The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
MSRP
$60.00
“The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom only feels like the beginning for what could become a great Zelda saga.”
Pros
- Echoes make for clever puzzles
- Great exploration
- Classic formula still holds up
- Excellent music
Cons
- Limited selection of echoes
- Poor echo UI
- Some out of place systems
When reflecting on my Zelda memories, one moment stands out the most: the time I defeated Dark Link in a unique way during The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Instead of engaging in a challenging sword fight, I used a Megaton Hammer to squash him. This personal experience highlights the individuality of my adventures in Zelda games, a sentiment further explored in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.
The game introduces Princess Zelda in the lead role, offering a new item-copying ability to navigate challenges in Hyrule. While the concept of echoes presents exciting opportunities for open-ended puzzles, the game still relies heavily on traditional Zelda elements, not fully stepping out of Link’s shadow.
Playing with echoes
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom shakes up the usual Zelda narrative with mysterious rifts in Hyrule and Zelda’s quest to save the day in Link’s absence. The game introduces echoes as a gameplay mechanic, allowing players to copy objects and enemies to solve puzzles. This mechanic encourages creative problem-solving and experimentation, enhancing the player’s agency in navigating the world.
While echoes offer innovative gameplay possibilities, the system falls short in its implementation. The limited selection of copyable objects and creatures restricts the player’s creativity, leading to repetitive strategies and missed opportunities for strategic decision-making.
The smoothie problem
One area where Echoes of Wisdom struggles is in integrating Breath of the Wild design elements like cooking and crafting smoothies. While these systems add depth to the gameplay, they often feel disconnected from the core puzzle-solving experience. The abundance of smoothie ingredients and lack of meaningful applications diminishes the impact of crafting, highlighting a mismatch between gameplay systems.
Keeping it old school
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom returns to the traditional Zelda formula with full dungeons, exploration, and classic gameplay mechanics. Despite its nostalgic appeal, the game lacks innovation in its storytelling and character development, playing it safe with familiar locations and characters.
Overall, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom presents a promising start for Zelda’s solo adventures but falls short in fully capitalizing on its new ideas. With room for improvement in its mechanics and narrative, future installments could further elevate Zelda’s journey into a truly memorable saga.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was tested on Nintendo Switch OLED.
