The latest Nintendo Direct was filled with game reveals, including a look at upcoming entries for popular franchises like Mario, Metroid, and Zelda. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, a new top-down adventure starring Zelda (finally!), is set to release on September 26. To commemorate the new Zelda game, Nintendo is releasing a special-edition Switch Lite on the same day. There’s no word yet on when preorders will go live, but we’ll make sure to update this article as soon as they do. Price hasn’t been revealed either, though last year’s Animal Crossing-themed Switch Lite bundle–which is still in stock at Walmart–retailed for $200.
We’d expect this to be a hot commodity, so preorders will likely sell out fast. That means you’ll need to reserve a unit as soon as possible if you want to have it in your hands while playing Echoes of Wisdom at launch.
The Hyrule Edition Nintendo Switch Lite is gold with black button and analog sticks. On the back, you’ll find the Hylian Crest, while the front is adorned with a tiny Triforce below the right analog stick.
Aside from its slick new design, this is a standard Nintendo Switch Lite console. That means you’re getting a 5.5-inch LCD touchscreen display, 32GB storage, and a battery that’ll run for up to seven hours before needing a recharge. Keep in mind that Switch Lite can’t be docked to a TV, though it supports nearly every game that the standard and OLED models play.
As an added bonus, the Hyrule Edition comes bundled with a 12-month individual Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership. Typically sold for $50, the membership lets you access a wealth of classic games from Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, NES, SNES, and the Game Boy family of systems. Switch Online also grants access to online multiplayer and cloud saves. Zelda: Four Swords, a GBA multiplayer game, was just added to Switch Online, joining an assortment of other classic Zelda games.
The Hyrule Edition Switch Lite doesn’t come with Echoes of Wisdom. Preorders for the new game aren’t live yet either, but we’ll have a dedicated preorder guide for Echoes of Wisdom when listings start popping up.
The Hyrule Edition Switch Lite is the second Zelda-themed Switch console. In 2023, Nintendo released a special-edition Switch OLED console in the lead-up to Tears of the Kingdom’s launch. The Zelda-themed Switch OLED has gold Joy-Con controls, a gold-accented pattern on the back panel, and a white Switch dock featuring the Triforce. It’s worth noting you can pick up the Japanese version of the console–which can be set to English and plays all North American Switch releases (the Switch is region-free)–for $294 at Walmart ($66 off its original $360 list price). Alternatively, you can buy a refurbished North American edition of the console in “excellent” condition at Amazon for $319.
Echoes of Time retains the adorable graphical style of the Link’s Awakening remake for Switch. If you haven’t played it yet, Walmart is offering a $20 discount on Link’s Awakening. Multiple other Zelda games are discounted for Switch, too.
