When I had the chance to take a quick look at the first moments of Echoes of Wisdom a little over a month ago, I left the previous session already thinking that we were not only facing a great The Legend of Zelda title, but a necessary one and that foreshadows a promising future for the series as a whole. Because you don’t have to give up the open world and the 3D engine to have a great video game. If Mario was successful with both Odyssey and Wonder, why not explore this “second way” of the aerial perspective, as Nintendo has already done with the Grezzo studio in the remake of Link’s Awakening?
Let go of any preconceived notions you may have about the size, emotions, or even purpose of these Echoes of Wisdom. Zelda begins her journey exactly as we all (almost) always knew her: as a damsel in distress waiting for a rather quiet boy in green to walk into the room, sword in hand, and save her. Yet this comfortable and passive perspective takes a quick turn when our silent savior, along with much of Hyrule, is swallowed up by rifts connected to the dangerous Void World. Not only are the kingdom’s inhabitants besieged by hordes of horrific monsters emerging from these cracks: replicas of these missing people also appear, posing as the originals and with dark intentions. And the King of Hyrule is one of them. Zelda hopelessly awaits her verdict in the castle’s dungeons… until a mysterious fairy named Tri appears before her and offers her her scepter to channel her power and create replicas of objects and creatures, also called Echoes.
I like Tris’ addition. She is a helpful and attentive companion who is easy to empathize with, and an advisor when you need extra guidance, but without reaching Navi’s level of chatter and interruptions. Moreover, our companion’s presence is an integral part of the story they are telling us here, as you will find out on September 26th.
Advertising:
Replicas allow Zelda to memorize and reproduce all kinds of objects at will. Need to get to an elevated position? You can replicate a table and a box, create a makeshift ladder. Maybe a bridge to cross a bottomless abyss? Chain a few beds together and cross them without any problems. The possibilities suddenly multiply not only like the objects you generate, but also the solution to each situation, since the entire game is a sequence of perfectly timed puzzles. There is no ideal way to deal with each situation: the limits are set by your imagination, using everything you have at your disposal.
In the same way, Tri also offers us the power of Binding, which allows us to bind ourselves to objects to move them at will, and which we must adapt to our purposes based on their own magical rules. Need to climb a large rock to a certain height? Create a ladder and connect it to the rock to raise it at the same time. By connecting both systems, possibilities arise to shape the world of Hyrule, from the meadows, forests and mountains to the countless caves and dungeons.
Advertising:
That modern notion of a living, malleable world, introduced in the Breath of the Wild series and perfected by Tears of the Kingdom, is expanded (even further) here, disguised as a “side” title. But Echoes of the Wisdom is no small feat, and it’s a huge step forward in the asymmetrical overhead view of Zeldas. Hyrule feels much more accessible and explorable than the Link’s Awakening version and even many 3D Zeldas. Yet to succeed, you not only have to get from one point to another, you also have to defeat a whole host of monsters, almost all of which are familiar from one title or another in the series throughout its 30-plus year history. I won’t go into too much detail here, but Echoes of the Wisdom is also a monumental homage to the saga. A tribute to herself in the hands of the protagonist who gave her her name and who never had a chance until she became the last hope for all.
In terms of the creatures we can recreate to fight for us, there is a wide choice and even a “get them all” element that encouraged me to finish the encyclopedia, but in practice it is easy to quickly fall into a selection of recreated objects and monsters and forget about the rest. Sure, you have an impressive selection in front of you, but it’s like walking into a restaurant with a kitchen with a hundred dishes, but 90 of them are almost fast food. I quickly learned that with 5 or 6 specific recreates, with some rotation depending on which most powerful versions you find, you can solve almost any situation.
However, I have to give credit to the development team here. In the first few hours of the adventure, when you have a small number of replicas to choose from in the menu (which works just like the weapon selection in Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom), everything is fine. But when I reached the final stages of the game, finding a specific replica that I didn’t use often and that I absolutely needed took up to a minute, and that slowed the pace of the action, not to mention my fragile patience. My biggest wish for the next installment, whenever it comes out, is that they either completely redesign this interface or incorporate a “favorites” system.
And for battles where Tris’ magic isn’t enough, there’s Swordsman Mode and the Power Sword. Zelda’s third playable pillar is precisely the one I least wanted to abuse (even though it’s perfectly legal to do so) because it’s precisely the one that most jarred the experience and distracted me from the core of the game as a puzzle, strategy and exploration title. Zelda can activate the power of energya substance floating in the void and become a fierce warrior who can initially use a sword and shield like her eternal savior Link. However, these moments remind me too much of Link and I think that they could have been much bolder if Zelda had used her own strengths instead of relying on Link’s known tools like bombs or the bow etc. rather than the sword. However, if you keep the consistency and take advantage of this power in certain moments (such as boss fights) you will feel that this title is a real breath of fresh air for the franchise.
I want to return to the concept of Zelda as a damsel in distress, because breaking the stigma of such an alienated character was one of the game’s most obvious challenges, and one that is masterfully solved at its narrative core. Zelda starts off being treated condescendingly by the kingdom’s inhabitants, almost like a spoiled child who shouldn’t get involved in heroic matters and should leave those matters to other male characters, such as the young hero in green robes. But as the story progresses, he helps the kingdom’s inhabitants, both the Hylians and those of other races like the Deku, the Gorons, and the Zora (there are two subspecies of them!), gain everyone’s respect, and ends up understanding that this princess doesn’t need anyone to save her. Rather the opposite.
The side quests, while nothing special, as most of them repeat the “find this replica and bring it to me” structure, add some depth to this version of Hyrule. Although there are some that are genuinely fun and challenging: I spent hours trying to find all the Sellelio stamps and break all the acorn collection records, and I know I can unlock a few more surprises if I can lower my grade. They’re incentives to keep exploring the map, thus taking advantage of the synergies between Link, Replicate, and Explore. Everything connects, everything works.
But perhaps what I liked most about The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is that it offers such a fresh vision that it touches even those who have never delved into the series before. And I could hardly get upset thinking that here in the middle I had another little nod to my young daughter, now that she’s starting to see gaming as a hobby. With Zelda, it was like meeting a friend and playing together holding hands, and I hope Nintendo knows how to take that idea and explore a series parallel to Zelda so that it continues to inspire a legend in more gamers in the future.
