Summary
Just before the launch ofThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, some of the game’s development staff at Nintendo and Grezzo stated that the game’s map size is about eight times as large as the 2019 remake ofLink’s Awakening. WhileEchoes of Wisdomwill have plenty of secrets for players to discover, Nintendo said the game’s compact world design should make exploration less intimidating.
As the first mainlineZeldagame to give players full control of the series' titular princess,Echoes of Wisdomwas developed by Grezzoin cooperation with Nintendo. Grezzo previously co-developed 2019’sLink’s Awakeningand ported the N64 classicsOcarina of TimeandMajora’s Maskto the 3DS during the 2010s. In addition, the art style Grezzo used to create the world and characters ofLink’s Awakeningwas brought back inEchoes of Wisdom, a detail that did not go unnoticed by keen-eyedZeldafans.
With a new entry in theLegend of Zeldaseries on the horizon, Nintendo pulled back the curtain on one aspect of its development. In thelatest entry of Nintendo’s Ask The Developer blog series,Zeldaseries producer Eiji Aonuma joined game directors Satoshi Terada and Tomomi Sano to share details aboutEchoes of Wisdom. When asked about how Hyrule looks different inEchoes of Wisdomcompared toLink’s Awakening, Terada stated that the goal was to pack in a lot of content to capture a “Zelda-like feeling” for players to experience, and this resulted inEchoes of Wisdom’s world map being eight times the size of theLink’s Awakeningmap. Aonuma added that the original goal was forEchoes of Wisdom’s map to be four times bigger thanLink’s Awakeninginstead.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Will Be Larger Than Link’s Awakening
But, Aonuma reassured hesitant players thatEchoes of Wisdom’s compact size would make its world less intimidating and different from open-world titles likeTears of the Kingdom. The developers also brought up the boss battles players will go through inEchoes of Wisdom’s different dungeons, and the abilities Zelda and Tri can use during their journey. Sano stated that while abilities such as Bind can drop small enemies over a bottomless pit, some feats may not be as easy to pull off.
Asreviews start to come in forEchoes of Wisdom, momentum around theZeldafranchise remains high. How creative players will get with using Zelda’s echoes and abilities remains to be seen.
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!
