There’s One Glaring Problem With The New ‘Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom’ Nintendo Game Where You Play As Zelda

I’m excited that after all these years—nearly four decades, actually—we’re finally getting a Legend Of Zelda game where you play as the princess Zelda herself rather than our usual hero, Link. That’s not a dig at Link, by any means. Few heroes in video game history have been as distinctive or beloved as the young green-hat-wearing Hylian swordsman. It’s just cool to see Nintendo change it up a bit.

Certainly Nintendo has toyed around with the formula established way back in 1986. Most Zelda games are very different from one another. Just look at the differences between a game like Skyward Sword and The Wind Waker or Majora’s Mask. Or the wild changes made to the last two entries in the series, Breath of the Wild and its direct sequel, Tears of the Kingdom, a duology that bucked just about every previous Zelda trend (for better or worse).

The point is, there’s been a whole lot of experimentation in the series, but one thing that has never been tinkered with is the protagonist, and now we have Zelda herself ready to buckle on that shield and draw the Master Sword and—wait, er, hold on let’s watch the trailer:

Right, so Zelda does not get a sword. She has a wand. With this wand she can do magic, casting spells that duplicate items and enemies to help her fight her way to victory. This is called a Tri Rod (Zelda games are big on Tri-things). I think it would be a great mechanic to use alongside a sword and shield. As a total replacement of the sword-and-board combat we’ve come to expect from this series? I’m not thrilled.

(As Ollie Barder—who is also bummed out about the lack of sword and shield—points out, there are three parts to the Triforce: Power, held by Ganon; Courage, held by Link; and Wisdom, held by Zelda. Hence the title of the game).

In fact, this revelation has soured me on the whole thing. Maybe that’s silly. Maybe I’m just being a stubborn hold-out. But there are certain things I expect out of a Zelda game, and Link is not even close to the top of that list. Alongside a sword-and-shield (that preferably doesn’t break) these include:

• An inviting world design filled with odd but lovable characters.
• An evil villain, casting a shadow over this once-peaceful place, threatening tragedy and ruin.
• Clever puzzles woven into the action.
• Large, complex dungeons that test both your wits and your abilities.
• A creative and unique setting that makes this Zelda game different from all others, while retaining many of the monsters, themes and aesthetics that make these games familiar.

Link is mostly a cipher, a silent hero who embodies the goodness and heroism of the franchise, and I think that makes him pretty easy to swap out for Zelda herself, who has always been just as brave and heroic in her own way. But taking away the sword and shield? That just hurts. If anything, I’d have loved to see her just get a different fighting style, or maybe a different type of blade. That plus the Tri Rod would have been pretty great. Oh well.

Echoes Of Wisdom releases on the Nintendo Switch this September.