The importance of Echoes of Wisdom in TLoZ

The series of The Legend of Zelda has undergone big changes since it was incorporated into the Nintendo Switch library, having gone through significant and unique elements depending on the adventure we were playing on each console. The traditional Zelda formula would be moved to an open world format with the arrival of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The opportunities for everything we could do in the Kingdom of Hyrule were so enormous that it was split into two games, exponentially expanding its horizons in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Zelda fans had found a universe in which we could literally get lost and explore for endless hours.

This big change was a breath of fresh air for fans, although this open world formula was (practically) what we experienced in the first adventure of the classic game of The Legend of Zelda. The structure of the franchise has adapted with the times, offering new features, discarding ideas, and maintaining others, ensuring that it has a community of fans that will continue in the world of Hyrule for a long, long time. And this does not mean that his players do not ask for more. With the new arrival of Princess Zelda’s adventure, it is important to see how the series will develop, especially for the next installment we are talking about, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. However, getting into the subject, what are the elements that make this delivery something unique and special? Let’s get to it!

1- Main role for Princess Zelda

Zelda had never taken the lead role and playable in a game from its own franchise, and this is already something to talk about. He mainly supports Link with varied but supporting roles, although his participation was not fully witnessed until the end of Link’s journey on some occasions. On certain occasions, Zelda even has completely separate adventures of her own, such as in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, while in other games she does not even appear. In terms of gameplay, the princess Zelda was only a playable character in crossovers like Hyrule Warriors and Cadence of Hyrule (not counting the legendary Super Smash Bros. saga).

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is the first game where we can see Zelda take on the role of protagonist. This offers a completely new perspective, since the protagonist with whom we learn through the adventure is none other than normally the character to be rescued in the other installments, this being an experience that Eiji Aonuma always wanted to include.

2- Land of Hyrule

The Kingdom of Hyrule continues with the open world format in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom. The story pacing gives players the opportunity to complete the available main quests in any order. The main difference? The game does not allow the player to immediately head to the final boss after the tutorial, which is very important to its narrative. In addition to this, it is worth mentioning that the way The Legend of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom progresses makes its lore much stronger than in The Legend of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom. But in order not to go into details, confuse readers or even create possible spoilers, we will leave that information there.

3- The graphics

Conveniently, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom’s graphics are inspired by the remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. It is designed to look more like toysincreasing its accessibility to a wide audience and merchandising opportunities.

The graphics and their charisma have the ideal design to make the characters more memorable in appearance and expression. Eiji Aonuma longed to use this style more after Grezzo’s work with The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. Although the game seems innocent, its story and background pull no punches

4- Influence

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom follows the line of freedom that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom grants, but in a more accessible way. Tears of the Kingdom requires creative solutions, which can be exciting and stressful. Forcing players to constantly come up with solutions in so many ways can become mentally taxing, hampering the player’s experience.

Tomomoi Sano wanted the freedom of the previous titles, although he held them back enough to avoid the overwhelming feeling. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom embodies freedom while simplifying its depth. Zelda’s abilities are very powerful, although not as complex as, for example, Ultrahand, one of Link’s mythical abilities.

5- Director

Tomomoi Sano is the first female director of a The Legend of Zelda game. Eiji Aonuma was the original director of the franchise’s major 3D titles since The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. He changed his role to producer, supporting the development team under a new vision in this installment that has reached us from the Nintendo hybrid.

Sano built his name and experience supporting various titles such as games in the Mario & Luigi series and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD. He also played the supporting role of director for the remakes of The Legend of Zelda. Eiji Aonuma was interested in his work and wanted Tomomoi Sano to fill the supporting director position during the remakes of The Legend of Zelda on 3DS and Nintendo Switch.

6- Developer Study

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom It is the first completely new project in the saga for Grezzo. This Japanese studio is a third-party that has already collaborated with Nintendo on different projects after its supporting role in Final Fantasy XI. They helped launch several RPGs for the Nintendo 3DS such as The Legend of Legacy, The Alliance Alive and Ever Oasis.

His relationship with Nintendo deepened during his involvement with major first-party series, especially The Legend of Zelda. Their support on the remakes of Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask and Link’s Awakening prepared the team to create a new experience for the series. Eiji Aonuma was very impressed with the developers’ approach to Link’s Awakening, especially with its creative dungeons.

7- Authenticity

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom brings back the authentic, familiar feel of Zelda through its dungeons and bosses. And it’s not that Tears of the Kingdom doesn’t have these qualities, but not with the same intensity as in its previous installments. Essential dungeon items, such as small keys, compasses, and dungeon maps, were not necessary as Link’s abilities were powerful enough to bypass routes and puzzles, thus seeking alternative solutions. The bosses on the other hand also did not present real challenges, since they could not cope with the game options and the player’s wide arsenal of tools.

While Echoes of Wisdom brings back the familiar formula, it doesn’t erase Breath Of The Wild’s creative ideas. Tomomoi Sano made the game require players to think, but also not limit the solution to a single answer. It mixes traditional and modern structures to create something that fans could play over and over again for generations.

And have you already tried the game? Tell us in the comments what you think of our Princess Zelda’s adventure so far.

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