When it comes to The Legend of Zelda, I’ve never considered myself to be hard to the core. I wasn’t given a choice but to spend my late nineties in Hyrule as my friends at the time were all enamoured—understandably, Ocarina of Time is one of the greatest for good reason—by Link’s quest to overthrow Ganondorf with the help of a glorified flute. Even most recently, I fell off of Tears of the Kingdom after just an hour at the first sign of crafting for survival.
Our hands-on picked up with Princess Zelda captive in a jail cell, on the hook as the person responsible for letting loose rifts in Hyrule which have already gobbled up the King of Hyrule and Link, the series’ traditional cloaked hero. Marked for execution, and seemingly out of options, a being named Tri reveals itself to Zelda out of the ether and gifts her, through the Trirod, the power to control the Echoes—the game’s namesake gameplay hook.
I was speculative about how freeing a mechanic like this might be, but after you’re through the hand-holding of your jailbreak, which teaches you what there is to know about the Echoes and how to harness them, it becomes clear that the mechanic is geared toward lateral thinking and problem solving.
It was made evident to me that Echoes of Wisdom, despite sharing a developer in the case of the Link’s Awakening remake and its cute art style, exists in its own canon, and is an entirely new take on Hyrule. I think that kind of clarification, especially after last week’s excitement surrounding the franchise’s most elaborate timeline, is valuable.
You’re able to collect Echoes, both static and living, as you explore. Static items like pots, beds, and coffee tables simply glimmer within the game’s bed, and serve as a beckoning finger which calls for you to collect it. If you’re hoping to add Hyrule’s diverse fauna to your collection, however, you must first best them in battle. As Zelda can’t fight as Link traditionally would, figuring out how to best topple each of these creatures becomes a puzzle unto itself, as you’re forced to defeat the first enemy you encounter with few resources only for it to escalate from there. Of course, it’s not a free for all and there’s a pop cap for Echoes that’s managed by Tri’s power, which is indicated by the triangles that make up its tail.
THE CHEAPEST PRICE: $68 FROM AMAZON
Whether you’re caught up in an environment puzzle, or whether you’re in the heat of battle, every Echo has a cost. Something like a table might cost one triangle, whereas a spear-wielding boarblin who brings with it some offensive firepower might have a higher price tag. What I do like is that, in an effort to retain flow to the gameplay, the game doesn’t simply say “no” to deploying a new Echo if you’ve maxed out Tri’s power, it simply overwrites your earliest Echoes up to the value of the one you’re trying to use. It’s a pretty elegant system, and I do love the fact that others in the room with me had completely different ideas for how to navigate certain situations, which I think does speak to the player’s freedom on offer in Echoes of Wisdom.
Based on my time in this Hyrule, I definitely recommend venturing off the beaten track in search of Peahat—he’s a lovely lad, and is the first hour’s most overpowered, over-flowered destructive force of nature.
Ultrahand, and how it left players to toy with the physics of the world, was perhaps the biggest selling point of Tears of the Kingdom. Zelda’s Bind and Reverse Bond is a pared back take on this that has Echoes of Wisdom feeling a bit like Tears of the Kingdom-lite. The former lets you manipulate items within the world but exacting force upon them, while the latter sees forces from the world impressed on Zelda herself, for example she’s able to pair herself with a floating platform and she’ll mimic its movements in real space. As with the Echoes, players can get very cute and creative in how they’re navigating Hyrule’s overworld and the mysterious Still World, a subspace quasi-underground area that’s home to the game’s tougher dungeons.
After Zelda is forced to divert from her safehouse refuge due to the rift, she soon finds herself within the Still World, a place where anything pulled in by the force of the rift, such as uprooted trees and buildings, is left suspended in mid-air while all Hyrulians sit petrified and lifeless. It’s a creepy, eerie setting that exists in balance to the brighter, albeit troubled, overworld. It’s within this first dungeon of sorts that we encounter the demo’s trickiest noodle-scratchers and fights against a dark version of Link, which unlocks Zelda’s Sword Master power-up that sees her don the iconic tunic and cap, and a big, bashing and crashing stone golem.
What I like is that the Sword Master Mode is treated like a temporary power, rather than Zelda’s permanent form. To incorporate swordplay in any other way would really hurt the game’s strength, which early on centres around using Echoes in problem-solving, including combat. With that said, it’s a cool moment to see her raise a sword and bum rush a hulking stone golem like she’s Wonder Woman, it’s absolutely earned.
Though I was cautious about directing any optimism Echoes of Wisdom’s way, having gone hands-on with it for just over an hour has dissuaded any concerns I had and has convinced me that Zelda’s self-contained adventure might be the title I’ve personally been wanting. It’s a bit airy and casual, however it doesn’t sacrifice the creative ways that recent entries like Tears of the Kingdom engaged with its players.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom launches on September 26th for Nintendo Switch. The cheapest price is $68 with free shipping.
