The end of 2025 and the first half of January 2026 found me in the best possible gameplay company I could have hoped for, as I received this remarkable creation as a gift during the holidays, Echoes of Wisdom. What a beautiful title, and how perfectly suited it is for a Zelda game. I already knew, as expected, quite a lot about it, that you control Zelda instead of Link for the first time in the history of the franchise, and that it follows the same aesthetic as the remake of Link’s Awakening, another game I had an amazing time with. Echoes of Wisdom, however, was a superior experience in every way, in my opinion. Not that the two are entirely comparable, but I cannot help but make the comparison, and I think you understand why. Nevertheless, in this text I will focus on this particular creation without going into extensive detail about the other releases.
Given that it is a game from 2024 and a fairly well-known one at that, I assume that anyone reading this will already be aware of the element that makes it so special, beyond the fact that the player controls a different hero instead of the traditional one. The key difference lies in the gameplay, where Zelda relies on magic rather than a sword and shield. She does acquire that ability at some point, but only for a limited time, while the game itself encourages you to think about how to use your other powers. These powers revolve around the fact that whenever you defeat an enemy with the magical staff in your possession, you can create copies of them that help you both in battles and in solving puzzles. How much you choose to use your imagination to combine these so-called echoes is entirely up to you, which brings to mind the approach taken in Tears of the Kingdom, though on a smaller scale, because that game offers an overwhelming range of possibilities. Here, however, the people behind Echoes of Wisdom have taken their idea to an incredible level, and it is impossible not to admire their inventiveness. After so many decades of The Legend of Zelda, they still manage to find new elements to incorporate into the series. I honestly cannot comprehend how something like that is even possible. Only Nintendo seems capable of this kind of creativity.
As for the dungeons, some were fairly straightforward while others offered a significant challenge, though not so much the final bosses, especially after a certain point when you have gathered enough echoes and hearts. As I spent more time with the game, I realized that this particular Zelda aims for something different. Its goal is to make you think about how to use your abilities, to consider that you have this creature that does one thing, another that does something else, and yet another that, if used in a specific interaction, will produce certain results, allowing you to move forward and achieve what you want. The entire concept of Echoes of Wisdom revolves around this mindset, which also fits perfectly with its title, because in a way it suggests that all these memories, these echoes of the past, make me wiser, as if I am growing and gaining knowledge about how to continue. All of this happens, however, without the physical and mental exhaustion that the passage of time usually brings. After all, we are talking about a work of fantasy, and a kind of fantasy that aims to inspire you to dream, to hope, and to desire, to rest by the fire and share stories, something that the world we live in does not particularly encourage. Of course, we can still pursue such moments, but it is certainly not the easiest thing to do, given how many responsibilities we all have.
Zelda games in particular, and Nintendo in general, are part of the video game world that I could confidently describe as an antidote to the alienating nature of modern life, especially in big cities, where everything seems rushed, everything begins and appears to want to end as quickly as possible, just so it can be written down that the job was done, even if it was done poorly, as long as the money comes in, gets spent, and then the cycle starts all over again. I am not deluding myself, of course video games are part of this same world, they are not something entirely separate, they are products meant to be sold and consumed. Still, sometimes, as I hold the Switch in my hands, I mentally go back to the early 1990s when I was very young and playing Mario on the first Game Boy, and I feel that same sense of carefree joy and simple pleasure in playing something. As people grow older, they constantly hear that playing games is something bad, immature, or lacking in depth. These are classic, dismissive generalizations, superficial and meaningless. They hold no real value. If you can have an experience like Echoes of Wisdom at some point during your day, then your day will undoubtedly be better. And if you can share your thoughts with someone who genuinely cares to listen, even better.
I am including the soundtrack below in case you wish to listen to it.
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