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Review of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

ByVanessa

Sep 27, 2024

This year, Nintendo finally gave its iconic princesses the royal treatment, making both Peach and Zelda the focus of their own games. But with all due respect to the monarch of the Mushroom Kingdom, the head of Hyrule's adventure isn't just another second series spin-off. Trust me when I say that The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is important in every way Is the next mainline Zelda game (at least the 2D series). It combines all of the linear dungeon crawling and key item-style progression that I missed from the older games in this series, perfectly with the ridiculously clever free-form problem-solving that made Tears of the Kingdom so addicting. It doesn't always take this exciting step forward with unwavering regal grace, but it's still easily become one of my favorite Zelda games – with or without the green tunic on my back.

While there are numerous significant mechanical changes to the way Echoes of Wisdom plays compared to its predecessors, the practical differences in main character switching are actually pretty negligible – it even happened a few times during my roughly 23-hour playthrough I was briefly confused by a conversation because I had rightly forgotten that I wasn't Link. Perhaps the most surprising difference for me, however, was that it makes the story much more exciting. “Zelda” isn’t another remix of a silent swordsman’s journey to save the day The central figure of the plot. As a result, I felt much more important and dedicated as I explored Hyrule to close the mysterious purple rifts that were forming in my kingdom.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom gameplay screenshots

Of course, the most consistent reminder of not being Link is the more indirect way in which Zelda actually interacts with this world and fights the wide variety of enemies within it. Thanks to a little floating friend named Tri who accompanies you, you have the power to create echoes of each enemy you defeat and a number of specific objects you encounter. This means that if you defeat a Moblin once, you can summon it to automatically fight for you in the future, and you'll often find yourself building beds, crates, and even trampolines to close gaps or climb ledges as you explore. The menu you use to switch between your collection of summonable creatures and items quickly balloons into an annoying stack, but it's so cool that the number of Echoes you can actually have at once can only be achieved by upgrading There is a limited point system – starting at three and increasing from there – and it's always fun to plan for it rather than overly restricting it.

Echoes encourages the same “go ahead and break our game” creativity that Nintendo embraced with Breath of the Wild and doubled down on with Tears of the Kingdom, but this time in a 2D Zelda game that boasts the adorable, toy-like art of the Link's Awakening remake borrows style and occasional side-scrolling segments (as well as a bit of the inconsistent framerate, which isn't overly distracting but also feels kind of inexcusable at this point. Where's the Switch 2, Nintendo?).

I understand that the Echo System may sound far too peculiar to be considered anything other than an experimental spin-off of the traditional sword and shield combat we've seen in pretty much every 2D Zelda since the original in 1986 have, but the reason for this is that it can remain distinctly Zelda, as many of these echoes essentially function as key classic elements. You may not have a hookshot, but with the floating floor tile you only find in a certain cave, you can suddenly clear large pits in a similar way; There's no shovel this time, but a little mole friend will be happy to dig up secrets for you; and Skyward Sword's Gust Bellows isn't back, but if you hold a wind cannon over your head you might as well clear away piles of sand.

The fact that so many of the most useful Echoes are either hidden in optional caves or found in dungeons (alongside some important core abilities, like Tri's ability to lift and move any object Ultra Hand style) gives Echoes of Wisdom a Feeling of progress I have to admit when I played Breath of the Wild and its sequel. You still have immense freedom to explore wherever you want and solve problems in unexpected ways, but I love that you also have that classic Zelda feeling of leaving most dungeons with something new in your pocket. Sure, sometimes you just get another mediocre summonable monster that you'll probably never use – but sometimes you just casually get something like the Water Block, a Minecraft-like cube that changes the way I move around the map I moved up and along walls without any problems.

The extraordinary puzzle rooms in Echoes of Wisdom also make excellent use of the absurd range of options presented to you. At the sight of a chest just out of my reach, my mind immediately raced as I thought of the exhaustive list of things I could summon that could help me. This could be as simple as creating a monster to hit a switch for me, or as strange as stacking several things just right so I can tri-grab an item and then push it past a series of obstacles onto a button can lift in the distance. There is rarely a right answer and the “A-ha!” moments abound.

That said, the only place where Echoes of Wisdom doesn't really benefit from being entirely summon-based is in combat. While the focus is more on puzzles this time around, there's essentially just as much combat as ever, and summoning a few Echos only to watch them slowly attack the target isn't exactly exciting. This is coming from someone who normally loves They play as summoning classes in games like Diablo or Frosthaven, but in those cases you don't usually just spawn a bunch of guys and then sit idle until they complete their task. As time goes on, you get a few options that can hit faster or harder (the wide-spinning Peahat was one of my early favorites), and fights aren't unpleasant at all or anything like that, but swinging a sword as Link is basically still more fun.

Luckily, Zelda isn't a helpless damsel who relies entirely on others to fight for her: she literally has Link's sword and can switch into “swordsman mode” at virtually any time to attack directly. However, your energy bar will quickly run out in this form, and this resource is so limited that you cannot rely on it too much. The bar can be upgraded, but running out in the middle of a tougher fight or a boss fight can be a pain if you don't have energy recovery items on hand. That's why I was always a little careful when pulling out my blade. This means your combat options essentially consist of leaving the fighting to someone else or taking matters into your own hands with the pressure of a ticking clock, both Are entertaining, but not so buttery smooth that echoes enhance exploration and puzzle solving.

Thanks to the completely optional (and surprisingly easy to miss) vending machine system, the fight later becomes at least a little more interesting. This small selection of buildable robots doesn't cost any points to pull out of your pocket, but you can only use one at a time. They then need to be wound manually before they begin work, and you will also have to pay for repairs if they suffer too much damage. The payoff can be worth it, however, with options like a Deku Baba that can swallow enemies whole and a sword-wielding Moblin with a slow but massive area-of-effect slice. This makes them a nice high-risk, high-reward option, and gives you a little more to do in battle after summoning Echoes without having to expend energy.

Another way to balance automaton power is that you have to help build a character by completing a series of side quests – and Echoes of Wisdom has one much of side quests. While it took me about 23 hours to create the credits, I'm sure you could do it a lot quicker if you focused on the story. My playthrough was pretty extensive, I completed every quest I could find and searched for collectibles, but I also wasn't hoping to 100% complete it. It was always worth the effort, whether because of the tangible rewards I would receive, the useful new Echoes I might find, the adorable characters and stories I would encounter (a village full of adorable Deku Scrubs obsessed with sweets is a real village). highlight to look out for) or the several completely optional mini-dungeons I could complete, each with its own unique boss fight.

Exploring Hyrule in search of these goodies is one of the clearest places where Echoes of Wisdom feels like a Zelda chimera – an explicit mix of A Link to the Past and Tears of the Kingdom. Longtime fans will note that parts of the map are almost exact replicas of the SNES terrain, right down to the small raised platform south of Hyrule Castle where Link's house stood (although it's missing here). Meanwhile, other areas feature defining features of the Breath of the Wild map where you'd expect them, from the Gerudo village in the southwest to an electricity-filled jungle in the southeast. The Zora are even split into two rival tribes: one with the fishtail heads of their modern design, and the other with the finned faces of those who emerged from the water to attack you more than 30 years ago. In this way, Echoes of Wisdom feels like Nintendo is fully embracing both Zelda's past and present, bringing what that series once was and what Breath of the Wild so abruptly focused on into a single game that honors both and makes the most of both halves.