4.5/5 ★ – Pixelguy9's review of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

Man, I was not expecting to enjoy this game this much! When Echoes of Wisdom was first shown off, I was sceptical. Sure, the idea of finally playing as Zelda was a cool and exciting, but the games reveal only supported my belief that the Zelda team was done with the elements of Zelda that I had come to love, namely classic dungeons, puzzles, and a mix of open-air and linear progression. However, Echoes of Wisdom far exceeded the little expectations I had for it, and blew me away with everything new it brought to the table. I'm so surprised that this game did what the sequel to Breath of the Wild couldn’t, and I can’t believe I am actually saying that. Gameplay: The echo mechanic isn’t quite as broken as I thought it would be, and is very fun to use. Summoning enemies as allies is something that games tend to as a series progresses, but Zelda’s enemies have always been so unique in their functionality, so to see their abilities work in your favour alongside you is a welcome change of pace. In Tears of the Kingdom the player was given multiple items that broke all of the games puzzles, but in Echoes of Wisdom, there isn't really a "one size fits all" solution to puzzles, as the 2D perspective and more situational echoes offer a greater sense of player freedom. I found myself not using the bind ability as creatively as I thought I would, but it was still a great tool to mess around with, especially when you can just pick up annoying enemies and drop them off ledges. Swordfighter form was a welcome surprise when it was first shown off, and in game it is very satisfying to fight enemies, in particular, the bosses, one on one. Dungeons: The dungeons in Echoes of Wisdom are without a doubt my favourite part of the game. Suthorn Ruins is a great first dungeon, perfectly introducing the player to the use of echoes, bind and swordfighter form, with it's bland design being the only real problem I have with it. The Gerudo Sanctum is a fun puzzle box with some obstacles that really left me scratching my head. Jabul Ruins continues the trend of many water dungeons of old by presenting the player with a central water themed objective to accomplish by exploring the dungeon, but thankfully isn't as grueling as many of it's predecessors. Hyrule Castle is a great dungeon, mostly consisting of traveling through places you've already been to, but with new rooms and paths to take. Eldin Temple is a fun time, offering some cool puzzles involving rising and falling lava levels. The Faron Temple is the first dungeon in Echoes of Wisdom that feels like a challenge, with lots of entrances and levels to keep track of as you navigate through lots of pitch black corridors. Lanayru Temple is definitely the hardest dungeon in the game, using really unique heating and freezing mechanics that I don't think we've really seen before in a Zelda game, combined with a difficult mini boss and lots of ice physics. The final dungeon, Null's Body, isn't really a full dungeon, but is a very unique location, relying on both Link and Zelda's abilities in synchronisation. It's very rare to see these two together in actual gameplay, and the way it was handled here was great. What I would do for a full Zelda game with these sorts of cooperative puzzles... Bosses: This game perfectly balances the bosses so that they're not too easy when in swordfighter form, and not to hard when relying solely on echoes. Starting with the Seismic Talus, which as a first boss, is pretty solid. The boss is lessened slightly by the fact that a fiery version can be encountered later in the game, but this isn't a huge problem since the reuse of bosses is far less egregious here then in other titles. Mogryph is an interesting fight, and probably sports one of the series' most bizarre designs; a mole with goggles and wings that creates sandstorms is about as weird as you can get. Vocavor is another good fight, unique due to the side scrolling underwater perspective. The boss is similar to the Angler Fish battle of Link's Awakening, but differentiates itself by actually offering a challenge. The battle against the echo of Ganon in the game's middle offers a great take on the classic 'big bad' of the series in perhaps one of his best 2D fights. Volvagia's first triumphant return since Ocarina of Time did not disappoint, working surprisingly well in a 2D space and was ultimately one of Echoes of Wisdom's best boss battles. Gohma's return was also much appreciated, and the fight was given more then the usual "shoot the eye and whale on the boss for a couple of seconds", making it probably one of the most unique versions of the recurring foe. Skorchill, although not an especially tough fight, is one of the games most fun, and is a welcome breather after the lengthy dungeon preceding it. Finally, this games surprise new villain, Null is another great fight, and easily one of the best final bosses of a 2D Zelda game. The mechanic of pulling on his arms so Link can attack the weak points is so clever, and a perfect use of Zelda's new abilities in a combat scenario. Story: The story of Echoes of Wisdom is pretty simple, but does still hold some ground. While a little contrived early on, the quality dramatically improves after the rematch against Ganon in the Stilled Hyrule Castle. This also coincides with some very interesting revelations regarding the golden goddess and their creation of the world, introducing a new threat that was sealed by this creation. The game also provides the second definitive reason for Link’s silence, and the way this is resolved by the games end is pretty great. Tri offers a new take on the classic Zelda companion, specifically by not being a know-it-all. In fact, often times Tri is very unaware of what's happening and seems to lack understanding of very basic things. This worked in the case of Fi, as unfamiliarity with human emotions and the like was due to her robotic nature, but it doesn't work for Tri, who comes across as lacking intelligence most times they talk to Zelda. By far the most refreshing part of this game’s story is that it is linear, which was a welcome change of pace after Tears of the Kingdom fumbled it’s non-linear story so badly. Echoes of Wisdom was never going to be the next Skyward Sword or Majora's Mask in this story department, and I knew that going into the game, but overall, I was satisfied with what we end up getting with this games narrative. Soundtrack: While this game's soundtrack is good, I'm not sure if it's quite to the standards of other games in the series. It’s certainly not bad by any stretch, but I found a lot of the tracks to be a little underwhelming. I was expecting a bit more from songs like Kakariko Village, Hyrule Ranch, Hyrule Castle, and the main Overworld theme. I wasn't expecting the tracks to be straight rips from A Link to the Past or Ocarina of Time, but I was expecting cool new takes on the tracks. You could argue that's exactly what we got, but I think some of these tracks deviate too much from their sources. The game’s lack of Zelda’s iconic lullaby was also a bit of a let down, with very few tracks paying homage to it outside of the repetitive overworld theme. That being said, this is a Zelda game after all, so the soundtrack is still very good, with the boss and dungeon themes being pretty good, and the version of the main theme that plays in the game’s credits being absolutely fantastic. Conclusion: I understand that the Zelda community has been in shambles since Tears of the Kingdom's release, and I know a lot of people were hesitant to pick up this game due to its emphasis on player freedom. However, after completing the game 100%, I can say with certainty that it is a far more focused experience, sharing more similarities with the older beloved titles then newer installments. It is right to describe Echoes of Wisdom as a 2D Tears of the Kingdom, but don't let that fool you into thinking this game falls into the same pitfalls.