After having beaten and binge-playing Zelda EoW for the past week, I thought it was only fitting to document a review and post it somewhere..Thanks in advance for reading. (Spoilers are blanked out where relevant)
Repeated Disclaimer: This format and text structure are a blatant rip of the previous review I did of ROTN and ROTN Classic Mode ii - so you know, in case you believe you're reading the same review again.. You are not, this is a Zelda EoW review.
Introduction
In the pseudo-golden era of Hyrule, rifts begin to open up in the kingdom(apparently not a new fad). Zelda EoW takes place when the kingdom is about to find itself at breaking point with this newly discovered phenomenon.
Enter Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom(EoW)...
- Spiritual successor to Link's Awakening(LA) Remake, in both art style and game engine,
- Chronological successor to the
Hero is Defeated / Downfall
Timeline.
with the exception of the first two Zelda games (LoZ and AoL),
&
- Latest entry into the Zeldaverse...
We, the player, are thrust into a seemingly surface-happy and cheerful world, all the while knowing there's chaos brewing somewhere close, out-of-sight, below the surface and in some instances, right under our noses.
The introduction is interesting, finding ourselves as Link(for the only time) about to face off with
but rather than the Lynel-laced, cesspool of enemies which is Death Mountain(referencing the original LoZ), the setting is a quaint and dark, archaeological site of sorts in Suthorn Ruins(to the very South, mind you). Here, Ganon is attempting to [successfully] capture the Princess (that old trope) - all of this occurring at the start of the journey, rather than the end...
In terms of introductions, it's the OG LoZ inverted, turned on its head, unusual - What are Suthorn Ruins anyway? After finishing the game, I'm still unsure tbf. I assume it's the stage for the intro, that we are likely to never revisit, post-prologue.
Enter playable Zelda: EoW (not the shitty Cdi iteration that looks like the feral child of Primal Rage x Virtual Hydlide... Yeah, just forget about that one, shall we.)
Gameplay/ ControlsGameplay overall feels pretty smooth for the most part, no major complaints.
While it feels good to be able to swing your sword in water and do things underwater with ease, from the start of the game, some form of progression would have likely benefited. Gone are the days of ALTTP/ ALBW where we require Zora flippers to swim.
The spin is a nice addition and reminds me of OOT's roll. It can also be used to parry projectiles, at least during specific battles I won't spoil. However, additional use of this would have been preferred, it's almost over too quickly, only because the game is short and doesn't give us additional opportunities to use it - nice to have though.
Overall, the gameplay and the freedom of using the 'bind' ability in tandem with the echoes is the strongest attribute, especially during boss / mid-boss battles.
One last note on gameplay: At the time LA Remake was released and I reviewed it, one of the frustrations noted early on (specifically to do with hitboxes) was how LA felt like an old game with a new outfit on (Hytopian PuNintended..) like a 2d Zelda with a 2.5D skin. EoW feels the opposite to me; like a 3D Zelda wearing a 2D skin; whereby the illusory 2D plane's 4th wall is perpetually there to be broken - much like the fabric of reality of Hyrule in the context of Echoes' narrative.
Total = 7.5 / 10Graphics, Presentation, Art Style & ConsistencyThis will be broken down into 5 sections, each with a score total of 2 points, equalling 10.
Graphics:
While I don't mind the cuteness of this Zelda and I realise this entry now replaces what would have otherwise been handheld Zelda, I'm not personally a fan of this style and I believe it should have been reserved purely for LA Remake, given the toy/ doll-like attributes of that game, which evoke a dream-like state.
Sub-score = 1/10
Presentation:
While I don't particularly care about frame rate, I note it as a performance issue and honestly, given the simplicity of the graphics, this shouldn't be an issue with the Switch.
As may be mentioned in other sections, the cuteness cloaks a lot of things which would or may otherwise seem counterintuitive: walking on trees with ease, swinging your sword while swimming, and so forth.
Sub-score = 1/10
Art Style:
This is difficult, given the Art Style and graphics are both the same in EoW. Even LA Remake had a nice anime cutscene in both prologue and epilogue, which while it used these graphics, used ALBW's anime art style.
Unfortunately this doesn't exist here and nothing remotely resembling art style is even found in the UI/ pause menus. It's a shame, because even including a manual would have given the game more of a sense of identity imho.
Sub-score = 0/10
Consistency:
I'm going to be harsh here and note that consistency exists due to the lack of art style throughout EoW. It's complacently consistent, which is my biggest gripe.
While there's nothing inherently incorrect in this section, my personal taste and what I perceive as the lack of effort from the developers, will bring down the score.
1/10
Total = 3 / 10
+1 Bonus point for charm
Revised Total = 4 /10
Music/ ambience and atmosphereWhile there are some appropriately evoking tracks (Still World, Sword Fighter mode, etc) the music for the most part was okay, a bit too cutesy for my liking, given the whole motif looks cutesy and kiddy from the outset, it could've done with a couple more memorable tracks.
The atmosphere in general while decent, didn't always evoke a sense of turmoil until rifts presented themselves and even then, until we get into the Still World and/ or fight off rift echoes, sometimes the style and music needs to evoke a further sense of urgency to the player. Given the dire straits in which Hyrule finds itself, especially in this scenario
where Ganon himself isn't a big deal, beyond the first 2-3 hours of gameplay
, one shouldn't be able to cruise the overworld and hear music so chipper it calls for a spot of tea and potential public urination while whistling.... I really believe this should have changed while the game progressed and can only believe Nintendo got lazy here.
It's cute, I'll give it that and take it for what it is... Like finding a mate, being cute will only get you so far.
Total = 5 / 10Story/ Lore & NarrativeThe lore and what it provides and extends to the greater Zeldaverse (not just itself) is perhaps the greatest single attribute EoW provides.
While it's pretty clear that this backstory arc and villain will not be used again, it has provided the series with a greater context and there are some interesting fan theories out there as to 'why' EoW only occurs in this timeline of the Hero is Defeated/ Downfall, which involve ALBW. I won't get into that here, I may put out another post regarding this.
On a side note, it's interesting that every new Zelda game that's brought out appears to be in the Hero is Defeated timeline, something I'm personally a fan of,
given it's the OG timeline
.
Total = 9 / 10
Game Design & ProgressionAs decent as the game is and as much as it progresses well enough, unfortunately this tale is on the short side. The game suffers from being overly short, only because there are no additional modes, even LoZ had a Quest B and one truly sees the benefit it would have had here, particularly with the constraint of say, playing as Link and not having the echoes at one's disposal.
Puzzles for the most part are okay. I really feel as if Holy Mt Lanayru was the only dungeon with moderate challenge and the puzzles reminded me a little bit of Spirit Tracks or ALBW. Unfortunately the other dungeons were a bit too simple, although I did at least appreciate Faron Woods for being not as straight forward as the others (homage to OOT, perhaps).
What I am on board with is the areas of the Still World, which lead into the main dungeons. What I dislike is the additional rifts we need to complete even prior to these sections.
(basically like Twilight Princesses' collecting 'Tears of Light' / 'Tris of Plight', so to speak).
While there is innovation with these areas in terms of stage design and orientation, being in an undigested state of starkness and semi-erosion, one really wishes the developers had put these efforts into a final temple/ dungeon, whereby the co-operative gameplay elements, which you only acquire once Link is rescued, are used. This was a massive missed opportunity imho. I wanted more of that phase, even if it lasted for the final dungeon only.
Largely due to the above, it's one of those games, where the latter half - in particular dungeons and bosses are a lot better than the first half. Even ALTTP, ALBW and LA had at least 8 dungeons throughout the game. This feels shorter by a fair few miles, which doesn't bode in the game's favour by any means.
Lastly, while exploration is mostly broken, sequence-breaking is not encouraged, which is a shame and feels like two conflicting ideas. (Take me back to Metroid Dread, without taking me back to MD; which rewards sequence-breaks, with an easier boss-fight re: Kraid)...
Given they went all out here, this element or atleast having sequence-breaks available in a second quest, whereby story elements can be foregone, would have made up for a lot of the lack of cohesion in the broken traversal and OP echoes.
If a game pushes this idea of no fourth walls stopping progress, I'd rather it be pushed to its limits and they go all out. Holy Mt Lanayru's lead-up suffers from this, due to the requirement to trigger a series of cutscenes, in advance of gaining access to the area in question.
For that reason, this section is scored on the lower end.
Total = 6 /10Difficulty & Replay-abilityI did choose to play this game from the get-go, in 'hero mode'. Given the two previous 2d Zelda games I'd played were LA Remake (2018) and ALBW (2014) and these playthroughs were done on 3 hearts, with no upgrades (ALBW with no shield), I thought EoW would be fine on this difficulty. Suffice to say I did not impose the same restrictions on myself in this playthrough as the previous two games.
After playing every Zelda game through, with the exception of the cdi games, my gut feel is that this game is too easy. It's simple to say, however, it goes deeper than this and I'll try to carefully break this down, as some traversal elements of EoW are slightly unusual to say the least.
This will be broken down into 5 sections, each with a score total of 2 points, equalling 10.
1) Traversal:
The short story is that vertical traversal is almost broken. This section, while feeding back into gameplay, also greatly affects both the difficulty and the replayability. EoW would have benefited from either a cap or a 'Link mode'. While this would have meant including more traditional means to complete dungeons, it would have benefited the game's difficulty and replayability, drastically.
EDIT: The horse, while cute, is pointless in this game. You're better off using echoes to propel yourself across the vast fields of Hyrule.
Sub-score = 1/10
1) Dungeons:
While I'm all for the optional means of dungeon-crawling/ traversal and puzzle-solving, there are specific examples of EoW where for a 2D Zelda, the game feels broken:
- Example 1: Crawltula basically everywhere, especially the Water Temple (we all could've used this type of mechanic in OOT, am I right...)
- Example 2: Running, jumping and spinning on top of trees... While I understand the allure and the 'new gimmick' of travelling over trees, it shouldn't be possible. Part of me knows that Nintendo chose a cutesy, non-realistic art-style in this regard to mask the more unrealistic and pseudo-functional elements of EoW, which in any other context, doesn't really work.
Sub-score = 1.5 /10
2) Boss Fights:
The above points being said, the boss fights are fun (borderline too easy, with the exception of the final boss and Ganon is not too bad, he was probably the harder boss due to in-game progress(less hearts, echoes, etc) and the off-beat nature/ speed of his pong projectiles in this game alone) due to the echoes and bind ability, making for some surefire trouble. There is nothing more satisfying than Ganon's trident, mid-throw and smacking him with it! Similarly with outthe final bosses' limbs, if you know you know.
Sub-Score = 2/10
3) Platforming:
While this is decent, I'm baffled as to why falling off live edges doesn't do damage.
Perhaps too many edges in the Still World, perhaps devs not wanting to deal with the fragments that charge your Swordfighter form end up spawning at the bottom of the Still World (not near where the player is platforming).
Slightly odd choice given every previous Zelda game has done it - perhaps a Legendary Hero Mode would have solved this issue.
Sub-score = 1/10
4) Difficulty (overall):
In general, while nice to have a hero mode, this isn't necessarily what EoW requires to be more difficult in a fair sense. it requires a 'classic mode', much like Castlevania: Adventure Rebirth had, including but not limited to:
- Edge damage
- Unable to spam echoes without the cost of Swordfighter meter and/ or 'cooldown' period
- Inability to use specific echoes to skip certain areas (not sure how this would work exactly, perhaps the lack of using echoes due to in-game lore-explanations i.e. the effects of the rifts, etc.)
Sub-score = 1/10
5) Replayability:
There really isn't anything here if you conquer Hero Mode on the first playthrough. At least there is one.
A Boss Rush or something would have been nice and has been added into Zelda games before.
It feels like Nintendo rushed this one out the door tbf.
Sub-score = 0.5/10
It comes down to fun vs challenge, it's not a perfect storm, but still a decent tasting [Zelda] 'pot', nonetheless.
Total = 7 /10
Bonus PointsOriginality of the Echoes system and Swordfighter mode = +3 points
OVERALL VERDICT(%) = 69 /100 (calculated at 41.5/60)
Certainly not the best Nintendo has ever put out there. Not the worst, but one of the weaker 2D entries into Zelda imho but still a good, clean, wholesome, game.
I'm hoping OOX get a remake, because I can't be bothered playing the OG versions through.
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