Zelda’s Big Moment…With A Few Echoes of Frustration

Video games are the modern art of our time, and like all art, they are subjective. I know nothing about football – or most sports, in general. I would rather watch The Golden Bachelorette than play a Madden game. However, I can clearly see how people love to play as their favorite football legend and lose themselves on the field for hours (is that even what you do in those games? I don’t know). I want to make this clear before I dive into my review of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. Subjectivity.

Story & Characters

If you’re reading this, you probably already know that Echoes of Wisdom is the first Zelda game to have the titular character as the main protagonist. While it doesn’t affect gameplay, it feels noteworthy to be playing as THE character the series is named after – even if Link’s presence still looms large across the story. At first, I was disappointed for Zelda – this is her story! – but I relaxed once I thought about the importance of Zelda in previous games, especially Tears of the Kingdom. When I put that in that context, it makes much more sense.

In this latest installment, rifts have formed all over Hyrule, trapping citizens and small chunks of land into an area called the Still World. Zelda, along with her new companion Tri, must enter the rifts and set things right with newfound abilities. These rifts act as mini dungeons, tasking you to figure your way through to locate Tri's buddies and close the rift off, releasing what it’s taken. Acting as story beats, some rifts also contain dungeons, known here as Temples. If you have played any Zelda game, you can already guess that these temples follow certain themes that match the regions they are discovered in and are akin to the classic dungeons delved into since the original Legend of Zelda game. Finish the dungeon, close the rift, solve the problem and then you’re off to the next area.

I found that the story, while serviceable, lacks the emotional depth found in some of the more recent Zelda titles. Though the narrative isn’t groundbreaking, there are a few standout characters, like a delightful snow monster encountered near the end of the game. But by the end, I didn’t feel much of an attachment to anybody, even Zelda. It was just that, the end.

Gameplay Mechanics

Zelda’s abilities consist of a new weapon, called the Tri Rod, that allows Zelda to create a copy, or Echo, of nearly any item or monster in the game. Each echo has a cost associated to it, and Tri has a finite amount of resources to create, but echoes are easily destroyed for new ones to be summoned in their place. She also gains the ability to attach herself to an item or monster and move it (called Bind, which is basically Ultrahand from ToTK) or allow herself to be moved by the object (called Reverse Bond, not Reverse Bind, for some reason). Using echoes, Bind and Reverse Bond, she battles monsters, solves puzzles, and closes the rifts that are plaguing Hyrule.

It should come as no surprise that puzzles are where Zelda really shines. While there are simple tasks like figuring out how to cross a gap, other puzzles require thoughtful combinations of echoes and powers. The game also frequently switches to a 2D layout, which came as a pleasant surprise to me. These switches helped keep exploration and puzzles fresh.

Alongside the puzzles, the boss battles are also a highlight. Watching a boss’s movements and figuring out the strategy to bring them down is always satisfying. However, I found that most bosses leaned a bit too far into what I would call easy. There was only one – and a mini-boss at that! – that had me completely stumped and running to the internet for a solution.

At first, and for a while, all these mechanics are engaging, with echoes providing a unique twist on puzzle-solving and combat. However, in the back half of the game and with over 100 echoes, the management system became very tedious. As the game progresses and you discover more and more echoes, the interface makes it difficult to quickly find the right one. It does give you the option to sort through them, like most recent or most used, but I started to rely on the more convenient echoes like the bed – one of the first echoes in the game – to solve puzzles more efficiently. Probably half of the echoes I never even used, either because they were replaced by a more powerful version, or it just wasn’t worth my time scrolling through the interface to locate them.

The game also struggles with maintaining combat variety. Early on, discovering new echoes is exciting, but as I acquired stronger ones, battles felt more and more repetitive. I would create echoes that essentially fought for me while I either just stood there or I moved around to avoid projectiles. There is a traditional sword and shield mechanic, but it’s on a quickly depleting resource meter, forcing reliance on echoes, which doesn’t always feel satisfying. I typically saved the sword meter to use on bosses or tougher groups of enemies.

Smoothies replace Link’s traditional cooking for creating health items, which are great in a pinch when you need to get those hearts replenished, but there is no bulk mechanic to create them quickly and you have a limited inventory to store. Most of the time I just created a bed to get back into fighting form, which felt like cheating but saved time over the long run.

You can also find accessories that give you bonuses to things like swimming speed, jump height (a must have) and defense. As these are pretty rare, discovering them is always noteworthy and exciting.

Sound, Music and Graphics

The game’s soundtrack is exactly what you’d expect from a Zelda title, with memorable tunes in areas like the Eternal Forest and Faron Wetlands. The classic Zelda sound effects remain, including the iconic jingle when you solve a puzzle or open a chest. After over three decades, that sound still tickles my lizard brain.

Visually, the Switch’s dated hardware shows its age. The graphics feel simple, but the art style fits well within the game’s design. The environments are colorful, but nothing particularly stunning stood out to me. There are moments of nostalgia, especially when exploring familiar areas and landmarks. Recognizing these locations from previous games, especially A Link to the Past, feel special and was almost always met with “I know that place!”

Replayability and Overall Impressions

While the game offers multiple save slots, which is a great feature for players who want to start from the beginning again without losing progress, I’m not sure I’ll return to the game again soon. Side quests are a mixed bag, with many being far too easy and the solutions often already in your inventory. Some mini-games and memorable side quests, like one involving a missing cat, provided fun moments. That said, they don’t feel fresh. Exploration doesn’t quite reach the heights of Switch’s other open-world Zelda games, but I enjoyed opening new areas and clearing the map’s fog. I did not 100% the game, so there could be a variety of additional content that far exceeds what I found.

While The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom excels in puzzle design and boss battles, it falters in areas like moment-to-moment combat and painful UI. The graphics reflect an older time – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing! – but the story didn’t leave a lasting impression on me. With all of that said, however, the nostalgia of exploring familiar places from A Link to the Past, coupled with satisfying puzzles and being able to play as Zelda for the very first time, do make this a worthy entry in the series. For long-time fans of Zelda, there’s plenty to enjoy. And here is where the word “subjectivity” comes into play. While it may not be for me, I can see why others have already fallen in love with this game and its direction. And for that reason, I give this game a 7/10.

What Worked For Me

Puzzles, Puzzles, Puzzles

Interesting Boss Battles

Innovative Gameplay

What Didn’t Work For Me

Innovative Gameplay Became Stale With Time

Unfortunate UI

Forgettable Story