The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was revealed during the latest Nintendo Direct, and it’ll offer a long-awaited twist on the usual formula: a role reversal for Link and Zelda. Link is one of the many Hyrulians who find themselves pulled into a mysterious rift, which means it’s Princess Zelda’s turn to save the day. Echoes of Wisdom–a title that nods to Zelda’s ownership of the Triforce of Wisdom–makes use of the same vibrant visual style seen in the Switch version of Link’s Awakening, and it appears to offer a sprawling world for players to explore from a top-down perspective. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom releases on September 26, and preorders are now open ahead of its launch in a few short months.
Alongside Echoes of Wisdom, Nintendo is launching a new Zelda-themed Nintendo Switch Lite console. The limited-edition console isn’t available to preorder just yet, but we’ll update this guide as soon as it’s live at major retailers. If you aren’t able to get the Zelda-themed Switch Lite but still need a Switch, we’d recommend checking out the Animal Crossing-themed model at Walmart. This turquoise Switch Lite bundle is $199 and comes with a digital copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Preorder Bonuses
Nintendo rarely offers preorder bonuses for its games, though it’s fairly common for major retailers to get exclusive physical goodies that serve as neat bonuses. Other Zelda games on Switch came bundled with little trinkets at select retailer. We’ll update our Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom preorder guide if bonuses become available at major retailers.
To coincide with the game’s release, Nintendo is launching a Hyrule Edition Nintendo Switch Lite. It features a golden color scheme with black accents, along with a Hylian Crest on the back. It’s a good-looking gadget, but if you want to get your hands on it before it sells out, consider reserving a unit as soon as you can.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a throwback to pre-Breath of the Wild Zelda that retains the colorful visuals of Link’s Awakening. Unlike Link, Zelda doesn’t wield a trusty sword; she uses a newly acquired power called Echoe, which lets her create items that help you traverse Hyrule, overcome enemies, and solve puzzles. Echoes allow you to replicate NPCs who will then fight on your behalf or help you solve puzzles.
Based on the reveal trailer, the new mechanics could add a lot of variance to each playthrough. Nintendo even stated players will have different experiences based on how they approach using Echoes. In this way, Echoes of Wisdom is similar to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, especially the latter, which implemented a robust building tool called Ultrahand that encouraged players to experiment to solve puzzles, explore the world, and defeat enemies. Though Echoes of Wisdom, as a top-down Zelda game, clearly won’t be as dynamic, it’s cool to see the melding of classic Zelda with the modern approach to the franchise. And it’s even cooler to see Zelda step into the leading role for the first time. Well, for the first time on a Nintendo platform at least. Zelda’s Adventure for Philips CD-i does indeed exist.
If you’re not all caught up on the major The Legend of Zelda games on Switch, you can save on the other four mainline games that have received physical editions at Walmart right now. Link’s Awakening would be a good one to play before Echoes of Wisdom since it shares the same foundation.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — $44 ($60)The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — $51 ($70)The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening — $40 ($60)The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD — $40 ($60)
Here are all of the Nintendo-published games from June’s Nintendo Direct that you can preorder now:
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom — $60Best BuyGameStopMario & Luigi: Brothership — $60Best BuyGameStopSuper Mario Party Jamboree — $60Best BuyGameStopDonkey Kong Country Returns HD — $60Best BuyGameStop
