One of your best videos. Great analysis.

It would be interesting to have an open world Zelda game where you can switch between multiple characters like in Pikmin. Whenever you'd get bored at a certain spot you just switch to another character on another spot on the map. Characters would react differently to different characters.

What’s the consensus on the Link’s Awakening remake art style being used? I love the look but isn’t it a bit strange to see it brought back for a non-sequel? It’s like seeing a brand new 3D title revisiting, say, the Wind Waker art style without any relation to that timeline. Or am I missing something?

I might be alone in this but I would want a Ganon game to be a strategy or simulator game. You're the King of Evil, commanding monster hordes to slowly take over Hyrule and capture magic artifacts. Occasionally swooping down to do the deed yourself if there's a particularly big target.

The safe bet for Nintendo is making an adventure story about Link and Zelda defeating Ganon. It might be similar to your average RPG game, but I am sure they can find a way to make it more Zelda-ish.

I mean, Phantom Hourglass already experimented with having two playable characters that you can switch between-- albeit, only in a single dungeon, only for a small part of that dungeon, and always isolated from each other-- in the form of... some Goron kid whose name I don't remember. It was an interesting idea that had a lot of promise and went sorely under-utilized, and it worked well enough... as long as you could get one of the characters into a safe position where they could basically pass out unattended. But the first stage of the boss battle required time-sensitive switching/cooperation between the two characters, which I found to be incredibly frustrating. Purely on a mechanical level, I would rather just transform into the Goron a la Majora's Mask. Functionally the same thing, but without the hassle of juggling consciousness between two otherwise defenseless sandbags. Maybe if they pursue the character switching approach in a future entry, it could be like... tag-team wrestling, where Zelda uses her magic to swap their positions, but only one character actually exists on a gameplay level at once. That way you could still explore the interesting puzzle element of "Do I need Zelda's magic here or Link's swordplay/gadgets?" without one of them dying in the meantime.

If the game does good then there probably gonna make a Zelda imprisoning war

14:38 Nintendo considers Run mainline

These are excellent points. I’ll add that I think Grezzo with Link’s Awakening’s Chamber Dungeon and this new enemy/item placing Echoes feature are building towards a 2D Zelda Maker.

7:13 Mario Kart Tour had a track maker & there was also that Labo Garage

We already had a zelda game where Link is fused with other characters and switches with them in the middle of combat. It's called The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

If it is MonolithSoft, then holy shit they are winning. Sure, they're mainly known for Xenoblade, but they have worked on games that we know and love, and Animal Crossing New Horizons comes to mind. I dunno what their graphics engine is named, but the fact that it's in-house and their own engine is spectacular. The fact they're possibly helping with Brothership is a win in itself if they're the devs. Plus it was apparently stated that some AlphaDream staff had joined MonolithSoft, so this is definitely something to think about.

Perhaps a Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin style game where you switch between the warrior Link and the mage Zelda would fit what you mentioned

I am glad Zelda didn't turn into a Link clone and instead has her own unique game-play.

advance wars fans catching strays at the end there :(

I wish that you could choose Link gender instead of making Zelda playable. Also playable Zelda should only be in spin-off titles to have a good selling point (Hyrule Warriors, Cadence of Hyrule, hopefully a Zelda fighting game).

I am very curious of the prospect of this especially if they are planning some stuff for the open air multiplayer Zelda. And If I had to guess, might get a 4 player game controlling different characters. Which I think would be pretty cool and all the players having a different playstyle would be fun.

Watching this after Echoes of Widsom was announced- I wonder if this game, being made using the same engine as Link's Awakening, played a role in their decision to let the title go out of print. I just think that that announcement connects to a lot of analysis done in this video quite nicely.

The people who want Zelda to wield the Master Sword want Link to go away forever; some quietly, some not so quietly. Seriously, have a talk with some of them, it always ends up at that point. They deride Aunoma for his 'what would Link do?' comment from years ago without thinking what he's talking about. What Nintendo is doing with Echoes of Wisdom is just good brand management.

Rather than fused, Zelda and Link could be split up and you need to play both characters as you progress the narrative in their own strands of the overall story. GTA 5 being such an example of this mechanic..

I think that this game is going to be an experimental game in many ways. Three, maybe four, of which I can readily see, but as I am not Nintendo there could be more to it than I'm discussing (or less, tbh). The first thing that they are exploring/experimenting with is what you talked about, and that is the viability of Zelda in the lead role, and just playing around with her as a character. Will people be as interested in the franchise with a different protagonist? In what ways is Zelda different than Link as a playable character, and what's the best way to implement that? What are Zelda's, rather than Link's, driving motivation, and what's the best way to put in a character that in the past has been shown to be a lot more personable than Link? I am also positive, that with the movie coming up but also with Zelda as a franchise being the biggest that it's ever been right now, that they are also just generally interested in drumming up more interest in Zelda as a character. The second thing that I think that they might want to explore might be the very same thing that they explored in a Link Between Worlds, and that is dungeons. Dungeons in BOTW in TOTK have been a *major* source of contention for many fans, with the general consensus being that they want more structured dungeons. However, it seems like the design team is liking their more open dungeon design so far, and it fits better with the existing philosophy and design of the game. This game could them another opportunity to workshop potential dungeon designs, and trying to strike a happy medium between open and closed dungeon design. Specifically, they can play around with ways to both limit and give players freedom, a very hard balance to strike. What we've seen of the game so far, with the echoes ability specifically, seems like it could definitely mesh into this type of experimentation. Obviously the game isn't out yet so we don't know what the dungeons will be like, but I think that this as an area of experimentation is definitely a possible one. The third thing that they'll probably be probing for is general interest in 2D and more 'traditional' Zelda. The last mainlines were pretty loosey-goosey with their story and structure, so they might be checking what fan response will be like both for this style of game, but then also a more linear story (if they are going with a more linear story). If the world is more open than Link's Awakening and other 2D titles have been, then that also leaves the door open for them to try to figure out how a linear story in a (more) open world can work, and how they feel about restricting certain parts of the world- we already saw from the teaser that this is going to be a more sandbox world, and that intro gave off strong BOTW exploration vibes, so I see this as a viable option. But even if they lead hard into the traditional vibes, that still lets them see how people respond to that in the aftermath of open-world Zelda. The last potential thing that they might be experimenting with is just the viability of the Zelda brand. Again, BOTW and TOTK (which was a continuation of BOTW) is the biggest that Zelda has *ever* been. Now they have to see how big Zelda is outside of those two games. Was it just BOTW that people were interested in, or was it the franchise as a whole? Throwing out a new title that's very different than BOTW is a very good way of testing the market in that way. Already this gambit seems to be paying off quite well- the teaser trailer has 3 million views in less than two weeks, the game has been wishlisted a lot of times already, and there has been quite the positive buzz about the game. In the end, however, sales will show. Overall, as of right now when the game isn't out yet, it has a lot of potential. It's a lot easier to try to guess what this potential might manifest as by looking into areas that Nintendo has obviously been struggling with or working on for a while. Even if this game is a largely experimental one to workshop for future game(s) (which it might not be, again, the game has not actually released), that doesn't preclude it from being a very strong game in its own right. I for one am really excited for this game because of what it might indicate for the franchises future, but I also think that it looks like it's just going to be a fun game.

The thing is, if Echoes of Wisdom was a prototype, it would be a prototype to tears of the kingdom. But that game has come out already.

Man you're overthinking this way too much lol

This gives me an idea. We could get a game where you play as all 3 of them. Zelda for puzzle sections, link for the action & Ganon for stealth. Or something like that.

Well I like the idea of a Zelda that uses a blade weapon, maybe something like a sheikah dagger, If Nintendo wants people to think more tactically well using Zelda a sneak attack that replaces Link's spin attack, where you have to attack an enemy from behind also make Zelda deal half regular damage forcing people who play as Zelda not run into a situation head on. I think it would be fun to make playing Zelda a hard mode and May playing as Ganondorf as easy mod.

How dare they take Zelda out of a Zelda game & make us play as a WOMAN! What's next, taking Metroid out of Metroid Prime 4 & making us play as a girl? 😂

...The + Game in a Windwaker game starring Tetra I could definitely see working. A prequel, combat primarily via cutlass and flintlock, either same overworld or one just to the south of the Windwaker map. Or if they didn't want to do that for the reasons you stated, Windwaker remake with a Tetra prequel released the year afterwards. Unlikely, but... Gods I want a pirate-themed Zelda game starring Tetra in the Windwaker art style so much...

Frankly, I think this Zelda title could possibly lead to a new 4 Swords.

Zelda could definitely be playable in the next 3D entry. Instead of collecting weapons and items she can acquire new spells to explore the map.

I’ve asked this before but I might as well ask this again, it’s unrelated but can you maybe talk about the my Nintendo service and it’s purpose? It seems like such an odd program Nintendo has both forgotten about and also pushes at many opportunities and I’d like to hear a bit when you get the chance. :)

It's great to see more Nintendo games with female leads. Though I do wish for some new IPs with female stars from the get-go ala Metroid. Anecdotally, when I collected Smash Bros. amiibo I wanted to get the "main character" of each franchise to have a little gaming hall of fame on my shelf, rather than buy every single character available. It looks great, but in doing this I realised that Samus and Bayonetta are the only women who are actually the face of their franchises. Every other playable female character in Smash is either a secondary character from their series or are sharing a spot with a male counterpart (Inkling, Villager, Wii Fit Trainer, Nana, Alex) which sort of half counts I suppose. Sure they could add Lara Croft, Shantae, Chell, or Jade, but it would also be really good to cultivate original female leads to add to their catalogue of IPs, not just for the Smash roster of course but also for the sake of healthy variety in their lineup.

Now you're talking! Even if it was similar gameplay, ie: sailing and sword fighting, I would love to see a Tetra game or mode

The whole time I was watching this video and the clips from that Battle Begins short, I was thinking, "Boy, it would've been great if, back in the 90s or early 00s, Nintendo would've released a goofy action cartoon for Star Fox on Cartoon Network or Kids WB back in the day. Just some hilarious Street Sharks, Cowboys of Moo Mesa, or TMNT-inspired action Star Fox cartoon is all I'd need. Make 'em fight bad guys throughout the galaxy, and always have the SF squadron save the day. I'd have watched that for HOURS." It's never too late to resurrect Star Fox, Nintendo...

0:53 They also used Wind Waker as a canvas to experiment with "Cel shading" in HD, for Breath of the Wild.

9:35 this kills me to hear, but he’s probably right 😭😭😭💀🪦🌳🕊️

Im curious about this game in the broader context of Nintendo, between this and Princess Peach Showtime there seems to be a noticeable push to have female characters take center stage. Which I think is great as someone with a young niece. But even going further than that the echo mechanic shown in the Echoes of Wisdom trailer clearly has a Minecraft creative mode inspired feel which is extremely popular with younger audiences. The way I see it, BotW and TotK were about evolving the franchise in new and more interesting ways for older fans and experience gamers, Echoes of Wisdom seems to be focused on bringing in young new fans that will hopefully grow with the series.

Aryll

I think it would be far more sensible to either keep link and Zelda in their own separate single-player franchises or if they are both playable in a single game, have it you play certain sections as the other character. But having a multiplayer mainline Zelda game could feel tacked on since those Zelda games are always focused on the single player experience. In addition, you may run into the reverse problem where players feel like the intended experience is in multiplayer, but then they don't have someone to play with. So now they feel like they're being cheated of the intended experience in a franchise that traditionally never required a second player.

what about linkle...and i dont mean as a meme - i mean, she exists - she's link's sister...if we're going to have female heroes now...linkle is a serious topic of discussion with respect to the new future (echo) that exists now that wisdom has been announced...

the player could absolutely control both link and zelda, just like we can control mario and luigi in mario & luigi series (partners in time, brothership, etc.) - and tons of other games that simply pause for player input (ni no kuni, etc.)

Zelda is not payable in this game, he is lost this time, in echos of wisdom we will finally play as the princess Peach. I don't understand why so many people are making this mistake.

Echoes of Wisdom using this as a Stepping Stone besides Linkle is cool! Zelda is a magic user in Smash Bros series because she is one in the Zelda games so it makes sense. But seeing a 3D Zelda ome day with a playable Zelda would be awesome to see to!

they've already shown they don't care about staying true to zelda series gameplay when they lost their mind with ultrahand

im wondering if there will be a way to pause the gameplay in echoes, so that we can think about how to spend our echoes

they have to release the old handheld zelda games - link between worlds being unplayable right now is wrong

linkle was their first test

Echoes Of Wisdom is definitely an interesting title and I’m very excited at the prospects. I think Nintendo made the right choice for this title but we’ll have to see how well it’s received after release?

Do you think Echoes of Wisdom will have any DLC?

See, these are the questions people should be asking. Too many people are being critical both without enough information and without wondering the future implications to this franchise

What I'm particularly curious to see is how Echoes handles its main questlines and whether they scale back the openness a bit, since most people seem to agree that BotW and ToTK could have been more structured in places and that their main questlines were often the weakest part of the game. Also multiplayer in the new 3D games would extend the games shelf life on social media by a massive amount so there is good business reason to try it.