Hard to believe this is one of the first times Zelda plays lead in a franchise named after her.

Sure, Zelda has played some bit-parts in other games – lesser known CD-I games, specifically – but the titular princess deserves her moment in the spotlight and as such, this makes for one of the most interesting games in series history. About time, right?

Following in the footsteps of the Link’s Awakening remake from a few years back and leaning into the creativity offered by Tears of the Kingdom, Echoes of Wisdom feels appropriately seperate from Link’s prior adventures and really allows Zelda to do her thing.

Sure, Zelda can still channel her inner Green Hatted hero and swing a sword – though only for a limited time – but she really shines when working with a spirit named Tri and using the creatively titled, Tri-Rod.

This ability allows Zelda to manipulate objects in the environment, dragging them, lifting them over chasms, and even crafting objects out of thin air. This is where the game really starts to open up.

Mysterious rifts have opened up all over Hyrule, even consuming Link and casting him into a void. For the first time, Hyrule seems to be without its savior, but watching Link being whisked away inspires Zelda to start looking into these rifts and alongside Tri, close them permanently, saving the land from imminent danger.

As Zelda goes on her quest, she’ll be able to learn echoes and create imitations of them in the environment. Everything from enemies that can be turned to fight for you to platforms that take you to seemingly out of reach locations. It’s a really smart mechanic and enables some variety and creativity in how you solve puzzles.

At several points, I was using beds stacked on top of one another to reach the other side of a large chasm. Another time I used an enemy as bait to fall into a trap so I could get past. I created a stone to throw at a lever that I couldn’t reach and even used water to fill a hole.

Echoes of Wisdom really puts you on the spot and gets you to try and think outside the box as you attempt to scale unusual environments, venture into caves, traverse the wider map and find ways to fend off imminent threats and danger.

But as mentioned, you can be creative with puzzle-solving here and that’s what makes Echoes of Wisdom so charming and interesting, is that there are often multiple ways for you to progress. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as elaborate, detailed or as game-changing as what Tears offers, but it’s perhaps a nice way to dip your toe in the water to prepare you for how epic that game truly is.

But there’s also a pretty deep and detailed story here, perhaps more dialogue than you’ll have come to expect from Zelda games in the past, in fact. I know recent games have really tried to delve deeper into story, giving more

The art style is beautiful, vibrant, colourful and absolutely befitting of a Nintendo and Zelda game. You may even recognise a few places and spots as you wander through the harsh deserts and admire vast greenery. Something I have always found incredibly impressive about the Zelda franchise over the years is that, no matter what art style is adopted, each game anchors you and puts you right into the heart of Hyrule. You know exactly where you are and it feels like home.

Music and sound, of course, has a role to play in that, with cheerful, whimiscal tunes alongside that familiar heart beat beep when you’re low on health. There are some staples here that endure and stand the test of time and despite the difference in protagonist, that remains.

Perhaps almost to a fault. If we think back to Princess Peach Showtime earlier this year, for example, yes it also felt very much part of the Marioverse and very much a game any fan of the franchise could fall for, but Peah seemed more distinct and expressive. The different styles of costume, the ways Peach’s mechanics would change, even the style of the game and the writing.

I guess while playing both, I felt more like Peach’s Showtime was a game made about Princess Peach and was her chance to really shine and take the spotlight. At times, I still felt like Echoes of Wisdom was centered a bit too heavily on Link and that it was still kind of his story without actually being his game. Even down to the way Zelda approaches combat – as I mentioned earlier – channelling Link’s style, even if only briefly.

There are differences, of course. Zelda definitely feels the impact of blows in combat more and takes more of a beating over a shorter space of time. Echoes of Wisdom also feels more like a Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom lite than, Link’s Awakening did a few years back. You get sub-quests now, there is a focus on crafting, you have journal entries and the map is a lot bigger.

Unfortunately, though, the frame rate issues that did plague Link’s Awakening are back and, at times, worse, due to the size and scale of Echoes of Wisdom and how much bigger the game actually is. Perhaps it’s because I was expecting them and was used to them from before as they didn’t bother me as much as they did before, but this game is definitely the biggest sign yet that Nintendo are ready for their new hardware and are building bigger, better games, that will hopefully be better futureproofed in the next few months.

Nintendo’s ambition has outgrown the Switch in many ways and it definitely has us excited to see what they can cook up next. It’s certainly become clear that Nintendo’s focus on richer colors in their games means they see a future in 4K and a game like Echoes of Wisdom really feels like it would shine on modern TVs as much as it does on the beautiful Switch OLED screen.

Echoes of Wisdom is a great game. It’s an all new adventure in the world, offering a fun creative mechanic that works well – even if it is only a lighter version of what we got in Tears of the Kingdom – and there’s an enjoyable story here that hopefully sets the stage for even more opportunities for Zelda in a lead role. I feel there is so much more they can achieve with this character, in different styles, with different ways to interact with the world.

Nintendo are scratching the surface of something exciting this year, and I really hope they continue to explore it for years to come.

Verdict

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a very successful debut outing for the titular princess. The game does still suffer the frame rate issues of Link’s Awakening and at times, felt as if the story became too centered around Link so that it became less about the character we play, but the ideas, mechanics, feel, look and style of the game are an absolute treat. Alongside Another Code, it’s my favourite Nintendo release of 2024 so far and gives an exciting glimpse into what Nintendo may be cooking for 2025 and beyond.

Pros

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The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is out now

Code Kindly Provided by Nintendo for review purposes