It’s not often that Link’s gallantry is called into question, but today is one of those sad days. After 38 years of hogging the limelight, the hero in green has finally ceded the starring role in the next Legend of Zelda game to Princess Zelda herself, who will be the playable protagonist of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. But, mere weeks after her big moment was announced, it’s been revealed that Link just couldn’t help himself, and is crashing Zelda’s party. He’ll be playable in the game, too.
The news has emerged from an ESRB listing for the game. Rating the game E for Everyone, the ESRB noted that “this is an adventure game in which players assume the role of Zelda as she attempts to dispel rifts throughout Hyrule and rescue Link. From a ¾-overhead perspective, players explore various environments while fighting stylized enemies (e.g., humans, creatures).”
Then the ESRB dropped the bombshell: “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.”
In all seriousness, this is hardly a surprise — and doesn’t necessarily mean Link will be playable for much of the game. Nintendo’s announcement trailer for Echoes of Wisdom starts with a sequence in which Link battles past some soldiers on a quest to rescue Zelda and confronts Ganon — in his early giant purple pig form. But then Link falls into a mysterious rift, setting up a role reversal in which Zelda must set off to rescue him.
By far the likeliest explanation of the ESRB’s note is that this sequence of the video is a playable prologue; indeed, there’s a top-down view of Link’s battle with Ganon that looks a lot like gameplay footage. Naturally, this hasn’t stopped fans from concocting various other theories, including another cameo from Link at the end of the game, a dual-protagonist setup, or even a New Game Plus mode starring Link instead of Zelda.
Polygon has contacted Nintendo for comment and clarification of the extent of Link’s playability in the game — and whether or not he knows how to just shut up and be a good ally.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will be released for Nintendo Switch on Sept. 26.
