5 Things We Love About THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: ECHOES OF WISDOM

Avery Kaplan

Key art for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom featuring Zelda and Tri in the foreground, Hyrule in the background, and Link and Ganon in the sky above.

There’s a whole lot to love about The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. Today, Geek Girl Authority is narrowing it down to five things we love about the newest game in the Zelda franchise, available now on Nintendo Switch.

Please note that while major revelations are avoided, we discuss minor spoilers. Did we include your favorite things?

Being Her Own Hero

Zelda disguised in a cloak and standing beside her sidekick, Tri, in a dungeon.
Photos credit: Nintendo.

Zelda has demonstrated her mettle in past franchise games. For example, in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, she adopted the persona of Sheik and played a key role in defending Hyrule. But in Echoes of Wisdom, Zelda truly gets to step into the role of protagonist.

RELATED: Protips for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

This transpires very early in the game. When Link undertakes an effort to rescue Zelda from Ganon, he succeeds in cracking the crystal that she’s been trapped inside. But in the process, he falls into the Still World. With Link off the table, it’s up to Zelda to be her own hero. In the process, she proves she’s just as worthy of that role as Link. Nintendo: give us more Zelda games starring Zelda, please.

The Still World

Hyrule Castle is subsumed by a Still World rift as several guards look on in horror.

As far back as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, weird parallel worlds have been a staple of the games in the franchise. For just one of many other possible examples: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom had the Depths. In Echoes of Wisdom, there’s the Still World.

The Still World is a strange and creepy realm that is subsuming Hyrule, and it’s up to Zelda and her sidekick, Tri, to reverse the process. To do so, they must enter “rifts” and travel through Stilled versions of Hyrule. These Stilled versions are interesting and uncanny, rendering the familiar landscape alien and dreamlike. In addition, the rifts that have invaded Hyrule are alarming and aesthetically unusual. All this adds up to an unforgettable adventure for our protagonist.

Hyrule, Remixed

Zelda looks over Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom.

Echoes of Wisdom is set in Hyrule, like many of the franchise’s previous games before it. But playing through Zelda’s eyes, everything old is new again. Adopting a style that evokes the Nintendo Switch version of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s AwakeningEchoes of Wisdom channels the classic top-down franchise games while feeling entirely fresh.

RELATED: More Protips for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

We also visit some of our favorite franchise mainstays, like the Gerudo, Zoras and Deku Scrubs. But they all interact much differently with Zelda than they do with Link. Even the gameplay offers a compelling “remix” of the familiar fare. Zelda can activate a special mode in which she battles with the missing Link’s weapons. But, she also has the novel ability to create “echoes,” or replicated versions, of objects and enemies found throughout Hyrule. This is thanks to Tri’s abilities and the Tri Rod they give Zelda. The result is a game that feels completely at home in the franchise while giving players something unprecedented.

Smoothies

Zelda holding up a mixed apple smoothie in triumph.

Another fun feature of the game is the ability to craft smoothies. Evoking the beloved cooking feature from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, smoothies are made from certain items found throughout the game. By visiting the smoothie stands throughout Hyrule, Zelda can stock her inventory with over 60 different smoothies. Never fear; just like Link, Zelda can carry an improbably large number of items in her tunic.

Personally, I was especially excited to learn that scanning franchise Amiibo yields additional smoothie ingredients. Up to three Amiibo can be scanned per day. In my opinion, more Nintendo Switch games should utilize Amiibo. Considering I recently entered my homemade smoothie era (thanks to the Unofficial Beetlejuice Cookbook), this feature especially struck a chord for me.

The Music

A bed hovers above Zelda in a photo from a video game.

Music is an essential part of the franchise, and Echoes of Wisdom doesn’t skimp on its score. Something is just so satisfying about hearing the familiar fanfare that signals you’ve solved a puzzle or obtained a particularly important item.

RELATED: Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: Samus Aran

Of course, music plays a role in the story, too. Without getting too specific, one storyline even involves Zelda having to help “get the band back together” in order to advance into the next dungeon. Whether you’re playing on a handheld or via console, you’ll want to make sure you keep the volume turned up for Echoes of Wisdom.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is available now on Nintendo Switch.

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Avery Kaplan