Summary
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomisn’t aPokemongame, but it certainly feels like one. While its story sees the titular princess making her way throughout Hyrule in an attempt to save it from mysterious rifts that threaten to swallow it whole,Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomincludes plenty ofPokemon-esque mechanics in its gameplay.
Most ofZelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s apparentPokemoninfluence is summed up inZelda’s Tri Rod, the echoes it can create, and their uses. However, there are also side quests inZelda: Echoes of Wisdomthat emulate a longtime feature ofPokemon’s gameplay.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Feels Like a Pokemon Game
There Are Over One Hundred Echoes to Find and Learn in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
In order to bear anyresemblance toPokemon,Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomwould need to include some form of creature collecting. While it isn’t traditional creature collecting, players can use Zelda’s Tri Rod to learn echoes of various objects and creatures scattered throughout Hyrule. These echoes can then be summoned at any time to assist players in traversal and combat, with objects generally serving as traversal echoes and creatures as combat echoes. When a creature echo is summoned, it will automatically attack any enemies in the vicinity, giving Zelda some much-needed assistance in battle. Considering this is almost exactly what players can do with their Pokemon in aPokemongame, the likeness is astounding.
There aren’t just a few echoes to find inZelda: Echoes of Wisdom, however, as its Hyrule boasts a whopping 127 echoes in the form of objects and monsters for players to find. Players will quickly learn just how extensive this arsenal is when they are acquiring new echoes left and right within the game’s first few hours. Just as it can be in aPokemon game, it’s exciting to learn a brand-new echo inZelda: Echoes of Wisdom, simply due to the new possibilities that often open up after obtaining one. However,Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomtakes this “creature collecting” beyond anythingPokemonhas ever done by allowing players to collect and summon objects as well that can assist them in exploration.
Players Can Even Show Off Their Echoes to NPCs in Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Like They Can Their Pokemon
One striking similarity thatZelda: Echoes of Wisdomseems to unabashedly share withPokemoncan be witnessed in several side quests acquired in the game.As players explore Hyrule, they may occasionally come across individuals who want to see a certain echo or two with their own eyes, and speaking with them begins a side quest. So long as players have collected the echo requested, they can summon it in front of the quest giver to either complete or progress the side quest. Some NPCs want to see different variants of a monster, in which the quest is several steps. Others, however, would prefer to see an object — like a floating tile, for instance.
It’s an interesting way of encouraging players to acquire as many echoes as they can, butZelda: Echoes of Wisdomisn’t the first game to implement such an idea.
Since the release ofPokemon RedandPokemon Blue, players have been able to encounter NPCs who request to see a certain Pokemon, initiating a side quest. In the earliest games, all players would need to do is have the desired Pokemon in their party, and the quest would complete, granting them a reward in return. ConsideringZelda: Echoes of Wisdomdoes almost the exact same thing with its echoes, it is even more likePokemonthan merely in its “creature-collecting” gameplay mechanics. Games don’t need to bePokemonin order to have similar features, butZelda: Echoes of Wisdomjust seems like an attempt to flatter the creature-collecting phenomenon that is now over 25 years old.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
WHERE TO PLAY
Save Hyrule—this time with the wisdom of Princess Zelda!The people of Hyrule are being stolen away by strange rifts—and with a certain swordsman among the missing, it’s up to Princess Zelda to save her kingdom in the latest adventure in The Legend of Zelda™ series!Team up with the ethereal creature Tri and use the Tri Rod to create “echoes,” which are imitations of things you find in the environment—then recreate those echoes whenever you like to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. Use echoes like water blocks to reach new heights, make bridges out of old beds, throw rocks at foes, or find your own combination of echoes to do things your way. You can even make echoes of monsters to fight at your side in combat!
