A brief history of when Nintendo wouldn’t let you play as Zelda

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a big deal for the franchise, as it’s finally the first mainline game where you can play as Princess Zelda. Yeah, despite her name being the damn title of the series, she’s never been the main character in a main Zelda character until Echoes of wisdom came by.

But I must say mainline because it is actually not the first game where you can play as Zelda. Not by one catapult.

Famous, or maybe infamousplayers got their first chance to control Zelda in two games for the Phillips CD-i. If you haven’t heard of this kind of media center that is also a kind of gaming console, don’t feel bad, these are some of the worst games in the franchise! Later, Zelda fans would get the chance to play as her and her alter ego, Sheik, in the Smash Bros. franchises. and Hyrule Warrior, but otherwise she was rarely cast in any role other than the ‘lady in distress.”

There are bright spots, including the aforementioned Sheik, and Zelda’s other alter ego, Tetra, although in both cases she still ends up being a lady. She also gets a central, fully voiced role Breath of the wild And Tears of the Kingdom. However, Zelda’s increased role in the Switch games made things even more painful when rumors of her being playable Zelda turned out to be nothing more than rumors.

There were discussions behind the scenes about how to make her the main character without diminishing Link’s role or simply putting her Link in a different outfit. To this end, Echoes of wisdom seems to have fully realized Zelda as the main character, while giving her an identity all her own. You can find out exactly how in the video above, which covers the entire history of Nintendo NOT letting you play as Zelda.