The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was announced by Nintendo as a game without Link leading the way and fans seem very excited to instead get violent as Princess Zelda.
The game, which many are joking should be called The Legend of Link as players are tasked with saving the Hero of Time instead of the usual Zelda, sees the princess wield a weapon called the Tri Rod as an alternative to the usual sword and shield.
This is because Zelda holds the Triforce of Wisdom instead of Link's Triforce of Courage, and the rod fittingly employs more of a puzzle-solving approach to problems instead of hacking and slashing..
— bea (@SlLENTPRINCESS) June 18, 2024
But fans are having fun with this concept already by flipping it on its head, portraying a cold-blooded and savage Zelda in place of her usually cheerful and considered demeanor.
"Kill pig with rock," reads one post from @kurdupl on X/Twitter, alongside an image of a heartless-looking Zelda about to decimate a worried moblin.
"And here's Zelda with the folding chair," reads another post from @Stoic_Miiverse, showing Zelda jumping down from the top rope onto the big boss featured in the opening of the Echoes of Wisdom trailer, with Link cheering her on in the background.
Kill pig with rock pic.twitter.com/EZtBJaEJK2
— Kifa🇺🇦 (@kurdupl) June 18, 2024
Reddit user alsike posted an image of "new key art" from Echoes of the Kingdom, which showed the Princess Zelda from Ocarina of Time holding a handgun.
All these and more have seemingly materialised as a result of the excitement for what's essentially the first game with the titular character herself as a protagonist.
Echoes of Wisdom was announced at the June 2024 Nintendo Direct with a September 26, 2024 release date.
~AND HERE'S ZELDA WITH THE FOLDING CHAIR!~ pic.twitter.com/ms7A6yX3va
— Stoic Seraphim (@Stoic_Miiverse) June 18, 2024
Players will wield the Tri Rod to replicate things using the Echo ability, letting Zelda duplicate monsters to fight alongside her, solve puzzles, and more. Echoes of water blocks can be used to swim up to new heights, for example, or old beds can be duplicated to create bridges.
Zelda series lead Eiji Aonuma also promised huge levels of variance between playthroughs, saying each player's experience will be different depending on the echoes they make.
Those particularly excited can pick up a limited edition, gold-colored Nintendo Switch Lite on launch day too.
She's ready! #zelda #echoesofwisdom pic.twitter.com/EzgnL22eJz
— Fran @ Furanstore Open! (@furanchu) June 18, 2024
"It’s up to Zelda and her wisdom to save the kingdom of Hyrule in a brand-new story in The Legend of Zelda series," Nintendo said. "The people of Hyrule are being stolen away by strange rifts that have appeared, with a certain swordsman among the missing."
The Nintendo Direct was full of other major announcements too. Mario & Luigi: Brothership was revealed, while Metroid Prime 4: Beyond surfaced for the first time in seven years too. Read about every announcement, big and small, in our Everything Announced article.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
