In upcoming 'Legend of Zelda' game, the titular princess takes center stage for the first time

For the first time in nearly forty years, Princess Zelda is starring in the blockbuster video game series that bears her name.

“The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom” comes out Sept. 26. Nintendo just dropped a surprise trailer for the game that’s already spawned numerous commentary videos and speculative articles.

“I was shocked,” says Polygon Deputy Games editor Maddy Myers. “One of my reporters insisted to me that this game was in development, and I just didn't believe him.”

Her skepticism was well-founded. Series producer Eiji Aonuma had long prioritized Link, the games’ traditional green-clad hero. In a 2016 interview, he asked Gamespot, “If we have Princess Zelda as the main character who fights, then what is Link going to do?”

Aonuma has evidently changed his mind. After a mysterious purple rift consumes Link, Zelda’s quest to save Hyrule involves less sword fighting and more puzzle-solving and creature-collecting. The new gameplay continues the franchise’s penchant for reinvention. Its most recent titles “Breath of the Wild” and “Tears of the Kingdom” took innovative swings that won record acclaim and sales.

But while Zelda has taken on many pivotal roles over the decades, she’s never served as a game’s main playable character. “She is usually the princess that the player saves,” says Myers. “But now she gets to take on an action role and solve problems.”

Zelda’s not the only leading lady that Nintendo’s recently elevated. The company just announced “Metroid Prime 4: Beyond,” a long-awaited game starring Samus Aran, a spacefaring bounty hunter who first appeared in 1986. Earlier this year, Princess Peach headlined her own game after the “Super Mario Bros.” Movie she featured in made over a billion dollars.

“I think, finally, Nintendo is realizing that this has frustrated players for a long time,” says Myers. “But as somebody who's been covering games for a very long time and playing them since I was a kid, I'm really delighted that kids these days get to grow up in a world where it's totally normal to get to point to the pink princess on screen and say, I want to play as her and actually get to do that.”

Correction: The name of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma was misspelled in an earlier version of this story.  We regret the error.

James Perkins Mastromarino produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Micaela Rodriguez. Perkins Mastromarino also adapted it for the web.