Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Doesn’t Star Link Because His Sword “Got In The Way”

Zelda is off on her own adventure for the first time ever (there definitely weren’t any games starring her on CDi) in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and the princess has Link’s sword and shield to thank. Nintendo has revealed that his weapon combo “got in the way” of the Switch game’s defining feature: copying and pasting items to solve puzzles and fight enemies.

A new Ask the Developer volume touched on how Link’s sword and shield just didn’t gel with using echoes to fight foes. Series producer Eiji Aonuma stated the “the sword and shield got in the way.” That’s because they seemed more effective than copying and pasting other items. As such, this led to an opportunity for Zelda to get her first starring role in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

“If that’s the case, it must be someone who doesn’t fight with a sword and shield, right? Who in the series would be a good fit for these powers and bring their insight to them? Well, that would have to be Princess Zelda,” said Aonuma.

That’s not the only first for the game. A previous Ask the Developer edition pointed out that Nintendo’s Tomomi Sano is the first female director for The Legend of Zelda franchise. She’s previously worked on a trio of remakes in the series: Ocarina of Time 3D, Majora’s Mask 3D, and Link’s Awakening.

Meanwhile, Aonuma seems to imply that Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom might not be part of The Legend of Zelda timeline, which has appeared to become more baffling recently. “Even with this title, we had no intention of establishing any new theories in the series’ lore,” he said.

Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom launches this Thursday, September 26. Be cautious over the next couple of days since the game’s ROM has reportedly leaked. For more, check out GameSpot’s preview of the Switch exclusive, which plays like a mini Tears of the Kingdom.