The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom review: A princess’ evolution

21 Oct 2024, 13:00 by Dominic Baez · The Seattle Times

Video game review

Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda franchise has an uncanny ability to reinvent itself without changing its core identity. There’s always a hero, always someone who needs saving, always an epic journey connecting the two — but each game challenges players with something new. From the breathtaking verticality of Skyward Sword to the jaw-dropping nonlinearity of Breath of the Wild, the Zelda games at once feel deeply familiar and dazzlingly inventive. The series’ latest game is no different. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is very much a typical Zelda game — except in the phenomenally creative ways that it’s not.

The franchise may be named after her, but the legendary Princess Zelda of Hyrule has almost never been a playable character in the nearly 40-year-old series. Originally a damsel-in-distress archetype, the royal got a major glow-up over the years, particularly in terms of character agency. Echoes of Wisdom is the fruition of that evolution: For the first time, Zelda is the protagonist of her own game — and she more than stands her own ground against the forces of evil threatening her kingdom.

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Flipping the script, it’s Link — the longtime tunic-wearing, sword-wielding protagonist of the series — who needs rescuing in Echoes of Wisdom (developed by Nintendo and Grezzo, and published by the former), and Zelda who’s doing the saving. In yet another clever inversion, Zelda isn’t going around striking enemies down with the Master Sword; rather, she teams up with a fairy named Tri (think Ocarina’s Navi, but far less annoying), who grants her a new weapon: the Tri Rod. With said magical staff in hand, the princess is able to create Echoes, copies of objects and even enemies she’s defeated.

That ability is the primary mechanic of Echoes of Wisdom. As you progress through the 25-hour story, you’ll make Echoes of everything from stackable beds to water blocks to powerful monsters who now fight for you. Exploration becomes less about how far you are in the story and more about how creative you are using your Echoes; in fact, you can unlock most of the game’s map (and its health, ability and inventory upgrades) early on with just a few Echoes. It’s a wildly ingenious system, one that rewards thinking outside the box. My one complaint: By the time you’re about halfway through the game, you’ll likely be using just the same dozen Echoes (especially if you defeat some of the more powerful enemies). It’s not that anything is stopping you from using the dozens of available Echoes, it’s just that there isn’t any need to.

That won’t stop you from wanting to explore Hyrule and all it has to offer — and there’s a lot to find here. The visually gorgeous 2D game, presented in the same beautiful toylike art style as 2019’s Link’s Awakening remake (itself an homage to the original Game Boy game), is stuffed with character upgrades, explorable caverns, ingenious dungeons and lush locales. There’s a typical Zelda story here: An evil entity is trying to ruin everything (this time with mysterious rifts that absorb anything they touch), and our hero has to put a stop to the shenanigans. But the plot generally falls wayside to the world it’s hosted in: Often I found myself wanting the dialogue to wrap up so I could continue combing through each area to see if I missed any worthwhile Echoes or recognizable faces. (Longtime Zelda fans will be delighted at who’s available to talk to in Echoes of Wisdom.)

Exploration also connects players to the staggering number of side quests this game has. Almost all of them are worth your time to some effect: granting you consumables, upgrades and, on rare occasion, gear. (There’s a surprising amount of outfits for Zelda to swap between.) The more involved quests, though, are absolute highlights, including the ones that help you unlock uniquely powerful attackers called automatons.

I will say, though, that the Echoes system leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to combat. Zelda herself is almost completely unable to attack anything (outside of one awesome but time-limited ability), which means players are reliant on offensive Echoes to do the heavy lifting. It’s slow and a bit tedious at times, especially early on when your pool of Echoes is smaller. It’s far from an awful experience, but it doesn’t have the enjoyable physicality as Link and his sword.

In the end, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a delightful and clever entry in the franchise, and the decision to swap heroes from Link to Zelda and to give her her own gameplay mechanics was an inspired one. The game isn’t flawless (there were noticeable frame rate dips, a reminder that I’m very much looking forward to the Switch 2), but it succeeds in all the ways that matter. Long live the princess; may her next adventure be just as worthwhile.

“The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom” ★★★ (out of four)
Developed by Nintendo and Grezzo, published by Nintendo; available on Switch; rated E for Everyone for fantasy violence; $59.99