Ganon, the demon king, has brought darkness once more to the land of Hyrule and the only hero who can make a stand is Link — no wait, it’s Zelda?! The hero of this story is Princess Zelda.
For the first time in the “Legend of Zelda” franchise, the protagonist of “Echoes of Wisdom,” released on Sept. 26 for the Nintendo Switch, is none other than Zelda, the princess of Hyrule.
In a typical “Legend of Zelda” adventure, Link is the hero of legend who saves the kingdom from an evil force, typically Ganondorf or Ganon, and he must save Zelda from being trapped by the villain.
In this newest game, the script has been flipped and it is Zelda who is responsible for beating the evil befalling the land and rescuing Link along the way.
The franchise has been publishing titles since 1986, and continues to produce popular titles to this day, with both the two most recent titles “Breath of the Wild” and “Tears of the Kingdom,” receiving universal acclaim on Metacritic.
While not of the same caliber as the previous two games, “Echoes of Wisdom” does offer its own unique form of nostalgic charm and creating echoes, the main mechanic, is fun and exciting to use.
With a magical rod, Zelda can create “echoes,” or copies, of various objects and enemies. Players can combine these objects in different ways to explore and overcome obstacles.
In particular, being able to send echoes of monsters to fight for you was quite enjoyable. While Zelda does technically have a temporary sword fighter form, it was refreshing to switch it up in terms of fighting styles.
The game seems at moments a wistful call back to simpler times. With a chibi art style and top-down perspective, the game is reminiscent of earlier “Zelda” games.
The art, character design, background and settings are whimsical. They are cute and colorful, and the art style really makes them pop.
Many of the enemies, items and characters are callbacks to early “Zelda” titles. Such as river zora, urchins, peahats and gorons.
One interesting inclusion in the game is a tribe of both river and sea zora, a first for the series. The river zora are more antagonistic and attack Link while the sea zora are peaceful and friendly toward him.
Seeing this interaction between different tribes was fascinating. It was a real treat to observe these complex dynamics.
Unsurprisingly, the musical score was also well done. It helped set the mood and keep the player engaged.
While it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I’d definitely recommend “Echoes of Wisdom” for anyone looking for some lighthearted fun to hold you over until the next “Legend of Zelda” game.
