Summary
Nintendo recently released a new trailer forThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom,which gave players a tour of Hyrule and introduced them to some of the game’s different beings.Hyrule is home to several different fantasy racesas well as differing groups of more humanoid characters, some of which are more common than others. For example, the bird-like Rito people have only appeared in three differentZeldatitles (four if players count bothWind Wakerand its HD Remake). Meanwhile, the Zora have appeared in some form in almost everyZeldagame
.
Just as Hyrule itself transforms over time, so do its inhabitants. For instance, the residents of Kokiri Forest fromOcarina of TimebecameTears of the Kingdom’s tree-like Koroksafter the world flooded in the events ofThe Wind Waker. Which groups show up in a givenLegend of Zeldatitle, therefore, often gives some indication of where it takes place in the overall timeline of the series and which branch of the timeline it is on. That means knowing which groups are inEchoes of Wisdomcangive players hints at where it takes place inZelda’s wider narrative.
The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Release Date, Characters, & Gameplay Details
Here’s everything to know about The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, an upcoming game that gives Zelda the starring role for a change of pace.
5Most Major Zelda Characters Are Hylians
Hylians Are Mostly Human In Appearance Except For Their Pointed Ears
Hylians are one of the human races in theLegend of Zeldafranchise. Their appearance is largely indistinguishable from humans, save their long, pointed ears. Hylians have appeared in everyLegend of Zeldagame becauseboth Link and Zelda are Hylians. Hylians originally lived side-by-side with the goddess Hylia, from whom they derived their name. During that time, Hylians were able to more easily tap into the world’s magic and cast spells. Though some Hylians, especially the Royal family, have retained this ability over generations, a majority of Hylians seemingly have no magical abilities.
Shortly before she died defending the Triforce, Hylia sent some of the Hylians to live above the clouds and guard the powerful artifact.Hylia herself would later be reborn as the first Zelda, a cycle that would continue throughout the history of Hyrule. This is why Hylians in the royal bloodline have retained more of their connection to their magical abilities.
Farther down theLegend of Zeldatimeline, Hylians are responsible for many of the major settlements in Hyrule. Aside from Hyrule Castle and its surrounding town, Hylians have also settled in a variety of places across the world. Some are recurring locations like Kakariko Village, while others are unique to specific incarnations of Hyrule likeWindfall IslandfromThe Wind Waker.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Maskalso confirmed that Hylians don’t just live in the kingdom of Hyrule. In this game, Hylians can be seen living in Termina, a mysterious setting that has little concrete lore. However, it is a distinctly different place from Hyrule. It’s also somewhat unclear if Hylians being in Termina is meant to have strong lore implications or if it is simply the result ofMajora’s Maskusing the same assets asOcarina of Time.
In the trailer forThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom,it seems likethe main place players will find Hylians is in the Central Plateau. This is the region on the map where Hyrule Castle and Castle Town are located. The trailer also shows Kakariko Village located in the Eldin Volcano region, so it wouldn’t be surprising if players ran into some smaller Hylian villages in Hyrule as well.
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4Gorons Can Be Found In Hyrule’s Mountains
The Gorons Are Sentient Rock People
Gorons are a slightly more recent addition to theLegend of Zeldaseries than Hylians, but they have still appeared in quite a few titles from the series. The Gorons first appeared inThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and have been a consistent part of the series ever since. They area group of rock people who typically have a stout muscular build. Gorons are one of the fewZeldaraces besides Hylian that players have had a chance to play as, thanks toMajora’s Mask.
Gorons possess some unique abilities. Perhaps the most iconic is their ability to fold in their limbs and roll like a ball down hills. In games likeTwilight Princess, this has even made Gorons into a sort of obstacle for players to avoid while trying to climb up Death Mountain.Gorons also can survive in extreme heat, as evidenced by their ability to safely traverse active volcanoes. ThoughMajora’s Maskshowed Gorons living in a frozen region, they seem less suited to the cold than the heat, as one Goron is seen having frozen to death.
Instead of living in settlements like Hylians,Gorons tend to live in mountain ranges. Their homes are usually constructed in caverns, using the natural rock formations to build homes instead of constructing freestanding structures. Several games in the series also show Biggorons - just much larger versions of a typical Goron - living outside, due to their massive size.
The main Goron settlement inThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomis located in the Eldin Volcano region of the game. From what has been shown so far, it would seem this settlement will be very similar to previous depictions of Goron homes. The Gorons seem to be living in caverns carved out of the mountain. The trailer also showed some interesting metalwork that may imply the Gorons have made technological advancements.
3Echoes Of Wisdom Features Two Styles Of Zora From Zelda’s History
Echoes Of Wisdom Features Sea And River Zora
The Zora have been around since the very firstLegend of Zeldagame, but they have existed in two very different and separate forms.Earlier versions of the Zora were enemieswho would pop out of the water to fight Link. These Zora looked like large frog people with fins coming out of their heads.
InThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, players were introduced to a new style of Zora. These were far more humanoid-looking, except for King Zora, who looked like a large fish.These new Zora were friendly and welcomed Linkinto their domain with open arms. These friendly Zora have continued to appear more frequently sinceOcarina of Time, though the series did occasionally revisit the other style of Zora in several later games.
For the first time,The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomwillinclude both Zora stylesas two distinct groups. The original style of Zora is now known as River Zora, whereas theOcarinastyle Zora is called Sea Zora. The two groups have their distinct villages and are separate societies.
The trailer forEchoes of Wisdomshowed that both styles of Zora appear friendly to Zelda. However, they do seem to be in conflict with one another. Though the trailer leaves the reason behind this conflict as a mystery for now, it should be very interesting to see these two groups of Zora interact for the first time.
2Deku Scrubs Are Echoes Of Wisdom’s Forest Dwellers
Deku Scrubs Haven’t Played A Big Role In Many Zelda Games
Deku Scrubs are another group of creatures that were first introduced inThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Unlike the Gorons or the friendly version of Zora, Deku Scrubs didn’t become a new mainstay of the series following their first appearance. Though they popped up inMajora’s Maskand several proceeding 2D games, they haven’t been seen in a majorZeldatitle since the N64.
Deku Scrubs are tiny plant creatures with round snouts. They typically appeared as enemies that would pop out of the ground and launch Deku seeds at Link. Some would also offer to trade Link items or information once they had been defeated. There is also a variant known as Business Scrubs, which are Deku Scrubs of a taller stature who run shops.
In more recentZeldatitles, design elements of the Deku Scrubs have seemingly been combined with the Kokiri to create the Koroks, which could explain why Scrubs haven’t been around much. Now, these little plant creatures are making their return inThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. All the trailer says about them is that they are found in the Faron Wetlands and that they have a strange taste in snacks.
Though not much information is explicitly shared about the Deku Scrubs inEchoes of Wisdom, the design elements shown in the trailer do give some hints. Their stone statues and wooden walls, along with the swampy region they seem to inhabit, seem to hint they may beinspired by their appearance inMajora’s Mask. That said, they seem slightly less hostile to outsiders than they were in that game.
1The Gerudo Seem More Welcoming To Zelda
The Gerudo Are A Tribe Of Warrior Women
The Gerudo are another of Hyrule’s human races. Though their initial appearance inThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Timedepicted the Gerudo having more rounded ears than Hylians, recent depictions inBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomhave shown Gerudo with more pointed ears. This could be the result of intermarrying with Hylians as the Gerudo are made up almost entirely of women.
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The Gerudo are a race of warrior womenwho typically live in the Gerudo Desert region of Hyrule. Only a single male Gerudo is born every one hundred years. So far, the only male Gerudo that has appeared in theLegend of Zeldaseries is Ganondorf, though it hasn’t been confirmed that the male Gerudo child is always the reincarnation of Demise, or if players just haven’t seen any of the others yet.
The Gerudo have typically been seen to be more isolationist, acting unwelcome to all outsiders entering their lands or villages. Though they seem more inclusive inBreath of the Wild, they still do not allow men into their towns. This poses an obstacle for Link in that game but will obviously not be a problem for Zelda inEchoes of Wisdom.
From the newLegend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomtrailer, it’s hard to say what role the Gerudo will play in the story. Zelda is seen briefly walking through one of their villages, as well as encountering a few Gerudo near an oasis in the Gerudo Desert. Like the other groups shown in the trailer, they seem friendly towards Zelda. Their dialogue suggests they are more concerned with the Rifts opening up in the desert.
