The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Review – Sweet Summoner’s Song

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Review

Anytime you’re playing a Legend of Zelda game, it’s the Late Night with Link Show. The titular princess is always locked away, waiting for the swordsman to rescue her. That’s why The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is so unusual. You’re actually playing as the princess for once. And wouldn’t you know it, Zelda’s adventure is a pretty fun one. While we’re still exploring dungeons and solving puzzles, we’re doing so in a totally different fashion than ever before.

Zelda’s mission is to close all the rifts that are threatening to swallow Hyrule. Not only are people disappearing inside them, but evil clones of those same people are being spit out. Rather than a sword and shield, Zelda uses a Tri Rod to summon echoes. Some are objects, some are monsters, and some are food. This means that every puzzle and every encounter has countless different solutions. You can whip up a squad of Moblins, a series of bomb fish, or even a jar to hide in. Hiding while your minions do the work feels weird at first, but you get used to it quickly.

Release The Hounds

Since the puzzles have so many solutions, solving them can be pretty tricky. I never got fully stumped, but I came awful close a dozen times or more. More often than not, the fix would be something I plain forgot about, like the grab spell. Or there would be a summon I never tried, because it was near the bottom of my endless list. Said gigantic list is one of the few serious design flaws in Echoes of Wisdom. You can sort the list in several different ways, but you’re still scrolling through so, so many of them to find the one you want.

On the other hand, having so many options totally rules. You’re picking up new echoes at every turn, and most of them are at least a little useful. I quickly found a short list of favorites. The boomerang Moblins are pretty near and dear to my heart, for example. I also got a lot of mileage out of the bed. Turns out they’re not just for sleeping anymore. If you’re patient and curious, you can find a ton of wild new summon strategies for almost any kind of battle.

Endless Echo Options

If you really loathe summoning, you do learn some of Link’s basic abilities, but they are quite costly. The game is determined to push you towards Zelda’s more unconventional skillset. I only used these energy-draining skills when I had no other choice. They’re incredibly useful during certain boss fights, especially if your summons aren’t quite smart or focused enough for the task. I really appreciate that flexibility, however. You can even supplement your meager energy bar with smoothies, which act as Echoes of Wisdom’s cooking system.

There are a couple of interesting changes made to this game that separate it from Link’s Awakening. Although the two Switch titles share an aesthetic and a game engine, there’ve been major improvements in the navigation systems. You’re not hampered by nearly as many invisible walls as before. You’ve got a built-in jump, and almost anything you see can be reached with some clever summoning. Plus, the smoothie system lets you whip up a ton of custom healing items for chump change. You’re also never short on ingredients, which is nice. I found the failures more unpredictable, on the other hand. It takes a lot of trial and error to figure out the rules.

Delicious-Looking Desserts

Maybe I play too many Zelda games, but the combat almost felt a little too easy. Not the puzzles! Those are tough enough. But you can win most battles with a handful of different summons. So much of my roster ended up collecting dust because I picked three favorites in the first two hours. I would have liked to experiment with more, but it rarely felt necessary. Most Zelda games are puzzle-heavy, but Echoes of Wisdom leans on this a lot more. The boss fights are an exception in that they blend the puzzling challenge with echo flexibility. It’s only the regular battles that felt somewhat reductive.

I’m a big fan of the music in this franchise. Echoes of Wisdom is no exception. There are a ton of standout tracks that immediately burrowed into my brain, possibly forever. The overworld theme in particular is a terrific song that I won’t soon forget. I look forward to the remixes, tributes, and covers that the fan community spins up in the near future.

Even though I love this franchise a lot, innovation is always welcome. The echo system is a fascinating blend of new ideas and established concepts. Using random objects and enemies isn’t totally new, but making them the main form of offense is. Transplanting 3D ideas into a 2D plain is a tough challenge, but the devs have handled it nicely. I wish the echoes were easier to scroll through, and the combat could have been harder. But I loved exploring every inch of this world. Even after the credits rolled, I still went back for more. If you’re looking for something charming and unusual, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is right on the money.

***A Nintendo Switch code was provided by the publisher***