
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is fast approaching and we've now got the first batch of preview impressions doing the rounds. This includes a "hands on" courtesy of our lovely senior video producer Alex Olney:
"We left wanting more. Wishing we could stay on and progress further than we were allowed, wishing we could take a copy home and start playing around with everything. We even wanted to replay a lot of what we’d already done because we knew there were other ways we could have done things, and because the game doesn’t really care how you solve something as long as you solve it."
So, what does everyone else think of Zelda's new outing so far? Here's the rundown:
Mashable
"Echoes of Wisdom is a hybrid between what Zelda used to be and what Zelda is now. In other words, it seems to be taking the more structured, puzzle-based overworld and dungeon design from old Zelda games and giving players a mechanical toolset more akin to the last two comparatively freeform entries: Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild."
The Verge
"It feels like Nintendo’s supercharged the classic top-down Zelda formula by infusing it with many of the franchise’s cleverest innovations. It’s not exactly an open world or classic Zelda, but it’s something new — and it’s a perfect fit for the princess."
Destructoid
"The wait for its September 26 launch date is now much more difficult. So far, the Tri Rod is a brilliant idea for a Zelda-led odyssey. Using it to tactfully solve puzzles and fight enemies felt natural and engaging."
Polygon
"The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom may not have the gargantuan scope of recent 3D Zelda games, but it does appear to have similarly creative gameplay and player flexibility. It plays like a classic Legend of Zelda game, though, pairing old-school puzzle-solving and dungeon-crawling with ingenuity, resulting in a magical combination of styles. Zelda’s first solo adventure already feels like a winner."
GoNintendo
"Echoes of Wisdom now lets our imaginations run wild in a 2D setting in ways never before experienced…and how could you not be truly thrilled by that?!"
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom launches exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on 26th September 2024. Will you be adding this one to your collection? Let us know in the comments.
Comments 54
The only thing I’m worried about is that given the more advanced gameplay mechanics and object spawning, we might see the frame rate drop
Has any (p)reviews mentioned anything about it?
I'm so stoked. New real temples for the first time in, what, 11 years since Link Between Worlds? And such a strong focus on puzzle solving even between temples it seems. This should scratch the itch that TotK failed to do in a couple ways for me. And it's friggin C U T E
P.S. please let there be a way for us to echo peoples' furniture to decorate our own house with.
@cookiki I watched some previews and they said it got very framey, unfortunately.
The Verge is saying it is not a true open world Zelda or true classic Zelda game it is a something new. This can go everywhere but the game looks still fun from here.
My Switch is at the ready! 3 2 1 Game on! 🎮
@cookiki Alex from NL mentioned it happening in his video, go check it out as its a good vid
@cookiki If Link's Awakening Remastered, which kept the same gameplay features as the Game Boy game, had its frame rate problems, this one with the game play innovations make me scratch my head a little, but I'm so hyped anyway. Counting the days!
So how's the performance as compared to links awakening? Some choppy framerate in that one
@cookiki I‘ve read about frame dropping several times. And the trailers show it, too. I seems to be a severe issue of Grezzo‘s engine, not fixed for this title, and probably caused by on-the-flight shader compilation (to save memory space).
So, we will see frame dropping not only when using the Rod, but also when entering a new area etc. Still much better than a 30 fps cap imo.
“and because the game doesn’t really care how you solve something as long as you solve it.“
Ok, I guess Zelda is officially dead for me then.
So long, they were 35 fun years while they lasted.
Edit: Ok the other sites are saying it has a more classic approach to dungeons and puzzle solving … so which one is it?
Sounding very promising indeed! Looks like it's the perfect fusion of BOTW/TOTK and Link's Awakening.
Yeah, the FPS drops are still there, but those didn't stop me from enjoying the heck out of LA. Gameplay is what matters and it sounds exactly up my alley.
Looks there were some lessons learned from the TOTK marketing. They didn't convey what made it stand out from BOTW, so people were dismissing it as mere DLC. (Some still do...) For me, all these previews are a bit too much, though, I want to discover things myself. Scrubbed through the SwitchUp video and it does look very vibrant. Perfect for the OLED.
The dungeons do look good. It has been awhile since the multi-compartment stages have come around in Zelda
@Max_the_German I'm the opposite on this, i'd prefer a stable locked 30fps as im in the opposite camp of I dont mind lower frame rates, its frame rate instability that makes gaming uncomfortable to me. Wondering if its possible for devs to put in an optional FPS limit option to cater to both types of gamers preference. For me I like the option on deck to limit FPS, something like that would be nice to have but not essential
Sounds like some awful frame rate issues,
should really be on the next console then.
Love to hear that it got great reception so far, looking forward to Nintendo Life's review and playing it myself as soon as my discounted physical copy arrives!
By the way, I'm not worried about the framerate not only because I'm not particularly sensitive to it (had practically zero issues with the Link's Awakening remake also thanks to not playing it for too long at once and so avoided the memory leaks), but also because Switch's successor is coming and as long as that has backward compatibility as it should then such issues would be reduced if not straight up eliminated!
Removed - unconstructive
Another year, another winner for Nintendo. This is why we are fans.
Now for Switch 2, if we could get a remake of a Link to the Past in this engine, I would be a very happy gamer.
I'm really looking forward to this new take on the Zelda formula. It is surely unlikely to please everyone though...
@Yoshi3 From the little we've seen from trailers it seems that it will have a more classic approach to dungeons and puzzle solving except that you can solve such puzzles in different ways thanks to all the echoes etc. available to you - if it ends up being confirmed to be that then it's kind of like being able to solve a torch puzzle for example with a Deku Stick, a Fire Arrow, Din's Fire etc., just on a much larger scale.
Not sure if that's going to be enough for you and others if it ends up being confirmed (really hope that will be the case as the more people will be able to enjoy Echoes the better), but as much as I've enjoyed Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom in their own way I'm so glad that we're seemingly getting a game that keeps several elements of those while at the same time being much closer to the classic formula than them!
Think I'm going to play Link Between Worlds before playing this. But I can't wait!
@SuperRetroArt
It's a place to talk about all aspects of Nintendo games (and indeed Nintendo itself) graphics, frame rate, sound, cost... anything really.
In any case, frame rates effect gameplay.
Increasingly I feel that gaming websites house two different communities - tech lovers and gamers. Both with very different priorities.
@Uncle_Franklin I agree it does effect gameplay, usually on a minor level. But the comments are usually JUST solely focused on FPS. Frame rates can't make a good game bad or vice versa and judging by the many comments specifically about FPS and nothing else it makes me believe that some people based their whole opinions on games based on the frame rate. Which to me is totally ridiculous. I don't want to talk about FPS I want to talk about games!
@SuperRetroArt Yeah, and framerate drops happen while reading novels! Stupid people!
@SuperRetroArt I think it's more that some people are used to some higher standards in games. I'm used to playing 2D pixel-art games, and they've soured me on these awful and choppy ugly plastic-looking games.
@JohnnyMind It has pro's and cons. For me it's more of a con (though I get the appeal). I think this approach homogenizes puzzles a lot. Maybe this game can change my mind, but BotW and especially TotK sure didn't.
@ozwally It's possible, but Nintendo would never bother.
@Thirteen1355 I can kind of see where you're coming from even though I disagree - what you might lose to an extent in the heterogeneity of certain puzzles (because let's be honest, it's difficult to say that about most block puzzles in Zelda games for example) is definitely gained in the heterogeneity between the experiences of different players in how they tackle it - and regardless, based on what we've seen I think it won't be as much the case of this game as the variety of Echoes and even more so when combined with Bind/Reverse Bind is like having the classic, various Zelda items except that you can use more than one specific item to solve the puzzle so the best of both worlds potentially... but of course it depends on what kinds of puzzles will be in the game so we'll just have to see!
@Yoshi3 From the previews it looks to takes the sensibilities of both rather than one or the other.
I do agree that top down Zelda probably needs to keep a lot of restricted puzzle solves if they are sticking to classic dungeon styles for room layouts and progression. But the rest is probably fair game (eg, overworld, traversal, bosses etc...).
IMO the linear style of progression or puzzle solving is just far to restrictive and outdated these days anyway (at least, for 3D Zelda). BUT the Link's Awakening remake does prove that there is still some life left in this formula some 30 years on from its initial release.
Either way, it's interesting they've gone for a hybrid approach here, and it makes sense given you aren't playing traditionally as link with his move-set either.
@SuperRetroArt
The frame rate is a part of the game.
Your refrain reminds me of when people say they want to talk about the soccer game, and not refereeing decisions.
Soccer is the rules set out by the Football Association (Association, assoc, soccer), and how they are implemented.
To avoid discussing that implementation seems silly to me.
The frame rate effects how people consume the game, as sound distortion will effect the enjoyment of a radio show.
Now, I think I've won off topic tangent of the week.
The rest of you have 3 or so days left to compete.
Man, I hope all these amazing games will be compatible with Nintendo's upcoming console, they deserve to be played on maximum quality.
@JohnnyMind Although I agree with your first part, I won't really benefit from the amount of different experiences different players will end up having. I am, after all, only one player, and I personally will lean towards only one or a few methods, because I will deem them most effective or satisfying (most people work this way, but I might be more extreme with it). This will take away from the variety I could have otherwise.
The second part, yeah. We haven't experienced the game and honestly, while I don't like the mindset Nintendo is having on it, a nice execution could really make this a lot better than the mindset suggests on its own.
That said, I thought the same about Tears of the Kingdom, and it's probably the biggest game disappointment I've ever had.
On the other hand, I thought the same about Breath of the Wild and I loved it, haha.
@Uncle_Franklin your comment makes very little sense so I will refrain from answering
@SuperRetroArt
Well formulated argument.
I think this game will be a good time. It's shaping up to be a nice mix of classic Zelda and some of the modern changes. I've missed classic dungeons for one thing.
I fail to see how having different ways to solve the same puzzle is a bad thing however. People solve problems in different ways. Why lock them into one?
This is my most anticipated game so far this year. The 2D Zelda's are always a special treat since we don't get too much of them anymore and this is looking like it's gonna be a fun game.
I'm not too concerned with the frame rate since LA's was way over blown and honestly didn't effect my enjoyment of it. Plus this looks like this is made in house rather than Grezzo taking the reigns. Now if only Nintendo would give us an HD release of ALBW.
So it's basically the Banjo Tooie of the franchise.
I'm down for that.
Not having nostalgia for the original, the framerate seemingly dropping to 30fps in Link's Awakening did bother me. It felt like it dropped straight to half then back up, maybe due to Vsync. I think I notice those type of drops the most, so disappointing to hear looks like this game may have the same issue. Will wait for DF analysis.
Zelda is my favorite game series and one of my few day one purchases. This one hasn’t ever made me excited to play it, and the fact that none of the gaming press that I saw expressed anything but excitement makes me write off their impressions. I’ll definitely be playing this game for myself, but I’m waiting for a sale. Conjuring objects just doesn’t sound like a fun game mechanic. Hope I’m very wrong.
Sounds positive. Since the switch led to the true handheld demise, I wasn’t ever sure we would see another original top down Zelda. This is the game I didn’t know I needed and wanted. I will be playing this with the kids day 1.
@timp29 They were smart to corner the market the way they did. Merging the console and handheld division and putting them under one roof was the smartest thing they could have ever done.
I didn’t really like BOTW, and didn’t get TOTK, but very excited for this Zelda. With limited gaming time, I much prefer a semi-linear, more guided experience. And this just looks so kawaii
Will play the heck of it when realesed for sure. Can't wait!
@Yoshi3 - I played the game for around an hour, and it didn't feel like I could do literally ANYTHING at ALL and still succeed, as if the game couldn't be bothered to come up with a puzzle or allowed you to button-mash. Instead, it felt similar to a game like Portal, where it slowly teaches you how to think about your surroundings, and then you can do with that information what you will.
For me, that made every single room feel extremely exciting, because everything was teeming with potential. For a series as old as Zelda where we've all been conditioned to know exactly what everything symbolizes and does, I think this is a good thing!
I'm looking forward to this one but the issue is A Link To The Past just wasn't a big world. So putting in a game breaking mechanic might be a bit of over kill.
With games like ALTTP the gradual upgrade and ability system with a more linear approach helped keep the game fresh and more purposeful. I just dont think this world will be big enough to handle a tool kit given from the get go designed for large open world games.
I'm thinking of Let's Go Pikachu where all Pokemon were pushed into the open and the game was 3D. But suddenly everything felt tiny and it went from a 40 hour game to a 10 hour game.
@batmanbud2
How do you compare this to Banjo Tooie?I'm curious.
@JohnnyMind
I think what a lot of people didn't like about puzzle solving in TotK and BotW is that it rarely felt like cracking a code, more like just overcoming an obstacle if that makes sense.
It seems to me EoW will be more of the same since I'm afraid you can probably solve most puzzles by stacking beds, and that's a pity really. Though the old school dungeons seem to counter that mindset so there is hope that the game is indeed somewhere in between those two styles of zeldas.
@cookiki yeaa, I believe that links awakening was not patched and still laggy
@mlt That I can definitely agree to an extent as I'd say a majority of puzzles (especially in TotK because I'd say in BotW there was a good amount of "cracking a code" ones as well) are of that kind and also because the whole overworld is full of traversal puzzles, but at the same time it's not like previous Zelda games didn't have those along with unremarkable puzzles like again most block ones, the biggest difference is that there are usually several possible solutions while in the past that was the exception (the example I made about torches is courtesy of a certain Spirit Temple room and also randomizers which force you to find unconventional solutions to such puzzles).
Based on what I've seen I seriously doubt you can solve most puzzles by "stacking beds" because:
That said, it all depends also on the kind of puzzles they'll put in the game so we'll just have to see to know for sure!
@SuperRetroArt I’ve been playing video games almost daily since 1977. Yes, it’s been almost 50 years. And I can state emphatically that I have never noticed or cared about frame rates. I play to have fun. Sure some games have flaws. So does all media. Websites, music, movies, etc. But, like you, I just don’t care. I like the experience of playing and enjoying a game, not making it a tech spectacle. Nice to see a fellow gamer with the same mindset! 😀
@Kiyata keep on gaming!!
@Kiyata I grew up with slowdown in games. Unless it was truly horrendous I wouldn’t care. I loved Super Ghouls n Ghosts on the SNES, brilliant game that had some bad slowdown. Nothing I’ve seen on the Switch even reaches those levels…
@WiltonRoots you’re right! The switch doesn’t even come close! And those old games are still fun today! 😀
@JohnnyMind
These are all valid points but the difference is the progression arc.
In BOTW the player has the same physics system / framework to use at the start. The only difference is the intensity of ability. So they can play any of the divine beasts in any order. Or head straight to Ganon and try to beat him to death with a pot lid and a torch.
In ALTTP you couldn't get to death mountain without the glove. And it wasn't just barriers on the over world. But also dungeons. There were rooms you couldn't enter until you got the dungeon item which was integral to solving the dungeon itself. This made each of them unique. Where as with BOTW because there is no item progression everything can be resolved with the initial toolkit. And this was even more so with TOTK when ultra hand and fuse replaced everything.
When I was playing the Links Awakening Switch port I was reminded I was playing a game boy game. This is based on a SNES game.
To put it another way, think of how long it takes to walk from Links House to Kakariko village (or lost woods) in BOTW compared to ALTTP. Once you strip away the progression pathway and back tracking we see in Classic Zelda games (forced linear play through) I think this game will just be too short.
@littlegreenbob Overall good points, I agree with some and disagree with others:
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