As the first new 2D Zelda game in over a decade, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was already a notable release, but what made it even more so was, of course, the fact that it was also the first mainline Zelda game to star the titular princess as its playable protagonist. That meant usual series hero Link ended up taking a bit of a backseat- and if things had gone a little differently, his role in the game may have diverged from the series’ traditions even more.
Specifically, speaking in a recent interview with Famitsu, The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma and Echoes of Wisdom director Satoshi Terada revealed that originally, the game featured a version of Link that talked, a first for the character. Ultimately, however, the decision was made to feature a silent Link, as is traditional for the series, since a talking Link just didn’t quite feel right.
“Actually, Link was speaking at first,” Aonuma said (via VGC).
“I had Link talk a little bit,” Terada said. “No matter what I made him say, it just didn’t feel right.”
“Link would never speak like that,” Aonuma added. “It felt really strange. Nobody knew what Link would say – that’s only natural, because he’s never spoken before. So we had to come up with a setting where he couldn’t speak, and that’s how we came up with part of the story.”
Whether or not Link is always going to remain a silent protagonist is a question that Zelda fans have pondered on more than a few occasions, so it’s definitely interesting to see the series’ developers also giving it some thought from time to time. With a live action film based on The Legend of Zelda currently in the works, it should be interesting to see how it handles the character (whenever it releases, that is).
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is available on the Nintendo Switch. It sold 2.58 million units in its first five days. Read our review of the game through here.