Princess Zelda is Echoes of Wisdom's main protagonist, but Link will also be a playable character, ESRB rating confirms

Link seen wielding a sword in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Princess Zelda is undoubtedly the star of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, appearing as the main protagonist for the first time in the mainline series, but it turns out that she won't be totally alone. The game's new ESRB rating has confirmed that our sword-wielding buddy Link will be playable, too.

In the summary of Echoes of Wisdom's ESRB rating, it's noted that "players assume the role of Zelda as she attempts to dispel rifts throughout Hyrule and rescue Link." However, it also adds that "As Link, players use a sword and arrows to defeat enemies; Zelda can use a magic wand to summon creatures (e.g., wind-up knights, pig soldiers, slime) for battle."

So, Link is definitely making a playable appearance, then, but from the ESRB rating alone, we can't be sure how long he'll actually be on the screen – his role may still be relatively minor. After all, in the announcement trailer for the game, we did see him swinging his sword and defeating a handful of enemies to rescue Zelda before falling into a mysterious rift. These could be cinematics, but for a large part, they don't look like it, so the ESRB rating may well be referring to this section. Again, that's impossible to know for sure at this point, there could be other moments for him to shine, too, but given that Zelda is on a journey to rescue Link in this game, it's clear she's meant to be the star of the show.

Of course, this isn't the first time Zelda has ever been playable after her appearances in the Hyrule Warriors and Super Smash Bros. games, as well as The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks and the questionable CD-i games, like Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. Even so, her role in Echoes of Wisdom is incredibly significant – here's hoping we see her get more of her own games in the future, too.

For more to play in the meantime, be sure to check out our roundup of the best Nintendo Switch games.

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I'm GamesRadar+'s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.