The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is noteworthy as the first game in the series to let you play Zelda as the main character. Normally, it’s Link who fights on behalf of Zelda. However, portals have opened up all over Hyrule and have consumed Link, leaving it up to Zelda to save the kingdom. Echoes of Wisdom released to Nintendo Switch last week, but players have already figured out a bug that lets you play as Link instead. Multiple YouTubers and other influencers have posted videos showing how to perform the switch.
Since you play briefly as Link in the beginning of the game, he already exists in the backend as a playable character. Here’s how to do it: Start a new game and create a new save after he enters the dungeon and the door closes behind him. Play the game normally, and head to Kakariko Village. If you have the sign post echo and there’s an enemy nearby, go to the northeast forest, which has fog that Zelda can fall into as a way to set the edge of the map.
If you set up a sign post and hit to read it as you fall in between the trees, you’ll be brought to the system menu. Use the minimap in the bottom-right corner to find an enemy and have it kill you. Reload your save from before and you’ll be brought back to that forest as Link!
Granted, you probably can’t do a lot in the game without the all-important echo ability, and it’s not a particularly easy exploit to pull off. Video creator alyo, who posted the video above, had to try the trick a few times before success.
Creators, however, have said the switch is relatively easy to pull off because Echoes of Wisdom has a lot of bugs and performance issues, something that has become apparent since reviews and has been reported by outlets like Digital Foundry. The sign post in particular has led to a bunch of glitches, including one you can check out below that allows you to warp from the first dungeon to the final dungeon.
People have been experimenting with echoes to see how they can break the game — which is basically Zelda game tradition at this point. For example, the bed can be used to give you additional height and make infinite bridges. Plus, you can then take naps.
