Discussion with Game Developer, Volume 13: Exploring The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom - Third Session
In an exciting departure from the series' history, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom for the Nintendo Switch features Princess Zelda as the protagonist for the first time in the mainline Zelda series. This shift in narrative focus aims to delve deeper into Zelda's story and abilities, breaking the long-standing tradition of Link as the sole hero.
During her character development and story creation, the creative team took several considerations into account. Zelda's gameplay centers around her magical Tri Rod and unique power of Wisdom, allowing her to duplicate objects and enemies, called “echoes,” which adds new strategic depth to combat.
Zelda is portrayed as a solution-based thinker and strategist, with a narrative arc involving her leading the efforts to mend rifts in Hyrule and resolve conflicts among its regions. Her partnership with a fairy companion named Tri highlights a fresh dynamic, supporting exploration and puzzle-solving within the world.
Zelda can also transform into a spectre of Link, enabling brief direct combat, blending her graceful wisdom with fighting skills. The creative team intentionally underscored Zelda’s altruism and sacrifice in an "emotional and engaging arc," building on her role as a dependable and aspirational figure rather than just a distant princess or a supporting character.
The narrative deliberately inverts traditional Zelda tropes, making Zelda the “author of the prophecy” instead of Link, emphasizing her intellectual and leadership qualities. The developers aimed to improve character depth compared to previous games, showing more inventiveness in how Zelda is portrayed and played.
One of the themes for Princess Zelda in Echoes of Wisdom is to find Link. The gameplay primarily relies on echoes, as using a sword and shield was found to not work well together with the variety of echoes. The rifts appear in various places around Hyrule, and their placements can change based on level design.
The developers held boot camps to work out the game's story, facing challenges in visualizing the rifts and their expansion, depth, and transition between the game field and the world of void. They also had trouble deciding on Zelda's outfit, considering typical adventure clothing and looking for suitable options from previous games.
Princess Zelda's outfit in Echoes of Wisdom includes a hood, which was inspired by Link's new outfit in the game. Inside the rifts lies the Still World, a mysterious space never seen before in the series. The game is set to launch on Thursday, September 26.
For more insights into the development of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, be sure to check out the thirteenth volume of Ask the Developer, featuring an interview with the game's developers.
- Nintendo Switch users can pre-order 'The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom', the upcoming game where Princess Zelda is the protagonist, set to launch on September 26.
- In Echoes of Wisdom, Zelda's unique power of Wisdom allows her to duplicate objects and enemies, which adds a new strategic depth to combat, setting it apart from classic Nintendo entertainment like NES games.
- The game's developers faced challenges in visualizing the rifts, Zelda's outfit design, and integrating the new concept of 'echoes' into the gameplay, relying less on traditional Zelda elements such as Mario's movies-and-tv appearances.
