-needed rest and many (many) rewatches, we are starting to build up a better idea of what this one is all about. Bursting with excitement for what this new 2D adventure might hold, we have put together the following list of things you might have missed in the Echoes of Wisdom reveal trailer.
Our picks range from the pretty obvious to the blink-and-you’ll-miss-them and we’re sure there will be a couple more that we have missed in between. Have a look through our selection of potentially missable moments and then head to the comments to leave any others that you spotted.
Oh, and if you somehow missed the entire reveal trailer (or if you just want to watch it for the 304th time – no judgement from us) you’ll find it at the bottom of the page.
A Suspicious Sword
Right from the jump we have questions about Link’s sword. That hilt doesn’t look very Master Sword-y, does it? The blue is lighter than any other we’ve seen before (unless you count something like the three-element White Sword from The Minish Cap, which we’re fairly confident won’t pop up here) and the shape isn’t quite as ‘winged’ as normal. Hmm.
Are we looking at a brand-new blade here? Is this just what the Master Sword looks like in the Link’s Awakening-style art style? Are we reading too much into this considering Link gets knocked off five seconds later?
Zelda’s all Crystal-y (Again)
Oh, Princess Zelda and her ‘trapped inside a crystal’ shtick, eh? What’s she like!
We’ve previously seen the Hylian monarch locked inside a similar crystalline cage in Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past, and Four Swords Adventures. Don’t worry, she tends to make it out.
Old-School Ganon
This big old pig Ganon appears very similar to the designs found in A Link to the Past / Between Worlds and the Oracle Games. We’d be leaning towards the ‘Fallen Hero’ timeline, in this instance, though Four Swords Adventure also has a boar baddy, so we wouldn’t rule out the ‘Triumphant – Child’ timeline eithe— you know what, let’s save the timeline chatter for another day.
Fully Powered Link
Much like Tears of the Kingdom, it looks like the Link we find at the start of Echoes of Wisdom (assuming his downfall comes at the start) is a fully-powered hero. He has the Hylian Shield, a bow, and the ability to jump (which usually requires the Roc’s Feather/Cape in the top-down games) in his battle with Ganon before slipping through the cracks.
What is this? Metroid?
Floating Islands in the Shadow Realm
Shadow Realm, Dark World, call it what you want, but there are weird things afoot in the purple cracks that have spread across Hyrule. Peering into this other dimension in one shot shows islands floating in the distance. Another shot appears to show Princess Zelda in this alternate world picking up Echoes.
It wouldn’t really be a Zelda game without some dimension-hopping, would it?
New Fast-Travel Points?
The game reveal shows these weird little statues cropping up everywhere. There’s one on the lower right island in the first shot of the overworld (right outside the Pond of Happiness in A Link to the Past, if we follow the theory that it’s the same map) and then they can also be spotted in towns and other points of interest. They even show up on the minimap and give off a faint yellow glow when Zelda walks near them.
We’d guess that these are fast travel or save points — they are certainly in the right spots — but perhaps they have some other meaning.
Bombable Walls
It’s hardly the most revolutionary discovery for a Zelda game, but with Echoes of Wisdom so focused on puzzle-solving and magic attacks, who knew if bombable walls would return?
Fortunately, they do. At least, that’s what it looks like.
New Town
Echoes of Wisdom seems to have a similar overworld to A Link to the Past, but there are enough tweaks to make us think this won’t be a one-to-one replica.
Take this town that also seems to be suffering from some Shadow Realm leakage (gross). It doesn’t map onto LTTP’s Kakariko Village and that giant wall on the left is giving some serious Castle Town vibes. Prepare for a spot of sightseeing, we reckon.
Water Settlements
New towns and new houses. Whatever will they think of next?
One shot in the trailer shows some kind of water settlement in the background. We can’t imagine Hylians would live on the water, but perhaps another series-renowned water-based species has switched their living situation. More on them later.
Zelda’s Back in Jail
We were so distracted by the reveal of Zelda’s new fairy pal, Tri, and the Trirod that we almost missed the fact that the Princess was once again locked in a prison cell.
What did she do this time? We saw some guards escorting her away at the end of the title reveal shot, but that appeared friendly, no? Maybe she’s being blamed for Link’s disappearance! With what we see after, it certainly seems like she’s keen on keeping a low profile.
Sharing a Cloak
If we are to assume that Zelda is on the run, that might explain the blue cloak that she wears throughout most of the Echoes of Wisdom trailer.
As a disguise, it ain’t all that. But our hearts are warmed to see that it’s the same cloak Link was wearing before falling down the crack of doom at the start of the trailer. Aw.
Items Mapped to D-Pad
Eiji Aonuma promised a new style of gameplay, and the Trirod appears to deliver just that. It looks like the item you currently have ‘Echoed’ will be selected with the ‘Y’ button, while other items will be mapped to the D-pad for easy access.
Diving
With the series dominated by Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom in recent years, it feels like an age since we had a hero who could dive under the water. Fortunately, like many of the 2D games that have preceded it, it looks like Zelda can hold her breath and plunge beneath the surface here – there’s even a new oxygen wheel to accompany it.
We’re just over halfway through, but there are plenty more details to find on page two…