The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Review

Legend Of Zelda Echoes Of Wisdom Review

2024 had some massive releases, but the gaming world really pauses and takes note when Nintendo reveals a new Zelda title. As was the case in June last year during the middle of an otherwise standard Nintendo Direct, Nintendo just casually dropped a massive bomb by showing off Echoes of Wisdom to the world.

The trailer immediately captured my attention by giving A Link To The Past vibes, with that gorgeous 2D Links Awakening remake visuals. But wait.. hang on? Princess Zelda is the main protagonist? What? Did Nintendo manage to do justice for Princess Zelda’s first lead title?

The game kicks off with some absolutely diabolical scenes as the princess of Hyrule Kingdom finds herself once again kidnapped and trapped in a crystal. Our hero Link saves the day and it’s starting to feel like the end of a normal Zelda game. It’s a really neat twist to start this new adventure off with.

Through this prologue, we’re introduced to Tri, an ethereal being who is Zelda’s main companion throughout the adventure. Tri procures a staff for Zelda, which lets you summon Echoes.

Legend of Zelda Echoes Of Wisdom Review
Princess Zelda is the main protagonist? What? Did Nintendo manage to do justice for Princess Zelda’s first lead title?

This Echo system allows you to copy objects (like a vase or table or as you progress, downed enemies) to then summon and use to do your bidding like some kind of sick necromancer. The Echo system makes up the majority of the gameplay as progression to new areas, or defeating enemies requires you to have explored and added new Echoes to your repertoire. The Echo system isn’t your only ability, as Tri can also grab onto items and move them around the area, or grip onto the item and let Zelda move freely alongside it if it’s moving.

I feel like my explanation so far makes it almost sound like Pokemon.. with tables or vases? What I haven’t gotten into yet is the creative aspect of using Echoes. Each Echo has some unique interaction or ability it performs, and as you progress the story you level up and gain the ability to summon more Echoes at once, and sometimes reduce the cost of Echoes in your inventory too.

The combination of being able to summon Echoes and grabbing onto items in the environment leads to some insane “eureka!” moments as you come across puzzles and new enemies. For example.. I saw a chest I wanted to loot way up high on a ledge. Far too high for me to jump, climb or reach. However, I do have “Trampoline” and “Pot Plant” Echoes. This stupid combination let me feel like a genius as I smugly looted the chest for 20 rupees.

Another example that has stuck with me is a combat encounter with tough armoured Knights. Zelda doesn’t have a sword freely available to use (we’ll get to that soon), but what I did have is a “Freestanding Cube of Water” Echo. Did I summon that cube of water and use my Tri grab ability to drag that knight into it and drown him? Yes, I did. And it was amazing.

The insane combinations of Echoes you can use is limited only by your imagination. I’ve since seen clips online of Zelda riding a bed across tornado’s to bypass hills, and some kind of flying Zelda contraption involving a bird and stick of meat? It’s not quite to the level of Tears of the Kingdom creative freedom, but it’s damn close and a great handheld experience.

If you’re not feeling creative, or want to power through to the next objective, you can use Sword Fighter form. This form gives Zelda a sword and other classic Link utilities to smash through foes. Just be aware it is a limited time before your stamina bar depletes and you need to recharge it before entering this form again.

The combination of being able to summon Echoes and grabbing onto items in the environment leads to some insane “eureka!” moments as you come across puzzles and new enemies.

The story in Echoes of Wisdom is nearly identical to every other Zelda game, but this time the princess is saving Link. This is a good thing, Nintendo were much less generous with their other princess (see Princess Peach: Showtime!). Let’s make something clear now: this game isn’t a spin-off, it’s a full blown The Legend of Zelda title with side quests and a meaty 20+ hour campaign.

The Kingdom of Hyrule is split into different regions and Zelda will explore them all as the adventure unfolds. Each region has its own storyline, which ties into the overarching narrative and climaxes with a Dungeon and boss fight. The Dungeons are traditional 2D dungeons, albeit with added quality of life improvements, such as multiple save points as you progress and unlock new rooms.

There are also plenty of hidden areas and collectibles to find, which unlock new items or costumes for Zelda. A lot of these costumes have extra abilities, such as increasing the distance of Zeldas spin or allowing Zelda to jump higher. Exploration is very satisfying and many an hour were sunk into finding new areas as I got more creative with new Echoes.

That’s the good stuff, now onto the not-so-good; The Rifts. Each story beat includes opening and exploring new Rifts around the map. There are also some Rifts not tied to the story. These are cool early but man was I sick of them towards the end. These act like mini-dungeons, with combinations of puzzles and combat to solve. Think of them like the Shrines in Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom. They never really visually change or add anything new to the game by the time you do your 15th Rift.

The story has a satisfying conclusion and wraps up with a genuinely touching scene that made me sad to be ending my time with the game.

Nintendo blew our socks off with the new art-style when the Links Awakening remake released back in 2019, and they have continued to use this style for Echoes of Wisdom. No complaints here, it’s a very pretty and colorful experience that sets it well apart from the 3D cel-shaded Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom releases.

It looks great in docked or handheld mode, but weirdly runs better handheld. I noticed stuttering when docked, and it never really improved as the game progressed.

Each region has its own storyline, which ties into the overarching narrative and climaxes with a Dungeon and boss fight.

I know the Switch is getting old now, having released in 2017, but at times this game felt like it was struggling to run. Then bizarrely it would run fine for ages, even if there were lots of Echoes or objects/enemies on screen. Overall the performance didn’t detract from my experience; gamers who want a smooth experience may want to wait for the Switch 2 to run this game on.

Pros

  • Echoes system is addicting, satisfying to be creative and figure out insane combinations to solve puzzles or win combat encounters with.
  • The art style is a visual treat, each area is uniquely styled to give it’s own fresh feeling.

Cons

  • Stuttering and performance issues show the hardware’s age.
  • Repetitive Rift areas between story-beats

I adored my time with The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and was sad to see the adventure end. The story didn’t blow my mind and the performance suffered, but the gameplay and puzzle solving kept me hooked until the very end. It is an awesome game and has more than earned its place alongside the other iconic titles in The Legend of Zelda series.