The Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom: The Princess Wears the Pants, and That's Good

Each release of a Zelda game is in itself a small event as the license has become cult since Link's first steps, 38 years ago now on NES. Without being as ambitious as Breath of the Wild Or Tears of the Kingdomthe opus Echoes of Wisdom brings a breath of fresh air by changing the paradigm since it is Zelda (and not Link) that the players embody. Technically, Echoes of Wisdom takes the top view of the first episodes in a cute 3D reinterpretation already used in the remake of Link's Awakening released on Nintendo Switch in 2019.

According to our excellent colleagues, “Echoes of Wisdom takes the narrative formula of BotW in a slightly lighter version. We will be allowed to choose which people to help first among the Gerudos and the Zoras, then after a storyline restart, we will be able to rescue either the Gorons or the Mojos“. The scenario therefore does not invent much even if some surprises will come to spice things up a little. Thanks to this method, the developers let the player explore the world as they wish by using the princess's magic stick which can create echoes of objects and monsters to facilitate their progression.

This mechanic seems to have completely won over Kelma for whom “The creative freedom given to the player means that we feel a sincere satisfaction when we manage to reach a well-hidden piece of heart, or to dodge an entire section of a level to arrive directly at our objective.“. However, this double-edged sword can become a little too effective: “At some point, we will have echoes of objects so easy to pass obstacles that it becomes a bit of a silly automatism.“.

Halfway between the freedom of episodes Breath of the Wild And Tears of the Kingdom and the more compact side of a Link's Awakening whose aesthetics he takes up, “Echoes of Wisdom offers a compelling experience, with a classic storyline, but a rich universe.“. Fans of the warrior Kokiri may be disappointed not to play as the swordsman with the green cap, but we can only applaud the choice of new game mechanics even if they sometimes make the game too easy.