The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom marks the first new 2D Zelda game since 2013’s A Link Between Worlds. This new 2D entry brings many elements from more recent Zelda games while doing something no other title has dared to until now: let us play as princess Zelda herself. Whether it’s the freeform puzzle solutions thanks to the Tri-Rod or the return of traditional dungeons, Echoes of Wisdom is shaping up to be a clever mix of old and new sure to please fans of every variety. Here are 15 things you need to know before you buy The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom when it launches September 26th.
Open-Ended Puzzle Solutions Taking a Cue From Tears of the Kingdom
Trailers and previews have shown a nice variety of puzzle types and they all seem to share something in common: open-ended solutions. Like Tears of the Kingdom, Echoes of Wisdom gives the player a wide assortment of tools to solve puzzles and fight enemies. One of those tools is your Tri-Rod which creates duplicate versions of pretty much any item and enemy in the game (called Echoes). In addition, there’s the Bind ability which tethers an obstacle to Zelda, allowing you to creatively move things around the environment. Reverse Bond is even more interesting, binding Zelda herself to any moving object. The ‘Traversing Hyrule’ trailer demonstrates the Reserve Bond ability with Zelda dashing across the map attached to rolling enemies, hanging along sliding blocks, and even taking flight with a bird. It’ll be fun to see what solutions players come up with, considering the wide array of Echoes and abilities such as Bind and Reverse Bond at their disposal.
Identical UI and Menu Elements as Tears of the Kingdom
Another aspect of Tears of the Kingdom that Echoes of Wisdom borrows is the menu and UI design. The map, heart pieces, and item selection are all situated in identical locations on the screen in both games. But more substantial are the menus themselves, which unfortunately require the player to scroll through every item on hand in a single row when using Echoes. Remember how frustrating it was to find that specific material needed for fusion in Tears of the Kingdom? Well, selecting Echoes looks to provide the same kind of frustration with the single-row menuing involved. Thankfully, you can sort Echoes like you could with materials in Tears of the Kingdom; I just wish we could search through more than one row like the main menus allow us to.
File Size
Zelda games, 2D ones in particular, have never been known for their large file size and Echoes of Wisdom is no different. The Nintendo Store listing for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom notes that its file size requires 5.6 GB of memory. By comparison, the 2019 Switch remake of Link’s Awakening was 5.9 GB. Tears of the Kingdom’s file size was a hearty 18.2GB. As expected, Echoes of Wisdom is much smaller than its large 3D sibling, sharing a similar scope to Link’s Awakening. Whether the slightly smaller file size is a result of better optimization or a smaller game (the ladder is doubtful) remains to be seen.
Zelda Can Fight Directly Using Her Swordfighter Form
To the delight of many players, Zelda can fight enemies directly using the Swordfighter Form. The form mirrors Link’s own moveset with its shield blocking and circular spin attack, but the princess adds extra flair with her unique Echo ability, which can be used alongside Swordfighter Form. Zelda will need to replenish the Swordfighter Form gauge by using energy specifically found in the Still World, so fighting as Zelda directly does have its limits.
Automatons
Yes, that’s right, Zelda can even use machines to overcome enemies and obstacles. Remember the gravedigger Dampe from Ocarina of Time? Well, he’s now an engineer with a workshop in Echoes of Wisdom. Dampe will make Automaton machines for you to use, but be careful; if these machines get too damaged, they break! The Automatons vary widely in their ability; some are shown to damage enemies using musical notes while others can be used like an automatic turret above Zelda’s head. Having Echoes, Swordfighter Form, and Automatons at Zelda’s disposal opens up the possibilities of combat and puzzle-solving to an exciting degree.
Mix of Top-Down and Side-Scrolling Perspectives
Echoes of Wisdom takes one of my favorite aspects of Link’s Awakening and turns it up a notch: the combination of top-down and side-scrolling perspectives. A majority of the game is played in the traditional top-down view, but what separates Echoes of Wisdom is Zelda’s ability to jump on top of trees and climb buildings through the use of Echoes. You can even swim through the ocean shores, making this the most open-ended 2D Zelda game yet. The side-scrolling sequences function more as traversal puzzles, requiring clever usage of Echoes to get through the obstacles and traps laid out through them.
Ability To Jump (Without Feather) for First Time in a 2D Zelda Game
Of course, you’ll need a certain amount of athleticism in order to reach all these tricky areas, and that’s where jumping comes in. Trailers have quietly confirmed the ability to jump, as demonstrated by all the trees and Echoes Zelda is shown jumping across. This will mark the very first time in a 2D Zelda game that jump is inherent in the gameplay controls and not tied to an item like Roc’s Feather from Link’s Awakening. This also allows for more platforming sequences than past 2D Zelda games.
Can Ride Horses Across Hyrule
But why jump when you can ride? That’s right, for the first time in any 2D Zelda game, you can ride a horse as your method of travel across Hyrule. Past 2D Zelda games facilitated faster traversal through the speedy Pegasus Boots, but Echoes of Wisdom finally includes an Epona-like stallion to gallop with. The cool thing about the horse is you can gallop over smaller enemies and leap over ledges and fences. Summoning the horse just requires you to craft the Carrot Echo, and it can be called from anywhere to boot. What’s more, there appears to be at least two different horses shown riding with Zelda in trailers, so it’s likely a variety of horses can be tamed as you encounter them.
Fast Travel
And finally, why gallop when you just instantly warp? Fast travel isn’t a 2D Zelda first, but it’s still a very welcome sight for Echoes of Wisdom. Ocarina-shaped Waypoints are hidden across the large map, unlocking your ability to fast-travel to its corresponding location upon activation. No doubt, these Waypoints will be the very first thing players look for when entering any new environment.
Tons of Side Quests
It’s a good thing there’s fast travel in Echoes of Wisdom because you’ll need instantaneous travel to complete the game’s many side quests. The trailers mostly showcase fetch quests, so expect to create Echoes of various objects to bring back to the quest givers more often than not. Judging by the density of the five towns we’ve seen so far, players will have a lot of rupee rewards from quests to keep their pockets full, as well as content to keep them busy.
Lots of NPC Characters
Speaking of quest givers, Echoes of Wisdom has a lot more of them than it may seem. The game is filled with colorful characters with their own personality and stories to tell. The elderly man seeking to cheer his wife up with some flowers is one such request that stood out to me from trailers. Characters are also found adventuring outside the game’s villages, requiring Zelda to help them overcome an enemy ambush or to locate a lost family member. I’m curious to see how much development these side characters get, considering how much Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild fleshed out its characters.
An Extensive Array of Character Types From Across the Entire Series
One of the more interesting takeaways from the Echoes of Wisdom trailers are the mix of old and new characters that inhabit this iteration of Hyrule. I like that the classic Link to the Past River Zora and the more modernized Sea Zora each have their own separate villages within the Faron Wetlands. Echoes of Wisdom also features the all-female Gerudo tribe, situated in the heart of the Gerudo Desert, and the fan-favorite Gorons nestled in the mountainous Eldin Volcano. With regional names like Faron and Eldin referencing Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, this game is a mashup of ideas from across the series. Where this mixing of elements places Echoes of Wisdom in the wider Zelda timeline is anyone’s guess.
Can Dress Zelda Up With Many Different Outfits
Echoes of Wisdom features accessories and clothing that enhance Zelda’s parameters in various ways, but best of all, they show cosmetically when worn. There are only two types of outfit pieces as shown in trailers: Accessories like hair clips and slippers, and Clothing. This means you can mix clashing outfit pieces like the Zora Flippers with a Deku Scrub shirt to create some wild combinations. Whether you want to min/max outfits based on the situation or just ignore all their buffs for their visual aesthetic is up to you.
Still World Rifts
Hyrule has been beset by rifts which take objects to a realm called the Still World. Each Still World Rift looks different from the last, hosting unique challenges and obstacles to overcome. Nintendo have been persistent in pointing out how varied and unique each Still World Rift will be in their appearance and content, iterating on the Depths zone idea that players found repetitive in Tears the Kingdom.
“Massive dungeons” Are Back!
Inside each Still World Rift are dungeons. Yes, that’s right, traditional Zelda dungeons appear to be back. Nintendo has specifically characterized these Rift dungeons as ‘massive’, so here’s hoping they feature layers upon layers of levels filled with locked doors and hidden chests. The lack of traditional Zelda dungeons in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have disappointed a portion of the fanbase, especially of the 2D crowd, so the inclusion of Still World dungeons in Echoes of Wisdom may satisfy the decade-long dungeon drought at long last.
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