The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Review - The Missing Link Between Classic and Open-Air Zelda

As a Zelda superfan, I always thought it was odd how many people online were clamoring for, then got upset over Princess Zelda not being a playable character in the recent The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The Zelda series is known in large part for its action/adventure elements, and as capable as the Hylian Princess is, she’s not exactly known for her feats of athleticism, even in the Hyrule Warriors games, where she fights primarily with magic. 

I had wondered if some of the buzz was in part a stealth marketing campaign from Nintendo, and now my crackpot theory may not be so crazy, as we now have The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, the first mainline game in the series where the titular princess is the primary protagonist. The unique gimmick this time around is that Zelda can learn ‘echoes’ of foes and objects all around the world, and deploy them as necessary whenever - for combat, puzzles, or traversal. It’s a cool mechanic, and Tri-Force Heroes developer GREZZO Co. Ltd. makes the most of it.

The story this time around begins with Link confronting the beastly Ganon and saving Zelda. Only, just as Link defeats the demon, a void swallows him up, and all he can do is fire off an arrow at Zelda, who’s imprisoned in a crystal, freeing her just in time. Now you’re Zelda, dashing away from the void as it threatens to swallow her alive. Making her way back to Hyrule Castle, Zelda, a silent protagonist, discovers that her father and his most trusted advisers have been replaced by red-eyed doppelgangers that throw her in prison. Now she and companion Tri, a mysterious floating triangle, must escape and free the various regions of Hyrule from the many voids tearing through its fabric and slowly devouring its inhabitants.

Taking inspiration from the past

It’s a dark, straightforward tale that supports the very puzzle-heavy gameplay, and while Echoes of Wisdom won’t be anyone’s favorite narrative of the series, it does have fascinating implications for the lore, especially considering the nature of the chief antagonist. Echoes of Wisdom also ties together many races and elements from previous games. The River Zora and Sea Zora factions are heavily contrasted, with a tense showdown and ultimate teamwork once and for all metaphorically reconciling the differences between their 2D and 3D incarnations. The game also features Gerudo, Gorons, Deku Scrubs, and even the Yeti race from Twilight Princess.

Another way The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom brings the series’ different eras together is in its mechanics. Somehow, there is Z-targeting in this game. It is clumsy, and there’s no easy way to lock your position or switch between targets, but it’s there and necessary for certain puzzles and combat encounters. A Link to the Past’s level design is a clear inspiration, as most of the enemies and overworld elements are straight from that timeless classic, with burnable webs and bombable roadblocks. There’s swimming, which has never felt smoother in 2D Zelda. Zelda can also move and follow certain objects with Tri, which sort of echoes Tears of the Kingdom’s Ultrahand ability. Then there’s Breath of the Wild’s environmental elements such as hot and cold temperatures and the ability to make consumables to protect yourself against their dangers. One thing that they could have stood to improve from the recent games, however, is the UI, which is awkward at best and time-wasting at worst.

Test for Echo - A Bold, Imperfect Mechanic

I really wish that I could have been a beta-tester for this game. I would have told them honestly and openly that the UI is the game’s single biggest downside. They needed an quick recall wheel for echoes, ala Skyward Sword. Tapping multiple times through the last used, most used, etc. echoes then scrolling to find the one you want gets old fast, and there’s also no reason why you shouldn’t be able to have at the very least one additional echo on call at the press of a single button. It artificially lengthens the experience by sapping the player’s precious time with 4-9 button presses when one could achieve the same result. It is maddening.

Sorry for the rant. One positive is that the echoes themselves are mostly spot-on. Echoes of Wisdom’s trailers showcased the echoes mechanic very well. Basically, Zelda can pull up any of the echoes she has learned on her journey via menu and activate them on the fly. In the early hours, you’ll be making stairs out of beds and trampolines, hiding in jars or tossing them to distract guards, and summoning basic enemies like keese, crows, moblins, and snakes to fight in your stead. The game has so many echoes, you would think that they would have, gee, you know, a better way to access them.

Throughout the adventure, Zelda will glide down while holding echoes, send them out underwater, ascend through physics-defying water blocks, and ultimately electrocute her way to victory. Echoes are your traversal, your combat, and even your inn, as Zelda can whip out a bed and sleep pretty much anywhere to recover health. You’ll do your best in combat by recalling and re-summoning echoes often. There’s no cooldown whatsoever, so you can time your counterattacks if you know your foes well, which speeds the typically very slow combat up immensely, as it can feel like a basic monster wrangling game at times. It’s fun to command a gang of octoroks or moblins. If I had a bone to pick, it’s that some echoes require precise placements to work, and getting the right angle can be tricky, even on a Pro Controller, due to the lack of adjustable precision for stick sensitivity. The level design also features more invisible walls than I’d like.

Same old challenges, new and limiting playstyle

The echoes mechanic is a wonderful idea, but I feel like the game ends just as it was starting to really find its voice and ramp up the challenge. That’s not to say Echoes of Wisdom is short. On the contrary, there are seven and a half dungeons. I enjoyed about four or five of them. They feature mostly simple puzzles and decent bosses.

Zelda also has the ability to enter Swordfighter Mode, where she will turn blue and functionally become Link, with the ability to swing a sword, block with a shield, and later, use a bow and bombs. It’s nice, except that your energy in this form runs out quickly, and you’ll have to collect energy from rifts or consume mixable smoothies to replenish it. Business scrubs across the map mix these smoothies up for you. 

Later on, you’ll encounter Dampe, who via a series of sidequests, can make wind-up automatons to summon into battle. I unlocked three of these, and found them only situationally useful. 

To me, the automatons are a poor alternative to the most obvious mechanic to include in a game with a playable Princess Zelda - unlockable magic spells. Heck, her entire play style in nearly every other game involves magic spells and light arrows. Neither makes an appearance in Echoes of Wisdom, and given the game’s length and the lack of movement options, it feels like a massive missed opportunity to not have a basic fireball, a defensive shield spell, or even a quick dash. 

One thing the game has going for it is its length. More than doubling Link’s Awakening, you can easily spend between 15-20 hours in this version of Hyrule - more, if you’re not a hardcore Zelda fan, for which most of the game’s challenges will be old hat. I can count the amount of deaths I had on one hand. The same number applies to the number of times I had to stop and think about a puzzle before solving it, especially since many have multiple solutions. The overworld is a series of small puzzles to traverse, with minigames, challenges, and sidequests hidden throughout. Hero Mode can be turned on and off whenever, but the game does not allow you to change basic settings, such as whether to lock the fps at 30, change controls, or modify the sound mix. I am astounded that Nintendo still doesn’t offer such simple options.

Polished pixels hampered by poor performance

I have quite strong opinions on this storied series, so when I first saw that the next Zelda game was going to have the same toy-box look as the recent Link’s Awakening remake, with shiny, round Fisher-Price Little People for characters, I had to let out a deep sigh and wonder what could have been. Even in the DS games, the cel-shaded Wind Waker art style was bold, expressive, and awe-inspiring at times, but the best Echoes of Wisdom can do is ‘cute’ and ‘colorful’. Every surface is like laminated plastic. Artificial and smooth. It is the opposite of immersive.

One thing that isn’t so smooth is the game’s framerate. Echoes of Wisdom stutters along at the worst of times, chugging to well below 30fps in tense moments. It can hold 60 when not much is going on in dungeons, but the overworld is large enough that apparently loading level assets chugs the Switch along. They probably ran out of time for optimization, as this game seems to have hit up against a hard deadline. It’s unfortunate, because the performance does affect the gameplay a lot in tense moments.

The music is hit and miss, and mostly because the tracks are quite short and can get so repetitive that I had to turn off my sound and listen to something else. There is only one theme for the rifts, and not only is it bland and bad, you’ll be spending a lot of time in rifts. The main theme tries to call back to the chiptunes of A Link to the Past, but with an emphasis on high-pitched woodwinds that quickly grows old. With that said, there are some good tracks, such as the theme that plays when you’re in Swordfighter Form, further accentuating how the game feels like it’s hamstrung by the options it withholds from you. 

In terms of collectibles, there are stamps that eventually lead to excellent rewards like bottles and heart pieces, but you’ll hit a lot of not-so-cool smoothie ingredients. Zelda has a bevy of outfits to find and buy, but nothing that can distract me from the lack of soul behind those beady little eyes. Did I mention I think this game looks like something targeted to a five-year-old? Not that I am complaining per se, but I’m clearly not the target audience here. I hope Nintendo and GREZZO start fresh with a new aesthetic next time.

A decent quest, but not for $60

If this review sounds negative, it’s because I hold The Legend of Zelda up to the highest standards, since the series has delivered so many bangers, including some of my favorite games of all time. Younger audiences, female gamers, and fans of puzzle-solving games will find the most to love here, while longtime fans will likely be split. The more open-minded and forgiving will be enamored with the possibilities made manifest by the totally novel playstyle, while fans of Link’s more straightforward combat may find their patience tested. It is literally more button presses to achieve the same results. This game could have benefited from more time in the oven. 

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom has a lot to recommend it - a unique mechanic, classic dungeons, and a decent OST. While it’s a worthy entry into the hallowed series, for Zelda fans who love action and playing with Link’s many toys, Echoes of Wisdom will be an overpriced slog.

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Verdict: 3.5 / 5

PROS

• Totally novel gameplay mechanic

• The return of classic dungeons 

• Excellent final area and ending

CONS

• Horribly inefficient UI for the echoes

• Mostly easy puzzles

• Many repetitive music tracks

• Inconsistent performance

• Lack of basic options (performance, sound, etc)

What I’ve Played 

• Beat the game in 18 hours 

• 15/20 Heart Pieces

• 3 Automatons unlocked

• Filled out all stamps

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