Did you think Nintendo would simply only release remakes and second-tier games until the Switch’s successor finally comes along? Guess again. During Tuesday’s Nintendo Direct stream, the company revealed a brand-new Legend of Zelda game. Nintendo is making many fans’ long-held dreams come true here, as you’ll get to play as Zelda herself in a Legend of Zelda title (as opposed to something like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate).
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom opens where most Zelda games finish, with Link defeating Ganon. But just as he frees Princess Zelda, our usual hero is sucked through a rift into an alternate dimension. That flips the script, as it’s now down to Zelda to rescue Hyrule (and her tunic-wearing cohort too, I suppose).
Like the best Zelda games, this one’s played in a top-down perspective and it borrows the art style of the Link’s Awakening remake. Series producer Eiji Aonuma said his team wanted to create a new gameplay style for a Zelda game too.
Rather than wielding a sword, Zelda’s main tool is called a trirod. With this, she can copy many items and use these “echoes” to navigate the world. This brings some of the sandbox puzzle-solving elements of Tears of the Kingdom to Echoes of Wisdom. In combat, you can hurl echoed items at enemies, and even create echoes of monsters to fight for Zelda.
You won’t have to wait too long to get your hands on the game and try all of this out for yourself. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is coming to the Nintendo Switch on September 26. A Hyrule-themed Nintendo Switch Lite will be available on the same day.