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Legend of Zelda-themed billiards table is the ultimate gaming homage

Pool Table Fit for Legend of Zelda™! - Super-Fan Builds
At 30 years of age, Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda series is not only one of the oldest gaming franchises of all time, but it’s also one of the most celebrated. Because of this, throngs of self-proclaimed super-fans exist far and wide who often choose to wear their affinity for the game on their sleeves — literally. For one such fan named Bryan, the YouTube video channel Awe Me decided to give him the ultimate way to advertise his fandom: an exclusively designed Zelda-themed billiards table with all the bells, whistles, and triforce symbols in full effect.

With the help of renown Hollywood prop aficionado Lonnie Goodman, Awe Me’s Super-Fan Builds web show took to the monumental task of faithfully creating a table to capture what makes the Zelda series so great. Featuring a highly detailed map of Hyrule, Zelda’s most commonly appearing land, on the table’s felt topside and hand-carved wooden legs outfitted with giant Zs (for Zelda, of course), the team cut no corners in creating the perfect homage. There’s even a series of the franchise’s Sage symbols lining the piece’s broadsides.

“We picked out a custom green felt, had the Hylian map and the Hyrule and Lorule crests printed onto the fabric,” said Goodman in the reveal video. “We also customized the balls with the wing crest. If you take a look at the legs, they’ve been hand-carved to look like trees of the Lost Woods.”

Using nothing more than his own knowledge of the Zelda universe and a brief conversation with Bryan, Goodman went to work on the project at Los Angeles’ The Hand Prop Room. It’s worth noting that while Goodman created the initial vision for the project, he employed his normal team of manufacturers at The Hand Prop Room to help pull off the build itself. Over the course of two grueling weeks, the team sculpted, painted, etched, and fabricated each part of the unique table until the finished product looked like something ripped right from the franchise itself.

“This is amazing, I am stunned beyond belief,” Bryan exclaimed during the official reveal. “This is art. This is art I can actually enjoy with my friends. It’s incredible. I am so happy and so thankful, this is amazing.”

Certainly enthusiastic about his latest ode to the franchise he’s devoted a chunk of his life to, Bryan could hardly hold back his joy upon not just seeing the table for the first time, but in talking with Goodman about everything that was included. Who could blame him?

Rick Stella
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Rick became enamored with technology the moment his parents got him an original NES for Christmas in 1991. And as they say…
After The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, it’s time for Zelda Maker
Key art for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

We almost had a The Legend of Zelda video game where players could create their own dungeons. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, which launches later this week, lets players obtain "echoes" of items and enemies, which they can explore, fight, and solve puzzles with. A new Ask the Developer interview from Nintendo revealed that this gameplay idea came from the original concept for Echoes of Wisdom: an "edit dungeon" concept where "players could create their own The Legend of Zelda gameplay," according to Grezzo game director Satoshi Terada.

Ultimately, the team went in a different direction after recognizing the potential of the echoes mechanic created for the "edit dungeon" concept. While I'm still quite excited to play Echoes of Wisdom, part of me is disappointed that we aren't getting a The Legend of Zelda dungeon maker game. It's OK that Echoes of Wisdom went in a different direction, but this is an idea Nintendo should certainly return to in the future.
The Zelda dungeon-maker game we didn't get
It's not uncommon for game developers to experiment with different gameplay concepts or ideas early on in development to find what works. Terada explained that in one of these early concepts, "Link could copy and paste various objects, such as doors and candlesticks, to create original dungeons." Later in the Ask the Developer interview, Nintendo director Tomomi Sano said that this "concept involved copying various things during your adventure out on the game field, then bringing them back to create a dungeon in a dedicated place."

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The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom: release date, trailers, gameplay, and more
Key art for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

Every new Zelda game feels like an event, and yet Nintendo managed to keep a new mainline entry hidden almost all the way up until its release. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is not the same size and scale as the 3D entries like Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom -- it's actually the long-awaited continuation of Zelda's 2D titles. The last game we got in this style was 2019's The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, which was a remake of the 1993 Game Boy title.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom caught the attention of everyone at the June Nintendo Direct where it was announced for many reasons, chief among them being Zelda taking on the starring role instead of Link. The perspective and style might look familiar, but there's a lot to learn about Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom before you jump back into Hyrule.
Release date
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will be released on September 26, 2024.
Platforms

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The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom takes the right cues from Tears of the Kingdom
Zelda holds a rock in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

The only constant in the Legend of Zelda series is change. From its perspective to its art style, Nintendo takes some surprising risks when it comes to one of its most valuable franchises. That often pays off. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, for instance, was a bold open-world reinvention of the classic adventure formula that put an emphasis on flexible gameplay and emergent moments born from creative thinking. That design didn’t just influence its direct sequel, the excellent The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It’s very much present in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom too.

I’ve been curious about how the first Zelda game to actually star Zelda would work ever since it was revealed. It looked like a return to top-down form, but its item-copying hook suggested that it might be more creatively open-ended than any traditional Zelda game. After playing 90 minutes of it, I can see exactly how Nintendo is fusing old and new to once again reinvent its tried-and-true formula. Echoes of Wisdom plays like a miniature Tears of the Kingdom, at least in terms of how it lets players tackle problems in multiple ways. That makes for a unique puzzle adventure hybrid that I’m already eager to return to.
Summoning echoes
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom begins with mysterious rifts opening up around Hyrule. Princess Zelda is blamed for their appearance and imprisoned. My demo begins in captivity, where she meets a little sidekick named Tri. The Navi-like partner gives Zelda the Tri Rod, an item capable of copying items and letting her freely summon them. I get to test it out right away, cloning an object in my cell and using it as a platform to reach a high-up exit. A stealth sequence ensues that introduces the basics of that echo play.

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