Summary
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomwill certainly be a departure from the series' most recent entries, but it is carrying over a significant addition introduced byThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The 2017 game brought something of a reinvention to the storied Nintendo franchise, opting for an open-world physics sandbox rather than the tightly designed action-adventure experiences that preceded it.Echoes of Wisdomis at least in part a return to form,embracing theZeldaseries' 2D roots, but its inheritance of aBOTWfeature implies it may be a mainstay going forward.
Echoes of Wisdomso far appears to be an interesting hybrid ofZeldainfluences. It clearly takes a lot of traditional DNA from 2D games likeA Link to the PastandLink’s Awakening, even sharing assets and an art style with the latter’s 2019 remake. It also seems to share a design ethos withTears of the Kingdom, where Echoes are used to approach puzzle solving from any direction, and the Bind ability closely mimicsTOTK’s Ultrahand. Interestingly,Echoes of WisdominheritingBOTW’s (andTOTK’s) Adventure Log may signal a more permanent shift in theZeldaseries' quest design.
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Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Has BOTW’s Adventure Log
BOTW Was The First Zelda Game With A Quest Log
Echoes of Wisdom’s latest “Traversing Hyrule” trailer, via theNintendo of AmericaYouTube channel, went into more detail on how players will explore the game at large, and it revealed thatEchoes of Wisdomwill utilize an Adventure Log almost identical to the one first brought to the series byBreath of the Wild. Even the interface details are nearly the same, with only a new color scheme, design on the quest description panel, and background accents.Echoes of Wisdomeven mimicsBOTWandTOTK’s quest pop-ups, including a large notification near the top-center of the screen when one is added to the Log, and a red exclamation point on dialog boxes for NPCs with new quests.
BOTWdidn’t introduce side quests themselves to the series – talking to NPCs for additional adventures has been a staple sinceZelda’s inception – but its unprecedented scope did necessitate a quest log. Such UI details can seem inconsequential, butthe Adventure Log carrying over intoEchoes of Wisdomsuggests the game might have a significant scopebeyond its main quest.
Echoes Of Wisdom’s Adventure Log Implies The Zelda Series Has Made A Permanent Design Change
BOTW’s Influence Will Be Felt For A Long Time
BOTW’s Adventure Log reappearing in the latest 2D installment is an interesting development. There’s an argument to be made that previousZeldagames, with their tighter scope, had a facet to their immersion that would be lost with the addition of a quest log. These didn’t have the sheer number of side quests thatBOTWhas, so a quest log would be largely unnecessary, and it’s important to consider thata quest log is practically a compulsory modern convenience for games. Even a generally praised game likeElden Ringis frequently derided for its convoluted quest design devoid of a log, though it too has an expansive open world likeBOTW.
It brings into question how bigEchoes of Wisdom’s Hyrule really is, as the Adventure Log alone suggests players will be juggling many tasks (even the cursory glimpse offered by the trailer shows three main quests and five side quests in progress).The related inclusion of a mini-map with quest markers similarly implies a permanent modernization ofZelda’s quest design; this may helpEchoes of Wisdomavoid some frustration, or keep it from feeling almost archaic, but there is a certain endearing quality that comes with games that forgo a quest log.Zelda’s best trading questswouldn’t be nearly as memorable if a quest marker or log revealed exactly where to go.
Nintendo isn’t known for careless game design, so sinceEchoes of Wisdomincludes an Adventure Log, it probably needed one.BOTWstands as the best-sellingZeldagame of all time, so it won’t be surprising if many of its iterative aspects continue to inform the series' future installments. 2DZeldais typically associated with a sort of quaintness, an expected scope thatEchoes of Wisdommay be shirking for a more ambitious, content-rich design, seemingly inherited fromBreath of the Wild.
Source:Nintendo of America/YouTube
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Strange rifts are tearing Hyrule apart, and with Link missing, it’s up to Princess Zelda to save the kingdom. Armed with the Tri Rod and aided by a mysterious fairy, she must solve puzzles, create environmental “echoes,” and battle enemies while navigating new regions and uncovering hidden secrets.
