The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom continues the innovative trends of recent titles, and even brings its own wave of firsts for the series. Of course, most notable is the fact that Princess Zelda is making her playable debut as the main protagonist in a Zelda game. Furthermore, Zelda's inclusion in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom seems to have done away with one series trend for good.
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Featuring Zelda in a leading role immediately presented a major challenge. While Link makes use of the Master Sword and other weaponry, Zelda has rarely been shown to share such an affinity. Zelda never uses the Master Sword, as she's always been closer to a master of magic. When adapting Zelda's magical fighting style into Echoes of Wisdom, developers may have shown that the series has fully moved on from traditional dungeons, as well as the arsenal of key gadgets or items that accompany them.
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Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Echoes of Wisdom Share a Trait That the Next Game Could Cement
While there are a lot of comparable mechanics in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Echoes of Wisdom, one shared aspect might signal a new trend.
The Legends of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom May Have Changed Dungeons Forever
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Recent Zelda Games Have Taken a Wildly Different Direction
By all means, Breath of the Wild ushered in an entirely new era of The Legend of Zelda as a whole. As different as it was, developers have explicitly stated that they simply carried on with the vision they've held ever since the first game. Still, Tears of the Kingdom pushed boundaries even further and made many wonder if the series had left certain traditions behind forever.
Although the changes have been both big and small, they all tend to point in the same direction. For example, the Triforce was absent from Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild, resulting in the speculation that it may be gone for good. Similarly, the most dramatic change by far has been dungeon design. With Echoes of Wisdom striking the iron for a third time in a row, this shift in dungeon design seems to be set in stone.
Classic Zelda Dungeons May Never Make a Comeback
Classic Zelda games mostly follow the same tried and true formula. Link travels to a dungeon where he faces a puzzle he isn't prepared for. Then, he acquires an item that can help solve the puzzle, and eventually bests the dungeon altogether. This formula didn't make it into the Switch era of games, with the exception of the Link's Awakening remake.
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In these newer games, gradual progression is replaced with personal progression. Rather than acquiring new items over time, players are given a diverse toolbox at the beginning of the game and are expected to apply these tools in a variety of different ways. The scale of any given dungeon has gotten much smaller, but players can much more freely express themselves and are encouraged to be creative in how they choose to solve environmental puzzles.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Continues New Dungeon Design Trend
Echoes of Wisdom answered the question of Zelda's playable design with the Tri Rod, which does manage to perfectly capture her magical fighting style. As far as iconic weapons are concerned, The Tri Rod doesn't compare to the Master Sword. In fact, the Tri Rod actually shares more in common with Ultrahand from Tears of the Kingdom. At least in terms of dungeon design, it certainly lets Zelda use the Swiss army knife method in Echoes of Wisdom.
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Most puzzles are designed after the titular Echo mechanic and it's quite possible that the creative solutions players can employ with various Echoes far exceed what the game might have allowed if it was designed more traditionally. Likewise, Zelda's ability to create Echoes of monsters adds another dimension to combat, even outside of dungeons.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom doesn't include dungeon items to the extent of classic Zelda games. This can't be considered a failure to meet expectations, as this approach has become commonplace at this point. If anything, Echoes of Wisdom adopting Zelda's modern approach to gameplay may be a sure sign that linear dungeons are a thing of the past.
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21 9/10
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Adventure
Systems
- Top Critic Rating:85/100 Critics Recommend:93%
- Franchise
- The Legend of Zelda
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch
- Released
- September 26, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo , Grezzo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Havok
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+
- How Long To Beat
- 20 Hours
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
