Verdict
The Nintendo Switch is n’t lacking in magical form of address , but The Legend of Zelda : Echoes of Wisdom takes the cake . From a flourishing take on Hyrule that ’s a delight to search and interact with , to a capricious gameplay loop that encourage thinking outside the boxful , Zelda ’s long - expect sentence in the spotlight also pass to be one of the series ' upright games yet .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Even though it may look like a sequel to the Switch remaking ofLink ’s Awakening , The Legend of Zelda : Echoes of Wisdom is entirely its own game with a whole fresh take on the serial .
For the sake of being altogether transparent at the beginning of this review – I ’ve never been a magnanimous rooter of the top - down Zelda games . Whether it ’s in play A Link to the Past or A Link Between Worlds , I always obtain myself fall back path of exactly where to go next , sense demoralised and give up several dungeons in .
For my money , it ’s the 3D Zelda games that are far more compelling and more intuitive in their design , but for echo of Wisdom , I was willing to give the top - down format one last endeavor . After all , aside from being the first biz in the entire enfranchisement that puts its titular princess front and nub as the main playable character , it also does away with the traditional sword fight of sure-enough in favour of a summon - based organisation for master obstacles .
Well , I can now say that if Nintendo envision primed to expel more game like Echoes of Wisdom in the future , you could weigh me a top - down convert .
Story and gameplay
Before we plunge into the gameplay , which is perfectly where the depth of Echoes of Wisdom lie , it ’s deserving first detail the story because it ’s no doubt the key selling point that Nintendo is pushing in its selling of the game .
Even though there have been 29 different titles to grace the dealership over its near 40 - year history , this is the first time that games have had the prospect to encounter as Princess Zelda and I think I mouth for everyone when I say it ’s long overdue .
The biz starts out , funnily enough , like the remnant of a distinctive TLoZ biz with Link managing to crush a terrifying foeman and rescue Princess Zelda . The only problem is that before he can celebrate , Link is swallowed up by an otherworldly rift that consume everything in its path .
Zelda just about manages to get away and it ’s here where our story begins . With Link out of the picture , it ’s up to Zelda to bring through him whilst also bringing an destruction to the rifts that are now circularise throughout the Kingdom of Hyrule . It ’s a solid premise , specially when it becomes known that the rifts can acquire impostor versions of those who have been taken , adding an excess layer of drama to the proceedings .
You ’ll also find hints along the style that allude to the journeying that Link underwent prior to these events make plaza , make it find as if you ’re finally start out a chance to see what happens after the traditional ‘ blithely ever after ’ conclusion .
Zelda is n’t on her own however , as she ’s before long play along by Tri , a small creature from the Still World ( the shoes within the rupture ) that ’s task with repeal the destruction . To invoke Zelda ’s assistance , Tri bestows Zelda with the Tri Rod which can be used to summon objects and field of study out of thin air . It might voice a flake fruity , but this is where the wizardry of Echoes of Wisdom ’s gameplay lie .
Because Zelda is n’t a fighter , she needs to use the Tri Rod to come up ‘ replication ’ of the things she encounters on her journey and use them to her vantage . This could think of using obstacles to avoid an enemy or summon a friendly monster to do your fighting for you .
What ’s so refreshing about the whole matter is the amount of multifariousness at your fingertips . There are tons of unlike ways to overcome a puzzle or combat encounter , and some of the best moments I had with the biz were when I set off to think outside of the box and employ some of my lesser - used Echoes .
While there are sure sections that are sure to leave people scratching their head ( I count myself among them ) , you could rest secure that you always have the solution in your inventory ; it ’s just a matter of image out which Echo is set for the job . With that said , the more sound reflection you have , the easier these situations become and it ’s an effective yet subtle way of encouraging exploration throughout the world to assay out fresh unity .
If you venture off the tick path , there ’s a serious luck that you ’ll find a new Echo that can be put to utilise down the line , oftentimes in ways you could never have imagined . It ’s an effective gameplay loop that injects new life into the top - down Zelda series , although I ’d be lie if I said that I enjoyed it more than my late playthrough ofTears of the Kingdom .
In fact , with Tears of the Kingdom being such a height for the dealership , it hurts Echoes of Wisdom to be the title that follows it as it ’s bound to be the key comparison point for most players , and I do think that I ’d sooner play Tears again than Echoes . Still , there are some familiar element here that classic Zelda fan will apprize , namely the Sword of Might automobile mechanic .
Not too long after Link is necessitate , Zelda acquires his brand which , thanks to some imbued illusion , can give its wielder the major power of a skilled warrior . When activate , Zelda can slash and away at enemies much like in Link Awakening , but it can only work for a limited time so it ca n’t be relied on constantly .
You do , however , have the ability to level up both the Sword of Might via Might Crystals , strain the length , ameliorate its durability and more . There ’s also a levelling organisation for Tri , as the mental process of closing more rifts can allow you to summon more sound reflection or even bring down the price of cite certain ace .
In my full playthrough , I only saw the Game Over screen once and that was due to me taking my eye off Zelda ’s hearts during a fairly eclectic battle . Otherwise , the game is quite forgiving in its difficultness and I retrieve that young gamers should n’t struggle too much here , but for those after a change , there is a disjoined ‘ Cuban sandwich ’ mode that you could toggle from the get - go that makes things harder , such as increase the amount of damage dealt by enemies .
One aspect that really assist to palliate the frustrations I ’ve had with previous top - down Zelda games is the use of a fast locomotion system ( finally ) . Throughout your journey , you ’ll encounter a generous amount of warp points that Zelda can teleport to at any time , even when you ’re in a dungeon . This makes it so much easier to stock up your inventorying when you need to , and I definitely recommend doing so before a party boss fight .
Similar to Tears of the Kingdom , there are ingredient to pile up along the way but alternatively of have to ready meals on the go , Echoes of Wisdom has you trounce up sweet talker at specific stalls across Hyrule . Various concoctions can be used to give Zelda buffs such as heat and chill resistance , as well as reestablish immense chunks of wellness , so it ’s worth give birth a couple to hand at all times . It ’s by all odds not as complex as what we ’ve seen in the overt - world Zelda games , but it ’s simple enough that gamers of all ages can utilise it .
Presentation and performance
One of my biggest business organisation going into Echoes of Wisdom was the plot ’s soma rate . liaison ’s waking up was perturbed by an insistent retardation that really strangle my experience , and during a preview of this game , I started to point out some of those traits re-emerge . Having now finished Echoes of Wisdom however , I ’m beaming to say that the technical consequence have been greatly understate .
They ’re not gone wholly – the game ’s hatchway section feels like more of the same and does n’t do the good business of localise accurate expectation for the residue of the game , but once you get beyond this section , it ’s unruffled sailing .
Beyond that , I did receive the odd bit of slowdown but never to the degree where it affected my delectation of the biz , nor did it affect my ability to oppose to what was happen on - screen , and give thanks good because it would have been a peachy detriment to the utterly charming introduction .
Link ’s Awakening ’s toy - loge style artistry conception return key and it now looks better than ever . Every subdivision of Hyrule pops with colour , and the plasticky shine of it all makes it seem as if you ’re watch a appeal of toys come to living in front of your very eye . It ’s the character of biz that ’s made for theSwitch OLED .
Unlike Tears of the Kingdom , there ’s no phonation play to be found here but I did n’t mind too much as the duologue still kept me flirt with all the way through . In fact , I was quite surprised by how invested I became in the story of characters that Zelda meets along the way . This is the most alive that Hyrule has ever felt in any of the Zelda games I ’ve play to date .
As a final note , the music still upholds the degree of lineament that you ’d expect from this serial publication , and the remix of Zelda ’s Lullaby ( a fan favourite from Ocarina of Time ) that plays around Hyrule Castle bring an contiguous smile to my nerve . This is one for both existing fans and newcomers alike .
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Should you buy it?
With Zelda front and centre plus a whole young gameplay organisation to boot , Echoes of Wisdom does for top - down game in the serial whatBreath of the Wilddid for their 3D counterparts .
If you prefer the tried and essay steel - swinging formula then you might be dependable off playingLink ’s AwakeningorSkyward Sword HD .
Final Thoughts
On almost every level , The Legend of Zelda : sound reflection of Wisdom is a delectation . Its nontextual matter flair begs for your attention at every round and I could n’t get enough of the Echoes organisation , always eager to research unexampled combination to overcome the next challenge .
give the dramatic shift thatBreath of Wildbrought to the series , Echoes of Wisdom feel like the pure answer in variety for the top - down Zelda titles , expanding the gameplay in a whole new way whilst maintain the core look of the franchise so that existing fans do n’t feel too isolated . It may have taken a farseeing fourth dimension for Zelda to star in the leading role , but for it to finally come about in Echoes of Wisdom , the time lag was most certainly worth it .
Check out our summation of thebest Nintendo Switch gamesto see what other title are deserving playing on the console .
Trusted Score
How we test
We play every game we critique through to the end , outside of certain exceptions where catch 100 % completion , like Skyrim , is close to impossible to do . When we do n’t fully finish a game before refresh it we will always alarm the reviewer .
FAQs
No , Echoes of Wisdom is a single - player game only .
