For years the land of Hyrule has been guarded and protected by the plucky hero, Link. It seems like a full-time gig saving Princess Zelda from that Ganon lad, but what if Nintendo where to flip the tables? Well, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, the newest game in the series, does just that.
And, somehow, it’s the first mainline Zelda title to let you play as Zelda. We have seen cameos from Zelda in spinoffs and the like, but she’s never had a blast at being the adventures lead, until now.
Different Dungeon Crawler
The game is also the first 2D Zelda title to be released in 11 years, following on from the outstanding The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. So, in many ways Echoes of Widsom is far from your standard Hyrule adventure.
You play Zelda on a quest to save Link and the kingdom of Hyrule. You’ll be using the Tri Rod – a magical artifact provided by the fairy Tri, to assist you along the way.
Read More: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review – Best Recipe Yet
You may think is a straight model swap for Link, but Zelda is very much her own character. And as such, she brings something new to the table. For one, you’ll be doing very little sword-wielding as she rarely gets into direct combat.
The Ol’ Dupe and Think
Instead, Zelda uses the Tri Rod to duplicate objects and using them to overcome any challenge both on the combat and puzzle front. Which is a very interesting mechanic, which leads to the pace of gameplay slowing down a bit, as it’s more important to understand your surroundings and what can or can’t be used in your favour.
You can summon fallen enemies and items, and really set up a plan of attack before sitting back and watching it all unfold. This is combined with the power to bind to objects, so you can move it anywhere you want.
Read More: Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Xbox) review – Port Perfect
At this point already, Zelda is very much starting to stand on her own two feet. These moves along with some more contextual powers combine to create a very deep and powerful move set.
You’ll also find Link’s sword along the way. This offers a special attack of sorts – granting you his power of courage for a limited time when charged. This lets you run around slashing enemies with the sword.
A Little Broken
The issue here is that more often than not I would use this power to destroy all enemies in my path. That is, instead of planning and using Zelda powers, I fell back on old habits to save time and effort.
Beyond the combat, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is very much an open world offering. You’ll be left to explore as you see fit, finding new areas and puzzles. You won’t really be led in any one direction.
However, unlike its bigger brother Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, there are progress- and story-related hardpoints to move things along, before getting to explore a bit more.
Little Big Adventure
The world itself is surprisingly big, but never feels unwieldy. It sticks to the 2D Zelda formula and there is aways something to see, or of interest as they are so densely constructed.
With lots of camps, dungeons, quests and NPCs to find you’ll never not have something to do, or somewhere to go. Even if you are not able to go all the way, the game often still rewards you for your curiosity with tangible rewards.
Read More: Princess Peach: Showtime! review – Radiant, Sword and More
Which feels like the team is sort of tackling a few issues Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom in that exploring would sometimes yield you with nothing but a dead end. This lack of payoff could put you off going off the beaten track.
Nailing the Maze
Also worth highlighting are the dungeons themselves, which have been crafted with a greater focus on puzzling. At times, the dungeons feel much more curated than other titles in the series. The pace on the whole is very good, and often lets you solve things in more ways than one.
There are also more than a few bosses waiting for you in the dungeons. And it’s here where so much of the game’s best gameplay shines, mostly because of the puzzling gameplay style. Echoes of Wisdom has some of the very best dungeons we have seen in a Zelda game in years.
Legendary Presentation
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom goes for the cute Chibi-style seen in The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. Everything has a ‘toy’ look, and the visuals are full of charm and whimsy.
But with the Switch getting on in years, there are a few technical gremlins that have followed the engine from The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. As slow down happens a lot if there is a lot going on on-screen. Also, the UI is a bit naff and that is partly from it being based on Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom template.
The audio hits the heights you would expect from a Zelda title. The rich and full tracks feed into the high adventure all the way.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is not what most fans would have been expecting. In a way, it’s totally pulled the rug from under us. But, it delivers an epic and thoughtful adventure. One that will test your grey matter, and your blade in equal measures.
Worth highlighting, that the Princess was way, way overdue receiving the spotlight over Link. Hopefully in the future we’ll see both heroes being able to adventure together and not be saving one another for a change.