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Nintendo announces a real-life Legend of Zelda adventure for 2017

What is Real Escape Game? – produced by SCRAP. The pioneer of Live Escape Entertainment since 2007.
Shigeru Miyamoto was inspired to create The Legend of Zelda by his real-life adventures as a child, and if you’ve ever wanted to experience the wonder of Hyrule and the Triforce without a controller, now is your chance.
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Defenders of the Triforce is a Zelda-themed “escape room” game featuring many of the franchise’s classic characters and items.

Designed in collaboration with escape room company Scrap, Defenders of the Triforce is a touring real-world challenge that tasks a group of six players to “solve a mystery within a huge area,” using key discovered items to unlock new pathways in a manner similar to the video games. The announcement also said that players will take on the role of “Link,” though it’s unclear if you’ll actually be able to wear his signature tunic.

Scrap producer Doc Preuss said in the announcement that Defenders of the Triforce will feel “as authentic as possible” and will please longtime fans of the Zelda series.

Once groups have completed the challenge, they’ll be able to purchase “exclusive” Zelda merchandise in the room’s promotional lounge, and will also have the change to take commemorative photos.

Defenders of the Triforce will begin in San Francisco at the end of January 2017 before making its way to Los Angeles and San Diego. The tour will then head to Seattle, Phoenix, Houston, Chicago, and New York. “Early bird” tickets are available now on the tour’s website, with $10 netting you the basic package.

The next video game in the Zelda series, Breath of the Wild, arrives to the new Nintendo Switch as well as the Wii U in 2017. Though the game was initially rumored as a launch title, new reports suggest that development has run behind schedule and the game will now release sometime next summer.

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
Nintendo reveals why Link isn’t the hero in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Link stuck on a big black and purple crack in a dungeon floor in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is the first game to have Princess Zelda as the playable protagonist. Despite the series being supposedly about her legend, the hero has always been Link. In a Nintendo Ask the Developer interview published Tuesday, developers on the game at Grezzo explained why Link had to hit the sidelines.

While it was also just a matter of time for Zelda to star in her own game, the team also realized early on that if they wanted to go with the echoes concept -- the ability to copy and paste objects into the world to use for puzzles and combat -- Link couldn't be the one with that ability. He already has a sword and shield, after all.

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After The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, it’s time for Zelda Maker
Key art for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

We almost had a The Legend of Zelda video game where players could create their own dungeons. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, which launches later this week, lets players obtain "echoes" of items and enemies, which they can explore, fight, and solve puzzles with. A new Ask the Developer interview from Nintendo revealed that this gameplay idea came from the original concept for Echoes of Wisdom: an "edit dungeon" concept where "players could create their own The Legend of Zelda gameplay," according to Grezzo game director Satoshi Terada.

Ultimately, the team went in a different direction after recognizing the potential of the echoes mechanic created for the "edit dungeon" concept. While I'm still quite excited to play Echoes of Wisdom, part of me is disappointed that we aren't getting a The Legend of Zelda dungeon maker game. It's OK that Echoes of Wisdom went in a different direction, but this is an idea Nintendo should certainly return to in the future.
The Zelda dungeon-maker game we didn't get
It's not uncommon for game developers to experiment with different gameplay concepts or ideas early on in development to find what works. Terada explained that in one of these early concepts, "Link could copy and paste various objects, such as doors and candlesticks, to create original dungeons." Later in the Ask the Developer interview, Nintendo director Tomomi Sano said that this "concept involved copying various things during your adventure out on the game field, then bringing them back to create a dungeon in a dedicated place."

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The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more
Key art for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

Every new Zelda game feels like an event, and yet Nintendo managed to keep a new mainline entry hidden almost all the way up until its release. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is not the same size and scale as the 3D entries like Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom -- it's actually the long-awaited continuation of Zelda's 2D titles. The last game we got in this style was 2019's The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, which was a remake of the 1993 Game Boy title.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom caught the attention of everyone at the June Nintendo Direct where it was announced for many reasons, chief among them being Zelda taking on the starring role instead of Link. The perspective and style might look familiar, but there's a lot to learn about Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom before you jump back into Hyrule.
Release date
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will be released on September 26, 2024.
Platforms

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