Nintendo fans worldwide rejoiced when The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was revealed during the most recent Nintendo Direct, as this new game finally stars the titular princess in a leading role. While it’s great that Nintendo has finally gifted the iconic damsel in distress with the leading role, this should’ve happened years ago.
Although it usually depends on the game’s storyline, Zelda is often depicted as a fairly powerful sorcerer and has been able to hold her own in various fights. It was almost comical how someone like Zelda was kidnapped so much, but Nintendo has always been stubborn about its traditions, and the goal of saving the princess has typically been the background premise for exploring the series’ deep worlds.
Having a Zelda game where you directly control the Hyrule Princess and can cast spells and take down foes by herself should have been done years ago. In fact, Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s insistence that the princess still doesn’t use swords or her powerful spells is mildly annoying, even if her use of “Echoes” will make for great gameplay. Even with Zelda’s powerful in-lore arsenal, and her minor roles in Smash Bros and Hyrule Warriors, Nintendo is committed to Zelda being a peacekeeper.
Even when playable in the past, Zelda has often been nerfed to keep Link as the sword-swinging hero. The Nintendo DS spin-off Spirit Tracks lets you play as Zelda’s ghost inhabiting a suit of armor, but she doesn’t get to partake in the action. Instead, she’s mostly a puzzle mechanic.
Fans also would have been happy if Zelda was playable in certain sections of previous games, especially when she plays a major part in the story. It would have been cool if players could control “Tetra” during certain parts of Wind Waker, for example. Making her playable in short sections of Twilight Princess also would have been nice since, spoiler alert for a decades-old game, she dies before the game’s ending.
Let’s also not forget how some Zelda games turn the titular princess into Shiek, a badass ninja who wouldn’t look out of place in Tenchu or Ninja Gaiden. Just imagine a game where Zelda has to go undercover as Shiek to learn about some kind of conspiracy against Hyrule. Having her switch between stealth and combat sections sounds like a natural fit for her iconic ninja persona.
Unfortunately, prior to Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, the only official Zelda game where the title character was the lead happened in Zelda’s Adventure for the Philips CD-i. Considering the putrid reputation the Nintendo CD-i games have, it’s unsurprising to learn that Zelda’s Adventure is one of the most horrendous games of the bunch.
Recently, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity showed that the Zelda from Breath of the Wild had plenty of potential as a playable protagonist. Using the Sheika Slate, Zelda was able to smash foes in a number of creative ways, making her one of the most fun characters in the game. The fact that Tears of the Kingdom didn’t capitalize on this is disappointing, especially since there’s a ton of story dedicated to her heroic actions during the hundreds of hours you spend messing around.
We’ll give Nintendo some credit, as Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is being marketed as a mainline game that just happens to star Zelda. They could have easily given her a spin-off game so it’s not part of the overall canon, à la Princess Peach: Showtime, but the company is treating this like an important mainline entry.
Hopefully, Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom kicks off a trend of more games featuring this beloved Nintendo character. That doesn’t mean we want Link erased from this series entirely, but it would be nice if they let him share the spotlight with his girlfriend/best buddy more often.