It’s a marvel that it’s taken so long for Princess Zelda to star in her very own video game. Now that I’ve played The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, I know exactly what we’ve all been missing out on: a smart, headstrong, and creative protagonist with a flair for puzzles and spectacular feats.
Unlike Link, Zelda is not capable of sustained battles and sword-wielding (more on this later). Rather, she must rely on more unique methods to get by in a dangerous world, as a strange corrupting force swallows parts of Hyrule whole. In a traditional Zelda game, Link would be the one to step in – but this go around he’s incapacitated, leaving Zelda to defend her own kingdom, even as doubts around her leadership grow.
The slice of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom gameplay previewed by GamesHub began with the titular princess locked in a dungeon, accused of being the arbiter of chaos in Hyrule. All seems lost, but with a tiny creature called Tri by her side, Zelda learns to wield the power of the magical Tri Rod – a staff which can create magical echoes of items and creatures – and escapes to solve the mystery brewing at the heart of her land.
In her quest, Zelda can only create echoes of items (at first) which means you need to get very creative with your choices for traversal and defeating enemies. By journeying widely, you can discover a range of objects, all of which can be copied. You can also begin a wonderful process of echoing more enemies, and tougher enemies, by starting small.
A little blob creature may be defeated with a rock. You can then replicate this blob creature to take on a larger creature, like a moblin. Defeat that, and you can echo it to take on a towering Peahat, and so on. Like the old woman that swallowed a fly, your menagerie of monsters grows, allowing you to venture further in this game’s version of Hyrule.
Traversal puzzles also present frequently, with a lovely level of challenge presented in each. As you copy items, you will discover things of different heights. A step-stool will push you up a half metre. A box can be reached from a step stool. A plant needs a box and a step-stool, and enough Tri power to get a chain of objects corporeal.
If you’re clever about it, you can work your way to any height, maximising your power to climb up cliffs and across puzzle stages. Of course, you will need to adjust to your early limitations – at first, Tri only has three power bands, and some summons are worth 2-3 power.
Read: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom gets new deep dive trailer
That’s how The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom corrals your creativity, and ensures your creations don’t break the game too much. If you have three power for items and summon a fourth item, the first one you created will disappear. You can’t go Fortnite mode and start building a tower to heaven – you must be smarter with every item you summon.
The mechanic and its early limitations present a strong conundrum for players. You must think carefully about item placement, and spend time analysing your surrounds. In the game’s opening dungeon, where you must avoid guards by having Zelda run through a maze of boxes, you need to weigh your odds. Do you attempt to climb upwards to get treasure chests, knowing the guards will spot you? Can you block off their routes in the process of laying out boxes? Think carefully, and you’ll find a novel solution.
When The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom introduces push/pull magic mechanics, the same goes. You must think about how your power interfaces with the world, and how you can manipulate your surrounds to your own advantage.
Ahead of this gameplay preview, there was much chatter about Zelda’s powerset, and her lack of hands-on combat. But while this does take some adjustment, the echo abilities of this adventure feel absolutely seamless. In combat, you can simply flick through a menu and summon a creature to do your bidding, in a form of remote battle.
It’s somewhat like Pokémon, really – you’re collecting creatures, and then throwing them at other creatures in battle. For those familiar, there’s shades of V from Devil May Cry 5. This style of combat works incredibly well, and while your creatures are battling for you, you can focus on the many environmental puzzles that litter the rest of Hyrule.
There’s always cool little details to spot, as long as you take the time to analyse your surrounds and let yourself experiment freely. You might even find hidden secrets along the way, like the deadly Peahat – which is one of the game’s best companion enemies.
In the final stages of the The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom gameplay demo, the Seismic Talus was unleashed. This was a boss enemy unlocked after multiple puzzles, and a rather cool fight against a mysterious, shadowy version of Link. By this stage, Zelda had unlocked a special sword fighter mode, where she can battle like Link for short durations – but I actually found a much different method of destroying the main boss more satisfying.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom presents you with multiple options to succeed. You can activate Zelda’s sword fighter abilities to take down the Talus with heavy-hitting swings. In this, Echoes of Wisdom plays out a lot like a traditional Legend of Zelda game. But I found summoning a Peahat to be the best offence and defence, as it meant I could watch for an opening from the shadows, as the Talus’ health was slowly chipped away by my creature. Only one Peahat can be summoned at a time, and the Talus defeated each of my copies – but once Tri replenishes their power, you can keep summoning endless waves of enemies to take down your opponents.
Was it a cheap victory? Perhaps. But The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom never shames your creative moves, and you can choose to play the game as you like. Whether cowardly or nobly, your actions will speak for themselves.
In this creativity, the game allows for plenty of experimentation – and that’s exactly what The Legend of Zelda has done best in recent years. This isn’t Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom, and that’s exactly why it’s exciting. In The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Nintendo has created something that feels fresh, new, and experimental. Personally, I can’t wait to see how this vision extends beyond this early gameplay preview.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom launches for Nintendo Switch on 26 September 2024.
