Echoes of Wisdom is the perfect payoff to a controversial 37-year-old Zelda feature

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is not like any Seldom Game that came before, but it takes a lot of inspiration from its predecessors. Echoes of wisdom Wears some recent influences on his sleeve, like the art style brought from the Link’s Awakening Remake and the thinking that Tears of the kingdom Emphasized only a year earlier. Other concepts have lurked in the background of the series for much longer, however, and Echoes of wisdom Just happens to find a way to rework old gimmicks to completely new aims.

While the development of Seldom Games over time are often tied to their most landmark entries, viz A link to the past And Ocarina of Time, The series has never been willing to universally discard ideas found in its less iconic titles. For one example, the stylus-controlled movement of Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks May never have appeared again, but the fluid directional movement that accompanied it remained the norm in top-down Seldom Since. There can only be one true black sheep in the main line Seldom series but – Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link.

Zelda 2’s big change has never looked better

While Nintendo is known for careful progression of its franchises today, that wasn’t the case on the NES, and Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link was one example of a sequel that experimented heavily with the formula. Rather than top-down exploration, Zelda 2 Featuring challenging side-scrolling action and an emphasis on RPG elements. A strong critical reception and a community of ardent defenders that is just as prevalent today, prove that Zelda 2 It wasn’t just a misstep, but the fact that it’s so different from where the rest of the series ultimately went makes it an unusual choice for a franchise favorite.

Echoes of wisdom has much more in common with Link to the past As it does with Zelda 2But it also revisits the side-scrolling format In a way that feels uniquely meaningful. Side-scrolling has cropped up here and there in the years since Zelda 2s release, with Link’s Awakening And these Oracle games inserting relatively simple sequences into some dungeon environments. in Echoes of wisdomHowever, this feature interacts with the game’s puzzle concept in a new wayHow the use of echoes gains an extra layer of strategy in side scrolling scenarios.

Some echoes serve identical roles regardless of the perspective, and the benefit of slamming down a bed or trampoline is essentially the same in any context throughout. Echoes of wisdom. Other echoes, however, have significantly more utility in one mode or the other. Hazards that move in a straight line may have restricted applicability in top-down environments, but in a side-scrolling segment, this relative weakness turns into an obvious strength.

Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom doesn’t change everything

A new take on side scrolling is just a little radical

Echoes of wisdom It can’t be focused on pushing the switch between perspectives to its limits, and there can’t be anything in the game that’s as transformative as the way that Super Paper Mario Plays with flipping between dimensions. There is also an argument to make that the approach to 2D in A link between worlds, Where Link could solve puzzles and move between environments by flattening himself into walls was even more interesting. Side scrolling ultimately isn’t the main thrust of Echoes of wisdoms innovationsAnd those sequences aren’t what most people will walk away from the game discussing.

what Echoes of wisdom This is evolving his ideas while sticking to the same basic side scrolling format Seldom Introduced decades ago, and that loyalty gives it a certain unique sense of satisfaction. It is a good example of what makes the game interesting as a whole, as the balance between old and new actually contributes to the feeling of excitement. In some capacity, Zelda re-traces Link’s steps in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of WisdomAnd revising the franchise’s most off-beat choices to tackle them with a new set of perfectly suited tools is perfectly delightful.