The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

I finished this game a couple of days ago and even though I initially had my doubts since it seemed like it was going to be pretty simple and short, I’ve ended up liking it quite a bit. It felt a lot like playing an old-style Zelda, with the top-down view, dungeons and puzzles. But also with new mechanics and more content than what those used to have.

You play as Zelda and, without going too much into the story, the idea is that you have to work with Tri (the yellow fairy-like creature above) to close the rifts that have been swallowing people all over Hyrule. Oh, and also rescuing Link as well, who ends up in one of those. I’m not going to say more about the storyline, but if you keep reading, you might get spoilers about some characters that appear in the game, mechanics, etc. so beware of that.

As I said, visually it’s a top-down game, similar to the old ones but with cute toy-like 3D models. They look like the Link’s Awakening remake but with improved shading. And the entire world is very colorful, following that same aesthetic. Kinda cozy and I ended up liking it, not gonna lie. Although I’m not usually a fan of these types of 3D models (I prefer good pixel-art), I think the better shading made it work for me. And given the type of gameplay it has, the top-down view fits well in my opinion. Have some intro images to some of the regions in Spanish, since that’s my native tongue haha:

I found the controls quite interesting. You can memorize objects in the world and then create copies of them to solve puzzles and reach new areas. You don’t have combat abilities per se, but you can use copies of monsters to fight for you. I wish I could ride a lynel besides just having it fighting besides me, but oh well.

And you can also transform into Link (sort of) for a brief period of time to use his abilities. As the game progresses, you can get some automatons crafted for you that will help in combat as well. There are more controls such as using Tri to move objects around or copy their movements (if they move). Not to mention juices, complements and clothes. To be fair, there are so many controls that I just ended up using the same things over and over again. Nothing like summoning a bed in the middle of a fight to recover.

It has a good post-game, searching for heart pieces, stamps and might crystals hidden across the world. Besides this, there are quite a few side-quests, mini-games and hidden mini-bosses, many of which you have to complete to get some of the collectibles. And last but not least, you have a mini-game to improve your combat skills where you can fight again the bosses that you have already defeated. I always like having the chance to do that in games.

As with many other Zelda games, there is quite a bit of nostalgia. Maybe it’s just a coincidence that it had more characters from games I’ve played, but it felt like there were more returning ones than in other installments. Not that I’m an expert on all Zelda games so I might be wrong.

You get some of the classic races and tribes coming back (Goron, Gerudo, Deku, etc.). Some of the bosses are from older games such as Gohma, Volvagia or the blue pig version of Ganon. And various characters reappear as well (Dampé, Impa, etc.), although not all of them have the same role as they used to.

The only thing I missed was a bit more difficulty in the puzzles since, for all the objects you can copy, most of them could be solved with the same ones. The beds are a surprisingly overpowered item for those. But honestly? I had fun. And I get that maybe I’m so used to playing these types of games that they end up feeling easy to me. In the end this is a game that has to work for a wide range of people, so it has to keep a balance between being accessible so newer/younger players don’t get frustrated while keeping it interesting for more experienced ones. And that’s a hard balance to maintain.

It’s a game that I’d definitely recommend even if it isn’t as “big” as other Zelda installments. It’s fun, beautiful in its own cutesy way and an easy introduction to the world.