Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Nintendo Switch Review - Is It Worth It?

Summary

Nintendo Switch's 'The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom' is a top-down adventure that masterfully blends classic Zelda gameplay with fresh mechanics. The game introduces the TR Rod, allowing players to duplicate items and enemies, and presents puzzles that require strategic thinking. With a vibrant art style and a rich, explorable Hyrule, it offers a challenging yet rewarding experience. Despite occasional performance issues, it stands as a new benchmark for top-down Zelda games.

Takeaways

• 🎮 The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a top-down action-adventure game developed by Grezzo for the Nintendo Switch.
• 🌟 It combines classic Zelda gameplay with new mechanics, offering a fresh experience while staying true to the series' roots.
• 🏰 The game features a beautiful art style reminiscent of the minifigure look from Link's Awakening remake.
• 🔮 The TR Rod allows Zelda to create copies of items and enemies, adding a strategic layer to puzzles and combat.
• 🐎 Echoes can be used for various purposes, such as solving puzzles, fighting enemies, and uncovering hidden items.
• 🎶 The game's soundtrack includes a flute rendition of Hyrule Field's theme, along with new music that enhances the gameplay experience.
• 🔒 Dungeons in Echoes of Wisdom are classic top-down experiences with puzzles, keys, locked rooms, and monsters.
• 👥 Side quests provide additional content and challenges, leading to hidden caves, optional areas, and useful accessories.
• 🌐 The game world offers a high level of freedom, allowing Zelda to climb over obstacles that were impassable in previous 2D Zelda games.
• 🐙 The Still World is a unique area where Zelda navigates through a fractured version of Hyrule, encountering different challenges and dungeons.
• 💻 The game has performance issues with frame rate drops in certain areas, particularly in the Overworld and specific environments like Hebra Mountain and the Gudo Desert.

Q & A

What is the title of the game being reviewed in the script?

The title of the game being reviewed is 'The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom'.

Which platform is 'The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom' being reviewed for?

The game is being reviewed for the Nintendo Switch platform.

Who originally wrote the review script?

The review script was originally written by Alana Hags.

What is the significance of 'Echoes of Wisdom' in the Zelda series?

It is the first brand new top-down Zelda game since 'Triforce Heroes' in 2015.

What new gameplay element does 'Echoes of Wisdom' introduce?

The game introduces the TR Rod, a staff that can be used to make copies of items and enemies across Hyrule.

How does 'Echoes of Wisdom' differ from traditional 2D Zelda games structurally?

Structurally, it is very familiar to anyone who has played a 2D Zelda before, with a similar pattern of exploring, solving local problems, going to dungeons, and fighting bosses.

What aesthetic does 'Echoes of Wisdom' use for its Hyrule setting?

The game uses a 'beautiful minifigure look' similar to the aesthetic from 'Link's Awakening remake'.

What is the role of the character 'Try' in the game?

Try is an adorable companion to Princess Zelda who gives her the TR Rod, enabling her to create Echoes.

What is the significance of the 'Echoes' that players collect in the game?

Players can collect Echoes to summon various items and enemies to assist them in different situations as they progress through the game.

How does 'Echoes of Wisdom' handle side quests?

Side quests provide fun diversions that lead to hidden caves, optional dungeons, and sometimes accessories to help Zelda.

What is the reviewer's opinion on the difficulty level of the puzzles in 'Echoes of Wisdom'?

The reviewer does not find the puzzles to be hugely challenging, but they do encourage interesting solutions and can become more challenging in hero mode.

What performance issues were noted in the review?

The game experiences performance dips with frame rate issues, particularly in the Overworld, despite aiming for a consistent 60 frames per second.

What is the final score given by the reviewer for 'Echoes of Wisdom'?

The game received a score of nine out of ten from the reviewer.

Outlines

00:00

🎮 Review of 'The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom'

The paragraph introduces a review of 'The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom' on the Nintendo Switch, adapted from Alana Hags' written review. It emphasizes the game's blend of old and new elements, with a focus on life lessons subtly woven into gameplay. The review praises the game's art style, music, and the innovative use of the TR Rod, which allows Zelda to create copies of items and enemies. The game's structure is traditional, with dungeons, bosses, and puzzles, but with a fresh take on exploration and problem-solving. The review also notes the game's aesthetic, comparing it to a toy box filled with puzzles.

05:00

🔍 In-Depth Gameplay and Hero Mode

This paragraph delves into the gameplay mechanics, such as the use of Echoes for combat and puzzle-solving, and the ability to bind to enemies and objects. It discusses the game's difficulty, especially in Hero Mode, where players take more damage. The reviewer appreciates the game's originality and how it combines classic 2D gameplay with 3D elements. They also mention performance issues with frame rate drops in certain areas but overall find the experience rewarding. The paragraph ends with a high rating of 9 out of 10 for the game.

10:02

🌟 Exploration and Side Quests

The final paragraph focuses on the rewarding nature of exploration in the game, with numerous side areas and caves that offer substantial rewards. The reviewer highlights the game's non-linear approach, allowing players to figure out puzzles and quests on their own, which adds to the satisfaction. They also discuss the game's way-point system, which directs players back to the quest giver rather than the destination, encouraging exploration. The paragraph concludes with the reviewer's enthusiasm for Zelda's different playstyle compared to Link's and their hope for more mainline Zelda games featuring Zelda as the protagonist.

Keywords

💡The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda is a popular action-adventure video game series created by Nintendo. The series centers around the character Link and his quest to save the kingdom of Hyrule. In the context of the video script, 'The Legend of Zelda' refers to the franchise that the game 'Echoes of Wisdom' belongs to, indicating a continuation of the series' legacy.

💡Echoes of Wisdom

Echoes of Wisdom is the title of the game being reviewed in the script. It is a mainline entry in The Legend of Zelda series and is described as a top-down game with a new twist on classic gameplay mechanics. The title suggests a focus on wisdom and echoes, possibly implying a narrative or gameplay element involving reflection or duplication.

💡Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo. It is referenced in the script as the platform on which 'Echoes of Wisdom' is played. The Switch is known for its portability and ability to be used both as a home console and a portable device, which is a selling point for games like 'Echoes of Wisdom'.

💡Top-down Zelda

A 'top-down Zelda' refers to a game in The Legend of Zelda series that is viewed from a top-down perspective, as opposed to the 3D perspective of more recent entries. The script mentions that 'Echoes of Wisdom' is a return to this style, which is significant for fans of the classic games in the series.

💡Hyrule

Hyrule is the fictional kingdom and main setting of The Legend of Zelda series. In the script, exploring Hyrule is a central gameplay element, and the art style and environments of Hyrule are highlighted as a treat for players, indicating the game's immersive world design.

💡Echo

In the context of the game, 'echo' refers to the duplication of items and enemies using the TR Rod, a key gameplay mechanic. This ability allows the player to create copies of various entities in Hyrule, adding a layer of strategic complexity to puzzles and combat.

💡Hero Mode

Hero Mode is a difficulty setting mentioned in the script where the player takes more damage from enemies. It is compared to the challenging gameplay of 'Breath of the Wild' or 'Tears of the Kingdom', indicating a higher level of challenge and risk for the player.

💡Dungeons

Dungeons are a staple of The Legend of Zelda series, representing areas filled with puzzles and enemies that the player must navigate to progress. The script mentions that 'Echoes of Wisdom' includes classic top-down dungeons, suggesting a return to the series' roots.

💡Performance Dips

Performance Dips refer to the fluctuating frame rates experienced in the game, as described in the script. Despite aiming for a consistent 60 frames per second, the game experiences frequent frame drops, especially in the Overworld, which can affect the gameplay experience.

💡Side Quests

Side quests are optional missions or tasks that provide additional content and challenges outside the main storyline. The script highlights that 'Echoes of Wisdom' includes side quests that lead to hidden caves and optional areas, enriching the game world and providing extra rewards.

💡TR Rod

The TR Rod is a magical staff given to the character in 'Echoes of Wisdom' that allows the duplication of items and enemies. It is a central gameplay mechanic that sets the game apart from previous entries in the series, as it requires players to rethink their approach to puzzles and combat.

Highlights

The Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom is a top-down Zelda game for the Nintendo Switch.

It contains many life lessons and is a marriage of old and new elements of the franchise.

The game features a beautiful minifigure look similar to Link's Awakening remake.

Zelda is the hero without caveats, and the game is structurally familiar to 2D Zelda games.

The game allows exploration of Hyrule in a new art style.

Echoes of Wisdom introduces the TR Rod, which can copy items and enemies.

Boss and enemy encounters are puzzles that require strategic use of Echoes.

Zelda can use a sword by turning into sword fighter form, and also gets a bow and bombs.

The game's aesthetic and Hyrule feel like a giant toy box full of puzzles.

Side quests provide fun diversions leading to hidden caves and optional dungeons.

The game includes a strange turn at realm for Zelda to explore.

Dungeons in Echoes of Wisdom are classic Zelda with puzzles, keys, locked rooms, and monsters.

The game offers a challenge with Hero Mode, which can be activated at any point.

Zelda can bind herself to enemies and objects to move them around.

Performance dips are present, with frame rate issues in certain areas.

Echoes of Wisdom is a 15 to 20-hour adventure that blends classic 2D gameplay with 3D experimentation.

The game should set the new standard for top-down Zelda games.

It is in contention with A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds as one of the best top-down adventures.

The game rewards exploration with numerous side areas and mini-dungeons.

Echoes of Wisdom encourages players to figure things out for themselves, which is rewarding.

Playing as Zelda in a mainline game is a fresh experience, different from playing as Link.

Transcripts

hello there lovely pit alic from

Nintendo life here and today we're

reviewing for you the Legend of Zelda

Echoes of wisdom on the Nintendo switch

this review was originally written by

the exceptional Alana hags and has been

adapted for video by me but anyway

that's more than enough waffling let's

Dive Right into things

[Music]

The Legend of Zelda Echoes of wisdom

contains many great life lessons we

should all take into consideration get

others to do the work for you talking to

cats is worth your time making friends

with spiders is good horses can smell

carrots from hundreds of miles away oh

and of course beds solve all problems

okay in all seriousness as the first

brand new topown Zelda since 2015

Triforce Heroes Echoes of wisdom is a

near perfect marriage of the old and the

new as with many of Nintendo's best

titles this adventure completely

understands the magic of play The Wonder

of curiosity this time however that

Essence has been distilled into a tiny

topown experience complete with that

beautiful minifigure look from grezzo

links Awakening remake and the developer

is back to make more magic yet again

with the franchise for the first time in

a Mainline entry we're not counting

those Zelda is unabashedly the hero with

no caveats but this is still a Legend of

Zelda game meaning structurally it'll be

very familiar to anyone who's played a

2d Zelda before go here solve a local

problem go to dungeon fight a boss all

that sort of stuff it's genuinely

exciting to explore Hyrule in this art

style and looking at the glossy trees of

hyru field and the crystal clear waters

that you'll find in jabble waters and

faren wetlands it's just an absolute

treat the flute rendition of hyru fields

theme complete with a new flourish of

Zelda's lullabi equally gets our hearts

racing whilst Echoes of wisdom is

without a doubt a classic Zelda it takes

that old formula and twists it into

something fresh thanks to the titular

character herself you can't just go in

with your master sword and hook shot you

actually have to rewire your brain on

how you tackle every situation thanks to

the TR Rod a staff given to the princess

by her new adorable companion try this

simply put can be used to make a copy of

the various items and enemies across

Hyrule as you progress you'll amass a

huge catalog of Echoes to summon for

your every need and you'll be able to

cast multiple at once as you level up

your floating little yellow friend it's

never not satisfying to send out a horde

of moblins to destroy a group of enemies

whilst you're cutting grass or picking

up rocks to find ladders or hidden items

every boss and every enemy encounter is

its own little puzzle to solve whether

it's using the right monster Echoes for

the situation or utilizing the elements

through water blocks or brazers in a

pinch however Zelda can use a sword by

turning into sword fighter form

eventually you'll get the use of a bow

and some bombs giving you a brief

snippet of Link's gameplay but it isn't

a crutch despite being extremely

powerful Zelda can only maintain this

form for a few seconds a little bit

longer when fully upgraded so if you

want to use it you'll need to make it

count using Echo Zelda fully Embraces

the plasticky aesthetic and Hyrule feels

like a giant toy box stuff full of

puzzles where everything from getting a

heart piece to fighting enemies requires

careful consideration where Big Trees in

links Awakening or L to the Past served

as obstacles separating regions Zelda

can simply use beds rocks or even clouds

to climb up and walk just all over them

it grants a level of Freedom we've never

seen in a top- down Zelda before with

Echo comparisons to both breath of the

wild and tears of the kingdom are more

than apt just on a much smaller much

more controlled scale like the open

world 3D Adventures of the switch era

Echoes of wisdom gives you more to do

outside of exploring and using Echoes

side quests provide fun little

diversions that lead you to hidden caves

optional es and sometimes even

accessories to help Zelda along the way

you can run around and collect stamps

for highy rues Resident weird little

chap stamp guy you can also eventually

get automatons little robotic creatures

that look rather cool but feel a little

useless especially as you amass an army

of Echoes throughout the game that can

do pretty much everything these metallic

guys can back to the more traditional

Zelda qualities similar to the Dark

World there's a strange turn at realm

for Zelda to explore the still world as

Zelda enters menacing purple Rifts

throughout the game you'll uncover

fractured pockets of hyru you need to

restore trees are ripped from the ground

and floating bodies of water and now

suspended midair and the citizens of

hyru are in stasis dripping with black

goop navigating these little segments is

extremely fun many are optional and

reward you with upgrades for try but

most are home to a true Zelda staple

dungeons Echoes of wisdom applies its

whole philosophy to the series vintage

top- down dungeons to great effect none

of them are hugely challenged but they

are classic Zelda 2 a t complete with

puzzles keys locked rooms full of

monsters and more besides there are also

side on sections both in and out of

dungeons that require more smart use of

your Echo even and we can't believe

we're saying this the stealth sections

are fun especially if you accidentally

box the soldiers in together so only one

can see you but he's blocked by all the

others we're so glad we can make more

stupid decisions like this in a top down

environment plus if you want more of a

challenge you can always hop into hero

mode at any point

and it's worth it because it definitely

bites on a side note my entire

playthrough has been in hero mode and uh

oh Lordy another ability you'll need to

get to grips with is bind using try

Zelda can quote unquote bind herself to

enemies and objects and either shift

them around in accordance with her own

movements or follow their movements or

you could just like us use it to drop

enemies into Bottomless Pits it's all

valid it does take some getting used to

particularly after countless hours of

using magnesis or the ultra hand but but

it can be extremely useful when you're

in busy rooms filled with crates

Boulders and enemies you might need to

Target more specifically what you want

to bind to unfortunately this involves

using the target button over and over

again until you land on what you're

aiming for whether it's in combat or

just to solve a puzzle you don't need to

lock on if the item is right in front of

you but when items are high up or the

enemies are airborne targeting becomes

essential and cycling through makes

things just a little bit more fiddly

than we feel they really needed to be

there's another lingering problem one

which was present in the links Awakening

remake and one that you may well have

noticed already performance dips just

like the 2019 game echos of wisdom's

frame rate despite aiming for a

consistent 60 frames per second is all

over the place if you like spinning

around in the Overworld and cutting

grass you'll notice pretty frequent

frame drops hebra mountain and the gudo

desert also suffer where sand storms and

snow make things feel really quite

choppy inside buildings and dungeons

though the game is pretty much silky

smooth which makes the frequent

Overworld stutters in both docked and

handheld mode even more noticeable other

than that though this 15 to 20h hour

Adventure is a Zelda fans dream with

classic 2D gameplay and 3D

experimentation coming together Echoes

of wisdom's originality reminds us that

there's definitely space for both zeldas

in this world Beyond just remakes and

sequels that alone makes us happy to

wield the triwood and cause some serious

chaos for the monsters of Hyrule The

Legend of Zelda Echoes of wisdom should

be the new standard for topown Zelda

going forward rather than abandoning the

classic formula Zelda has shown that the

old and the new can come together and

produce wonderful results that reward

experimentation and reinforce the joy of

play this is easily In Contention with

the likes of a link to the past and A

Link Between Worlds as one of the best

top- down adventures in the series and

we hope we don't need to wait another 35

years for Zelda to take a starring role

Again The Legend of Zelda Echoes of

wisdom you're getting a nine out of 10

from us

[Music]

[Music]

you've reached the end of the review

that means it's time for Alex's personal

thoughts and I absolutely adore this

game when I played the preview I got a

sniffer of what I was to expect but then

finally getting my hands on the game

proper it's just a different world

entirely not to say that the preview was

misrepresentative or anything like that

but it was just like it was like looking

through a keyhole as opposed to opening

the door as I mentioned as a little

aside in the review yes my entire game

was in hero mode and it really really

knocks you for six that you take so much

more damage than you might immediately

expect it's much more in line with

something like breath of the wild or

tears of the kingdom in the sense that

certain enemies will just hit you once

and it'll take off I don't know like

eight hearts or something like that in

hero mode um sometimes I'm sure there's

times where it's taken more but even so

you'll just see your hearts go down to

nothing and you can think oh I don't

need to heal I've got like seven hearts

and uh then you'll die I love it I did

see in the comments of the preview that

there were some people that were a

little bit concerned that because you

can do a puzzle in so many different

ways therefore it's going to be dead

easy and I wouldn't say any of the

puzzles were like hugely challenging

anything like that but it does kind of

encourage you to use things in

interesting ways and often times it'll

throw um you know like a load of

powerful enemies in there at the same

time and you've got to navigate whilst

dodging projectiles and you can't fall

into the water cuz it's full of great

big shark monsters that I can't remember

the name of and it's those elements that

make even the puzzles in hero mode even

more challenging because you're having

to avoid enemy fire and stuff like that

it is it is tough it really is but in

such a rewarding way I I loved every

second I played this game oh but the

performance really is just oh I just I

kind of wish in a way that they just

tried to keep it at 30 like don't get me

wrong when it's 60 it is a

delightful but it's not there often

enough to really kind of justify it

particularly in the Overworld maybe if

they done like a kind of a split frame

rate thing where it aims for 30 in the

Overworld and 60 indoors and like in

dunge and the Ste world and stuff like

that maybe that would have been better

but I don't know but even taking that

into consideration I didn't care I love

the game too much it's just so lovely

one thing that I really want to

emphasize is just how rewarding it is to

explore and I'm not talking you know

sort of oh you might find some rupes

under under a rock or something but it

reaches the point where the rewards that

you get in these little side areas like

little caves and things like that which

are

innumerous uh the rewards that almost

reached the point of being a little bit

underwhelming because there's so many

and to be honest the reward is doing the

extra fun gaml by itself just going into

a cave and oh it's not just a little

space or something like that it's like

several rooms it's and sometimes you may

even find what is essentially like a

mini dungeon like I don't want to spoil

anything but there was a point where I

just I got a Quest from someone who's

like oh you know could you go here and

check something out for me and it's like

yeah okay what's it going to be and it

was like it was like a like a 20 minute

D well dungeonesque type area it was

gorgeous the game doesn't hold your hand

except for through like the early parts

of the game and it's teaching you stuff

but as soon as you're sort of let free

the game's just like hey you work it out

for yourself and that's so rewarding and

that's probably why things aren't too

challenging All Things Considered except

in hero mode but the fact that you've

worked it out without anyone saying oh

go here and even the way points like the

way points are usually you know sort of

like very much like breath of the wild

or tears of the Kingdom the way points

will point to where you got the quest

rather than where you need to go someone

will say oh yeah there's a you know so

uh there's a cave up in the north area

of this of this town or something or

something to that effect and it won't

give you a waypoint as to where it is

it'll give you a waypoint as to where

you got it so you can go and check the

information again you can also do that

on the pause screen but it means that

you've got to work it out and that's one

of the things that I love so much about

side quests especially in the likes of

bre of the wild tears of the kingdom and

now Echoes of wisdom it's a delight it's

an absolute delight and playing a Zelda

for the first time properly come on in a

Mainline game is just absolutely superb

she plays completely differently it's

such a breath of fresh air I really hope

this isn't the last time this happens

because my God is this game are good