Speaking to Famitsu (translated by Automaton ), series producer Eiji Aonuma explained that since Zelda herself is the main character of Echoes of Wisdom, she had to lose the ability to talk out loud. "After all, in the Zelda series, the protagonist does not speak. This is why Link doesn't talk either," Aonuma explained.

Echoes of Wisdom may have broken several franchise traditions, but it also revived a tradition that the last two mainline installments largely forewent: classic dungeons. Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom's dungeons are very similar to how they used to be in Zelda's heyday,