Legend of Zelda producer confirms that 2D games like Echoes of Wisdom will coexist with 3D titles like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom

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Nintendo wants to "cherish that kind of diversity in the Legend of Zelda series"

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom art showing princess Zelda standing before a floating Hyrule Castle as the sky glows a deep purple color and enemies surround her
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Echoes of Wisdom is a stunning top-down ode to some of the Legend of Zelda series' most iconic games - and it looks like even more vibrant 2D titles will come, coexisting with 3D gems such as Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.

As revealed in Nintendo's recent Ask the Developer volume by longtime series producer Eiji Aonuma, 2D Zelda games like Echoes of Wisdom and Link's Awakening have been on the lead's mind for quite some time - so much so, in fact, that he'd like them to stand as a sort of side series. "Actually, I've always wanted to establish a 2D top-down Legend of Zelda series that's separate from the 3D entries like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild."

Aonuma continues, explaining why the 2D entries and 3D titles are a bit different from one another - and how they coexist to create more "diversity" within the Zelda series as a whole. "The game style and how it feels are completely different when the world is viewed in 3D from behind the character to when the world is viewed from a top-down perspective. We wanted to cherish that kind of diversity in the Legend of Zelda series."

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Link's Awakening marked the beginning of this top-down 2D line of Zelda games, according to Aonuma, as well as fellow studio Grezzo's work on it. "Amid all this, we felt that the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening on Nintendo Switch, which we developed with Grezzo, had become our new approach in terms of graphics and gameplay feel, as a top-down Legend of Zelda game for the Nintendo Switch generation."

That's where Echoes of Wisdom and future 2D games come in, says the producer - fresh titles headed by Grezzo, with nothing quite like them before. "Grezzo had established an excellent way of reviving the top-down Legend of Zelda experience for a modern era, so I thought we could develop something completely new that had never been done before." As a dedicated fan myself, I'm excited - and shamelessly hopeful that A Link Between Worlds will come to the Switch one day.

Anna Koselke
Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.