The following contains spoilers forThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.
ThroughoutThe Legend of Zelda, Link has been a silent protagonist, generally only responding to other individuals with distinct facial expressions, nods, and shrugs. However, not many installments in the series have taken the opportunity to explain why the green tunic-wearing hero doesn’t speak, although the reason why hasn’t necessarily ever mattered. As it turns out,The Legend ofZelda: Echoes of Wisdomhas taken it upon itself to divulge its own reason forwhy Link doesn’t speak, although it’s not the first game to do so.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildalso gave the most curious players some insight as to why its version of Link doesn’t speak, stating that he simply wants to remain strong and silently bear the burden of being the hero Hyrule needs. While this is an understandable reason why Link doesn’t speak inBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdom,Echoes of Wisdommight have just given fans an even more believable reason why its Link is silent.
Why Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s Link Doesn’t Speak
Link Was ‘Stolen Away’ Before the Game Begins
Interestingly enough,Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s story doesn’t start at the beginning. By the time players begin the prologue in the game, terrible things have been happening in Hyrule. Specifically, rifts have already been appearing throughout the land, stealing adults and children away, taking them to the Still World, and petrifying them until someone rescues them.The prologue forZelda: Echoes of Wisdomactually takes place right in the middle of Link’s adventure, as he has been busy trying to rescue Hyrule from the strange rifts threatening to swallow it for years.
Prior to the events ofZelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s prologue, Link and a group of other kids were “stolen away,” asthe residents of Hyrulewould say, which means they were taken by one of the rifts. It’s unclear how he and the other children managed to escape the Still World, but they did, and then Link committed himself to ensuring the safety of Hyrule and getting to the bottom of why the rifts were appearing in the first place.
Once players reach the conclusion ofZelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s prologue, Link will have found Zelda trapped in a crystal, firing an arrow at it and cracking it just before he is swallowed by another rift.
Link’s Voice Was Taken From Him After Being ‘Stolen Away’
All of this backstory is disclosed by Lueburry, whose house players can visit inZelda: Echoes of Wisdomto upgradeZelda’s Swordfighter Form. However, if players venture down into the basement of Lueburry’s house to read his journal and even speak with him after that, he clues Zelda into why Link doesn’t speak. Apparently, all the kids who were taken by rifts lost something, and for Link, it was his ability to speak. This is what Lueburry’s journal says, as when speaking with him after that, he mentions that all the children lost a lot of things, including their memories and their spirits.
Upon returning from theStill World, Link gained a special ability to sense when new rifts would appear, which gave him an advantage in the fight to protect Hyrule. From there, he would run off monsters as soon as a new rift appeared to prevent anyone else from being stolen away. Lueburry assumes that Link continues fighting because he believes that he might eventually be able to speak again, but his better intuition tells him that Link is simply protecting Hyrule because it’s the right thing to do.
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!
