Key Takeaways
- Echoes of Wisdom’s Hyrule Castle Town closely resembles Spirit Tracks’ layout with distinct features.
- The town’s size in Echoes of Wisdom is smaller than in previous titles like Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess.
- Unlike past versions, Echoes of Wisdom’s Hyrule Castle Town features fewer unique buildings and primarily serves as a backdrop for side quests.
Hyrule Castle Town has only appeared in a handful of Zelda titles, and the series arguably hasn’t even featured a proper version of the location since 2009’s Nintendo DS classic, Zelda: Spirit Tracks. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom both only featured the location in ruins, with the latter’s Lookout Landing arguably being the closest thing to the iconic location. However, 15 years later, Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom has brought back Hyrule Castle Town with restored vitality and has given players a pleasant location to visit in the game’s colorful iteration of Hyrule.
By and large, Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom‘s Hyrule Castle Town retains certain elements that have been present in most of the Zelda titles to feature the location. Still, Echoes of Wisdom‘s Hyrule Castle Town isn’t an exact copy of any other iteration of the location, so it’s worth looking at how it stacks up against the rest.
How Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s Hyrule Castle Town Stacks Up Against Past Iterations
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s Hyrule Castle Town Layout Is Nearly Identical to Spirit Tracks’
First and foremost, the layout of Hyrule Castle Town in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is nearly identical to Spirit Tracks‘ version of the location. This is primarily realized in the use of the fountain as a centerpiece, with the town’s various homes and shops surrounding it.
Both versions of the iconic town are also surrounded by a moat and ramparts although Spirit Track‘s ramparts are simply shaped like a rigid box, whereas Echoes of Wisdom‘s have more distinct features. Unlike Spirit Tracks‘ Hyrule Castle Town, Echoes of Wisdom‘s iteration of the town features buildings closer to the gate, as opposed to the fountain being the first thing players see upon entering.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s Hyrule Castle Town Is Smaller Than Past Iterations
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom‘s Hyrule Castle Town may be nearly identical to Spirit Tracks‘ in its layout and size, but that simultaneously makes it smaller than the same location present in games like Ocarina of Time, The Minish Cap, and Twilight Princess. Twilight Princess is known for having the largest legitimate version of Hyrule Castle Town ever present in the series, divided into four sections: the West Road, East Road, South Road, and the Central Square. Ocarina of Time‘s Castle Town is three times smaller than Twilight Princess‘ iteration of the location but still significantly larger than Echoes of Wisdom‘s.
Apart from Zelda: Spirit Tracks, the size of Echoes of Wisdom‘s Hyrule Castle Town is most closely comparable to The Minish Cap‘s. While The Minish Cap‘s Hyrule Castle Town is indeed larger than Echoes of Wisdom‘s, its layout could be considered an expanded version of the same location in Echoes of Wisdom, as the center square of Hyrule Town in The Minish Cap is essentially the size of the entire town in Echoes of Wisdom.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s Hyrule Castle Town Has Fewer Unique Buildings Than Past Iterations
Unlike many of the series’ iterations of Hyrule Castle Town, Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom‘s version only features one shop among its many houses. Players can also visit the Hyrule Guard’s barracks in the northeastern part of the town, but there is not much to do aside from speaking with various NPCs.
Other games in the Zelda franchise have included a wide variety of shops and other unique buildings in their version of Hyrule Town, making it a much more interesting place to visit overall. While Echoes of Wisdom does encourage players to visit Hyrule Castle Town often to pick up and turn in side quests, there is not much else to do there than purchase a few items from the shop.
