At Pax West 2024, Nintendo had a massive booth where people had the chance to play a short demo of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. A very small group of journalists were invited to a closed-door briefing where they got to experience a more robust demo of the game.
I was among that small group.
For a thrilling hour or so, I escaped the confines of a castle dungeon, donned a sacred cloak, mastered the art of producing "echoes" and triumphed in my first boss battle after traversing the Still World.
I'm excited to share my experience with other fans of this franchise who are hoping this game will live up to expectations (spoiler - it does), so let's jump into it!
Playing as Zelda, finally!
Finally getting to go on a Zelda-focused adventure is a real treat. After all, many of us have had the experience of hearing people refer to Link as Zelda over the years - in this case we won't have to correct anyone who is discussing the protagonist of the new game.
At the beginning of the preview (I say beginning of the "preview" and not "game" because my session jumped ahead to an early part of the game, but I'm not sure how early) Zelda was trapped in a prison in a castle in Hyrule.
Fortunately at this point of the adventure she had already connected with a magical being called Tri (who has a trailing tail made up of small triforce-piece-esque triangles) who is able to help Zelda quickly escape the confines of the dungeon.
Zelda does this by using a new game mechanic – creating echoes. Echoes are duplicates of objects that Zelda has learned and encountered in the game. And they can be just about anything: boxes, beds, rocks, enemies, and much, much, more.
In my case, by stacking a series of tables that I "learned" in my cell, I was able to easily hop over a crumbling wall into an adjacent cell that was unlocked.
What Do Echoes Do?
Echoes are a defining part of the game experience that will help you solve puzzles and navigate through your environment.
When you encounter an object that Zelda can "learn" and add to her roster of echoes, it is highlighted with a swirling golden shimmer. You can also learn most enemies after you defeat them in battle.
Once you learn an object or enemy, it is available to use again and again. There's a finite number of echoes that can be made at once. You'll know how many you can make by the trailing number of tails on Tri. But some echoes use up more of Tri's magic than others (example a table is one, but a more powerful Darknut soldier requires three).
It's an interesting challenge to figure out the right balance of echoes based on what you're trying to accomplish.
For example in a room with lots of enemies, you'll have to decide if you want to create an echo of a bed (which you can use to rest in and replenish hearts) and maybe a rock or two to throw at your combatants. Or if you want to use up all Tri's magic and produce a more powerful echo (like a Darknut) who is more powerful and can use distance attacks, but then leaves you unable to produce any further echoes.
At any point, you can clear all echoes with the push of a button. This is handy if you see that your initial plan for navigating a room isn't working like you'd want.
I think it will be really fun to compare notes with friends playing the game to see how the creative use of echoes helped them navigate a particular area or dungeon.
The World of Echoes of Wisdom
The game takes place in Hyrule but not any map of Hyrule we've visited before. At first glance there seems to be a fusion of familiar landmarks from Link's Awakening (Game Boy/Switch) and Link to the Past (Super Nintendo), but I was told during my demo that this is not the same kingdom that's been explored by Link on past adventures.
In my preview, I encountered many familiar creatures from other games (Zol, Spear Moblins and more) plus a few new enemies and items as well.
There's also a region called The Still World. Based on my demo, there's still a lot of mystery of what this world is exactly. It seems like there are portals that allow Zelda to travel to this area. You see characters who are frozen in space in this strange land. And the terrain is a surreal mix of floating land masses and danger.
My first instinct was that this was a Light World/Dark World type of scenario (from Link to the Past), but then where were almost elements of the Twilight Realm (Twilight Princess), and even with these familiar-ish nods to past regions in Zelda games, the Still World is a space of its own that I'll be curious to explore further to better understand what's going on here.
Echoes of Wisdom Game Play Style
The gameplay style of Echoes of Wisdom felt very familiar in a great way.
Unlike the sprawling open world of Tears of the Kingdom or Breath of the Wild, or even the vastness of Windwaker, there's a smaller sandbox to play in. The use of different echoes to navigate your way around this sandbox makes for a very unique experience.
From the preview, I couldn't tell if dungeons must be completed in a certain order (I only played one dungeon and had all the required items I needed to get through it). But within that dungeon, it was interesting that you did not need to hunt down a map or compass like some other Zelda adventures, yet there was a Big Key required to get into the room for the boss battle.
This is to say that some of the Legend of Zelda tropes are at work here. So if you're familiar with previous titles, you'll acclimate quickly to Echoes of Wisdom.
Is Link in Echoes of Wisdom?
In my preview experience, I didn't encounter Link (though from the released trailers and the box art imagery you can see he is part of the story). However, there's a Link-like encounter that's pretty cool
Mild Spoiler Ahead
WIthin the dungeon I played, about midway through, you find a green tunic-wearing character holding a sword and Hylian shield that looks very familiar. However, when he turns to face Zelda, you quickly realize this is not the Hero of Time we all know and love.
After a battle to defeat this imposter, they leave behind a mysterious sword. Upon claiming it, Zelda gains a helpful new ability. The sword is imbued with the power to transform Zelda into swordfighter form. While activated, Zelda transforms into a ghostly blue figure and gains the ability to wield a sword to attack enemies, slice through barriers, jump higher, and defend with a shield.
Swordfighter form can only be used for a limited time as an energy gauge slowly depletes, and is replenished by collecting small blue shards of energy.
Playing in swordfighter form is great because for anyone familiar with the series, all the stuff you'd expect Link to be able to do, Zelda can do in Swordfighter form. While in swordfighter form, you're unable to produce echoes (at least in the parts I played).
Does Zelda have special abilities in Echoes of Wisdom
Beyond what I've already described related to echoes, Zelda has another ability that is very helpful
By pointing Tri's rod at certain objects, Zelda can "Bind" with them. This allows Zelda to move and place objects, including ones that are out of reach, by making a ghostly connection to shift their position. If you've played Tears of the Kingdom, this is similar to ultrahand.
There's also something called "reverse-bond" allowing you to connect to moving objects to follow their existing path (example moving platforms above your height to help you traverse a large gap).
Bind and reverse-bond combined become essential skills to help Zelda navigate along her quest and is very useful when battling enemies.
Seismic Talus Boss Battle In Echoes of Wisdom
I want to be mindful of keeping things a surprise, but if you've made it to this point in the article, you're probably a person who wants to know everything they can about The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, so let's talk about the big boss battle at the end of the dungeon!
The dungeon I played was in an area of the game called the Suthorn Ruins. And the big bad guy at the end was a Seismic Talus.
You may be familiar with these rock monsters from other Zelda games. In the case of Echoes of Wisdom this foe is waiting for you at the end of a dungeon and uses tornado-like spins of his rock arms and hands to attack Zelda.
Because of the opportunity to use different kinds of echoes or the new bind ability (alongside swordfighter form), there's lots of different strategies you could take to try and defeat this boss.
Like any Zelda boss battle, it's probably best to wait a beat, study the enemies movement patterns, and then jump into the battle once you have a bit of a strategy in mind.
Having said that, in my excitement I just immediately ran into the fray and started trying every echo I could think of before I clued into a logical path of how to defeat the first major boss I encountered in the game.
Final Thoughts
While many people had the chance to play a short demo at the Nintendo booth at PAX West this year, I was very grateful to have had an extended hands-on session with the game, playing through exclusive areas not available to the public.
One hour with this game was not nearly enough time, and I can't wait to play more!
There was a perfect balance between familiar franchise features (throwing pots, searching for dungeon keys, spin attacks in swordfighter mode) and exciting new elements (echoes being the big one).
Plus it's awesome to be playing as Zelda in a Zelda title.
I know there are many more surprises to discover and familiar characters to be reacquainted with. And I can't wait to do that when I revisit Hyrule on September 26th when the game launches!
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