Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Surges in Popularity

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom has already achieved remarkable success, topping the most wishlisted games list for the summer showcase season. This achievement surpasses major titles including Doom: The Dark Ages, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and fellow Nintendo heavyweight Metroid Prime 4.

The recent Nintendo Direct generated immense excitement among Zelda fans. While lacking a Switch 2 reveal, the Direct featured highly anticipated announcements like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, alongside a surprising new Zelda title. For years, Zelda fans have clamored for a main series game featuring playable Zelda, a request seemingly ignored by Nintendo until now. The new Switch title fulfills this long-held desire, sparking considerable enthusiasm.

GamesIndustry.Biz reports that Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom outperformed all other major summer 2024 reveals tracked by IGN Playlist, a game backlog and activity tracker. Data from May 30th to June 23rd, focusing solely on showcase-revealed titles, places Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom at #1, followed by Doom: The Dark Ages and Astro Bot. Gears of War: E-Day and Perfect Dark complete the top five.

Top Wishlisted Games (May 30 – June 23, via IGN Playlist)

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo)
Doom: The Dark Ages (Bethesda)
Astro Bot (Sony)
Gears of War: E-Day (Xbox)
Perfect Dark (Xbox)
Mario & Luigi: Brothership (Nintendo)
Assassin's Creed Shadows (Ubisoft)
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Kepler Interactive)
Fable (Xbox)
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Nintendo)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Activision Blizzard)
Dragon Age: The Veilguard (EA)
South of Midnight (Xbox)
Lego Horizon Adventures (Sony)
Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Square Enix)
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Bethesda)
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater (Konami)
Star Wars Outlaws (Ubisoft)
Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo)
Mixtape (Annapurna Interactive)
Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (Square Enix)
Dragon Quest 1&2 HD-2D Remake (Square Enix)
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (Nintendo)
Avowed (Xbox)

While this wishlist ranking doesn't guarantee commercial success, it strongly suggests significant player anticipation. Beyond spin-offs like Hyrule Warriors and Super Smash Bros., Zelda has primarily been a non-playable character, often relegated to a damsel-in-distress role. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom provided more agency, but still fell short of fulfilling the desire to play as Princess Zelda and save Hyrule.

Whether Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom lives up to the hype remains to be seen. However, its rapid ascent to the top of the wishlist demonstrates substantial fan confidence. Its success surpasses remasters/remakes (e.g., Metal Gear Solid Delta, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake) and new entries in established franchises (e.g., Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Dragon Age: The Veilguard). The coming months will reveal how these titles perform compared to this initial wishlist ranking.