Making and especially writing The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom once again reminded the developers at Nintendo what a monster they've created and how finicky Zelda lore can be.
In a new Nintendo-led interview, longtime Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma and Echoes of Wisdom co-directors Tomomi Sano – the first woman to direct a Zelda game – and Satoshi Terada discussed the history of the series and the challenges of expanding and tapping into it.
"It's very difficult to balance how much to add or change," Aonuma begins. "At first, we were intentionally leaving any parts that might delve into Hyrule's history vague, but partway through, we just couldn't find a way forward that way..."
"These days, even for us, it's not easy to touch on the lore of the Legend of Zelda series," he admits. "When you address the history of the Legend of Zelda, you naturally have to be conscious of how things have been expressed previously in the series. But when we think about a new game, we need to think about new developments while being mindful of the past games in the series, so the scope of what you can do becomes increasingly narrow if you think in the same way every time.
"On top of that, because the series has been running for a long time, players are interested in its history and lore. So, when we've adopted a game plot that was not in line with the other games in the series because we prioritized the gameplay, we've been told by our fans that it didn't make sense. We realized that even if the developers didn't intend to make nonsensical changes, players could interpret otherwise."
You don't need to look too far to find a topical example. Earlier this year, Nintendo announced a new line of Zelda merch which would include a book with an updated timeline for the series. Fans immediately prepared to have longstanding ideas and tapestries thrown into the paper shredder, and this was right on the heels of the many lore upsets sparked by Tears of the Kingdom itself. The fact that any sort of official update routinely sends theorists spiraling says a lot about Zelda canon.
"Even with this title, we had no intention of establishing any new theories in the series' lore," Aonuma says of Echoes of Wisdom. He also shares probably the best one-sentence summary of Zelda lore, which to me demonstrates why it's maybe not a good idea to treat the cyclical world of this series with such scholarly scrutiny: "Link goes on an adventure every time and experiences many things." That's it, folks. That is Zelda. Except now, of course, princess Zelda herself is the star of a mainline game, and oh no here we go again.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is out this Thursday, September 26, on Nintendo Switch.
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The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom finds its place on the official series timeline, and it comes right before the events of the first game
