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The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (September 26) - "Overview" trailer


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I'm a bit more excited now with watching the trailer again. It's going to be so cool to figure out puzzles in this style. I really struggled with TOTK's puzzles but I think this will get a bit easier for me by the looks of it. 

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Somewhere the Banjo Nuts and Bolts team is shaking their heads in frustration over the last couple of Zelda games adding a construct element... “dammit, we should have let Nintendo do it first so we could iterate on their ideas like the good old days!”

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The problem with Nuts and Bolts wasn’t that the mechanics didn’t work or were t fun, it’s that the reason you were doing them wasn’t fun and you could beat every goal with minimal effort.  The building in TotK was fun for me when I had a pile of bullshit I had to invent a way to work.  When I just had everything I needed or could auto build, it was joyless.   

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Final previews:

 

WWW.IGN.COM

So far, Echoes of Wisdom feels like it’s taking the best elements of the most beloved modern and vintage Zelda games and making them work together in a pretty clever synchronicity. Whether they’ll get along for the whole trip remains to be seen, but right now it feels like a smart move and a truly exciting way to push the classic side of the franchise towards the future.

 

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All in all, Echoes of Wisdom feels like an earnest and clever return to the Zelda games I grew up playing. Challenging, inventive, fresh, and genuinely just really fun. Every new puzzle and conflict is a blank canvas for experimentation, but it’s all wrapped in that distinctively familiar and challenging Zelda game vibe that made me fall in love with these games to begin with. It’s vintage Zelda mixed with the playful and creativity based gameplay that younger audiences are used to building their own stories with these days. It’s not pushing that side of things as far as games like Minecraft, Roblox, or even Tears of the Kingdom does, but it’s also not rigid and specific with the way it makes you approach it. Attempting to juggle several of the core tenets of what makes the Zelda games so special to so many people across so many generations and make them all happy is an extremely tall order. The longer any franchise thrives, the more difficult it becomes to please everyone that approaches it with specific expectations. Every fan has a different reason why Zelda is special to them. But so far, Echoes of Wisdom feels like it’s taking the best elements of the most beloved modern and vintage Zelda games and making them work together in a pretty clever synchronicity. Whether they’ll get along for the whole trip remains to be seen, but right now it feels like a smart move and a truly exciting way to push the classic side of the franchise towards the future.

 

 

 

WWW.GAMESPOT.COM

Princess Zelda takes a starring role for the first time in the franchise that bears her name, with a suite of ingenious and creative powers to play with.

 

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At a glance, you'd be forgiven for thinking that The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom follows firmly in the footsteps of the 2019 remake of Link's Awakening. Stick Zelda in as a playable character, give her a magic wand, sell an absolute shed-load of copies. Job done.

 

But having now played an 80-minute section from early in the game, this comparison seems only surface-deep. Although it shares the extremely cute, diorama-esque aesthetic of its top-down predecessor, Echoes captures much more of the systemic and improvisational joys of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom than you might expect.

 

 

 

 

WWW.VIDEOGAMESCHRONICLE.COM

Echo and bind mechanics could shake up the 2D Zelda formula, if Nintendo isn’t afraid to commit to the bit…

 

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It seems 2024 is the year that Nintendo’s princesses finally get their time to shine. It’s, however, all the more just for Zelda, given that the Hyrulian princess has endured 38 years of having her name attached to a series that she has never had a starring role in (at least if you ignore the terrible third-party CD-i games in the early 90s).

 

But in making the former damsel and occasional helpful aid (albeit often in a non-princess guise) a protagonist at last, Nintendo has also been thoughtful in how she plays, which isn’t just a mere gender swap. After all, as the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, Zelda must surely have a different approach to Link, bearer of the Triforce of Courage, so even if this is a mainline Zelda title with the same exploration and dungeon format or past games, it surely calls for a different approach.

 

 

 

 

WWW.EUROGAMER.NET

More than 35 years after the first Legend of Zelda, one of video gaming's most recognisable names will finally front an…

 

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It may have taken decades, but Nintendo has finally found an answer to those calls to play as Zelda - with gameplay that feels different enough that this could never be just another Link adventure. At the same time, brilliantly, Echoes of Wisdom manages to still feel like a proper Zelda game - rather than being a more forgettable princess-led spin-off, such as Princess Peach: Showtime. I simply can't wait to see more of Echoes of Wisdom, a game that hosts the inventiveness of Tears of the Kingdom but within perhaps more manageable limits, that wraps this in the DNA of classic top-down entries such as Link's Awakening - and most importantly of all, looks set to stand on its own as a remarkable entry in the series' main canon. Finally, this is Zelda's moment to shine.

 

 

NOISYPIXEL.NET

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom introduces Zelda as the protagonist for the first time, alongside flexible puzzle-solving and magic abilities. Our PAX West 2024 preview highlights smooth combat mechanics and some challenges with the Echoes system, making this new entry a must-watch for fans.

 

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Despite this, our time with The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom left us optimistic. The shift to having Zelda as the main character brings a fresh perspective, and the gameplay is as magical as it is imaginative. If the final game can iron out some of its rougher edges, Echoes of Wisdom is shaping up to be a standout entry in the series.

 

The innovative mechanics and strong narrative direction make it easy to imagine this game collecting its fair share of praise for series fans and new players discovering this series. While it’s not without challenges, the positives far outweigh the minimal negatives, making this a Zelda adventure that fans should be excited to experience.

 

 

 

 

WWW.NINTENDOLIFE.COM

Echo, Echo, Echo, what's going on here? - It’s fairly safe to say that everyone was pretty jazzed when Nintendo announced The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wi...

 

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It’s fairly safe to say that everyone was pretty jazzed when Nintendo announced The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. We haven’t had a new top-down Zelda game since 2013’s A Link Between Worlds, assuming of course you don’t count Tri Force Heroes, and if that was your mindset, we wouldn't entirely blame you.

 

But the real test to see if all this non-swordy-style gameplay could actually work is actually playing it. Thankfully, Nintendo graciously invited us to do just that, so we’re the experts on the matter now. Accept no substitutes.

 

Our 80-minute playthrough began at the very early stages of the game, just after meeting Tri, the little wisp-cum-fairy that makes the entire gameplay possible (phew). We had to manoeuvre our way past some guards, and wouldn’t you know it, the solution involves using those Echoes they’ve been showing off in all the trailers. We say solution, but the reality is that there are several ways to go about things.

 

 

 

 

 

PATRICKKLEPEK.SUBSTACK.COM

Me, my eight-year-old, and my four-year-old were all equally charmed by our time sampling Zelda's first solo adventure.

 

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Echoes of Wisdom is approachable for kids, but it does not speak down to its audience. I'd call it "kid compatible"? It's going to be a game that works across a variety of ages, and does not, at least based on the few hours I spent with it, feel like it will be lacking depth for adults, either. And by emphasizing creativity over controller skills and finger dexterity, it looks like there's an opportunity for different ages to find their own fun. I don't anticipate my eight-year-old being able to beat it on her own, but on the flight home, she was already talking about other ways she wants to use the objects when the finished game comes out later this month. The game left a huge impression.

 

 

WWW.THEVERGE.COM

Princess Zelda’s first mainline game is filled with echoes of the franchise’s recent experimental era.

 

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Because echoes are such a huge part of the game, it was surprising to see Zelda pick up Link’s sword and gain the ability to fight (and dress) the way he does. In her swordfighter form, Zelda’s more nimble and able to block attacks using a magically manifested shield. But Zelda’s transformations are temporary and tied to a magic meter that quickly depletes if you leave it running for too long. Echoes of Wisdom’s first boss battles did an impressive job of teaching me that as powerful as Zelda’s swordfighter form is, it’s not something you can just default to — at least not when you first start playing the game. The sword is important, but it’s just one of many tools you’re supposed to use strategically as the game pushes you to think about the multiple ways its challenges can be overcome.

 

Based just on the small chunk of Echoes of Wisdom I was able to get through, 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.

 

 

 

 

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It's a disappointing mark against a game that is otherwise an intriguing new chapter in The Legend of Zelda. It's not the sandbox that Tears of the Kingdom is, but it's interesting to see that this universe is still interested in the ideas put forward by Fuse, Recall, and Ultrahand. We're not going back to the version of Hyrule that Breath of the Wild established any time soon, but if we can maintain any of those games' playful, experimental nature, that's a fascinating place for the series to go. But the appetite for Zelda as the hero of her own story has clearly been growing, and the two most recent mainline games have only bolstered interest in her as a playable character. While Echoes of Wisdom feels like a tentative step forward for the future of The Legend of Zelda, it's a marked stumble back for its titular heroine herself.

 

 

 

WWW.ENGADGET.COM

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is the first game in the Zelda series that lets you play as the game's namesake, and it feels well-suited to younger and older players alike.

 

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From what I’ve seen so far, Echoes of Wisdom is simultaneously a throwback and a new adventure. The top-down presentation and overall vibe remind me of plenty of old Zelda games besides the obvious Link’s Awakening comparison. But the gameplay is completely different in a way that should provide experienced players with a totally different challenge, and the lower difficulty level will make it, along with Link’s Awakening, a great first Zelda game for younger adventurers.

 

 

WWW.POLYGON.COM

We played Nintendo’s new Zelda game, which combines old-school dungeons and puzzle-solving with BotW and TotK’s player creativity.

 

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An hour in, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom seems to offer everything that made the last two Zelda games great, reimagining decades of tried and true game mechanics through a new lens. It takes the player creativity of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom and tucks it into a classic, top-down Legend of Zelda adventure, with a huge world and plenty of old-school dungeons to explore.

 

WWW.NPR.ORG

Where Tears of the Kingdom felt like a triumphant end of an era, Echoes of Wisdom may well be an understated but confident start to something new.

 

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A new legend

 

Nintendo had me play through the introductory prison break, an early dungeon, and a small patch of the game’s (relatively open) world. I have only one gripe: You’ll switch between echoes through a long line in a pause menu, akin to the Fuse power interface in Tears of the Kingdom. I quickly tired of scrolling and relied on sorting items by “Most Recent” and “Most Used,” consigning other handy echoes to oblivion.

 

However, this annoyance hardly diminishes the achievement Echoes of Wisdom is shaping up to be. While the game’s story appears to be a simple inversion of the “Knight saves Princess” trope, its mechanics add astonishing depth and variety to a decades-old formula. Where Tears of the Kingdom felt like a triumphant end of an era, Echoes of Wisdom may well be an understated but confident start of something new.

 

 

 

WWW.WIRED.COM

After playing Nintendo’s highly-anticipated Switch game, we can confidently say it supplies Hyrule’s new hero Zelda with more than a sword.

 

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Echoes of Wisdom isn’t nearly as expansive as recent games like Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom, but the exploratory formula is there. Zelda has a few other abilities she’ll unlock later in the game, like the power to grab onto an item and pull or push it. Combining echoes—it’s unclear how many there are in total, but the demo had over a dozen—with Zelda’s grabby power has a lot of potential for goofy solutions, like the flame-throwing penises people made in Tears. I was especially fond of trampolining over everything I could and throwing whatever I found, whether that was a rock or an enemy echo. Another player, according to a Nintendo rep, unleashed an echo to fight for him while he took a nap in bed.

 

Echoes of Wisdom also has an ability for fans of more traditional Zelda gameplay: the power to transform Zelda into a Link-like tank, sword and all. It’s a limited feature, one you’ll need to collect energy to power up into, but it also gave the demo a welcome familiarity. Zelda’s unique powers are what make Echoes of Wisdom so intriguing. And it’s nice to see Hyrule’s princess finally get a sword.

 

 

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  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (September 26) - final hands-on previews
  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (September 26) - "Overview" trailer

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