Game Dev Analysis: NEW Zelda Echoes of Wisdom Trailer 

Are you looking forward to the new Zelda game!? Check out my Mario & Luigi: Brothership analysis ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9J_Linde1e8.html

I can’t unsee the shadow thing once you pointed it out

Link also casts a circular shadow, it's probably just for platforming purposes

I’m with you on this one, I’m very excited for this quite interesting and bizarre concept, it’s such a breath of fresh air for this series.

On the possibility of Link being playable: There's also a possibility that Zelda could get an Eco of Link, at some point.

Excellent work here Jerrell, I haven't heard anyone else notice the shadows, and I certainly didn't either. Well done.

If we follow your shadows point, we can see that Link has a normal cast shadow in the cutscene with the darknuts and then when taking off his cape he has the fixed circle shadow underneath him so maybe it's truly a playable gameplay section.

Could be that you play as link in a “dark world” and Zelda in Hyrule. Maybe they relate or echo in some way between worlds.

a shared engine with links awakening is a more likely reason for a playable link segment than a hypothetical tutorial

Triangles = triforce?

@15:12 in this video, Zelda has created 4 echoes, and the 1st one is blinking and about to disappear. That is a clue about the question you have about how having a limited number of echoes will work. Either all echoes will last for only a limited time before disappearing, or the echoes you created first will disappear after you have exceeded the limited number of items (which is how it worked for Cryonis in BOTW, except the ice pillars would disappear immediately).

What I’m looking forward to most are the dungeons. Because the last time we got true original dungeons was in 2013 with Link Between Worlds.

You said that if we can play as link in the opening its likely we can play as him later on in the game but to me i dont think they needed to program links controls becuse i think their using the engine from the links awakening remake, but correct me if im wrong, im not a gamedev so

In the scenes where you point out the heads up display being hidden, like the rift chase and the jungle jumps, Tri seems to be followed by only three triangles. This leads me to believe that those scenes are still early game, because other scenes where Tri has four are still clearly early game. Regarding the next point about always having to press a button to open a menu and switch echoes, you can bet their bottom dollar that's what they're doing. We see it in the trailer. We might not have had to deal with it in Ocarina of Time but we kind of had to in Tears of the Kingdom. The flow of using echoes is going to be as clunky and singular as imaginable.

20:00 they’re triangles because of the Triforce. Zelda’s specific Trifoce triangle is for wisdom, hence the game’s title. The fairy “Tri” and the “Trirod” wand are references to the Triforce, as is their yellow color.

oh, I love the poly/tri angle, idk if thats intended but as an animator i'm taking that as canon now. Something I haven't seen people mention (speaking of low UI) is the glowing/flashing of the echoes, i'm fairly sure that's there to show when they're about to run out, and the times feel very tight at times; the first bed in gerudo begins flashing just as Zelda makes it to the top, and the boarblin begins flashing after just one swing (maybe more tris = shorter timer but the fish seems to last a bit longer) Either way im very interested in what happens to the stack of beds when the first one vanishes. If everything stays in place then sure I get it, but if they fall down then I can see that making for some very exciting sequences!

I have also wondered if the player would actually start the game as a fully powered and all-itemed Link fighting Ganon. I still feel like a lone survivor on a raft in the middle of the sea in that...this is no more than a novelty game to me. Since the Direct, this just makes me want the Oracle games remastered even more! This felt like a carrot for those games and then that carrot was yanked away!

I wonder if we will be able to change Zelda’s clothes/equipments throughout the game! Equip/unequip the cape for instance or if there will be other gear that changes her appearance! Or even the different colored clothes as in a way to have a visual identity for the upgrades like commonly seen in the 2D zelda games such as alttp and albw;

1:50 I think I just found something very strange that supports Link being playable, on the mini map in the bottom right corner it shows Zelda’s face for her location, that’s very odd, usually it’d be a simple triangle UNLESS you have to keep track of more than one character on the map.

Nintendo is not one to introduce gameplay and not use it. If you do actually play as link in the intro, you will be playing as him later.

Great technical review from a developer’s perspective! Your audio is pretty quiet, you might want to make it louder on future videos.

I'm sorry you don't get to play as much as you want. It sucks when you get into something you love and then no longer have time to enjoy it 😕

I suspect that right on the D-Pad is going to be the Echo selection menu, similar to the weapon selection menus in BotW and TotK (which are also nearly identical-looking menus), and that might mean the Y button will always be mapped to summoning your selected echo. I imagine the X button may get mapped to another ability or set of items with another selection menu (with B and A being dedicated jump and use buttons), but impossible to say for sure. There's one scene where Tri has more than 4 triangles. In the scene where Zelda summons two spiders, each of the spiders have two triangles floating above them, and Tri has a fifth still floating by them.

Man, I’d be horrible at detecting vampires - I didn’t notice the lack of shadows until you brought it up.

I feel like if we do every get to play as link, there may be a sort of side adventure near the end that tells a shorter but more difficult version of the game. Since pikmin 4 did something very similar with Olimar’s Shipwreck Tale which told the story of Olimar before the events of the game, while also having much more traditional gameplay mechanics

How about this: The game has a "second quest" mode where you replay the game as Link, but with a sword instead of echoes. And the game ends where the first quest begins.

I am sooooo excited! I am a newer Zelda fan, came on board with 3d games mainly. But Links Awakening is such a joy on the Switch, I played it through for the first time when it dropped. I adored the style, and found myself liking the differences from the 3d games. Can’t freaking wait for this game!!

Yes. There is an indicator on which item will be replaced after using all of Tri's bar. The first item to disappear will start blinking.

I actually can imagine a game where you have to stop to switch items every few seconds after playing Tears of the kingdom 🥴

Well, now I'm saying this: We've had Princess Peach; Princess Zelda; now I think it's high time for...PRINCESS ROSALINA!! Can you envision how trippy and straight out of a insane imagination that story could be? The 'normal rules' of a 1st party Nintendo title would not have to apply! Let her fly Nintendo, LET HER FLY!! d>_0b

Thanks, Nintendo, for destroying the Zelda franchise! Back in the early 2000s, Link was green and embodied courage in real dungeons with real bosses and memorable music, like in Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Twilight Princess. Now we're stuck with pointless constructions and playing as Zelda-what a shitty woke LGBT world. Since Iwata's death, Nintendo disgusts me.

Thus, the game looks awesome. However, it needs the windwaker artstyle. I give the trailer and concepts an 8\10 points are only docked because of the artstyle. Which isn't bad but it's just normal graphics. And likely designed for 720 gaming. This game made me realize there are games from Nintendo I will still buy that isn't a mmorpg pokemon lol

I don't like the looks of this game. Especially after BOTW, and TOTK. I don't mind Zelda being the main playable character, but it's just kind of dopey looking. Once you get use to something in the Zelda world they pull the carpet out from under you. I'm sure some of the mechanics are fine, but I just don't dig it.

SungrandStudios - Zelda games have a common theme, around the Triforce - three triangles, one on top, two on bottom. the fairy Tri , the Zelda's staff , and Tri - power meter are all callbacks to the Tri force - wisdom, courage, & power.

You pointed out a lot of cool stuff. Thanks for sharing. Personally, I hate the depth of field effect but everything else looks amazing. As for triangles being a nod to how 3D graphics work… could be. Or maybe just a nod to triforces.

12:30 Yes I can- the original Link’s Awakening (and Oracle games). The remake was such a nice quality of life update over the Game Boy button config

Even if Link is playable at the start - which feels like a bag idea, skill curve wise, to drop someone in a final Ganon fight it appears you're meant to win - given it seems to be a modified version of the Links Awakening remake engine, I'd put it down to that. If it was a whole new engine I'd get my hopes up for co-op but not going to hold my breath.

I’m so so sooooo excited for this game!!! Idk anything about game design but this was super interesting 😊 I wonder if instead of having other options besides the tri-rod they could use those buttons to let you register a top 3 echoes?? It’s not what most people are noticing but the clarinet part in the soundtrack is incredible, all the music is but I love that part specifically. And thanks for explaining the shiny effect, tbh I assumed it was like the video game version of the dewy skin trend 😂

One thing I wonder is if Zelda is going to be speaking or keeping her mute in the story. Link has always been mute because from the very first games he was supposed to be a self insert in a way, but Breath of the Wild changed that by removing the ability to name him and calling him "Link" in cutscenes, as well as giving a canonical reason as to why he remains silent. But Zelda has always spoken to guide the narrative so it has me thinking about what are they going to do with the princess.

3:00 You're overthinking it. This is a game built on the Link's Awakening Switch port. It took no effort at all to make Link playable; that was the default state of the engine as Grezzo left it in 2019.

The shadow thing is just Nintendo design philosophy since Mario 64. Yes, it is for the jump, but also for the character's face to not get obscured by shadows. The most noticable example is Ratchet and Clank Rips Apart. It stood out to me with how dark that game was because of the realistic shadow casting over the character's face, almost like Film Noir. A lot of other platformer in modern eras suffer from this too. Nintendo games you can always see the character face clearly no matter what the situation.

I don't doubt she'll have a few outfits at least

Regarding a playable Link, it would make sense for a multiplayer capability, however I'm not convinced simply for gameplay reasons. How much sense would it make to have a first playable section with a specific button-scheme for a specific combat style (with an appropriate tutorial section) that would have a very short duration, only to then switch to zelda and have another combat style for at least some hours of gameplay before getting the possibility to play again as link? I believe that the introductory battle that we see in the trailer is scripted to look like actual gameplay only for the big reveal of a playable zelda. They did that, everyone of us liked that unexpected twist, but I believe it ends there. In the actual game we'll start right away as zelda, and IF link will be playable at all, it will become playable only later in the game, I doubt they'd fragment so much the gameplay experience

As a fan of Zelda since ocarina, and having played/completed every main entry. I must admit that I really interested in this one! Looking forward to experiment all the exploration possibilities! I am a software developer, never had the chance to develop my own game though. However, I always get myself thinking on the possibilities that ran through the devs’ minds and how such functionalities were made. Glad that I came across your channel. Definitely subscribing to stay in touch!

I am looking forward to playing the Legend of Link 😉 But in all seriousness. I am really looking forward to this.

The item select thing makes no sense, surely you wont bind your items to the D pad. This dpad right is just to select an object for the staff and will be permanently equipped. Not saying that there wont be other items but that logic doesnt add up

i did watch the nintendo direct i think it was a great direct i think the legend of zleda link's awakening remake and the legend of zelda echoes of wisdom i love the artstyle i think it's cute do you remember i mentioned that i know your an indie dev i want it to see blue bunny have our very own game but i would love to see do also go with this artstyle just like what the link's awakening remake and echoes of wisdom i think that would be perfect so cute for the bunny rabbit game my other wishlist i want love to see is with your indie game is with the blue bunny game we can choose the option to play your indie game in 2d or 3d just like in the 2d zelda games with the gameplay but if we want to choose to gameplay to 3d when some of us will play it on 3D way i know how much i want to see this come to atari vcs and other platfroms as well and i also wanna say that i know the majority complain about nintendo switch and atari vcs spces being underpowered think the graphics do matter but i'm the miniroty some of us don't care about graphics spces that specs power don't matter to me and some of us so i have no concerns no issues problem with the legend of zelda echoes of wisdom

While multiplayer is exciting, I was thinking Link should be playable, either in the distortion world he fell in or as another campaign, the one the game starts as!

This was a really informative and unique analysis! Subscribed! 🤓

I’m hoping at least one of the other items is like, a bow or sword. If we only have the tri rod for combat, it wouldn’t be very fun to fight monsters all the time. Plus, a bow is Zelda’s usual weapon, so maybe

20:16 It wouldn’t be the first time Nintendo snuck in game dev terms into a Zelda - Error and Bug (Bagu) from Z2 come to mind.

Amazing video! Such in depth analysis, but in 19:54 I would say that the energy meter is a triangle probably as a reference to the triforce

Wonder how many more Zelda games Nintendo will do with this engine; particularly with the next console in the neighborhood, if not around the corner. :)

I think I've seen that shadow technique used in some Mario games where the player character shadows are cast straight down, but the level shadows are cast from the sun. It helps you see when you are directly above a platform.

It could have two sets of gameplay you play as link during the prologue you play Zelda through the story and little aspects throughout the story you play as link in the void

Your content is excellent and fascinating. But I recommend a better microphone.

It's the link's awakening remake graphics style, I loved that game.

I think they are introducing Zelda as a playable character in this next game because they are planning to make her the main character in a future title where she rescues Link or something since this new generation is all about "Girl Power" and all that feminist bs.

Nintendo did really make some masterclass on this direct especially giving a good lesson to those who already buried the actual switch;

I can already see timeline theorists ponder about tri being an archaic or futurist reincarnation of the triforce xD

Do we think there is a Tri fairy that embodies each triforce? So we are using the echo of wisdom fairy, but there is also an echo of power and an echo of courage?

Galing nice work my man hope your channel grows salamat also nice accent my man

I guess one of the dpad alot can/will be used for equipping healthpots and similar for faster use.

This was such a great video! You got my sub dude! I loved your insight and you have some great takes!

Link's awakening remake is a really great game, I'm happy to see them continue on with that art style.

From the intro, it looks like we may be fighting darknuts for the first time in many years.

I wish this would have been a dual game like the oracles. Zelda in hyrule and link in the dark world

Great analysis, love the more game design focused take.

I wonder why the TriRod is on the left buttons, and not XABY. The Left stick will be for movement, I assume. So the right buttons are the ones you want to press quickly (Interact, Summon Echo, Jump, etc). I guess the directional buttons will just equip the item? So if there's a hookshot, pressing Up will swap the Rod for the hookshot, then you press the A button to fire it. But will that mean we can't summon Echos until we re-equip the rod?

I really liked links awakening! Loved that game. Wish it would have had a second quest after the first. Seemed short. Once got the hang of it. Finished it, and it was over. 😢you’d think there would have been a level 2 or something. I definitely recommend playing it.

Now that you open the possibility, I would love to see elemental rods like fire, ice, light, that Zelda can cast using the same energy, on a use, regenerate cooldown. I would also love a change between Zelda and Sheik gimmick, but that’s probably for another game. Finally, I hope you are wrong about Link being playable. Maybe a couple minutes at the beginning, but I don’t want coop. Save it for another game, this is Zelda’s turn and it’s about friggin time.

I have a few gripes with the game as it’s been shown. 1: Why does Zelda have to get help and a magic item from a fairy? Why isn’t she using her own powers? It seems to be just for the visual effect of the fairy to show you how many items you can make, but for plot? I don’t like it. 2: Why does Zelda have no attacks outside of summoning enemies or throwing stuff? Maybe she gets weapons like a bow and arrows or something, but if not, imagine fighting a boss. Make a crate, hide behind it and make monsters to go attack? That could be super boring.

I agree with you point about your theory that there is more items to come for combat, however if this isn’t the case they should definitely make the Tri rod more efficient to use, even in selecting an item I think a radial system would work much better than the 1 dimensional menu you have to scroll through. Either way I think they should do that because in TOTK, there was a similar issue for fusing materials to arrows

2 player mode was something I never considered. Maybe a new game plus where you play as Link up to the point of rescuing Zelda. Maybe 2 player new game plus?? This looks like such an awesome game. Can't wait to play it

I have noticed that certain enemies that are echos have different amounts of energy they will need to be cast ( boxes are 1 triangle, moblins are 2, redheads are 3). In the scene where impa is ninja slashing the guards, if you look northward 7:24 you will see a goddess statue. In the scene where zelda is fighting fire to the grass, it is some new blob (candle) enemy but in the top left you see a roper (snake) in the grass before it is killed off. The area zelda is out running the huge purple wall 10:28 of anti life looks similar (same area?) To where you meet Tri 8:44 so maybe it will be a tutorial area where you get your first echos (box, bed, table). I think I spotted some (warp stations?) Items of importance at 7:51 7:30 If you look at the background there is a HUGE fish swimming by, is this a boss? 7:31 the pattern on the (boss room?) Walls match that of the room 1:51 where link destroys the darknuts and Gannon.

This is an incredible analysis. Thank you for sharing your insights - you clearly have lots of experience. I take your performance concerns as very good news. For me, a game having slowdown during moments of high intensity is a huge plus for single-player or single-screen co-op games. When the action is super high, and there are fireworks everywhere, the slowdown to me feels like an adrenaline moment of hyperfocus, and has some kind of movie-like mystique to it. When games are so optimized that they run like a metronome, something is lost from the kind of feel that I prefer.

Hopefully this angle will get me excited

This is SUCH a unique, informative video!! Thank you for giving your technical insight, so excited for this game! 💗

I love this sort of analysis ^.^ Hearing the insight/perspectives from someone in the business industry! Hoping to see/hear more from you going forward

all these analysis videos and nobody ever mentions... 360 degree targeting! we're not locked to cardinal directions anymore!

I’m upset they missed the chance to call it “The Legend of Zelda: And The Missing Link” or something like that 😂

Yeah I really enjoyed hearing a devs point of view. Most of the things I wouldn't even have noticed, if you didn't point them out.

As far as items go, we KNOW that there have to be bombs, at the very least. The trailer shows a bunch of cracked walls that seem bombable. Of course, it's possible that the bomb is an echo that you can learn, rather than an independent item.

i think it’s likely Zelda will acquire a bow

I’m currently majoring in game design at my university so this was a great watch! Thanks for making this analysis!

You need to adjust your microphone has a echo to it

I believe the trirod on the dpad is similar to the sword/shields/bows on the dpad in botw/totk. you’ll probably hold that direction on the dpad to select which item you want to summon. to your point though, it’s still possible there will be other things on the other dpad directions

This was fascinating! Thanks for sharing your perspective as a developer

That's a subscribe. Nice job.

If gleeok is in the game, it'll cost 4 triangle

This game is trash. What kind of statement is saying we have been dreaming this game for years? If this is true, you are a loser especially if you are an adult.

Based on how things were handled with Super Mario Bros. Wonder last year, I think all of what we saw of the gameplay so far is sadly mostly all we're getting. Last year, I was hyped when I saw an A button function for Wonder, hoping that it was for a permanent power-up system or an item system of sorts. But sadly, it out that it was only just for reserve power-ups. However, the badge system did sort of make up for that. So, I think there may be other items in this game, but I think those would more for just progression uses, like for fast travel, and possibly other creative gameplay stuff. I really do think that what we saw from the direct really is the main focal point of the gameplay in how we fight, solve puzzles, and overcome obstacles in this game. I don't the other items, if there are any, are really gonna change how we play the game much, outside of QoL stuff, such as fast travel, or important things we need to progress the story. I think that's one of three reasons why some parts have no hud/ui showing. The second reason is to not spoil how far along in the story those parts of the game are. The third is that there are monsters and objects to bring forth with the Tri Rod that Nintendo doesn't want us to see yet due those things spoiling lore and potential strong timeline placement implication. That all said, the reason I said this is sadly mostly all we're getting as far what the main focus gameplay is is because I too feel that a game like this could've been better. I'm disappointed that we're no longer physically fighting enemies anymore, but instead going the Dragon Quest Monsters Dark Prince sort of approach to combat where we use objects and monsters to fight for us. Which, I get other people may find appeal in that. Which is fine. But for me, if I want that sort of thing, I'd rather just play Pokemon or something. I don't know, I'm more into fighting characters and/or monsters more personally with actual weapons and items actually meant for that sort of thing in gaming, rather than throw random objects and monsters at enemies. I want to play as a real hero who can actually fight, not some kid who's only method of combat is throwing stuff like a Looney Tunes or Tom and Jerry character. Wasn't that like literally why a lot of people were turned off by Wind Waker at first? And now Nintendo is trying that vibe again? I don't know man, sorry for my sudden nitpicking on the game so mid to late in comment. All I can say is that I do hope we get more out this other than just throwing stuff at enemies and solving puzzles. I hope you're right that there's more interactive gameplay mechanics we haven't seen yet. I guess, we'll just have to wait and see. I really hope this turns out to be better than the first impression we got.

Why I Can't play for where Link..another princes Zelda usually in echoes of wisdom for guy not to play with boy..for only girl 😅 Princess

HEllo JOr'El. I too am a human. Just like you! super hyped for this one for sure, I love this breakdown style.

Excellent video, would be good for you to breakdown any future echoes of wisdom videos

Looks like too many echos if there's more than one solution. They could make an echo bank, or echo swap stations to keep the UI clean that made Totk too bloated.

It makes me wonder are we going to get more triangles during the journey along with getting peace's of heart of course.

Stay strong with your studio!

Zelda's cape and hood immediately bright to mind the character Sheila from the D&D cartoon from the 80s. such a fun costume!

What if we got link as different races for games? Zora link? Underwater world map? A bokablin link with a big heart? A new minish cap with a minish link? Maybe in an old nostalgic map? OOT, LTTP, Zelda 1 or 2? New movement options? Catch rides on leaves and insects? Idk if I have good ideas for any other limitation gameplay that could benefit the series.