The Legend of Zelda is a series that needs no introduction, spanning 20 titles over the past 40 years or so, putting you in the boots of our silent hero Link, and tasking you with rescuing Princess Zelda… Echoes of Wisdom takes this tried and true premise and takes a huge risk by taking away your sword and shield and giving you control of Zelda herself to attempt to save Hyrule. What’s it Like? Don your cloak, get your Tri-Rod, and exercise your brain muscles as we review The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom for Nintendo Switch.
Echoes of Wisdom tells a new tale of how Hyrule is under threat by strange rifts that are opening up and swallowing large sections of the world, including its people. As Princess Zelda, you barely escape one of these rifts with your life and set out to save Hyrule from this Calamity. The story took some twists and turns and I won’t be talking too much about it here so you can experience a lot of these moments spoiler-free. What I will say is that there are old familiar friends who return to help you on your quest, as well as new friends to meet. One such friend is “Tri,” a magical being who plays a huge role in Echoes of Wisdom by creating the Tri-rod, a special artifact that lets you learn and summon “echoes.”
These Echoes are copies of items and enemies in the world and form the backbone of the new core mechanics of the gameplay. From the humble (and possibly most useful) echo in the form of a bed to mace-wielding combat knights, and even sharks. You will grow a collection of echoes that can fight for you, or provide you with a hasty escape from a hairy situation. While it’s true that echoes may have a primary function, much like we saw in Tears of the Kingdom, these functions are more like… suggestions, and the player is really only limited by their imagination of how they use them. The world is littered with hidden treasures and interesting shortcuts that can open up if you know a clever trick or two. There are also a lot of thoughtful elements of gameplay like unlocking fast travel shrines, collectible stamps to hunt down, and that Pokemon-like mentality of trying to get every echo you can.
Classic-style dungeons make a triumphant return in Echoes of Wisdom that house some devious puzzles, and unique boss battles. It follows the tested formula of finding silver keys, boss keys, and maps in order to close the bigger rifts, whereas smaller rifts might have mini-challenges. Some areas have a couple of mini-dungeons to battle through to unlock the main challenge, and some let you waltz right into the main dungeon right away. This pacing is handled rather well, and despite some minor backtracking (made easier by fast travel), no area outstays its welcome. What does change in Echoes of Wisdom compared to the other games is just how many ways you can solve a dungeon and its puzzles. After my first few dungeons, I stopped thinking like a traditional Legend of Zelda player, and started thinking “What’s a fun and unique way to tackle this objective.” This is Echoes of Wisdom’s greatest strength, giving you the freedom to experiment in both combat and environmental challenges to overcome adversity. The same principle also applies to boss fights, using boulders to block projectiles, or summoning a horde of echoes to attack, it really just depends on your play style.
The game is rendered in the Links Awakening Remake engine with a gorgeous chibi art style that manages to pay homage to the original NES, SNES, and Gameboy titles, but also manages to stand out on its own with gorgeously detailed environments, thoughtful world design, and interesting enemies. The game will seamlessly switch between its top-down 3D look, to side-scrolling areas with puzzles to solve, it’s all really well done. Just when you think you have a bead on what’s going on, Echoes of Wisdom adds a new echo or thread to follow, opening up more possibilities, including the ability to assume Links form for a short burst of time which can be upgraded, along with the damage output. Some players mind find comfort in the familiarity, but others might prefer to attack bosses and problems the Zelda way, and that’s ok.
The only thing I can really criticize Echoes of Wisdom on is the performance which is woefully inconsistent. For the most part, Echoes of Wisdom runs at a solid 30 frames per second, but will occasionally dip to around the 20 fps mark for no apparent reason, mainly in the overworld. It’s a similar problem to Links Awakening, which probably hints towards a base engine issue that most likely won’t be patched. The slowdown didn’t really take anything away from my experience, but it was strange to see in a first-party title which is usually polished to perfection. For my dungeon divers looking into accessibility options, there are no specific options so to speak, and I suggest further research to find out if Echoes of Wisdom suits your needs.
As I near the end of this review, I want to share a quick story… It was Echoes of Wisdom launch day when I started on this review. My kids could be heard from my son’s room, feverishly playing Echoes of Wisdom together. It’s my daughter’s first Zelda game, relishing the thought of being able to play as Princess Zelda, and they excitedly call out “Look at that” and gasped with wonder, and they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. It’s that same wonder and magic I felt with my first Zelda game, which was Ocarina of Time, when first discovered the openness of Hyrule Field. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom captures that same magic we felt in Ocarina of Time. It’s familiar, but also fresh, and its innovative mechanics feel just like the leap from Breath of the Wild to Tears of the Kingdom. It lovingly gives us a new perspective by seeing Hyrule through Zelda’s eyes on an adventure full of awe-inspiring moments, creative freedom, and a whole lot of wisdom.
I hope Nintendo never loses that magic they manage to sprinkle into games like Echoes of Wisdom that make them truly special.
So What’s it Like? Echoes of Wisdom is Like a Link to the Past, crossed with Links Awakening.
Echoes of Wisdom is a What’s it Like Certified Exceptional game. In the interest of full disclosure, a review copy was provided by Nintendo Australia, but this does not influence my score.
