The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom MSRP $60.00 Score Details Pros
When I think back on my decades’ worth of Zelda memories, there’s one that sticks with me the most: that time I squashed Dark Link like a bug.
Partway throughThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Link must fight his doppelganger. The shadowy villain is his perfect match, countering every one of his sword slashes. It’s a tough fight — or at least I imagine it would have been. Rather than trying to beat him the old-fashioned way, I simply equipped my Megaton Hammer and squashed him like a bug. Anytime I’ve relayed that story to a friend, they’re almost always surprised. They’d either out-slashed him or fought back with their bow. It’s a simple moment, but one that makes my playthrough feel special. It’s not just Link’s adventure that I’m tuning into; it’s my own, too.
RelatedNintendo has drilled down on that feeling with recent games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but now it’s taking that idea to its classic formula. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom both revisits and reinvents the series’ top-down days by placing Princess Zelda in the lead role and giving her a new item-copying ability. That change opens the door for a whole adventure full of “Dark Link” moments, as every challenge in Hyrule becomes an open-ended puzzle. It’s a great idea for a series that thrives on change, but one that’s not yet fully realized. With a limited selection of objects to copy and a safe reliance on series staples, Zelda’s first solo adventure doesn’t fully step out of Link’s shadow.