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Game Information​

Game Title: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom


Platforms:

• Nintendo Switch (Sep 26, 2024)

Trailers:

• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom — Overview Trailer — Nintendo Switch
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom — Into the Still World, a Journey Continued — Nintendo Switch
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – Traversing Hyrule Trailer – Nintendo Switch

Developer: Nintendo

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 85 average - 88% recommended - 17 reviews

MetaCritic - 86/100

Critic Reviews​

COGconnected - James Paley - 85 / 100

Quote not yet available

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Checkpoint Gaming - David McNamara - 9 / 10

A perfectly-paced, delightful twist on the classic 2D Zelda formula, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom takes everything Nintendo has learned from the Switch era and condenses it into a tight adventure jam-packed with heart. Through its wonderfully magical Echoes mechanic, satisfyingly diverse dungeon design, and unique blend of modern and classic design elements, this is both a celebration of the franchise's history and a bold first offering for Zelda as protagonist. Performance issues aside, Echoes of Wisdom is impossible not to love for newcomers and series veterans alike.

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Dexerto - James Busby - 5 / 5

While Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom successfully brought exciting new concepts to Nintendo's iconic series and helped revolutionize open-world games – Echoes of Wisdom feels like a big step forward for classic Zelda.
The game is a punchy cocktail of old school Zelda, expertly blended with modern mechanics from the series’ two open-world giants. As a result, Nintendo has created something that feels both nostalgic and uniquely fresh.
It may have taken 38 years for the series's titular princess to finally get her own game, but boy was it worth waiting for. Echoes of Wisdom not only demonstrates that Nintendo is capable of wowing Zelda fans, but it can breathe new life into its legendary series.
Echoes of Wisdom is a resounding success, a masterclass in creativity, and a worthy debut title for the series’ legendary princess.

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Digitec Magazine - Domagoj Belancic - German - 4 / 5

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom turns the tried and tested Zelda-formula on its head with its magic wand and 'Echo' clones. The daring gameplay experiment works for the most part. It's fun to find new monsters and items and experiment with them — both in combat and when solving puzzles. Every now and then I wish I could take a more active part in the battles. The limited “swordfighter mode” only partially satisfies my appetite.
Unfortunately, the otherwise expertly crafted game is somewhat marred by a cumbersome menu navigation and annoying stutters. Despite these shortcomings, fans of the series can look forward to an excellent 2D-spin-off that does a lot of things differently and yet still feels familiar.

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GAMES.CH - Benjamin Braun - German - 86%

Quote not yet available

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Nintendo Life - Alana Hagues - 9 / 10

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom should be the new standard for top-down Zelda going forward. Rather than abandoning the classic formula, Zelda has shown that the old and the new can come together and produce wonderful results that reward experimentation and reinforce the joy of play. This is easily in contention with A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds as one of the best top-down adventures in the series, and we hope we don't need to wait another 35 years for Zelda to take a starring role again.

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Press Start - James Mitchell - 9.5 / 10

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom elegantly bridges old and new Zelda with grace and gusto. The Echoes system is inventive, the dungeon designs are strong and the whole experience feels like everything a classic Zelda experience should be. While minor performance issues hold Echoes of Wisdom back from being everything it could be, they're only minor blemishes on an otherwise stellar adventure fit for a princess.

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SECTOR.sk - Matúš Štrba - Slovak - 9 / 10

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom may not be a game for everyone. Maybe not even a game for every Zelda fan. It does things differently, turns the traditional formula on its head and asks you to do something other than traditional combat. But that's what impressed me about it. It's not trying to do the same thing that worked five years ago. It's building on that, but it's doing something new, something fresh and something interesting that's hard to tear yourself away from.

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Saudi Gamer - Arabic - 7 / 10

A light-hearted game for those who are tired after work for a nice adventure with innovative multiplayer gameplay

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Spaziogames - Italian - 8.7 / 10

Echoes of Wisdom lays the groundwork for the future of the Zelda series, offering a beautiful and exhilarating experience that blends classic elements with forward-thinking design.

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Stevivor - Matt Gosper - 9 / 10

The Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom is a unique new addition to the Zelda family. It’s wonderful to see the same boundless creativity celebrated in a smaller-scale title.

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TheGamer - Jade King - 4 / 5

Despite how much joy I mined conquering its temples and delving into its many rifts, at times it doesn’t push its ambition far enough. That never stops Echoes from being a warm hug of a video game that enraptured me from start to finish, but it does leave me infinitely more curious about what the future holds. Now Zelda has helmed her first epic outing, it’s only a matter of time until she goes onto bigger and better things.

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TheSixthAxis - Stefan L - 8 / 10

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a charming delight, an adventure for Zelda herself that embraces a wholly different style of gameplay to Link's tales, allowing for player expression and creativity throughout.

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TrustedReviews - By Thomas Deehan - 4.5 / 5

Quote not yet available

VGC - Andy Robinson - 3 / 5

Despite some ambitious ideas, beneath the surface Echoes of Wisdom is surprisingly uneven Zelda adventure. Few of its headline mechanics are utilised to their potential which means that, while enjoyable and charming, it ultimately feels less essential than other modern 2D entries.

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Video Chums - Alex Legard - 8 / 10

Although it's a mostly great experience, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a clear step below the S-tier Zelda games like Twilight Princess, Tears of the Kingdom, and so forth. There's still plenty of fun to be had if you're a fan of the classic Zelda games and perhaps this return to that formula is the shake-up that the series needed following Tears of the Kingdom.

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WellPlayed - Nathan Hennessy - 9 / 10

Princess Zelda finally takes the stage in this magnificent farewell to the series' best generation, giving the top-down adventure a serving of the latest 3D entries' innovations.

Video Reviews
​

 

[Punished Miku]

Slightly better than I expected. Can't wait. This year is probably the least I've played Nintendo since the Wii era. Already got this pre-ordered and ready. Going to have to juggle this and Shattered Space.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

IGN gave it a 9 out of 10.

 

[Robb]

a nice adventure with innovative multiplayer gameplay

There’s multiplayer in this?

EDIT:
Must be some kind of mistranslation. Says singleplayer only on the official site.

 

[Hookshot]

Another franchise ruined by female leads.....

Lol only joking. I was fearing 7's but it's not done that badly.

 

[zapper]

Not a goty contender it seems

unexpected

 

[Moses85]

I can't take it seriously

Zelda Brand Bonus

 

[Skifi28]

Of course it'll score well, woke piece of trash with a female protagonist.

/s

 

[solecon64]

I honestly can't wait for this game to arrive tomorrow. Especially after Sony's filth yesterday, this is such a nice reminder that good videogames will always win

Zelda is here.

 

[DenchDeckard]

hmmmm, this is higher than I expected. Might give it a go at some point.

 

[Hookshot]

There’s multiplayer in this?

EDIT:
Must be some kind of mistranslation. Says singleplayer only on the official site.

Either way, I don't agree with their 10/10 for the Dominus collection, having recently played it myself. That could make this Zelda a 3 out of 10 for me if he inflates stuff

 

[Hrk69]

Another Nintendo banger

 

[Emedan]

looking good

 

[Guardian Monkey]

From Press Start review:

“As is the case with many late-generation Switch games, Echoes of Wisdom has a few performance issues that should be highlighted while they don’t bring the experience down. Whenever Zelda gets to a town filled with people or an area with a lot of grass blowing in the wind, the framerate drops significantly. The game spends most of its time running at 30fps, jumping into 60fps when indoors, but otherwise, it can be inconsistent. An option to lock the framerate would be less jarring. I am not affected by issues like these, but some people are, and it’s a shame, as Echoes of Wisdom is a very nice-looking game for the most part.”

Interesting that it goes to 60 frames per second in some areas. Hopefully this does a bit better than Link’s Awakening. Looking forward to it!

 

[Robb]

The game spends most of its time running at 30fps, jumping into 60fps when indoors, but otherwise, it can be inconsistent. An option to lock the framerate would be less jarring.

Was hoping they’d be able to iron this stuff out, or at least tweak some of the visuals to make it less demanding. Hopefully “Switch 2” can resolve stuff like this.

 

[AJUMP23]

It looks like a lot of fun. I have some gift cards, maybe I should use them.

 

[jshackles]

Sounds like a great game, but I'm worried that most of these reviews mention but gloss over the game's performance issues and hand wave them away.

 

[sloppyjoe_gamer]

Preloaded and ready to go for tomorrow! Awesome to see the great reviews!

 

[Chuck Berry]

86 MC?! For a Zelda?!

BOMBA TOTAL

 

[Metnut]

Looks like legit new 2D Zelda game but the combat is as lame as we’d thought (not that I really play Zelda games for combat). Think I could go either way on this.

 

[Hookshot]

It's slowly climbing but it won't hit 90.

 

[Robb]

86 MC?! For a Zelda?!

BOMBA TOTAL

Metacritic comparison for anyone interested:

1. Ocarina of Time (99)
2. Breath of the Wild (97)
3. Windwaker (96)
3. Tears of the Kingdom (96)
4. Twilight Princess (95)
4. Majora's Mask (95)
4. A Link to the Past + Four Swords -GBA- (95)
7. Skyward Sword (93)
7. A Link to the Past -SNES- (93)
9. Oracle of Seasons/Ages
10. A Link Between Worlds (91)
11. Link's Awakening (90)
11. Phantom Hourglass (90)
11. Windwaker Remaster (90)
13. The Minish Cap (89)
14. Spirit Tracks (87)
14. Link’s Awakening Remake (87)
15. Four Swords Adventures (86)
15. Twilight Princess Remaster (86)
16. The Legend of Zelda (84)
17. Skyward Sword Remaster (81)
18. The Adventure of Link (78)
19. Triforce Heroes (73)

 

[Punished Miku]

19. Triforce Heroes (73)

Criminal. That game's great.

 

[Chuck Berry]

Metacritic comparison for anyone interested:

1. Ocarina of Time (99)
2. Breath of the Wild (97)
3. Windwaker (96)
3. Tears of the Kingdom (96)
4. Twilight Princess (95)
4. Majora's Mask (95)
4. A Link to the Past + Four Swords -GBA- (95)
7. Skyward Sword (93)
7. A Link to the Past -SNES- (93)
9. Oracle of Seasons/Ages
10. A Link Between Worlds (91)
11. Link's Awakening (90)
11. Phantom Hourglass (90)
11. Windwaker Remaster (90)
13. The Minish Cap (89)
14. Spirit Tracks (87)
14. Link’s Awakening Remake (87)
15. Four Swords Adventures (86)
15. Twilight Princess Remaster (86)
16. The Legend of Zelda (84)
17. Skyward Sword Remaster (81)
18. The Adventure of Link (78)
19. Triforce Heroes (73)

Link to the Past should be a perfect 100

 

[Mortisfacio]

Sounds like a great game, but I'm worried that most of these reviews mention but gloss over the game's performance issues and hand wave them away.

I notice this trend most often with Nintendo. Nintendo seems to get a pass on things Xbox/Sony wouldn't.

 

[Fake]

Looks OK I guess, nothing to worry about.

 

[Trilobit]

86 MC?! For a Zelda?!

BOMBA TOTAL

They should have called it Legend of Link instead.

 

[Robb]

Criminal. That game's great.

I wouldn’t rate higher than 7. Might even go lower tbh.. It’s OK.

 

[BlackTron]

I wish this was called Legend of Link so badly lol

Edit: damn I'll read the thread or at least like last 3 posts next time

 

[Chuck Berry]

Damn I really want to play Link to the Past now

It's been years

 

[damidu]

86 is new 75

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

This was always going to get a Zelda bump for brand notoriety alone, scores are lower than expected so that tells me what I need to know and digging into the lower reviews confirms my suspicion that the quality and ambition just isn’t there for this

 

[Flabagast]

86 for a Zelda game means in truth 70-75 at best indeed

 

[Zacfoldor]

Looks great, might pick this up for Switch 2.

 

[rabbity-thing]

I dunno about y'alls, but for those of us with daughters in a specific age range, this is the single most important release of the year.

 

[hemo memo]

It's nice to see Saudi Gamer review on there but 7? سلامات؟

 

[cireza]

Looks overrated.

 

[dmaul1114]

Will get around to this eventually, despite not liking the chibi art style.

No rush though as I’m still only through 2 temples in Tears of the Kingdom after many stops and starts since it launched. Think it’s got me motivated to at least hit the ending since i picked it back up a couple weeks ago though.

 

[GigaBowser]

totk estroys this

 

[Sooner]

Metacritic comparison for anyone interested:

1. Ocarina of Time (99)
2. Breath of the Wild (97)
3. Windwaker (96)
3. Tears of the Kingdom (96)
4. Twilight Princess (95)
4. Majora's Mask (95)
4. A Link to the Past + Four Swords -GBA- (95)
7. Skyward Sword (93)
7. A Link to the Past -SNES- (93)
9. Oracle of Seasons/Ages
10. A Link Between Worlds (91)
11. Link's Awakening (90)
11. Phantom Hourglass (90)
11. Windwaker Remaster (90)
13. The Minish Cap (89)
14. Spirit Tracks (87)
14. Link’s Awakening Remake (87)
15. Four Swords Adventures (86)
15. Twilight Princess Remaster (86)
16. The Legend of Zelda (84)
17. Skyward Sword Remaster (81)
18. The Adventure of Link (78)
19. Triforce Heroes (73)

I assume Wand of Gamelon was a perfect 100?

 

[TropicanaTwista]

Metacritic comparison for anyone interested:

1. Ocarina of Time (99)
2. Breath of the Wild (97)
3. Windwaker (96)
3. Tears of the Kingdom (96)
4. Twilight Princess (95)
4. Majora's Mask (95)
4. A Link to the Past + Four Swords -GBA- (95)
7. Skyward Sword (93)
7. A Link to the Past -SNES- (93)
9. Oracle of Seasons/Ages
10. A Link Between Worlds (91)
11. Link's Awakening (90)
11. Phantom Hourglass (90)
11. Windwaker Remaster (90)
13. The Minish Cap (89)
14. Spirit Tracks (87)
14. Link’s Awakening Remake (87)
15. Four Swords Adventures (86)
15. Twilight Princess Remaster (86)
16. The Legend of Zelda (84)
17. Skyward Sword Remaster (81)
18. The Adventure of Link (78)
19. Triforce Heroes (73)

Why I'm kind of surprised people are saying this scored is higher than expected. Its scoring as a bottom 5 Zelda ever (obvious theres a big caveat there as this is one of the most successful franchises in gaming).

I really didn't know what to expect but was expecting at least a 90. But w/e, these scores aren't always everything. BoTW isn't the second best Zelda game either imo.

 

[Robb]

Why I'm kind of surprised people are saying this scored is higher than expected. Its scoring as a bottom 5 Zelda ever (obvious theres a big caveat there as this is one of the most successful franchises in gaming).

I really didn't know what to expect but was expecting at least a 90. But w/e, these scores aren't always everything. BoTW isn't the second best Zelda game either imo.

Depends on your expectations I guess. It’s pretty much getting similar scores as the Link’s Awakening Remake from the looks of it.

Which I guess makes sense since it was made in cooperation with the same developer, and uses the same engine (and seems to be suffering from the same problems, still).

 

[Ogbert]

This was always going to get a Zelda bump for brand notoriety alone, scores are lower than expected so that tells me what I need to know and digging into the lower reviews confirms my suspicion that the quality and ambition just isn’t there for this

Hasn’t got that 400 million Concord ambition.

 

[RoadHazard]

Absolut trash, not even 90.

Nah, it seems pretty cool, but I'm not sure I'll be getting this one. Very little direct action (you mostly summon enemies to fight for you etc) kinda puts me off.

 

[Bruno_Arrais85]

I'm already halfway through the game. It's really great and full of surprises.

 

[Kacho]

Kinda bored with modern Zelda games. Skipped TOTK and I'll skip this too. Looks decent tho.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Was hoping they’d be able to iron this stuff out, or at least tweak some of the visuals to make it less demanding. Hopefully Suyu/Ryujinx can resolve stuff like this.

Ftfy.

 

[blacktout]

This was always going to get a Zelda bump for brand notoriety alone, scores are lower than expected so that tells me what I need to know and digging into the lower reviews confirms my suspicion that the quality and ambition just isn’t there for this

Yes, ignoring the consensus to selectively search for information that confirms your console warrior priors has always worked so well for you in the past.

How much would you estimate this game cost?

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Very low for a Zelda game. With the Nintendo metacritic bump it's probably closer to an 80.

 

[TropicanaTwista]

Depends on your expectations I guess. It’s pretty much getting similar scores as the Link’s Awakening Remake from the looks of it.

Which I guess makes sense since it was made in cooperation with the same developer, and uses the same engine (and seems to be suffering from the same problems, still).

Didn't realize that about the dev, but makes sense due to art style. Links awaking was my favorite Zelda this gen, so I'm guessing I'll probably like it.