TheLegend of Zeldaseries has dozens of familiar characters who seem to transcend time, popping up in several games regardless of their distance in the overall timeline, andThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomis no exception. However, one recurring NPC has stepped up his game inThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, seemingly cementing his importance in the top-downZeldagames going forward.
Echoes of Wisdombroke new ground for theLegend of Zeldaseries, ensuring it a place in the hearts of many Nintendo fans. Not only is it the first mainline game of the series to feature Zelda as the main playable character, but it’s also the first original top-downZeldagame in nearly a decade. Favorable reviews and impressive sales numbers have proven that the franchise has what it takes to survive after the groundbreaking originality ofBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomdwarfed the titles that came before them. The game even ranks among thebest Switch games released in 2024. With large milestones like these, though, it can be easy to overlook small victories for the series, such as one character’s increasing importance in theZeldauniverse. With a prominent role inEchoes of Wisdom, as well as a stand-out appearance in theLink’s Awakeningremaster, Dampe seems to have become an important inclusion in new top-downZeldaadventures.
Who is Dampe in The Legend of Zelda?
Until recent years, Dampe has been easy to miss among the many residents of Hyrule, so fans would be forgiven for not remembering him among the series’ more prominent characters. In fact, even with his growing importance, Dampe has never had a large role in the narratives of theLegend of Zeldagames. Longtime fans simply remember him as the gravekeeper inOcarina of TimeorMajora’s Mask, but the character has had something of a resurgence in recent years. While Dampe retains his gravekeeper role in most of his appearances, he’s begun to branch out.Dampe’s resume now features several jobs, including gravekeeper, dungeon designer, and inventor, giving him more robust ways to aid Link and Zelda in their quests. It’s also notable that, excluding his first two appearances, Dampe has been relegated only to top-down games, making him a staple of theZeldagames that use that particular style.
Dampe’s Growing Role in the Zelda Games
For a long time, Dampe was mostly a character who helped players find optional items or assisted them in the game’s tutorial. It wouldn’t be until the remaster ofLink’s Awakeningthat Dampe would be allowed to step out of his gravekeeper role and take on more important tasks. InEchoes of Wisdom, he has become an inventor who players meet while traversing Hyrule. After assisting him,Dampe will help players unlock automatons, which he creates after a short side quest. His small robots are a unique inclusion in theZeldaseries, which typically steers away from advanced technology. Once unlocked, they grant the player new abilities that often mix the traversal and attack power of echoes that they’ve already unlocked.
Dampe also played a somewhat prominent role in theLink’s Awakeningremaster as the NPC in charge of the game’s new dungeon creator mode. This mode is one ofseveral differences between the two versions ofLink’s Awakening, placing Dampe in charge of a standout mechanic for that version of the game. The fact that the developers have enough faith in this character to tie major new mechanics to him indicates a belief in his ability to connect with the player, which will be important when creating new games in the future.
BetweenDampe’s powerful automatonsand dungeon-crafting prowess lies a lovable character who is easy to connect with. With his sizable role inThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Dampe has joined the ranks of recurring characters who players should be on the lookout for, and they might just spot him in important places in the next games.
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!
