We’ve learned you’ll still be able to play as Link in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, despite the game’s entire premise being a quest for Zelda to find the series protagonist.
The new spinoff game sports a chibi style akin to the other throwback release/remake The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, though it seems to be set in the Hyrule from A Link to the Past (Link’s Awakening began as a Game Boy port of it but became something else later).
While both the modern remake and this new spinoff have similar style and come from the same era of the series, the main difference with this spinoff is that Link is missing and Zelda, the new protagonist, must find him. It remains unclear at what point Link becomes playable in the game.
The news that players will still be able to play as Link in the upcoming spinoff sequel comes from the ESRB rating for the game, which also confirms an Everyone 10+ rating and some other tidbits:
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). 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. Some enemies can be defeated by being set on fire; other creatures dissolve into mist when defeated. Battle sequences are somewhat frenetic, with several enemies attacking/fighting at once.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is set to launch for Nintendo Switch on September 26th.
