This year, Nintendo at last accorded royal treatment to its beloved princesses, giving Peach and Zelda prominent roles in their games. With all due respect to the Mushroom Kingdom’s ruler, however, the leader of Hyrule’s journey is not just another mediocre derivative. Believe me when I say that The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is the next mainline Zelda game (the 2D line, at least) in every meaningful manner. It seamlessly blends the absurdly creative, freeform problem-solving that made Tears of the Kingdom so engrossing with the traditional dungeon crawling and key item-style progression I missed from the earlier games in this series. Even though it does not always carry this thrilling step forward with unwavering regal grace, I can still easily include it among my favorite Zelda games, whether I am wearing a green tunic or not.
Even though Echoes of Wisdom features a lot of significant mechanical changes from its predecessors, the practical effects of its main character switcheroo are fairly minor. In fact, during my roughly 23-hour playthrough, there were only a few instances where I momentarily became confused by a conversation because I honestly forgot I was not Link. To me, though, the greatest unexpected shift might be how much more fascinating the plot becomes. Zelda is the main character of the story, not just another retelling of a fated, silent swordsman’s quest to save the day. I consequently felt far more connected and significant as I traveled throughout Hyrule to close the enigmatic purple rifts that were growing throughout my realm.
Naturally, the more covert ways in which Zelda engages with that environment and battles its diverse array of foes serve as the most constant reminder that you are not Link. You can produce echoes of each adversary you fight and an assortment of unique objects you come across thanks to Tri, your little floating companion. This implies that once you defeat a Moblin, you can call upon it to fight for you whenever you need it. In addition, as you explore, you will often build beds, boxes, and even trampolines to get over gaps or up ledges.
Although the menu you use to switch between your collection of summonable objects and creatures does eventually grow cumbersome to navigate, it is cool that the maximum number of echoes you can have out at once is only limited by an upgradeable point system, which starts at three and goes up from there. Planning around this system always feels more enjoyable than unduly restricting.
Similar to Tears, it fosters “break the game” inventiveness.
Though Echoes is a 2D Zelda game that borrows from the Link’s Awakening remake’s delightfully toy-like art style and occasional side-scrolling segments (as well as a bit of its inconsistent framerate, which is not wildly distracting but does feel sort of inexcusable at this point), it still encourages the same kind of creativity that Nintendo embraced with Breath of the Wild and doubled down on with Tears of the Kingdom. Nintendo, where is that Switch 2?
I understand that the echo system might seem too peculiar to be anything more than an experimental take on the classic sword and shield fighting found in almost every 2D Zelda game since the franchise’s debut in 1986, but the fact that so many of these echoes serve as iconic key elements is what allows the system to remain so distinctively Zelda. Though it is not a shovel this time, a small mole companion will gladly unearth secrets for you; Gust Bellows from Skyward Sword is not returning; and you might not have a hook shot, but the floating floor tile that you can only discover in a specific cave will unexpectedly enable you clear big pits in a similar way.
Later on, combat does get somewhat more engaging because of the fully optional automation system, which is surprisingly simple to overlook. These few buildable robots are free to use, but you can only use one at a time, and if they sustain too much damage, you will have to pay to have them repaired. Additionally, each robot must be manually wound up before it can begin its task. With choices like a Deku Baba that can devour opponents whole and a sword-wielding Moblin with a sluggish but potent area-of-effect slice, the reward might be worthwhile, Though they thus provide you a bit more to accomplish after calling forth echoes in battle without requiring you to expend any energy, making them a really interesting high risk/high reward alternative.
One of the most obvious ways that Echoes of Wisdom feels like a Zelda chimera—an overt mashup of Tears of the Kingdom and A Link to the Past—is when you explore Hyrule looking for these goodies. Fans of the SNES will note that certain sections of the map are almost perfect copies of the SNES landscape, even down to the small raised platform that Link’s home was on just south of Hyrule Castle (albeit it is missing here). While this is going on, some regions—such as the southeast’s electricity-filled forest and the southwest’s Gerudo village—have distinctive elements of the Breath of the Wild map where you might expect them.
The Zora are even divided into two competing tribes: the ones with the finned faces of the ones that used to jump out of the water to attack you more than thirty years ago, and the other with the fishtail heads of their contemporary design. That is why Echoes of Wisdom feels like Nintendo finally embracing both Zelda’s past and present, fusing what this series was and what Breath of the Wild so unexpectedly turned into one cohesive game that pays tribute to and maximizes both parts.
Verdict
A gimmicky offshoot where Zelda leads instead of Link is substantially inferior to The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. Its echo summoning is a brilliant idea that combines the nearly insane flexibility offered by Tears of the Kingdom with the skillfully designed dungeons, puzzle areas, and item advancement you would expect from a classic-style 2D Zelda. Though there are some awkward menu navigation issues and less engaging fighting, overall, this experiment is very successful despite not yielding a flawless outcome. Echoes of Wisdom is also a brilliant example of how a contemporary 3D Zelda may bring back some of the aspects of the series that I and other fans miss from before Breath of the Wild without compromising the addictive innovation it brought forth. Despite the echoes, I am forward to seeing more if this is Zelda’s future.
