Daily Debate: How Would You Explain the Deku Tree’s Presence in Echoes of Wisdom?
Posted on December 18 2024 by John Lortie
Spoiler Warning: The comments on this article may contain spoilers for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.
Nintendo revealed last month that Echoes of Wisdom takes place in the timeline where “The Hero is Defeated.” The events of the game happen between Tri Force Heroes and The Legend of Zelda. This placement is sensible given the similarities between Echoes’ world and those found in A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds.
However, there are a few lore-based issues with this placement. Let’s look at the Great Deku Tree for example. He and his Sprout feature prominently in Ocarina of Time, the game from which the “Defeated” branch of the timeline grows. We see the Deku Tree persist in the adult timeline’s The Wind Waker. But Echoes is his first appearance in the Defeated timeline.
Why is the Deku Tree here? From a gameplay perspective, he might be included because he’s a familiar element that could fulfill a familiar role. For the sake of today’s debate, let’s ignore that and think about his presence in terms of the series’ lore.
Is the Echoes Deku Tree the grown Deku Sprout from Ocarina? Maybe he remained hidden away during the events of the timeline where The Hero is Defeated. He could have only made his existence known when completely necessary for Zelda’s quest. This tree could be a parallel to the one we see in The Wind Waker.
I can think of another possibility. In the Oracle games (which share a timeline with Echoes), Link encounters the Maku Trees. These enormous sentient plants help Link on his dual adventures, providing him with hints and items needed for the hero to save Holodrum and Labrynna. Perhaps the Deku Tree we see in Echoes sprouted from a Huge Maku Seed given to Link by one of these trees after his quests. This new tree could have taken the “Deku” moniker after learning of his counterpart in Ocarina.
What do you think? How would you explain the Deku Tree being in Echoes of Wisdom from a lore-based perspective? Give us your best theories down in the comments!
John’s been a Zelda fan since he was seven years old (which was a good few decades ago). He loves the last three months of the year, analog media, his family, and Tolkien. His favorite Zelda game is Breath of the Wild and his favorite game is Night in the Woods.
