The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is filled to the brim with charming NPCs, but as lovely as it can be to talk to them, they aren’t necessarily the smartest citizens that Hyrule has ever seen. Regardless of the game in question, the Zelda series has never been prone to having NPCs spout philosophy or deliver complex monologues, typically opting to keep things a little closer to the ground. Most Zelda characters are generally more likely to talk about missing fowl or nearby rumors, and that straightforward approach is a defining part of the franchise’s texture.
All the same, just how quick Zelda NPCs are on the uptake can still vary heavily. Some are comically obtuse, like Skyward Sword‘s endearingly oafish Groose, but there usually isn’t much reason to believe that the average Zelda character isn’t aware of what’s going on around them. Tears of the Kingdom, however, raised some questions about the way that many of the game’s NPCs interacted with Link, and Echoes of Wisdom actually manages to double down on this component.
More NPCs Should Recognize Zelda In Echoes Of Wisdom
The Princess Stands Out In A Crowd
There’s ultimately one big blind spot for Echoes of Wisdom NPCs — they’re not very good at clocking Zelda’s identity. Early in the game, the general lack of recognition makes a reasonable amount of sense, as she’s traveling in a hooded outfit and only lowers the hood when actively revealing her presence. At a certain point, however, Zelda gains access to alternate outfits that don’t serve the same purpose of traveling incognito, and this change still doesn’t light any bulbs for the average villager met later on.
Zelda can also get a few outfits from Amiibos, but they also aren’t available until a good way into the game.
It’s a funny follow-up to Tears of the Kingdom‘s similar tendency, where even some returning side characters from the first game act like Link is a completely new figure to them. On the whole, however, TOTK acknowledges Link’s familiarity more frequently, as key groups of characters that would have good reason to remember him do tend to recognize him upon his return. When it comes to some smaller villages, it’s not that surprising that Link isn’t a household name, as his approach to saving Hyrule in the first game wasn’t especially attention-seeking.
In Echoes of Wisdom, however, it stands to reason that awareness of Hyrule’s princess would generally be stronger, and some NPCs mention Zelda by name without realizing that they’re actually talking to her. In medieval fantasy, there’s nothing strange about people who don’t live in the castle village not knowing her face on sight, but their inability to consider the nature of her identity is more remarkable. A young woman with an ornate circlet and the Triforce emblazoned on her dress doesn’t look like the average traveler, and some deductive reasoning could get them to at least consider the possibility.
Why Characters Don’t Recognize Princess Zelda In Echoes of Wisdom
Logic Doesn’t Make For A Better Game
As silly as it seems, Echoes of Wisdom being filled with NPCs who don’t recognize Zelda is still a scenario where the suspension of disbelief is worthwhile. The greatest joy of speaking to NPCs is encountering different personalities and unique snippets of dialogue, and making everyone aware of Zelda’s identity would do a lot of damage to that concept. Most backwater villagers would behave in a monotonously deferential way when encountering a princess, reducing the amount of interesting interactions to find.
It’s also fun to flip the script a bit on what the legend is, considering Zelda’s in the lead role for the first time in history. Villagers are more likely to talk to her about Link than anyone else, frequently bringing up the hero in a green tunic who did some good deed or another. Keeping the focus off of Zelda’s identity provides a look at how Link’s heroics build a legacy, something that’s only been thoroughly experienced from his perspective before.
Echoes of Wisdom NPCs failing to recognize Zelda isn’t a big deal, but it’s still a bit amusing to think about just how unaware they seem to be. Or perhaps they’re just pretending not to know, whether that’s for Zelda’s sake or for their own purposes of getting someone to fulfill their sidequests. At any rate, someone’s being oblivious in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and it seems better to assume that the princess isn’t the one who can’t keep up.