Special Hands-On with The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom at PAX West

Thanks to Nintendo Canada, I got to head out to PAX West to go hands-on with The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom . There was a short demo playable on the PAX show floor, but I got to go behind closed doors to get a longer look at the newest entry to the Zelda franchise and friends, I’m excited.

The story behind The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a little bit tricky. Most people will dive in with the knowledge of the franchise from the last several decades, but Echoes of Wisdom is a brand-new story and, more importantly, a brand-new Hyrule. What you know about The Legend of Zelda doesn’t apply here, though I am sure you can expect some great nods to the past games, Easter eggs, and even some surprises.

Strange rifts have begun appearing all over Hyrule and for some reason, they think Zelda is responsible and she is imprisoned. A strange being named Tri appears in her cell, and offers her their power to Zelda so she can escape and solve the mystery behind the rifts once and for all. To do this, she has various tools at her disposal, which she slowly learns as the game goes on.

Since the game is called The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom , we can start with the Echoes ability first. This ability allows Zelda to recreate many of the items and enemies she encounters on her journey. It is actually pretty surprising some of the things that are available to be echoed, and what’s even more interesting is the endless ways you can use them. For instance, I came across a bed, boulder, crate, tree and many more.

You will use these Echoes to help Zelda defeat enemies, travel across the land and solve puzzles. There is rarely a right or wrong way to solve a puzzle, too. I missed an Echo during my preview which would have helped me create fire, but the next puzzle required me to light various fires to progress. Luckily, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom gives you all the tools you need to solve each puzzle in multiple ways. I was able to use a combination of crates and beds to move the fire across the room and light the torches, though I lit myself on fire in the process, too.

Thankfully, many of the Echoes have multiple uses! When I was injured, I could spawn a bed and rest to heal up. There is also food you will find to heal in a hurry. Beds aren’t the only item with multiple uses, either. A crate could be used to float in water and cross or to climb or burn. Boulders help you climb, too, but can also be used to sink things so you can hop into the water. It’s all about how you think about each puzzle.

“The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom gives you all the tools you need to solve each puzzle in multiple ways.”

Echoes also aren’t limited to inanimate objects. Once you defeat an enemy, you will be able to learn it as an Echo and spawn it later to fight for you. There were creatures we have seen in past Zelda games, like Goblins and Keese. I also came across a Strandula with that familiar face on its body.  This could also be used in more ways than one. I would place it to create a web I could climb, but I could also pick it up off the web and throw it to fight for me.

Tri has a trail of triangles that follow behind them. You can consider these the points you have to spend on Echoes. As you progress through the story, Tri will gain more power, and you can spend more to spawn more Echoes or even stronger ones. In my play-through, I saw some Echoes that cost one point, up to three, and Tri had three triangles trailing behind them.

Bond is another skill that Zelda learns on her journey, and people who have played the more recent Zelda titles like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom will recognize it especially. This skill allows Zelda to bond to an item or creature and move, push or pull it, but it is bonded to her body. You can’t use the movement stick to change where it is; you have to physically move Zelda, and you can’t turn and change how it is facing or its distance from her, meaning you need to position Zelda strategically when you use it.

“Though The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom looks like it is meant to be a simplified version of The Legend of Zelda games, make no mistake, this is not just a kid’s game.”

This can be used to move boulders, pull enemies off their platforms, or you can even bond to an Echo to move it around. I would bond to an Echo that was covered in spikes and walk it into my enemies like a ball and chain. You can even use it to pull shields away from enemies to make them vulnerable. You can also Reverse Bond, which means bonding yourself to an object and moving along with it, like grabbing onto a moving platform to cross a gap.

As it was revealed in the new trailer that came out last week, there is also a sword that becomes available to Zelda, but it is a special, timed move, and you don’t get to hack and slash your way around the whole map. This is The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s means to make you strategize each time you find a new area, puzzle or battle. You’ll need to replenish your sword power to use it again, and it runs out. This means timing it for certain enemies or to slice through walls, but also pairing it with Echoes and Bonds to make the most of all of Zelda’s powers.

Though The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom looks like it is meant to be a simplified version of The Legend of Zelda games, make no mistake, this is not just a kid’s game. There were several times I was in a panic because you need to make choices in an instant while being swarmed by Keese or chased down by a Caromadillo (great name!). In these moments, because you’re not exactly able to brute force your way through enemies, you need to plan out your attack by considering what Echoes will be useful in a given situation.

The good news is that when you open up your Echoes list, the action does pause, but you can’t see the screen to plot your attack. I was only a small portion of the way into the game, and I already had well over ten Echoes to sort through. Though the game lets you sort in a few ways, like last used and last learned, you can’t separate enemies from inanimate objects, and there isn’t a section for favourites that I saw. I wish there were a way to hotkey a few favourites on screen that you can cycle through on the fly, as I think sorting through them later in the game, especially in battle, will become tedious.

“The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is shaping up to be an adorably painted adventure…”

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom does do what it can to assist you, like giving you hints throughout the world that might aid you in an upcoming fight, like teaching you how to pull a shield from an enemy. There are hints around some of the Echoes as you learn them, too, which can show you different ways you might be able to use them. An example includes how the beds were stacked and staggered so you know you can use them to jut out from a ledge or climb like they are stairs.

I am genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom . I went into the preview thinking it would be a cutesy, dumbed-down version of a Legend of Zelda title, and though that would be great for a younger audience, core fans would not stay engaged. Instead, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is shaping up to be an adorably painted adventure that still keeps the base, strategic gameplay Zelda fans know and love while allowing for creative freedom during gameplay.

I am excited to see all the different ways people use Echoes and what other little Easter eggs pop out throughout Hyrule. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will launch on September 26th,  and fans can pre-order the game here for $79.99 CAD.

A special note for true Zelda fans, Nintendo is also launching a Nintendo Switch Lite: Hyrule Edition, which can be pre-ordered for $274.99 here, available on September 26th as well!