The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Review: A near-perfect Zelda smoothie
At least in the spaces I roam on the Internet, there were a lot of mixed feelings surrounding the announcement of Echoes of Wisdom, but, for me, from the outset, it looked like it'd be one of my new favorite Zelda games. With an open world-adjacent approach that hearkens back to the near-perfect formula of Link Between Worlds—all while infusing the game with some of the great creative juices that have manifested since the debut of the Breath of the Wild duology—I couldn't wait to get my hands on this game. Thanks so much for joining me, and I hope you enjoy today's RPG Ranked article!
Combat - 9.5
Tears of the Kingdom has the best combat in the series thanks to the sheer creativity on display. Twilight Princess is a close third, but Echoes of Wisdom has now stolen the title of my second-favorite combat in the Zelda series due to how completely unique it is compared to any other video game. While I understand that many don't like the less hands-on approach here, I loved it! With over a hundred options to choose from, summoning Echoes is so unbelievably fun!
You never have to sit idly by, as you can resummon Echoes to reposition, use risky Automotons to deal major damage, or switch over to Swordfighter form to get up close and personal. You can summon iconic enemies like Moblins and Darknuts, you can spawn rocks to throw, or you can just drown enemies in a water block if you so desire. While Echoes are an incredible mechanic outside of combat, they're even better within it. With such a variety of options, this combat never gets old, and I hope this unique commander-style combat comes back as soon as possible. I'm not getting my hopes up, though.
Story - 3.5
Unfortunately, this game yet again backs up Miyamoto's claim that Zelda games don't focus on storytelling. There's nothing to cling to here other than 1) that Zelda's the one doing the saving this time around and 2) at least it isn't the non-linear slop of the last game. Some of the sidequests are cute and add to the game's depth, but not by much.
Theming - 9
People have been hoping for years that we'd get a playable Zelda in a mainline entry, and this game certainly didn't disappoint. Controlling Zelda is honestly more fun than Link in practically every way, in my opinion. Add the fact that this game throws in verticality and jump mechanics, as well as awesome (albeit underbaked) interdimensional travel, and you've got one of the most fun and witty innovations of the series thus far.
Music - 6
This soundtrack is by no means bad, but I can't even recall one song from this game. I remember it creating a good atmosphere and being catchy, but retrospectively, I don't have any other thoughts about the soundtrack.
Quality of Life - 7
There's only one main annoyance I have with this game, but it's rather big. There really needed to be more keybinding shortcuts and maneuverability to spawning in Echoes instead of having to pause the game and scroll through a huge wheel, just like using Fuse in Tears of the Kingdom. With how many great ideas for fixing this I've seen on the Internet, I wish they had implemented one of them instead of trying to hotfix it with a favorites mechanic.
Art & Graphics - 9.5
The Zelda series has used so many unique art styles over the years, and, frankly, this is one of the series' best-looking games. The completely interconnected world certainly goes a long way toward making the game stunning, stylish, and charming. This is a significant graphical upgrade over the DS and 3DS games, and, like Link's Awakening, it is so beautiful.
Sidequests - 8.5
It's really interesting to have a full-fledged sidequest mechanic make its way into a 2D Zelda game... I loved the addition! Gathering quests à la Breath of the Wild was awesome; collecting Echoes was so fun; discovering super secret mini-dungeons was equally fantastic and unexpected; participating in specialized combat challenges was one of my favorite elements of the game; and blending smoothies made the whole potion mechanic from previous games look completely lame by comparison. While none of these are quite as strong of offerings as the rewardingly rich sidequests in Majora's Mask, as comprehensive as those in the Breath of the Wild duology, or as creative as the dungeon designing in the Link's Awakening remake, there's plenty of great content to sink your teeth into here.
Items - 10
Echoes of Wisdom may just have the best item lineup in the series. Balancing the creativity of Tears of the Kingdom with traditional 2D puzzle design wasn't going to be easy, but they pulled it off with excellence. Echoes don't make everything trivial and easy to solve like Ultrahand, but they still promote a ton of creativity and non-linearity in solving puzzles. Two people can complete a dungeon in vastly different ways depending on what Echoes have been collected, which makes the game really interesting. More importantly, the item roster supports both traditional dungeon design and the more open-ended structure of Breath of the Wild, creating a satisfying blend of both that should certainly be carried over into every future entry.
Dungeons - 10
While I loved the more traditional dungeons here, as well as the ability to solve dungeons in unique ways with Echoes and binding mechanics, the dungeon design was unfortunately some of the weakest the series has ever offered. Not bad, but not top-tier. The themes of the dungeons aren't too interesting, and the level design is usually just passable. The creativity of the Echoes honestly plays better to the strengths of the overworld and rift portions since there's more open space to mess around with and more potential for intricate puzzles. Overall, the dungeons here could've used more time in the oven to be as tight and memorable as, say, Oracle of Ages, The Minish Cap, or Link's Awakening.
The Verdict
Fun Factor: 8.5
Overall Score: 78%
Letter Rating: A+
I’ve always been more of a 2D Zelda guy. I loved A Link Between Worlds for its blend of traditional gameplay and open-world exploration, and this game echoes that approach. As such, this is the Zelda game I’ve been hoping we’d get for years: a true blend between trad-2D and neo-3D Zelda styles. It amplifies the style of A Link Between Worlds with the innovation of Tears of the Kingdom and the cute graphics of Link's Awakening, coming together to form my fourth favorite Zelda game to date.
Check out my other Legend of Zelda content below!
Authors
Interested in movies as well? Check out our sister site, The Reel Ranker!
Primary Version: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo Switch)