Echoes of Wisdom is the first top-down Zelda game in years, and therefore represents an interesting departure from the most recent games in the series. BOTW and TOTK took the series into larger open worlds while providing more freedom and openness than ever before in the franchise. This led to unprecedented success, both in terms of critical acclaim and sales, raising questions of whether the series should ever go back to its classic origins as a 2D dungeon-crawler.
That's what made Echoes of Wisdom's return to the classic top-down perspective such a pleasant surprise for longtime Zelda fans. However, even though EOW does return to tradition in several ways (including in its more linear storytelling and larger dungeons), it's clear in other ways that the Zelda franchise is never fully going back to the way things were again. BOTW truly changed the Legend of Zelda series forever, and Echoes of Wisdom proves that even when the series returns to its roots, it can never truly leave the Wild Era behind.
Related
Echoes of Wisdom is Not the 2D Zelda I Wanted, But it is The One We Needed
Like its Wild brethren before it, the price for Echoes of Wisdom's high highs are its low lows.
Echoes of Wisdom Proves 2D Zelda is Truly Gone Forever
EOW May Be in Top-Down Perspective, But It's Far From Two-Dimensional
EOWfollows the tradition of 2D Zelda in many ways, but it also moves completely out of the 2D space in several others. As a Zelda title with a top-down perspective that takes place in a version of Hyrule that closely resembles that of ALTTP, EOW is closer to 2D Zelda than the series has been in years. However, in terms of the Princess' ease of maneuverability, EOW is anything but 2D.
It's clear upon considering how many options for movement and creativity Zelda has in the newest top-down Zelda that EOW is not a 2D game at all. It may retain the style of 2D Zelda in terms of its top-down perspective, but rarely are players ever actually restricted to two dimensions in EOW. Players have freedom of vertical movement that has truly only ever been possible in the Wild Era games. It may be useful to refer to EOW as a 2D Zelda in order to differentiate it from the bigger-budget 3D games, but that's more an issue of labeling than accurately portraying the gameplay.
In fact, the Princess has more vertical freedom than any 3D Zelda game that came out prior to BOTW.
One of the biggest indications that EOW is no longer 2D is how players can jump on top of trees. This might seem like a simple thing, but it's actually unprecedented for 2D Zelda. Trees in previous 2D Zelda games were always used as barriers that were completely impassable. Echoes of Wisdom pushes the boundaries of previous games by literally allowing players to completely step outside the classic boundary to explore Hyrule in ways that were never possible before.
The only instances where EOW can genuinely be considered 2D is during its side-scrolling sections. During these sequences, the Princess can only move up, down, left and right in the confines of those spaces. Zelda's arsenal of echoes still gives her a lot of options for maneuverability, but there's never a point where she can break out of the second dimension during the side-scrolling sequences.
Related
Echoes of Wisdom: True 2D Zeldas Are Dead
Echoes of Wisdom is the first 2D top-down Zelda game in a decade, but it has more in common with BOTW than it does with ALTTP.
At all other points in the game, Zelda has the ability to literally rise above her obstacles by jumping or calling echoes to lift her to new heights. While EOW takes on the top-down perspective, Zelda can truly move in three dimensions just as much as in the Wild Era. In fact, the Princess has more vertical freedom than any 3D Zelda game that came out prior to BOTW. Instead of 2D, Echoes of Wisdom often feels like the first open-air top-down Zelda game in the series.
Echoes of Wisdom Further Changes Zelda Combat
BOTW's Weapon Durability Mechanic Helped Move the Series Away From Swordsmanship Completely
Close
One of the biggest ways BOTW's openness changed the series forever was in terms of its combat. No longer was combat purely relegated to swinging a sword or firing arrows; players could approach combat with a new level of creativity. Instead of approaching a fight directly, players could sneak up on an enemy camp and lay traps for enemies by luring them out with food, and then crush them with a boulder pushed from a hill above. This is just one example of the possibilities created by the Wild Era's new freedom of motion and improved physics, and TOTK only expanded on what BOTW started.
Link's new abilities in TOTK made combat even more cerebral than ever. Players built elaborate contraptions to destroy, capture, and overpower enemy mobs with Ultrahand. The ability to fuse almost anything to an arrow gave players even more options at long range, making swordsmanship even less necessary. The options were truly endless, so there became very little reason for players to get up close and personal as they always had in previous Zelda titles.
Echoes of Wisdom is one of eight mainline Zelda titles that haven't featured the iconic Master Sword since its first introduction in A Link to the Past (ten if counting the first two games released before ALTTP).
EOW takes things a step further with its echoes, further pulling players back from the action to approach situations cleverly. Not only do players not have a sword to start out, but even after unlocking the ability to wield a sword by means of Zelda's Swordfighter Mode, she can still only use it extremely sparingly as it's on a timer. By the time players level up Swordfighter Mode enough to use it for an extended period, they'll have already gotten used to fighting with echoes, and will likely mostly use Link's sword to deal damage to bosses.
In fact, it's in its combat that EOW takes the series even further away from tradition than the Wild Era did. Players had a lot of options to choose from when it came to battles in TOTK, but they still always had Link's sword in the end. This isn't a new thing, as the series was arguably always trending away from swordsmanship ever since BOTW introduced the weapon durability mechanic. Even though players had more ability to move around and use unique weapon types, they were already being taught not to rely too much on their sword because it was bound to break eventually.
Related
10 Echoes In Zelda: EoW You Need ASAP
Every echo in Zelda's arsenal has its use, but some are so game-changing every Echoes of Wisdom player should seek them out as soon as possible.
Even the Master Sword momentarily breaks in both BOTW and TOTK, making it seem as though the developers sought to deemphasize swordsmanship throughout the Wild Era. EOW just brings this concept to its logical conclusion by turning the sword into a side mechanic that's hardly necessary. Aside from a couple of breakable walls that require using the Swordfighter Form to progress, players can almost get through the entire game without using a sword at all.
TOTK's Abilities Have Officially Become Zelda Staples as of EOW
Ultrahand and Fuse Are Present in EOW Under Different Names
Another major way EOW follows the formula of the Wild Era games is in Princess Zelda's abilities. Everything, from the literal green energy beam appearance of Bind to the UI of her echo ability, is extremely reminiscent of TOTK's Ultrahand and Fuse. Bind in particular is eerily similar to Ultrahand, though it's simplified and nerfed considerably. Zelda can't build anything with it, but she can pick up and move almost any object just like Ultrahand can.
The controversial UI for the Fuse mechanic finds its way into EOW by way of Zelda's echoes. This means that players spend just as much time scrolling through echoes in EOW as they did scrolling through fusible materials in TOTK. For Zelda fans who hoped these abilities would be a one-off thing in TOTK, EOW proves that abilities like Ultrahand and Fuse are here to stay. Luckily, the Zelda Team is still looking for ways to make them work in unique ways in each game without just copy-pasting them exactly.
Even though the echo mechanic uses a similar UI from the Wild Era games, it's still very much a unique concept that's unlike anything seen in the series before. The Zelda Team still has some kinks to iron out with its menu systems, but there's no denying that - whether via the main Zelda Team at Nintendo or GREZZO - the Zelda series is always sure to present interesting new ideas and gimmicks with every release.
Top-Down Zelda Titles Will Forever Be Separated From the 3D Series
The Wild Era Isn't Over Just Yet
Echoes of Wisdom is a natural progression from the Wild Era that shows just how influential the open-air titles will forever be for the Zelda series. Even when the franchise returns to tradition, it can never do so without the blueprint of BOTW being ever-present in the background. Just as it follows from BOTW and TOTK by implementing mechanics from both games, it also learns from BOTW and TOTK's biggest criticisms.
BOTW pushed the Zelda series forward in great ways, but not all change is for the best. Its non-linearity led to notable issues with its dungeons and storyline that fans still pick apart over seven years later. As a top-down Zelda game, there are some ways that Echoes of Wisdom was bound to automatically differentiate itself from the open-air games. However, it wisely also learned from BOTW and TOTK's biggest mistakes by bringing the series back to tradition when necessary.
Even though Echoes of Wisdom is more open than any other "2D" Zelda before it, it still reigns in the non-linearity of its dungeons and storyline to great effect. EOW's story is far from as emotionally effective as TOTK's, but it automatically gets points for simply being told in a more straightforward manner. The Zelda franchise is clearly never going back from the Wild Era entirely, but it shows real wisdom in drawing from tradition in the places it matters most.
Related
Every Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Dungeon From Worst to Best, Ranked
Echoes of Wisdom's dungeons follow the tradition of the classic 2D Zeldas with impressive atmospheres, challenging puzzles and exciting boss battles.
While the desire to change and push the franchise forward is a great thing, that doesn't necessarily mean tradition is always worse. Sometimes traditions are retained precisely because they work so well. This is a fact that Eiji Aonuma recognized in bringing back 2D Zelda with EOW, but it's not without a caveat. According to Aonuma, his plan going forward is to "establish a 2D top-down Legend of Zelda series that's separate from the 3D entries like Breath of the Wild." In that sense, EOW may be the most "traditional" players are ever going to get again from the Zelda series.
As the 3D entries continue to follow in the footsteps of the Wild games, it's hard to say for certain where they'll go next. Even as EOW improved on aspects of the Wild games by calling back to tradition, it still continues as a natural step in the evolution of the Zelda series that has left classic Zelda in the past. If even 2D top-down Zelda can't exist outside the new open-air paradigm, there's no telling how far the next major 3D Zelda might go. If Echoes of Wisdom is any indication, the Wild Era has only just begun.
8 Images
8 Images
Close
7
10
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Save Hyrule -- this time with the wisdom of Princess Zelda!
The people of Hyrule are being stolen away by strange rifts -- and with a certain swordsman among the missing, it's up to Princess Zelda to save her kingdom in the latest adventure in The Legend of Zelda™ series!
Team up with the ethereal creature Tri and use the Tri Rod to create "echoes," which are imitations of things you find in the environment -- then recreate those echoes whenever you like to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. Use echoes like water blocks to reach new heights, make bridges out of old beds, throw rocks at foes, or find your own combination of echoes to do things your way. You can even make echoes of monsters to fight at your side in combat!
Adventure
OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Rating:86/100 Critics Recommend:92%
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
Expand