Summary

• Zelda’s “Tri-Rod” enhances exploration and depth of problem-solving.
• Zelda can summon echoes of objects and elements using the staff.
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom sets the stage for future Zelda games on a potential Switch successor.

With Echoes of Wisdom was a happy surprise to most. Even more surprising is the game's September release date, making the lack of any mention or leaks of the game an impressive feat by Team Nintendo.

According to what was shared in the announcement, in Echoes of Wisdom, Princess Zelda embarks on a mission through the kingdom of Hyrule, seeking answers to the mysterious disappearance of Link. The game's animation is in the style of 2019’s remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, a unique 2.5D style that serves to bridge the designs of classic 2D and 3D Zelda adventures. Zelda is ed in her quest by a fairy named Tri, and as her main weapon, wields a staff called the Tri-Rod. The name seems to suggest the staff is somehow related to the Tri-Force.

Zelda’s “Tri-Rod” Will Make Exploration And Problem-Solving More In-Depth

Zelda Can Conjure Echoes Of Objects And Elements With The Magical Staff

It may seem as though Echoes of Wisdom could not be further from Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom in regards to design. However, the Tri-Rod staff proves that the game shares the ethos of those two games. What made BOTW the exceptional game that it was in 2017 was not so much its sublime open world but rather how the player is able to navigate that world and solve problems within it. TOTK took that idea and built upon it, enhancing it in nearly every way. This same spirit is translated to 2.5D in Echoes of Wisdom.

The trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom displayed a lot of the gameplay people can come to expect when the game releases on September 26, 2024.

Using the power of the Tri-Rod, Princess Zelda is able to conjure “echoes,” which are effectively copies of objects and elements. The trailer shows Zelda conjuring tables to hop over obstacles in her path, and whipping up stacked blocks of water that she can swim upward through to reach a high ledge. Just like in BOTW and TOTK, the player is given agency to solve problems their own way, and how one person may conquer an obstacle isn’t necessarily how the next might. Bringing this new level of exploration to a 2.5D Zelda title cements it in the franchise’s DNA.

Echoes Of Wisdom Is One Of Many Exciting Games Coming To The Aging Switch

A Follow-Up To The Switch Is Believed To Be Coming Soon

With a rumored successor to the Nintendo Switch believed to be coming soon, possibly next year, it's exciting to know that this ethos of exploration will likely carry into Zelda games on the future console. The Switch hardware is a far less powerful console than either the Xbox Series X or the PS5, including their predecessors, the Xbox One and PS4. Even still, Nintendo was able to create an open world far richer and denser with life than its competitors. Imagine what the increase in power found in a Switch successor will allow Nintendo developers to do with future games.

Echoes of Wisdom is the logical next step following TOTK, just as Link’s Awakening was a refreshing follow-up to BOTW. The freedom of exploration in Echoes of Wisdom feels more closely tied to both than Link’s Awakening ever did. Additionally, Princess Zelda helming an adventure of her own makes the game all that more promising. Until more is known about Nintendo’s future console, there is no shortage of exciting titles coming to the Switch, both this year and next. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is poised to be a stand-out title in the twilight days of the Switch.