Summary
- Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom may bring back classic franchise elements through larger scale and potential dungeon features.
- Fans hope for a return to traditional Zelda dungeons in Echoes of Wisdom, with challenging puzzles and unique rewards.
- The Tri Rod in Echoes of Wisdom offers the chance for dungeons to reward players with unique echoes to aid in exploration and combat.
It's not clear yet whether The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is bringing the franchise back to its roots entirely, as the abilities of Zelda's new Tri Rod alone are indicative of a much larger and more malleable world than that of classic Zelda titles. That being said, Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom's scale does seem to be drawn back much further than the series' most recent titles, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Zelda: Breath of the Wild, so the likelihood of more classic franchise elements making an appearance seems higher than it has in quite some time. One of the more anticipated classic Zelda features that was largely missing from the series' last two mainline installments is dungeons.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild all but exchanged the franchise's dungeons for shrines, which are fulfilling for what they are but still lack the size, mystery, and climactic nature of traditional dungeons. Likely due to requests from fans, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom then introduced several dungeons that are more akin to what one would find in an early Zelda title. However, even these were bereft of the challenging puzzles, unique enemies, and memorable aesthetics of the Zelda dungeons of old, with some even being beatable within a matter of minutes. Now, the hope is that Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will bring back the franchise's iconic dungeon format, and it could even use the Tri Rod to reinvent the reward system for those dungeons.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Needs to Tread Carefully With Any Link-Centric Sections
It has been confirmed that Link will be a playable character in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, but moderation will be key in these moments.
How Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Could Use the Tri Rod to Reimagine Dungeon Rewards
Classic Zelda Dungeons Rewarded Players With Unique Items
One of the key characteristics of classic Zelda dungeons is the reward system. Generally, as players would progress through a dungeon, they would receive a unique item that the remainder of the dungeon would be themed after. For instance, upon retrieving the Mirror Shield in Zelda: Ocarina of Time's Spirit Temple, players could use the reflective shield to solve light puzzles in the temple that they wouldn't be able to solve without it. Classic dungeon bosses are also typically vulnerable to these items, like the Spirit Temple's boss, Twinrova, in which players use the Mirror Shield to deflect Koume and Kotake's attacks back at one another to deal damage to them. This is a format The Legend of Zelda has kept up for decades, and Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom could stand to repeat it with the Tri Rod.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom's Dungeons Could Reward Players With Unique Echoes for the Tri Rod
Using the Tri Rod in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, players have the power to obtain "echoes" of objects and enemies that they can then summon later on to assist them in exploration and combat. For example, when Zelda learns the table echo, as featured in the announcement trailer for Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, she can summon tables that she can stand on to reach greater heights. The same goes for enemy echoes, which can be summoned to help her in battle. This powerful ability presents Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom with a clear opportunity to reimagine dungeon rewards as echoes rather than items.
As players progress through dungeons in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, perhaps they could learn a unique echo only obtainable within that dungeon that would not only help them complete the dungeon but also access previously inaccessible areas throughout Hyrule. This would especially make sense, considering the fact that Zelda does not have any other equipment (based on what has been revealed so far), nor does she even need anything else. As the Tri Rod is essentially a Swiss Army Knife, there is little need for more items, so Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom's dungeons could grant special echoes instead.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 85 /100 Critics Rec: 93%
- Released
- September 26, 2024
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo, Grezzo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Havok
- Franchise
- The Legend of Zelda
WHERE TO PLAY
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!
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
