Back with us? We’ll start things off with the return of a familiar four-legged foe and then work through the trailer chronologically.
Lynels are back
We have seen a lot of returning monsters in this new top-down Hyrule (ReDeads, Kyandokyan, Chuchu, etc.), but this is our first look at Lynels, who we can only imagine will be causing havoc in the Still World.
Interestingly, the creatures’ designs seem to be heavily influenced by their Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom appearances this time around. The horns and battleaxe contrast the classical take seen in A Link Between Worlds, another reminder that EoW might be closer related to Link’s latest adventures than we initially assumed.
There’s only one Lynel to be seen in the ‘Navigating the Still World’ chapter image, but we’d be surprised if these didn’t crop up in ‘mainland’ Hyrule too. Just imagine how powerful these would be when used as an Echo.
Dungeons are back
We guessed that dungeons might be making a return after we spied some rather grand building fronts in the ‘Traversing Hyrule’ trailer, but this is our first confirmation that A) they exist, and B) they appear to follow a more traditional format than we’ve seen of late.
Only one named dungeon appears in the trailer, ‘Suthorn Ruins’, but it seems to harken back to the classic dungeon template of ‘enemies/puzzles, key, boss’ that the latest open-world entries have somewhat lacked. We even spied what looks like a Boss Key chest trapped in a spinning wheel puzzle — oh, how we’ve missed these!
The bosses seem to be a return to form, too. Gone is the need for dodging an attack, Flurry Rushing and calling on the assistance of a Champion. The big rock boss seen in the latest trailer has a good old-fashioned glowing orb, only exposed after it pounds the floor. It might not be a giant red eye, but it still feels like Zelda’s returning to its roots.
Zelda gets a sword, finally
Speaking of going back to the roots, Zelda can use a sword, after all. The initial reveal trailer seemed to cryptically suggest that Zelda would be swapping the ‘hack-and-slash’ combat to focus solely on her magical Echo powers, but we now know this isn’t completely the case.
Instead of only summoning enemies to fight for her, Zelda can also wield a ‘Mysterious Sword’ (still no indication of which sword it is, we might add) for a limited time in her Swordfighter Form.
This reveal got us excited for a few different reasons. Firstly, it deepens the combat and presumably provides even more ways to take on foes. Regenerating Zelda’s sword-swinging abilities by picking up energy from the Still World might become tiresome, but we all got over the Master Sword’s cooldown period in BOTW/TOTK, so we’re sure it won’t be the end of the world.
There’s also the fact that her Swordfighter form seems to embody Link in the outfit choice, abilities and even the little “Huu-YAH” grunts. Take a look at her eyes when in this form, too. Is Zelda being possessed by Link in these moments? Maybe.
It’s Not-Tingle, er, Stamp Man!?
Okay, now we hit the real meat of the trailer: Stamp Man. We still don’t have an official name for this little guy yet, so we’re sticking with Stamp Man.
Those who have been keeping up with the EoW drops might remember Stamp Man from the game’s Japanese key art, though this is the first time we’ve seen him in the West. Who could he be and what’s he up to? Let’s put our thinking caps on.
Our best guess is this is some kind of map-giver. In the absence of any Sheikah towers or Tingle (that we know of) we have to wonder where Zelda is getting her maps. This dude who just so happens to be gliding through the air and landing on stamp icons across Hyrule seems like our answer. He obviously has a pretty important role to play given his Japanese key art inclusion, so expect to see a lot of Stamp Man.
We’ll stop saying “Stamp Man” now.
Dragons!
Coming off the back of Tears of the Kingdom without dragons would feel like a misstep. Fortunately, Nintendo has us covered.
It’s unclear whether the dragon we see at the end of the new trailer is friend or foe — the environment looks equally like a boss battle stage and a plateau to be travelled across by using the Bind ability on that glowing green orb at the dragon’s neck — but we’re just pleased to see them pop up.
Hopefully they’re not quite as tearful this time.
And finally, ‘Dark Link’
No Nintendo trailer is complete without a post-title sting, and boy, do we get one here.
Yep, it looks like Dark Link is making a comeback in Echoes of Wisdom and it’ll be up to Zelda to take him on. We haven’t seen this guy in a mainline entry since Spirit Tracks‘ ‘Take ‘Em All On!’ minigame (no, we’re not counting the BOTW/TOTK armour sets), but we’re digging his new appearance. It’s no all-black Ocarina of Time design, but the red eyes and suspicious mist emanating from his body are certainly a look.
Of course, it’s possible that this isn’t the Dark Link, but just a dark Link. Maybe regular (Light?) Link is suffering from some sort of demonic possession. Or he’s a clone, or an evil echo, or a robot. Whatever he ends up being, he’s pretty dark, so we’re sticking with Dark Link for now.
There are the things that we’re the most excited about following the new Echoes of Wisdom trailer, but what about you? Do any of these features top your hype list, or is there something else we missed? Fill out the following poll to tell us your favourite moment and then take to the comments to share why.