How to complete the “One Soldier Too Many” side quest in Zelda Echoes of Wisdom

There are a lot of side quests in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and many of them give excellent rewards. Some are worth doing because they unlock further side quests, and the “One Soldier Too Many” side quest is one of these. 

Before you can begin this side quest, you’ll need to have completed the main story quest “Still Missing”, during which you clear the rift that has overtaken Hyrule Castle and rescue the King. 

Completing “One Soldier Too Many” and another side quest called “Impa’s Gift” will allow you to pick up a third side quest, “From the Heart”. This third side quest unlocks the Customary Attire outfit, so it’s worth working towards. 

How to complete “One Soldier Too Many” in Zelda Echoes of Wisdom

To begin “One Soldier Too Many,” head to the south gate of Hyrule Castle Town and talk to the guard on the right. His name is Beecher, and he’s concerned because there seem to be more guards than there were before you closed the Rift. Thinking that an Echo is masquerading as a guard, he sends you out to question all of the guards to see who is the imposter. 

There are a lot of guards around Hyrule Castle Town, and talking to most of them won’t tell you much. The one you need to head for is on the western ramparts. If you have the Frog Ring accessory, getting up here is easy, and you can use the hedges and trees to make your ascent. If you don’t have the Frog Ring, simply use echoes such as Water Blocks or Beds to get up there. 

The guard on the ramparts will tell you that all equipment for guards must go in and out of the Barracks, and he directs you there to continue your enquiries. The Barracks are the building just to his right, with a blue roof. 

Inside the Barracks, talk to the guard and select the “Missing Equipment” option to spark a cutscene, during which you learn that a damaged set of armor was left out to be disposed of but has since gone missing. Beecher will ask you to find the guard with broken equipment, but it’s not that simple.

If you want, you can talk to each of the guards again to get a closer look at their armor and weapons. However, the guard in question is the one by the well outside the Barracks (shown above), and his Lance is the broken equipment in question. Talk to Beecher again and select “The Well” and then “The Lance” to complete this step. 

As it turns out, the extra guard wasn’t an Echo at all and is simply a visitor to Hyrule Castle Town who wants to be a soldier. He means well, and all’s well that ends well, because General Wright offers him a place as an actual soldier. For completing the quest, you’ll get yourself a Golden Egg, which is a really useful Smoothie ingredient.