The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a brand-new direction for the franchise, boldly asking the iconic sword-wielding hero Link to step aside and make way for the titular princess herself as the new main playable character. Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom's ESRB rating summary has confirmed that Link won't be entirely out of the picture, but Zelda is still likely to be the one players control the most. As Link, players will, of course, be using a sword. However, as Zelda, they will be using the new Tri Rod, which seems to take after Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's Ultrahand ability in its mechanics.
Wielding the Tri Rod, players will be able to create echoes (or copies) of different items and enemies. When playing as Zelda, rather than using a sword to defeat enemies, players will use the Tri Rod to create copies of enemies that will fight for them. While this is certainly a unique approach to combat for the series, it does come with a bit of a speed bump it will need to get over in order to keep players involved for an extended period. Specifically, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will need as much enemy variety as Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom have in their weapon variety.
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Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Must Atone for One Sin of BotW, TotK
Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom didn't get everything right, and Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom needs to atone for that.
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Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Needs Plenty of Enemy Variety to Match Previous Installments
Zelda: BotW and Zelda: TotK Specialized in Weapon Variety
In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its sequel, players were given access to the biggest arsenal Link has ever had in the series, and this was largely backed up by its unforgiving durability system, which forced players to collect and use as many weapons as they could find. Then, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom upped the ante with its Fuse ability by allowing players to essentially create their own weapons by adding different items they collected on their travels. This ultimately allowed players to approach combat in a unique and creative way, rather than relying on Link's standard arsenal to get the job done.
Not everyone has been able to get behind the new weapon and durability system introduced in Zelda: BotW, but it has nonetheless set a standard for the series. If Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is proof of anything, it's that the franchise will have a difficult time going back to its roots, simply because that could mean letting go of the creativity that this new era of Zelda has spoiled its players with. The only obstacle Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom really has to overcome now is that it will need to match the freedom players have in Zelda: BotW and Zelda: TotK's combat and it can do that with enough enemy types to keep battles feeling fresh and exciting.
Diverse Enemy Types Are the Key to the Tri Rod's Reception in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Since Zelda won't be using a sword in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and will instead be summoning echoes of the enemies she captures using the Tri Rod, those enemies will need to be diverse enough (melee, ranged, flying, elemental, magic, small, large, etc.) to prevent combat from feeling too monotonous. Only a handful of "echoable" enemies have been revealed for Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom so far, which is a bit concerning. That being said, Nintendo likes to keep its cards close to its chest, so there is likely much more hidden behind the scenes.
Ensuring there are plenty of different enemy types in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will make seeking out new monsters to create echoes of them all the more exciting. Zelda might not be doing most of the damage herself, but more enemy types might even turn Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom into a type of Pokemon game. Chances are that Nintendo has considered this, but that much may not be revealed until the game releases in September.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a top-down adventure that shakes things up by pushing Princess Zelda into the protagonist role. Armed with the Tri Rod that allows her to create copies, Zelda will go on an epic journey to protect Hyrule and find the missing Link.
Adventure
- Franchise
- The Legend of Zelda
- Platform(s)
- Switch
- Released
- September 26, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+
- Video Games
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- The Legend of Zelda
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