Review: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo Switch)
Echoes of Wisdom is the latest in the long line of The Legend of Zelda adventure games. This Nintendo Switch entry marks the first original top-down iteration for the series since 2015’s Tri Force Heroes. That’s almost a decade between new outings, a long wait for fans. While we’ve had the likes of the Link’s Awakening remake to tide us over, not to mention the massive open-world, 3D outings of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, there’s something special about a new top-down entry. Let’s be frank; there’s something special about a new entry in general. So, with that in mind, let’s find out whether Echoes of Wisdom was worth the wait.
As with any outing featuring Link and Zelda, there’s a story involving good and evil at war. In this case, it’s initially unclear who the antagonist is. We won’t give spoilers here, but the trailer depicts the game’s opening, featuring Ganon and Link dueling in classic fashion. Link wins the battle – but has he won the war? Evidently not, as he’s unfortunately sucked into a murky purple void. Ever the hero, Link manages to free the captured Zelda before he succumbs to the gloomy underworld.
Thus begins Zelda’s adventure. Hyrule is overrun by a devastating entity known as rifts, which steal people and objects from the world and freeze them in an icky and impenetrable dimensional space. No one knows how to enter these rifts, and despite the brave efforts of Hyrule’s soldiers, it’s up to Zelda to find out what’s causing this eerie phenomenon.
Zelda soon befriends a helpful fairy (of sorts) named Tri. It seems that, by working together, Tri and Zelda can infiltrate the rifts and return Hyrule to its former glory. How? With Echoes, of course!
Echoes are the main gameplay addition of Echoes of Wisdom, as the name suggests. It was difficult to tell from the trailer whether this would be a useful mechanic, but, thankfully, it turns out to be a lot of fun. Using her Tri Rod, Zelda can “copy” the template for certain enemies and objects. Once copied, you can create anything on your list. Anywhere. At any time. Well, there are some caveats, but we’ll get to those shortly.
In the meantime, copying and pasting your way across Hyrule is exceedingly enjoyable. It also creates endless possibilities on how you play, virtually guaranteeing that no two players will have the exact same experience. For example, as you travel across the grassy plains, what happens when you stumble upon a high, seemingly unreachable rock boasting a treasure chest atop its peak? You could try climbing it by creating trampolines, stacking boxes, or even riding a spider-like Crawtula.
In this way, Echoes of Wisdom almost feels like it takes the best parts of Tears of the Kingdom – that desire to explore and build – and places it within the relatively linear storyline of a traditional Zelda outing. The good news is this combination totally works. As I played, I realized just how much I’d missed the classic feel of a top-down adventure. I also appreciated the creative new abilities.
If there’s one thing missing from this creative strategy, it’s the real-time action of battles. Nintendo had the foresight to see this as a potential issue, bringing us to Zelda’s second ability: her Swordfighter form. A quick tap of the D-pad switches Zelda into a blue sword fighter (who strongly resembles Link). In this mode, you can swish your sword or fire off arrows to your heart’s content. And, oh boy, does it feel good.
The caveat with the Swordfighter ability is that it’s timed. An energy bar quickly depletes while in this mode, meaning it must be used sparingly. There are several ways to refill this gauge as you play, and you can also level up to increase your meter. Sometimes, it’s just easier (and more fun) to swing your sword at a couple of miscreants rather than conjure up another Moblin.
But that’s not all! The Echo and Swordfighter abilities are great and all, but let’s not forget the other new feature known as Bind. With this ability, Zelda can cling onto objects and move them, not unlike Link’s own Fuse mechanic in Tears of the Kingdom. It’s useful in so many ways, from moving objects that block your path to following the route of an object or enemy. Coupled with the Echoes, it adds another dimension to proceedings, providing many ways to solve puzzles.
And there are puzzles aplenty in Echoes of Wisdom. Wandering across Hyrule presents many local inhabitants to help, along with random treasure chests to reach and caves to explore. It makes the finite world (this isn’t an open-world experience, after all) feel so much bigger, and the game much longer for completionists.
We also welcome back proper dungeons in this outing, adding even more puzzles to the mix. If you’re a long-time Zelda fan, you’ll know what we mean when we say we’ve missed dungeons. Breath of the Wild basically excluded them, while Tears of the Kingdom kinda brought them back. Echoes of Wisdom is here to save the day with proper dungeons present and accounted for.
Entering the very first dungeon feels like visiting an old friend. The map is back, the compass returns, and there are regular keys and the awesome-looking boss key. It’s all here, and it’s fantastic. The layouts are fresh, with multiple levels to explore, new bosses (and mini-bosses) to combat, and an interesting narrative featuring certain characters under the control of others (no spoilers here, though).
The audio is another standout feature of Echoes of Wisdom. There were numerous moments during my time with the game that I actually stopped playing to simply listen to the soundtrack of the area I was in. It’s truly lovely, and the team has done a fantastic job of tweaking old melodies and creating new ones for Zelda’s solo adventure. Highlights include the upbeat tune that plays while in Swordfighter form, along with the mysterious audio that accompanies new missions.
Graphically, Echoes of Wisdom look lovely. The colorful lands of Hyrule pop off the screen, with cute chibi-like characters reminiscent of the impressive Link’s Awakening remake. The desert shimmers, the water sparkles, and the underworld is terrifying (in a cartoony way) Unfortunately, Echoes of Wisdom suffers from the same stuttering issue as Link’s Awakening whereby new areas load in a slightly jarring way as you move. It seems more noticeable in the overworld, especially while spinning. Reports indicate that the presence (or not) of this stutter could be heightened depending on the way you acquire the game itself – that is, environments load faster via cart than via the MicroSD card, for example. While the stuttering mostly didn’t bother me, it’s a shame that it wasn’t better optimized for this 2024 adventure. Nintendo is usually able to get the most out of its system, however some titles – whether because they’re rushed or created by different teams – just don’t work as well. Pokemon Scarlet/Violet is another prime example.
Overall, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is the first brand-new top-down adventure in almost a decade. Fans might be used to long pauses between outings, but this one was well worth the wait. Echoes of Wisdom not only introduces Zelda’s first canonical solo adventure, but merges familiar tropes with new moves to create an incredibly creative and beautiful experience. Despite some graphical load issues, let’s just say Zelda’s first adventure presents a strong contender for 2024’s Switch game of the year.
