Zelda Fans Are Overlaying the Echoes of Wisdom Map With A Link to the Past, and Making Some Surprising Discoveries

Now that The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is out, more and more players are fully exploring its top-down, toy-like, open world. And they've gradually been discovering a pretty cool secret about its map: it "links" up almost perfectly with the map from A Link to the Past.

More and more players have been sharing posts on social media comparing the maps of Echoes of Wisdom and A Link to the Past, and have figured out that Echoes of Wisdom basically uses the same map from A Link to the Past... just expanded. A number of major landmarks can still be found in the same spots as in Link to the Past, though they've changed or aged seemingly with the passage of time.

What's more, most of Echoes of Wisdom's brand new locations exist outside the boundaries where Link to the Past's map stopped, implying that civilizations like the Goron and Gerudo could have always existed in Link to the Past, they just weren't accessible in that particular game.

It’s truly amazing how Grezzo made the Echoes of Wisdom map with such care. It lines up with A Link to the Past’s Hyrule in a way that maybe the Gorons, Gerudo, Zora, and Dekus DID live there, just outside where we could explore. And it explains why they don’t know Zelda/Hyrule. https://t.co/MANVHl5S97

We chatted with our own reviewer, Tom Marks, about this phenomenon, who agreed with the parallels. He pointed out to us that landmarks especially around Hyrule Castle will be familiar to Zelda veterans. The graveyard and church are in the right spots, and the hill where Link's house was in Link to the Past is still there too, even though the Echoes of Wisdom Link lives in Suthorn Village.

There are other comparison points fans are finding. Eastern Palace, for instance, is still present in the same spot and even includes a sidequest. Where Kakariko Village used to be, Echoes of Wisdom has ruins, implying it was moved at some point. There are also Desert Palace ruins, Swamp Ruins is in the right place, and so much more.

There’s A Link to the Past DNA scattered throughout the overworld in Echoes of Wisdom and it makes me feel warm inside. Let’s take a quick tour, starting with the destroyed ruins of the Desert Palace. pic.twitter.com/CCP1eifuRF

Echoes of Wisdom is far from the first Zelda game that's involved clever, if subtle, map tricks. A Link to the Past itself famously included both a Light and Dark variation on the same world. And when Tears of the Kingdom came out, we wrote about how its Depths was essentially an underground mirror of the surface.

What's most curious for Zelda lore buffs will be whether or not this answers meaningful questions about Echoes of Wisdom's place on the Zelda timeline. Could this in fact put Echoes of Wisdom in the timeline post-Link to the Past and Link Between Worlds? Or is this some alternate universe situation? We'll need Zelda scholars to sort this one out.

As you look for these parallels in your own playthrough, check out our wiki guides and our own interactive map whether you're exploring the similarities yourself, or just looking for more heart containers.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].