While fans look ahead to the nextThe Legend of Zeldagame, past games likeThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomandThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomcould be the last time players experience game-defining mechanics like Ultrahand or Echoes. Over the years and throughout the series' history,The Legend of Zeldahas seen a wide range of special mechanics unique to each game. However, this has also set a sad but understandable precedent where each game’s exclusive mechanic or feature is promptly retired ahead of the nextZeldaadventure.
Though this tradition of starting each game from scratch andfollowingZelda’s cyclical timelinehas helped keep the series' gameplay fresh and inventive, it has meant that various standout mechanics have been left behind despite their popularity among players. Features likeThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princesswith Link’s wolf form orThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword’s exploration of the Wii’s motion controls have so far remained exclusive to past games, even despite the creative potential they could still have. Now the same could happen toZelda’s most recent features, Ultrahand and Echoes, as the series moves on to its next game.
Remembering Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s Ultrahand and Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s Echoes
As the direct sequel toThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, there was a high standard to meet regarding fans' expectations, butTears of the Kingdom’s new Ultrahand abilityspearheaded the necessary effort that made the game so memorable. Combined with the game’s all-new Zonai technology and components,Tears of the Kingdomquickly gained notoriety thanks to the variety of player-made solutions and contraptions created using the Ultrahand mechanic. But unlike its predecessor, with no plans forTears of the KingdomDLC or another sequel, the Ultrahand mechanic appears to have been retired.
Continuing afterTears of the Kingdommeant thatEchoes of Wisdomalso faced a high bar, but its reprised toy-like designs ofThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakeningremake and the switch in protagonist helped give the game its own identity. What further set the game apart was its Echoes mechanic, allowing players to summon objects and creatures in order to defeat enemies and solve puzzles. But whileEchoes of Wisdom’s Echoes offered the same freedom as Ultrahandfor players, it seems the mechanic is unlikely to return in a future game anytime soon alongside Princess Zelda as a protagonist.
Exploring One-off Special Features From Past Zelda Games
Despite the disappointment some fans might have from leavingTears of the Kingdom’s Ultrahand orEchoes of Wisdom’s Echoesbehind, this has become an expected standard for theZeldaseries given how many other features have been and gone. The list below outlines just a few examples where key mechanics and features with great creative potential appeared in only one or two games before being ultimately retired.
Though some mechanics have varied throughout the series, such as time travel’s recurrence inOcarina of Time, Majora’s Mask,Tears of the Kingdom, and more, theZeldaseries seems to keep its central features exclusive to just one or two games.
Moving On From Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s Ultrahand and Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s Echoes
Between Nintendo breaking fromTears of the Kingdom’s future and moving on fromEchoes of Wisdom, the nextZeldagame is likely going to follow the series' trend and start over with its gameplay. With the possibility of Nintendo’s next Switch 2 console on the horizon, the nextZeldagame will likely try to add its own twist to the formula much likeTears of the KingdomandEchoes of Wisdomdid. But whatever this next new gimmick will be, it seems that, as usual, fans of past features will have to accept that the likes of Echoes orUltrahand might never return in futureZeldagames.
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’re able to even make echoes of monsters to fight at your side in combat!
