Against all odds, the Nintendo Switch will enjoy one last Zelda game before making way for the console that will succeed it. The news came during the airing of a Nintendo Direct full of surprises on Tuesday, June 18. The cult franchise wasn’t the only one to star in the show: Mario & Luigi, Mario Party and Metroid Prime 4 also starred at the presentation.
Equipped with a magical scepter provided by a strange new fairy named Tri, the “heroine” is now able to duplicate elements of her environment. The first gameplay clips promise an experience focused on puzzles and riddles despite some combat also orchestrated by the new game mechanics. However, it is regrettable that Nintendo once again succumbs to the cliché of magical powers for a female protagonist.
After Princess Peach: Showtime, an epic dedicated to a “badass” Zelda would not have been rejected. Knowing the developers of the franchise, this decision is definitely the result of a need to reinvent the usual recipe. Waiting for the release of the title on September 26, the first trailer already allows us to make some predictions about the setting of this adventure.
By taking over the art direction of the A Link’s Awakening remake, Nintendo leaves little room for doubt about the title’s place in the great lineage of Zelda games. However, it’s when you look at the map and other details that the link between the games becomes apparent. Experienced players will have noticed that the landscape presented is none other than that of A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds. Now it remains to be seen whether this is a parallel universe or a direct sequel.
The incarnation of Ganon featured in the trailer is also taken from these two titles, confirming that The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will complete this part of the universe. If that’s the case, poor Link in this branch of the timeline will have undergone five adventures, namely A Link to the Past, Link’s Awakening, Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Seasons, and Echoes of Wisdom, before ending up reincarnated a few centuries later in A Link Between Worlds.
