Summary
This week’s Nintendo Direct presentation revealed a brand-new title in theLegend of Zeldafranchise,The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. The title features Princess Zelda in her first solo adventure. Link and a host of Hyrule’s inhabitants have been stolen away by mysterious rifts, leading Zelda to team up with a strange fairy, Tri, who can use the power of echoes to create imitations of things from her environment. With a retro aesthetic akin to2019’sThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakeningremake, the title continues some of the series’ best traditions. As Zelda’s fairy companion on this quest,Echoes of Wisdom’s Tri inherits a huge legacy.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomwill see Princess Zelda set off to find and eliminate the origin of Hyrule’s mysterious rifts. For years,The Legend of Zeldaseries has toyed with fans' hopes for a Zelda-led adventure. Last year’sThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomset the stage for a starring role for Hyrule’s Princess, locking her in another era of time and having her story play out in a series of cutscenes. WithEchoes of Wisdom, the Princess is finally getting the solo outing the character deserves, and her fairy companion, Tri, is set to carve out a legacy of her own along the way.
Echoes of Wisdom’s Tri Introduces a Brand-New Ability to the Zelda Franchise
Echoes of Wisdom’s Zelda will utilize a new key item, the Tri Rod, to complete her adventure, allowing Tri to share her unique abilities with the Princess. Tri can create echoes - tangible imitations of items, objects, and creatures from the environment, and employ them for a variety of purposes. As seen inEchoes of Wisdom’s announcement trailer, once the Tri Rod learns an echo, the pair can use it to solve puzzles, explore the map, and defeat enemies for the full duration of the adventure. In a manner reminiscent ofTears of the Kingdom’s ultrahand abilities, it appears players can choose how and when to use their stored echoes to overcome the title’s challenges.
During itsreveal trailer,Echoes of Wisdomdepicted several unique implementations of Tri’s echo ability. Zelda can be seen making a stepladder out of beds, throwing echoed rocks at enemies, and even creating echoes of the enemies themselves. These echoes were then capable of fighting on behalf of Zelda and helping her to navigate rough environments. While Tri’s powers are sure to injectEchoes of Wisdomwith plenty of variety, it’s her role as a fairy companion that adds the most weight to the character’s introduction.
Echoes of Wisdom’s Tri Inherits a Huge Legacy
Tri’s appearance inThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomis more than just a fun gameplay element. The character is the newest in a long line of fairy companions, inheriting an immense legacy from those who came before. The classicLegend of Zeldaseries featured fairies as essential and highly knowledgeable companions to Link, includingOcarina of Time’s Navi,Majora’s Mask’s Tatl, and Ciela fromPhantom Hourglass. However, fairies, as a whole, play an even bigger part in theLegend of Zeldafranchise. From the Seven Maidens inThe Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventuresto the Great Fairies that permeate nearly every Zelda title, fairies are among the franchise’s most powerful allies and prevalent races. Tri’s introduction inThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomlooks to write the next chapter in that long and storied legacy.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomfinally delivers the solo adventure Hyrule’s princess has long deserved. With Tri andthe power of echoesat her side, Zelda’s first starring role is shaping up to be quite the sprawling adventure. It remains to be seen what mysteries await the pair as they explore the land of Hyrule, but, like so many heroes before them, Zelda and Tri are set to overcome every challenge they face together. Fans ofThe Legend of Zeldaseries don’t have long to wait until they join the search for Link and the source of Hyrule’s mysterious disappearances, asThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomis set to release on July 29, 2025.
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!
