Summary
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomis one of the most distinctiveZeldatitles ever made, as its unique protagonist alone is enough to set it apart from the rest of the group. However, at the end of the day,Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomis still aZeldagame, and it therefore has to land somewhere onthe officialZeldatimeline— or so one might assume.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomis a different animal when it comes to its placement in theZeldatimeline, as its lore makes things a bit messy as far as that is concerned. With its numerous references to otherZeldagames, especially its Ganon design and treatment of the Triforce, it’s almost impossible to narrow down an explicit timeline forEchoes of Wisdom.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s Place on the Timeline Feels Messy
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s Ganon Design Connects It to Both the Downfall and Child Timelines
One of the first-introduced and most significant would-be indicators ofZelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s placement on the timeline is its design of Ganon. Throughout the series, Ganon has taken on a wide variety of forms, with the villain’s more notable appearances being in human form. InA Link to the Past, however, Ganon’s form is quite unlike the others, in that he appears as a blue, bipedal pig creature wielding a large trident. Furthermore, whileA Link to the Pastwasthe firstZeldagameto depict Ganon in this way, the tradition continued inOracles of Ages/Seasons,Four Swords Adventures, andA Link Between Worlds.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomsees Ganon taking on the blue, bipedal pig form he has been seen in before, suggesting a connection to the other installments that have featured him in this way. If there is a connection betweenEchoes of WisdomandA Link to the Past,Oracles of Ages/Seasons, andA Link Between Worlds, this would potentially put it inZelda’s Downfall Timelinealongside them. Where things get messy is inEchoes of Wisdom’s potential connection toFour Swords Adventures, which is in the Child Timeline. However,Echoes of Wisdom’s treatment of the Triforce also makes things a bit confusing as far as its placement in theZeldatimeline goes.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s Treatment of the Triforce Makes Things Even Messier
One of the more unique elements ofZelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s storysees it treating the Triforce like a mysterious, unknown power, unlike many other installments in the series. Additionally, rather than referring to it as the “Triforce,“Echoes of Wisdomcalls it the “Prime Energy,” which marks the sole time it is referred to as such and only the third game to give the Triforce a completely different name.
What ultimately quirksEchoes of Wisdom’s placement on the timeline with its handling of the Triforce is its unknown status. In almost every game in theLegend of Zeldaseries, the Triforce’s existence and power is known throughout Hyrule — except for those in the Adult Timeline. FromThe Wind Wakeron, the Triforce is more of a legend than anything else, and is generally unknown by the people. But things get even messier here, as the Adult Timeline features a previously broken Triforce, whereasEchoes of Wisdom’s Triforceis not broken apart until late in its story.
Overall,Echoes of Wisdom’s lore makes it difficult to determine its placement in theZeldatimeline, as it seems to borrow from each split in the timeline.
It could be thatZelda: Echoes of Wisdomtakes place on its own timeline, just asBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomare now officially confirmed to be. A more radical perspective might suggestEchoes of Wisdomis actually the first mainline game to establish aLegend of Zeldamultiverse, which would especially make sense given how many references it makes to each of the series' timelines. However, that may be reaching a bit too far andEchoes of Wisdomhas simply joined the club thatBotWandTotKestablished.
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!
