My favorite thing about the world is that seemingly every commoner knows Link personally, but only know *of* Zelda, implying that Link's someone who travels a lot and is a friend to everybody (especially the kids), while the royals never venture beyond the castle town
Oh thank GODDDDD. I prefer that so much to “everyone knows the princess personally” and “people are vaguely familiar with the concept of the princess having a swordsman by her side”.
I like wheels, like with the totk abilities and the tp items. And I like grids where I can tap the item I want on a touch screen. That will always beat out the clunky sorted UI.
Seeing your mom's reaction to the intro void chase is exactly how my mom reacts to any time a video game expects her to so something on a time limit. Can't wait to see her scream at this part too
What's lovely is that the void chase adapts to how quickly you're going! If Zelda manages to zoom ahead, it speeds up, and if Zelda is falling behind, it slows down to accommodate, sticking to a minimum speed.
This game has the warmth I‘ve been missing, especially from TotK. Actually existing character writing that works, the cute and hilarious character interactions (I love my Scrubs so much), the respect for the story and lore making the world and the act of engaging with it feel so much more meaningful… Hopefully these things will have an impact on the development of the next big Zelda title.
@@skittybitty I know right?! The Deku have little features that sort of give individual femme or masc vibes but they never directly use male or female pronouns and I love it 😊
My favorite moment of this game was when Zelda from the Legend of Zelda series said "it's Zelda time!" and then Zelda'd all over the place. It really Linked the whole series together.
I get that they don't want to give Zelda a sword because it would make echoes useless during fights, but it still feels sexist that she has to literally transform into Link to be able to fight. The swordfighter form could've been some sort of "Goddess form" instead
Probably just laziest , there so much from the UI being TOTk inspired and such that they decided, what is the easiest thing to do, have her tf into link cus we have all of the animations of blocking, jumping, firing a bow, etc for link already . Speed up production time. Now if this comes into a big budget Zelda, as Zelda with swordfighter being a link copy, that would be annoying cus well, we have shiek for a fighter Zelda, tetra or even linkle for a fighter Zelda get up
Zelda doesn't "Transform into Link" per say, she just gets a cap and a tunic and becomes possessed by the spirit of Eiffel 65 for some reason. That said, the fact that it's never explained why this happens does still leave open a weird implication that Zelda is incapable of holding a sword. I get that it's supposed to be because "Something something... only Link (spirit of the hero) can defeat Ganon", but that kinda takes the fun out of it, especially when you already have a setup to let you reasonably alter that cycle a bit. Something else instead would've been cooler. Honestly the sword form kind of feels like it works against the main idea of Zelda playing differently from Link and is my main criticism of the game. Give Zelda a form where she can use more magic abilities!
@@EmeraldMan25 Yeah, would have been cooler to make a temporary magic caster form or a ninja form. This is kinda why I avoided upping the sword of might, focusing on energy and the cus allot more Zelda's fire arrows than fence, but the second in the Ganon fight (cool as besides this, please no spoilers, punishes alot for not upgrading the sword). They could have Dampe craft her own sword based on TP Zelda's sword and have more rapier like animations instead of link's swinging. She could use a sword , but she use it differently than link uses his. Elegant , light, precise movements based on formal fencing lessons, courtly, compared to link's rough and tumble fighting style.
Fun fact: Echoes of Wisdom is the first Zelda game I've beaten. All the other Zelda games -- all of them -- don't hold my interest past a couple hours. But this game was paced so well and *constantly* has interesting things to do and isn't GINORMOUS so it really was a joy to play. And you can JUMP! ^_^
I had so much fun with this game and never felt like I missed any major mechanics or strategies until the very end of the game. And then friends of mine pointed out stuff I didn't even know about, and I am constantly learning more as I look more into the game. For example I didn't know you could Bind to Link's shield in the boss fight until I watched this video, I beat him by distracting him with weak Echoes and chucking pots from behind.
Just gotta say that I LOVE your presentation and dissemination style. Really all killer, no filler, and constantly engaging. I think you have a strong instinctual knowledge of how to present ideas and catch yourself as best you are able in bias or error. Top stuff!
For as worried as I was about the echo system, I honestly think the developers handled it really well in comparison to the similar mechanics in Tears of The Kingdom. it's clear the developers spent a lot of time messing around with the mechanics to find the "gamebreaking strategies," and incorporating them into the world design to make them feel less like cheats and more like tools. For example, bridging with beds is pretty much the best way to get around in the early game, they're cheap, cover horizontal distance, and can be placed on top of each other. But the game deliberately teaches you this and incorporates it into the world which makes it feel so much more fun to use. Actually, my main complaint is combat in the game. Swordfighter form (at least for me) does not feel very intuitive at all, but it's by far the best way to deal big damage most of the time. But the meter drains so fast, and the fact that the entire game pauses when you swap forms makes it feel really clunky to use at times. They really hit the nail on the head with traversing the world with echos, and I don't see an issue with having echos *aid* you in battle, but having to either sit back and wait for them to fight enemies or waste precious energy... playing the game... feels really awkward. Like, come on Zelda Team, there's nothing wrong with Zelda wielding a sword...
You shouldn't be sitting back watching echos fight, you should be using bind to move your echos into enemies or vice versa. Spawning echos behind enemies or spamming an echo so it attacks faster is also an option. There shouldn't be much downtime during combat in this game other than bosses you have to wait to attack sometimes.
@@spacewhalemilk Exactly, they just wanted her to play like a different character, not just another skin for Link. But we've seen her use magic and the bow with Light arrows plenty of times, give her some magic/ranged options, hell even give her a magic sword spell so she can swing a blue magic sword.
I'm glad you're enjoying the game - I also had fun with it at times. One thing I will say, however, is that I do think the smoothies are just as exploitable as the cooked meals were back in BotW/TotK - in fact, they might even be more exploitable. The fact that you can carry 20 at a time is ridiculous, and allows for practically infinite healing in-between smoothy shops. Also, because the sword fighter form can be constantly replenished using certain recipes of smoothies, it basically becomes the default for combat at some point in the game, which completely trivializes the already struggling echo system. I want to love this game for all the great things it does - a couple fantastic dungeons, wonderful world design, and even a super decent soundtrack - but the unbalanced combat and lack of item variety was really disappointing to me.
2:25 Fun fact: When I first played A Link Between Worlds, I didn't find that bag that unlocks the second item slot until after I'd already beaten the game. Not even kidding.
I'm in a weird spot with this game. I have _no_ interest in actually buying or playing it (watched a friend's playthrough, and while watching someone else play a game _is_ a very different experience to playing it, I'm reasonably confident that the Echo system and general approach to combat just won't click with me)- but I love almost literally everything else about it, and the game itself has me feeling happy and excited about a Zelda game for the first time in effectively over a decade. _Really_ hope they take the right lessons from this going forward, and the next game's mechanics are more in my wheelhouse.
You can't pet the cats specifically in EoW, but after unlocking the cat costume you CAN talk to cats, and they all have unique dialogue - one even wants you to do a quest for it! 😸
Replaying this game is great because you get to pick & choose what echoes you'd like for each run, instead of feeling pressured to learn everything you see. So inventory management is a lot less of a pain in later playthroughs imo. I didn't copy a single echo throughout the entire first act of the game! Beating the first dungeon with only a wooden table and my own wits was so fun.
What ISN'T fun though is the endless amount of unskippable cutscenes. This is the kinda game I wanna replay over and over, so having to sit through the very frequent yap session is a drag every time... It's my biggest complaint for the game personally.
hold on that sound design sounds GODLY from what you showcased I may not play it right away, but if I ever need inspiration for sound design for my own game that im developing then for sure im buying this game and playing it purely for that
Honest to god learning that a swordfighter form exists in this game at all sold me on it lol I had no idea that was a thing and now that I know I suddenly want to try out the game way more. The comparisons to the Oracle games help too (Oracle of Ages being one of my fav games in the series).
Same here! When I found out there was a sword fighter form, it made things so much less tedious. I think the game balances using echoes and sword fighter form pretty well for most of the game.
"Nothing in this video will spoil anything that wasn't shown in the trailers" - I didn't even watch the initial reveal trailer or any of the subsequent overview/gameplay trailers, because I knew that they'd likely spoil things. After completing the game myself last week, I went back and skimmed each of those trailers, and sure enough there were a few surprises that I'm glad I discovered myself instead of knowing ahead of time.
I completely diagree with you about Tri. It's got the CUTEST voice and MOST ADORABLE character I have seen in any Zelda game! So much so, I never owned plushies before or collect anything for that matter but I DESPERATELY want a Tri plushie! Tri makes my heart melt! I have got really far in the game by the time of this comment and absolutely LOVE it! It might be in my top 3 of all time if I can be so bold! I am not even kidding! Only downside being as far as I am in the game as I am, I have A LOT of echoes!! So much so the menu can be tedious and annoying. It takes ages it feels to get to one item to the other because of the massive list of them I have. Otherwise, easily one of my favorite Zelda's right now.
I think Echoes of Wisdom strikes a nice balance of freedom and restriction. The game's various echoes and other abilities give you plenty of options for traversal, puzzle-solving and combat, but they don't completely trivialize those things. It feels like the developers listened to Tears or the Kingdom's critics.
On the sword thing, I've seen a lot of people saying the sword feels like a lazy compromise or something like that but I always found it neat that in traditional Zelda games you fight with swords and have a meter for magic, and in this one you have magic and have a meter for your sword. I do agree it would've been nicer if Zelda didn't suddenly dress up like Link, but also she looks kinda cute in a tunic. I always saw it as Zelda using the echo magic to like, copy Link's strength or something since it also lets her jump way higher.
Yeah, I'm definitely digging this game too! The dungeons only get better as it goes along, even though the L temple still threw me for a loop and then some.
Having just beat the game last night I have to say it was an absolutely wonderful experience that I highly recommend to newcomers who haven't played anything outside of the Wild duology. I have my problems with it (UI, button mapping, and Zelda being a silent protag being the top three) but everything else is everything I love about Zelda basically to a tee. I don't think it's a top five, or even necessarily a top ten, but I had a great time with the game. And I hope beyond hope that the next big 3D game keeps the open air design with classic dungeons (dangerous thinking I know) because this game, as well as ALBW, proved you can do that in a 2D space. All that's left is to fully translate that into 3D
I totally agree with you on a lot the points in the video! It’s actually really interesting tho cos after playing echoes I started to replay the oracle games, and it made me remeber how many puzzle items like the magnetic gloves existed. I wonder why the Zelda team couldn’t have kept echoes but also have given Zelda all those funky items. I also wonder if the game could have been improved if echoes were obtained in more specific scenarios or there being less echoes but you could upgrade them. Like a level two octorock being able to shoot immediately and maybe you needing to fulfill sidequests to upgrade specific echoes. Idk at later parts of the game I spammed swordfighter mode cos I felt like fighting enemies became too clumsy with all my options?
yes i'm glad you like it, it's so good! i really love the bosses - i've been playing on hero mode, and they provide me a great balance of difficulty while still letting me get creative with how i approach them. they're very dynamic too so they don't get boring. also optional mini dungeons!
YOO IT DROPPED! Will come back with an edited comment in 8 minutes to talk about my thoughts Edit: ok it’s an eight minute video what did you expect me to say The video is great but the totk BULLYING is kinda distracting me. Even though i agree with you it’s just throwing me off lol, might wanna consider dropping it (don’t wanna sound offensive i’m just giving advice wait why am i giving advice i am not a youtuber yet) Anyways nice!
My immediate first impression of Echoes of Wisdom was "I think this is the game I wanted Tears to be." I finished the game a few days ago, and that impression holds up. In a weird way, it actually reminds me a lot of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Neither game is perfect, but they're both just so much fun and they're clearly made by people who love the series. Both games are just joys to play.
This game is everything I begged for after TOTK released, and I mean everything. Linear storytelling and progression, mixed with freedom of exploration and gameplay. This is the formula that will carry the series forwards, not whatever the hell TOTK was. Now, Imagine for the 3rd person games they made a game with a story as in-depth as TP or SS that progressed linearly (with freedom to choose dungeons per overarching story arc), coupled with the exploration and gameplay freedom they add with these newer games. That would be the perfect Zelda game.
The only major complaint I had with this game personally was the reward for getting all the might crystals. Other than that it’s a fun game with some really cool lore
I had a lot of fun with this game, to the point i finished it a few days after it released. I had a better time with it than TOTK, and the game rewards you consistently if you played the old 2d games, with small references and callbacks. As someone who played alttp as well, this felt like returning home in a way. (I remember this feeling of coming back home when i played as link in the beginning. he reminded me of the way he moves in OOA/OOS and i couldn't stop freaking out) The only small issue with it is that this game is absurdly easy. like, to the point that I switched early on to the hard mode, and had to consistently double check if i did, because I didn't struggle at all and ended the game with zero deaths. Maybe that's a me problem because my favorite games are the difficult older ones who have me traumatized from their death counters. but yea , this game is way more fun than totk. I loved abusing the echoes to explore the map before doing the beginner dungeons. this game is so good omaiga NINTENDO PLEASE DO MORE 2D ZELDAS DON'T LET THEM DIE LET GRIZZO COOK I BEEEEEEEEEEEGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
My favorite Zelda of all time was links awakening on the Gameboy. Yes, I'm that decrepit. My 7 year old son has this as his first game, and while I don't find this to be as magical in some ways, especially with regard to creative puzzling, its a worthy place for him to start. Zelda's puzzling just hasn't caught up to it's less restrictive gameplay, here, or in our last two releases. When you give the player a million different keys, it's very hard to make truly challenging locks. In the end, what results are some puzzles that just feel trivial to solve.
5:01 Don't worry about the cats, you'll see soon enough 😆 Joke asides, the game is so refreshing ! They took definitely the right direction for this one. I've never have so much fun since the days of like Spirits Tracks or Oracles !
With them making this with the Link's Awakening remake engine, and the Oracle games using the Link's Awakening DX engine I hope we get an Oracle remake for the Switch, kinda like Pokemon Z-A
the intempestive changing into swordfighter form is something everyone struggles with, it seems. a shame. TAH-DUH-DUH-DUH-DAAAH shit i did it again i meant to press send
My non-spoiler thoughts after beating and getting pretty close to 100%: A pretty good game that lives in the shadow of TOTK, which both helps and hurts it. In terms of helping, the dungeons range from decent to good, the story is competent, the world feels purposeful and hand-crafted, there's a sense of progression. None of those things sound great, but they *feel* great after TOTK miserably failed in all those departments. On the other hand, the main gimmick of the game, the echoes and ultrahand thingy, just feel like weaker versions of what was in TOTK. They don't really add anything unique to the series, but also bring back the problems from TOTK of puzzles that can be extremely easily cheesed using the same small handful of tools, broken exploration, and abysmal UI. I like the game. The dungeons felt like an oasis in a desert, the world is fun to explore even though you can immediately see like 90% of it by spamming beds, and also I enjoy the minigames and sidequests. I don't think it's an exceptional 2D Zelda, but it's a huge step up in quality from TOTK. I just hope that with this game, Nintendo have got this crappy sandbox BS that ruins puzzle solving and exploration out of their system, because I am so beyond sick of it.
I already beat the game, and it's the most fun I've had with a Zelda game in a while. So much so that I put it in my Shelf of Fame, and hung up the fabric poster I got with my pre order from Game Stop. The only 2 complaints I have are the echo management and the sword's magic meter. Having to scroll through things just to find an echo to use is cumbersome to say the least, and you don't get much sword magic while in Hyrule. This makes me discouraged to use sword form, especially when I'm exploring the overworld. I get they want the echoes to be the main thing for this game, but honestly, they shouldn't have made a magic meter in this game. The 3D games got rid of it after Wind Waker, and starting with Skyward Sword, they opted for stamina instead. While this is a step in the right direction, I can't help but wonder if they didn't make enough steps forward for 2D Zelda.
I agree I also still accidentally hit sword fighter form a lot…. Still…. Also the menu lack of favouriting and customizing are real issues. Still really fun however!
giiiiiiirl, great video! The short videos are great but I watched your tears video twice and will probably watch a few more times :) Keep killin it lady!
I am once again thinking, to my surprise, that we need the C keys back. I'm really glad you made this review. After Breath of the Wild, I've been very skeptical about picking up a new Zelda. I don't like this art style to the point it makes me not want to play the remake of Link's Awakening, it actually seems fine here and looks good. I think I might actually pick this up... at some point... when time materializes... But no picking up the dogs and cats? Twilight Princess will never be dethroned.
I've been replaying skyward sword lately and how you can select an item literally while walking from a wheel that pops up where you can just select the item you want without having to scroll through an infinite array if items. Or Twilight Princess, where you could do the same thing, but you had tons of items and still could pick one out faster than in botw, totk OR this game. I was also really wondering why there was only one button to assign the summon item/monster to. I mean, the switch has both a d-pad, the four buttons and also FOUR shoulder buttons, you'd think they would make use of some of them. Hell, in wind waker (both versions, i believe), you could have THREE items ready for use and assigned to buttons AT THE SAME TIME! same with twilight princess! They might have to shuffle some of the menu stuff around, but it's very clearly not impossible. and while i don't THINK this is a spoiler since it's at the very beginning, i wasn't a big fan of Zelda being able to see Tri, because "she's special". I mean i don't doubt that she's special, but i wouldn't dislike that so much if she could then also use that special thing for literally anything other than seeing Tri. The echo rod isn't zeldas ability, it's Tris, more or less. and i haven't played the game myself, but from playthroughs, it somehow seems more like some kind of... really long fetch quest? The main objective for Zelda is to fix the rifts but that's kind of it. Link always has to help people in various ways or prove himself worthy of being a hero or SOMETHING or another, but as far as I remember, zelda doesn't have to do any of that stuff, so it really feels like there's something big missing from this game...
WOMEN’S GENERATION MENTIONED 😭😭😭 all jokes aside, my mom’s already told me that she got EOW for me for christmas so i can’t play it until then, but i’m excited to play it!!
I’m glad you seem to be enjoying it! Honestly I wasn’t expecting that to be your feelings on it so glad you in your words think Zelda might be back! But I gotta be honest I don’t think it’s ever been more lost it’s another potentially promising game lost to a ridiculous gmod gimmick that ruins the immersion and doesn’t belong here. I honestly find locking the sword behind both a timed ability and one that makes you look like link to be incredibly condescending and insulting to insinuate giving Zelda a sword on her own is off limits. If this had just been a new 2d Zelda game where you play as Zelda instead of this ridiculous idea I would be much happier for it Being able to summon enemies should have been the only part of this gimmick included
I was immediately dissapointed in Zelda having no combat abilites. The sword thing does help, also you are kind of a Diablo warlock which is a neat twist that doesnt feel like that stupid Ipad/power glove thing. Still....major opportunity to have a Sheik element
I also go into swordfight form all the time if that means anything. I may get used to it over time too but it's an issue. I also agree about the UI, in that it's incredible that enemies and objects are on the same menu. I actually didn't beleive it and thought I must have misremembered. The game is really good otherwise though, I'm also not far in
