''A NEW LEGEND ARRIVES''
Developed: Grezzo
Published: Nintendo
Genre: Puzzle Platformer
Release Date: Sept 26th, 2024
Platforms: Switch
The newest entry into the long storied 2D Legend Of Zelda entries of titles is here and it is developed by Grezzo and published by Nintendo. With Nintendo seeing massive success with previous 2D entries like Links Awakening, Grezzo and Nintendo decide, hey, what if we do that but this time, make Zelda the focus?. But does this game stack up to Links Awakening on Switch? or does our girl Zelda fall short in her first real solo adventure? Only one way to find out, so lets HYAH!
STORY:
The people of Hyrule are being stolen away by strange rifts that have appeared throughout the kingdom. With a certain swordsman among the missing, it’s up to Princess Zelda to save her kingdom before the entire world is engulfed into darkness.
''A BIG WORLD TO SLEEP IN. THANKS BED ECHO''
GAMEPLAY:
Oh man. Its finally here, the SECOND solo adventure of Princess Zelda herself and it has got everyone in a frenzy and hyped beyond belief, including myself. Hang on a second, you say gamers and journalists are saying this is her FIRST solo adventure? I mean that's just because they aren't sound and smart intellectuals like myself, I mean there's no other reason why they would say that. Princess Zelda before this outing in Echoes Of Wisdom, first got her time to shine in her first solo outing in the 1993 smash hit game Wand Of Gamelon, a game that touched the heart of many and over the years, after selling upwards to 10 million on the CD-I, became one of the most cherished Legend Of Zelda entries into the series, even standing toe to toe with the lines of Ocarina Of Time and even Tears Of The Kingdom. Ok Ok, that's a bit of a revisionist history there. Pretty much take all I just said and say it was opposite day and you will now get the true answer to how the tenure in which the Zelda CD-I games stood, ended up being to all games who were unlucky enough to stumble upon or, whether it be overpaying for them as a collector or finding random compilations of them all over the internet. Plagued by a weird art style that made you feel like you were in a weird dream world with the way everything looks and coordinated, really weird dialogue that at time didnt make any sense or out of nowhere with a characters randomly turning objects into a chicken leg and eating it for no reason at all, the bad guy screaming in agony that ''ARGH YOU KILLED ME'' and Zelda just staring at him and giving the most profound dialogue of any video game, ever made with ''Good'. Uhh, alrighty? I guess. That's pretty cold. Its just cheesy, corny and cringe... so you know I reference all the time in my reviews, I cant help myself, especially with the iconic line of ''YOU CAN MAKE ME DO THE DUCK WALK, COOL HUH'' always a classic. But were not here to talk about the Zelda CD-I games, perhaps in the future I'll do a full review of all 3 of them for your enjoyment or nightmare, it can go either way. But for now we will TRULY dive into the FIRST solo outing for our girl Zelda and let her have the shine she finally deserves. I mean heck, the dang franchise has been around for 38 years, and like hastings and hatings says, ''its about time''. So I... ''GREAT, I CANT WAIT TO BOMB SOME DODONGOS''. Huh? no Link, sorry, this isnt YOUR adventure, sit your butt down, so we can get this started.
Using the same exact art style as Links Awakening remake on Nintendo Switch with the chibi looking characters and doll like structures or even similar to what you think of when you think of the word, Diorama. It is exactly like that, but this time a broadened world much larger and interconnected than Links Awakening with exploration being a big part of your adventure and less focus on a linear path than you would be used to in typical 2D Zelda titles like Tri Force Heroes. Exploration is a main factor in whether or not you're going to enjoy this adventure because from the start, you're able to go wherever you want to really, especially if you have echoes like a bed or a table to use to stack and make yourself be able to jump over trees to bypass an area entirely. Were definitely going to see some super crazy speed runs done in this title in the coming weeks, just hoping not as crazy as some I have seen with how quickly they beat Breath Of The Wild. Its like WHAT? how in the literal heck do people think of these things? your minds are weirder than mine guys and my mind constantly thinks of Moo Deng and panda fail compilations. For starters at the core of Echoes Of Wisdom in this newest top down entry, it feels very playful and inviting, it feels childlike, not like as in ''for kids only'' but more so in a very welcoming to all way with lots of themes of friendship and never giving up even when all odds are stacked against you and you're forced to become a hero in the most unlikely situation. That here is the heart and soul of this title, staying true to what you remember and love from the ''magic'' that the title of ''Zelda'' alone brings and hones in on the toy aesthetic that makes everything feel like the life of miniatures has been brought to life itself. Which leads to me to believe that someone definitely has been using the cupboard from Indian The Cupboard to make all this crap come to life like this. Have you no shame!? didnt you guys learn the disasters that could be bestowed upon the world after watching Puppet Master or even Small Soldiers? do you remember the the havoc and terror that was unleashed? DO YA?. They made people listen to The Spice Girls? HOW EVIL and CRUEL is that? these people, I swear, never looking out for us, but I digress, evil puppets and toys aside, the themes here are puzzles, experimentation and exploration.
''UNDER MY GENJUTSU''
The game starts you off playing a small role of Link himself, mostly to give you an idea of how the games controls work and to setup the initial storyline with Link taking on Beast Ganon and ultimately thwarting his plans once more, but not before getting the last laugh when a giant purple rift opens up on the floor, sucking in not only Ganon himself, but Link too. So before getting devoured by the void of a rift, Link shoots an arrow to help Zelda escape from the crystal that she is trapped in. I mean, you could've done that from the start, Link, dont you think? you silly little guy. Once Zelda is free, you're now in control of her for the rest of the game as you run your little chibi feet off to escape being taken by the rift too, before you frantically make it outside and get a view of the gorgeous and vast world and get reminded, this isnt just a solo Zelda journey, no its her own grand tour of Hyrule itself. So how is this game structured? is it a Tri Force Heroes situation or a straight copy of Links Awakening? well it pretty much sticks to the standard Zelda formula overall with you taking on the task to solve problems for all the locals, whether it be normal citizens, little Deku Scrubs, Goron's, Zora's, you name it and they have issues that need to be solved, with some of them being both mind boggling or rage inducing. Like take for example these little Deku Scrubs that need my help, firstly you need a membership card to get into the an area thats housing a rift that needs to be stopped so you can save everyone in the area before it spreads, so you head to basically ''lovers lake'' where you expect to find two love bird scrubs, but instead find one screaming and crying that his girlfriend never showed up, when its obvious she fell into the rift RIGHT NEXT TO HIM. Guess you can say they were RIFT APART from each other, am I right? no? alright. So ok fine, I'll help your goofy self. So I jump in, kick butt and clear the rift, reunite the two love birds together and then get told ''Membership card? nah, I'm taking my girl to get some candy with this card, go ask someone else, bye''. YOU LITTLE JERK. I risked my neck to save you and basically get told to kick rocks? what a freaking jerk. Then again, should I really be surprised? these are the same Scrubs that were asked ''would you rather have a world ending rift of thorns that makes candy or save your friends?'' and of course, he has no answer because he has to THINK ABOUT IT. Bro is not loyal, lock that guy up just like they did me. Zelda you have now joined our man Mario with characters in canon being arrested and thrown behind bars, that's hardcore, mad respect.
Exploring this version of Hyrule is a treat in itself due to the great music, variety of enemies, secrets to find, great art style, all that is pretty fantastic, that goes without saying, but what is a game like this, mainly a Zelda game, without, you know, actual combat? To get it out of the way, yes there is swordplay just like any regular adventure starring Link, but honestly, you might not even want to use it, I know I really didn't like using it myself unless I absolutely had to or wanted to end a battle faster - but other than that, I simply wanted to use my newly acquired Tri Rod and all its magical abilities. The Tri Rod is basically able to copyright nearly every enemy or object in the game without being sued and allows you to create an echo of it, which in turn allows you to summon it to your side, whether you want to build or use it to fight other monsters or traverse through the world itself. By utilizing the echo, it unlocks a sheer amount of strategies not only for combat, but for exploration as well. For instance, should you be fighting crows or a variety of bird that flies in the air that you can get to, summon an echo capable of fight and have them duke it out in the air - and vice versa to that for exploration, should you see an area to go to or fly up to with wind gusts? thats simple as well, simply summon enemy echoes like a Bat and grab onto it and jump off a ledge or take a air stream and go gliding for a short amount of time to get to a desired area faster or move and out dodge enemies that you may not want to fight right now. It just gives you such a massive amount of ideas to unearth for yourself that sometimes you just become lost in experimentation that you waste hours just screwing around like I did. Although sometimes because you're so used to experimenting, you get a little too overboard with it and it starts rotting your brain and makes you over think, such as my time in Lanayru Temple. In this water temple, your objective is to bypass two fire vents, while swimming in water beneath them and try to figure out what to stack in order to not only get you to the top, but block the vents for safe passage too. I'm not going to lie, I literally spent over TWO HOURS trying combinations of rocks, beds, water blocks, ice blocks, trees and NOTHING was working. I even go so frustrated that I LEFT and went town to town to try to find items to buy that I can take to a local smoothy maker to make a drink that makes me resistant to fire... only for it to NOT WORK, so not only have I wasted HOURS making me want to rip my hair out, I just wasted my money too. Unbelievable. But luckily by messing around i finally DID figure it out with the combination of One box, 2 elephant statues and 2 water cubes. ''I AM SO SMART!'' I told myself. But nope, I am not. Turns out this puzzle is solvable in LESS THAN 2 MINUTES and all I had to do is go to the room DIRECTLY next to me, convert a fire orb to Ice and that wouldve frozen the ground to let me stack regular items without issue. ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME. No wonder I hate this level, it gave me extreme PTSD from Macalania Temple in FFX. I.....HATE....ORBS.
''LANAYRU IS MY VIETNAM FLASHBACK LEVEL''
My own rage inside, using Echoes allows you as a player to approach every situation in a unique fashion, that with the more echoes you acquire, with over 100 plus in all, will add layer upon layer to your overall experience that allows you to put your brain to the test to figure out which Echo fits best for you. Should you need to get to a higher area, use a spider to grab the ceiling with their web and climb, need to light a lantern? summon a fire enemy to light your way, need to get over a cliff near you or go straight up a mountain? drop some water blocks and swim up, down or sideways for easy traversal. Its all very intuitive and makes you feel like a genius when you get something right. But again, just like my mess ups in Lanayru Temple, my overthinking constantly got to me. You guys ever do that? a simple puzzle that should take seconds to solve, ends up taking you forever to do because you think you're Dustin Hoffman in Rainman or a glasses tapping smart guy in an Anime. Well just like Lanayru Temple, my overthinking and creative mind guy that best of me again, when making my way through one of the early temples, behind a gate there is a button and one statue. Ok hm, how do I get it up there? by pressing X, you're able to throw a beam to lock onto objects to move them around and once again I tried every combination from boxes, tables, you name it, I did it. 40 min pass and THEN I figure out.. OH you can JUMP while holding the statue and I literally finished the puzzle in under two seconds. This dang game is going to give me a heart attack from stress. But oh no no no, it didnt end there because I got myself into ANOTHER situation, even WORSE than before in the Gerudo Temple. In this temple you have to copy and echo a blowing fan that is sitting on a box hanging over a bottomless pit. Its very hard to get to and I struggle trying to different techniques and ways to attack to get to it for close to 20 minutes and then I finally made over there, copied and was excited, like ''OH YA MISSION ACCOMPLISHED'', then to realize in horror, ''Uh Oh. How do I get back?'' Yup thats right... I WAS STUCK. In this game to create an object, you need at least ONE square space for creation, but in the corner above a black void, YOU CANT DO THAT. So I just left myself trapped here all alone like Tom Hanks In Castaway but with no Wilson to keep me company. WHY.... ME...?. My failures at puzzle solving aside, even though each dungeon here in the game offer a ton of variety, including awesome and fun Mini Bosses, main boss fights and multiple ways to solve puzzles, you CAN actually attack in other ways besides just using Echoes to do all the fighting for you since the A.I. can be a bit fidgety at times, which makes you have to take matters into you own hands and utilize Zelda's Sword Fighter stance.
When using Zelda's Sword fighter stance, you basically gain the ability of Link himself, only for a very limited amount of time using your blue energy bar, which you can increase via machine by collecting crystal parts to upgrade. When in this mode you'll be able to wield a sword, use a bow and arrow, as well as use bombs. Like I stated early, I rarely used this mode unless I absolutely had to and even for areas that required bomb use, I just use my little bomb fish that I captured to blow open walls or blocking paths for me anyways, so really, bombs in sword fighter mode arent really need at all. Think of Sword Fighter mode as your technique to only use against boss fights after you stun them or in similar situations like that and engaging the mode, getting hits off, then turning it on to maintain your energy bar so you have just enough energy to get you through a fight. Its all very much a new layer to tactical combat and mixing that alongside Echoes gives you one of the most strategic ways to tackle a game in a Zelda franchise than ever before, yes, even more so than even Breath Of The Wild or Tears Of The Kingdom did for the franchise. COOL HUH?. Dang it Link, I SAID THIS IS NOT YOUR GAME, GO AWAY. Picking and choosing when to use this mode is pretty key because the meter runs out fast but is very powerful, so its something that should only be used in tough situations and harder boss fights that call for it, which basically means its only viable in my opinion for dungeons because outside of dungeons in the overworld, there really isnt a case where you MUST use it because with the enormous amount of Echoes you can use to fight for you, sometimes summoning one big Moblin to fight for you thats armored or summon 5 to 6 bats to swarm your enemy, that's all you really need in the overworld itself in my opinion on that. But is that all there is to it? dungeons, rifts and being stuck in a corner of no return? nope, because besides random exploration, dungeon puzzles, sword fighting stances and echoes themselves, theres still far more content to engage in with side quests, optional bosses, treasures, collecting stamps and traversing the ''Still World'''. As you explore the huge toy like world, watching Zora's play an elegant concert which sounds great, attack random chickens just to see what would happen and then proceed to run for your life because they're way too strong, and then running through areas that.... wait hang on? what's that?. A wanted poster? of Zelda? that's pretty funny actually. Wait hold up.. is THAT supposed to be Zelda? what the heck did they do my girl? and why does her dang nose look like shes the witch from Snow White? they did my girl dirty, that just aint right. Ugly Zelda posters aside, you're able to do side quests here and there for civilians for items, rewards and other stuff should you want to take a break from the story, but wait there's still plenty more where that came from too.
Outside of side quests, you are able to find a crazy man named Stamp Guy who will give you the task of searching around the world to find monuments that you click on in order to find a specific stamp and then once your collection is filled up, you will receive a reward for your efforts and a brand new Stamp book to use for even more stamps to find. Stamp Guy is very goofy, but he's no Tingle or even Beedle for that matter. ''WOW!!''. These are fun little nuggets to search for should you want fully unlock the entire map and definitely something to do after you completed the game but dont want to put it down. Lastly we have Still World, which is an alternate dimension different from Hyrule where we as players must go to restore broken fragments in various areas of Hyrule in order to restore them back to the rightful place. In these purple void areas you'll have a large void of nothingness you'll find civilians that have been sucked into the void, making them a frozen statue of their former self and environment hazards from the real world that have also succumb to the rifts that have opened up. Some of these rifts end up leading you to a brand new dungeon to conquer and challenge to take on, while others have you find 5 of Tri's friends, hidden around 5 different areas of the void and once they're all found, that Rift on the main land above will be restored and all people trapped in the rift will be turned to normal once more. These collecting friends rifts arent hard, but I still found them fun with having to search out their location and think of clever ways to save them, should they be just out of reach. As out of reach as myself every time I start prepping to review Final Fantasy 10, I get bombarded with work or sickness. Like 4 years in the making and still a no go. I blame Seymour. Curse you Seymour!
''THROUGH THE FIRE AND FLAMES''
OVERALL:
At the end of the day, Echoes Of Wisdom ends up being a fantastic entry for the 2D side of the series with nearly everything it offers, and the keyword there is nearly, because this game is not without its own faults. Some of the negatives I came away in my roughly 20 hour journey is that the targeting system using your Binding ability can be rather clunky with the connection between you and an object becoming off centered and harder to control and then during battle having press ZL to cycle between each enemy on screen one by one can feel a bit mundane and fidgety. Framerate issues also persist throughout the game, much like they did during Links Awakening, with noticeable drops coming during the overworld in condensed areas with lots going on in them and then theyre much heavy in the likes of Hebra Mountain where its largely noticeable. Thankfully it doesn't ruin the fun entirely and only lasts a mere 3 to 4 seconds and stabilizes very fast. Even with those negatives mentioned, with this titles classic Zelda classic dungeon feature, intricate puzzles throughout every traditional dungeon that makes you think on how to solve its mysteries, amazing use of Echoes that makes this game infinitely replayable due to the amount of Echoes you can obtain and use to change outcomes of scenarios differently every time, REALLY great boss fights that allows flexibility of strategy, superb music, plethora of side quests, stamps to collect etc. This game just has a ton to do and even when the story is done and complete, you still have many more hours on end to dive into this one and to me its a must play for any Zelda fan. So with all that having been said, my verdict is clear, GameNChick says BUY NOW
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