As a seasoned gamer with over three decades of gaming under my belt, I must say that “Echoes of Wisdom” has truly captured the essence of what makes The Legend of Zelda series such an iconic and beloved franchise. The combat, while not perfect, adds a layer of excitement and unpredictability to the gameplay that I found refreshing.
As a dedicated Zelda fan, I find myself utterly captivated by “The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.” This game represents an innovative departure from the traditional Zelda formula, as the team has made it their mission to break away from long-standing conventions that have defined the series for years. In many ways, it mirrors how “Breath of the Wild” shattered the mold of 3D Zelda games before it, freeing them from the constraints they had been gradually slipping into.
That alone merits it a lot of attention, of course, but there’s a lot more here that makes it notable – the big thing is that this is the first mainline Legend of Zelda game that lets you actually play as the eponymous Princess (until now, her playable excursions have either been limited to spin-offs such as the Hyrule Warriors games, or to appearances in titles such as the Super Smash Bros. series). It is also the first new single player 2D Zelda game in over eleven years, following on from 2013’s excellent, incredible A Link Between Worlds.
“Rather than simply being a model swap for Link, Zelda plays entirely differently.”
Under considerable examination due to various factors, how does the game fare and does it meet the high expectations built over its anticipation? Generally speaking, Echoes of Wisdom has a few minor flaws, but it’s an insightful and thoughtfully crafted title that serves as a blueprint for future 2D Zelda games. It embraces many aspects of player freedom, creativity, and emergent gameplay that have made Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom some of the most celebrated video games ever made.
The core experience revolves around controlling Princess Zelda, unlike merely switching roles with Link. Unlike Link’s combative style, Zelda plays in an entirely distinct manner as she rarely engages in direct combat. Instead, she possesses the unique ability to replicate various objects, which can be utilized for a wide range of tasks. This power is versatile and allows her to duplicate enemies, environment elements, furniture, and numerous other items. Whether it’s overcoming an obstacle, solving a dungeon puzzle, or dealing with a combat situation, you can summon various objects to aid you or perform tasks on your behalf.
Echoes of Wisdom does come with a few minor issues, however it’s a thoughtfully and cleverly crafted game that skillfully lays the groundwork for 2D Zelda titles to absorb many of the same elements of player autonomy, ingenuity, and spontaneous gameplay, which have made Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom two of the most celebrated games in history.
In this new version of the game, the playstyle shifts dramatically compared to previous 2D Zelda games. Instead of being actively engaged and immediate, the gameplay now involves more strategic planning. You’ll spend time assessing your location, understanding its characteristics, devising a strategy, and then implementing it. The outcome can either unfold as anticipated or take an unexpected turn, requiring you to think on your feet.
Besides this unique talent, Zelda is equipped with another skill: she can link herself to various elements within the environment. This allows her to either maneuver objects freely or follow their motion, which are both quite cunning and add a layer of enjoyment to gameplay. In combat or for comedic effect, these skills prove invaluable, and when paired with the echoes ability, they create a diverse move set that truly sets Zelda apart from Link.
Previously, I pointed out that Zelda doesn’t usually fight with a sword. However, this statement could be debatable because, at some point in the game, she acquires Link’s sword and can temporarily harness his spirit of bravery to wield it for brief periods, allowing her to engage in combat more directly.
In this game, a particular skill has a set duration and needs to be replenished using a certain item dropped by adversaries or found in the surroundings. This is quite distinct from the rest of the gameplay as it encourages a more active and engaging playstyle, which can be intriguing. Frequently, the sword becomes the most convenient method to eliminate nearby enemies, making it easy to overlook all the whispers and links and just hack away at enemies without giving them a second thought. This emphasizes the game’s combat overall being less than impressive – the ability for Zelda to retaliate directly is quite restricted, making combat the least appealing aspect of the game, even at its best. Dispatching enemies more swiftly can sometimes magnify and aggravate this dissatisfaction.
“Combat is inarguably the weakest part of the game, even at its best.”
Truthfully speaking, such events aren’t very common. The main part of the game relies heavily on Zelda’s non-sword abilities, and in most combat situations, it turns out to be quite enjoyable as you summon and overuse echoes to assault the enemy, annihilating them before they even get a chance to retaliate. What is noteworthy is that the majority of the game doesn’t demand direct combat either, with the enemy encounters serving more as puzzles for you to solve instead of requiring immediate responses like traditional combat does.
In many instances, the actual encounters with enemies may not be the primary focus. Instead, you’ll find yourself immersed in exploring the game world, learning how to navigate it, unraveling puzzles, and making exciting discoveries. Similar to games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Echoes of Wisdom is structured as an open-world game, even though it’s a top-down 2D Zelda game. This means you won’t be given a predetermined sequence of tasks, and the world is designed so that you can go wherever you want, whenever you want, albeit with story- and progress-related obstacles frequently appearing.
As a gamer, I must say that the world design in this game is simply outstanding, arguably its most impressive aspect. The map is colossal, bigger than any 2D Zelda map thus far, yet it never feels overwhelming or cumbersome, unlike Breath of the Wild. Despite being a top-down title, it’s intricately detailed without feeling sprawling or difficult to navigate.
The reward for exploration can often be simply the act of happening upon something new, or managing to find your way to a spot that seemed out of reach, before you managed to finagle your way to it – but the game also tries to give players tangible in-game rewards for trying to go off the beaten path, from a non-stop flow of rupees, to consumables that can be used as-is or crafted to make smoothies that restore health and grant all sorts of other buffs and debuffs. You can find NPcs that give you new quests, you can find pieces of heart (yes, these are back!), or you could even happen upon an unusual and useful echo. There’s always something.
The intricate layout of the world in Echoes of Wisdom, abundant with discoverable treasures, can be seen as a counterpoint to criticisms leveled at Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, which are known for their emphasis on emptiness and sparseness. Unlike those games, Echoes of Wisdom offers a richly populated world, brimming with items to uncover, sights to behold, and activities to engage in. The pleasure of navigating and exploring this realm is immense.
The layout of the dungeons in this game is much more meticulously planned and structured compared to those found in Breath or Tears. While Echoes’ dungeons tend to lean towards linearity, offering less freedom for player movement within the dungeon, they reach impressive heights that the latest 3D games struggle to achieve.
Players might find the dungeon design in Echoes of Wisdom more appealing compared to Breath or Tears if they prefer its design sensibilities that closely resemble traditional 2D Zelda dungeons rather than the dungeons in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom which follow classic 3D Zelda dungeon designs. However, it’s important to note that these dungeons are not identical to those from the past; they incorporate more puzzle-solving and navigational challenges, ensuring multiple solutions to problems without locking players out based on a single possible solution.
In contrast to the dungeons in Breath and Tears, those in Echoes exhibit a more purposeful design and flow. Linearity and restricted player movement characterize the dungeons in these games, whereas Echoes’ dungeons excel by reaching new heights that contemporary 3D games fail to attain. The dungeon layout and rhythm are superb, reminiscent of classic lock-and-key designs, yet offering versatility through the solution of puzzles using multiple combinations of echoes and your abilities. Among the open Zelda games, starting from A Link Between Worlds and extending to Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, and Echoes of Wisdom, it could be argued that Echoes boasts the best dungeons. While the 3D games lag behind, only A Link Between Worlds’ dungeons may approach those in Echoes in quality.
In this game, the bosses found in dungeons are reminiscent of the 2D _Zelda_ series rather than the more recent 3D ones. These boss battles feature a classic style with multiple phases, diverse move sets, vulnerable spots, and strategies that players must navigate before defeating them. Some of these battles are truly remarkable, striking a balance between the challenges imposed on developers by this new gameplay style and the freedom provided to players, enabling them to think on their feet and create engaging emergent gameplay experiences.
Regarding “Echoes of Wisdom”, while it excels in combat, other criticisms could be directed at it mainly because it shares many issues with other games. For instance, its performance is less than satisfactory, with frequent frame rate drops, hitches, and slowdowns when the screen gets crowded, a problem that was also present in the 2019 remake of “The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening”, which used the same engine. Sadly, these issues haven’t been significantly improved for this title, and in some cases, they might even be more noticeable. As with the previous game, these problems can be mitigated by installing the game onto your internal system memory, but if you own a physical copy, you may not have this option.
Although some might say that the flaws in combat prevent the game from reaching the extraordinary heights attained by its predecessors, every other aspect of the game showcases the series operating at peak performance. By skillfully refining a classic and adored design, and adding just enough novelty without abandoning the elements that made the initial formula appealing, the game is a testament to the series’ enduring quality.
In terms of user interface (UI), both open-world Zelda games have interfaces that can be frustrating, as they’re clunky and encourage users to spend more time in them than necessary. The UI in Breath of the Wild was somewhat troublesome, but it didn’t significantly disrupt the gameplay experience because the game only provides a limited number of tools for players to use. This means that while you might find yourself navigating through menus and overlays quite often, it’s not as bothersome as in other games due to the restricted number of options available.
The game Tears of the Kingdom made it harder by providing an excessive amount of items and tools to deal with various situations at any given time, resulting in endless scrolling through lengthy lists to find what you needed. Similarly, Echoes of Wisdom has a similar user interface, offering many objects and enemies that can be turned into echoes, potentially resulting in having to sift through over 100 items on a list. Although sorting options are helpful, the UI needs improvement before the next Zelda game is released. I’m really tired of seeing Zelda games with horizontal scrolling menus for item or ability selection; it makes me feel like I might burst a blood vessel!
Despite some minor issues that may annoy you, they never seem to derail the game or diminish its success in other areas. Although I believe the shortcomings of the combat might prevent the game from reaching the same heights as the previous three titles did, every other aspect of the game is the series operating at peak performance. It’s taking a familiar, cherished format and giving it a fresh twist without losing what made the original formula so appealing. Fans of Zelda, both old and new, will find plenty to appreciate in Echoes of Wisdom. Despite initial concerns and high expectations, this game delivers on almost all fronts. The future looks promising for 2D Zelda games – let’s just hope the next one doesn’t take another decade to be released.
This game was reviewed on Nintendo Switch.
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2024-09-30 14:13