‘The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’ Is Innovative And Exciting (Switch)

After the successful release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo has returned to the world of Hyrule with another innovative twist. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom takes a familiar world and flips it upside down, creating one of the most creative but still accessible entries in the long-running action-adventure franchise.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom starts with Link battling through a dungeon and facing off against Ganon. Link’s sword, bow, shield, and bombs are at your disposal. It is a fun little “hey, remember Zelda games?” moment that gently eases players into the action and teaches the basic skills that will become available again.

But this isn’t a game about Link. Or, at least, it isn’t about playing as Link. There is a primordial evil known as Null trapped away in the Void lurking in the background. Null uses ominous purple rifts connected to something known as the Still World that he uses to infiltrate the world and return it to the Void.  Link falls into this Void while Zelda is able to escape, setting the stage for her to be the primary hero in this adventure.

Once she returns to Hyrule, Zelda runs into imposters of her father the king and his top advisors. She is blamed for the rifts, arrested, and sentenced to execution. She meets Tri, a fairy who can help Zelda close the rifts and save the world. Armed with the Tri Rod, Zelda sets off on an adventure to save her family, friends, and the entire world.

The idea of a world-ending threat that only the hero can stop is nothing new to the Zelda franchise. The big twist is that, for the first time in franchise history, players get to play as Zelda instead of Link. Link’s standard combat abilities become available later in the game, so the change feels surface-level at first, but it starts to matter more and more as the game progresses.

Small moments like Zelda not having to sneak into Gerudo since she’s female help make this experience stick out from the normal approach. There are other smaller story bits that help her grow as a character on her own instead of being simply tied to whatever Link is doing. Character interactions throughout the world are often fun and enjoyable even if they don’t always have a massive impact on the larger story.

Link is a constant presence, however, which does stop Zelda from completely standing on her own. It would have been great to see her stand on her own entirely, but it is still a step in the right direction and opens up possibilities for more stories centered around her as the playable character in the future.

While the story does not exactly reinvent the wheel, the gameplay is what makes The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom truly special. Sword, Bow, and Bomb combat returns but those were easily my least-used mechanics of choice. The new Echo mechanic is a fascinating addition that completely changes how players approach everything from combat to exploration. There is also the ability to summon creatures to help fight enemies, creating new ways to approach combat.

The Echo ability allows players to copy echoes of items in the world and place them around the map. It is not as endlessly creative as the system in Tears of the Kingdom, but it doesn’t need to be. It is a more distilled package that simplifies the creative process without severely limiting options.

This is mostly noticed in the dungeons explored throughout the story. There is no “correct” approach to any of the dungeons. Instead, players can use the echoes they have collected to experiment with how they want to approach it. It keeps the dungeons feeling fresh, especially towards the end of the game.

There are a ton of echoes to collect and the game keeps throwing them at you all the way until the end. This gets a little overwhelming with how cumbersome the selection wheel is, but it is nice to have so many options at hand. I did find myself gravitating towards the same few echoes, but when I did experiment I never had any issue finding new methods to tackle familiar tasks.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a blast to play but is also stunningly beautiful. The creativity on display pops off the screen and every new discovery is a joy to look at. The visual approach is similar to the 2019 remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and it absolutely nails the design. The scenery is great to look at and the creative character and enemy models make combat as fun to watch unfold as it is to actually engage in.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom twists the typical Zelda formula while still staying true to the franchise. It is a truly innovative experience that Nintendo will hopefully continue to explore in future entries.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is out now on Nintendo Switch.