The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is almost here!

Mysterious rifts are opening all over Hyrule (think purplish-black gaps with evil energy coming out of them), and they’re stealing away people and land. After a fight with Ganon, Link is swallowed into a rift. But before he disappears, he is able to free Zelda!  

Concerned for her kingdom, it’s now up to Zelda to confront the rifts and figure out what’s going on. However, she won’t be alone because she partners up with an ethereal creature named Tri who presents her with a powerful staff called the Tri Rod.

Got it. So, what’s the gameplay like?

Sword fighting isn’t the main way to takedown baddies in this game (although there is a swordfighter form that we’ll talk more about later in this article). However, that’s not to say Zelda is defenseless—she can cause all kinds of crazy havoc in very creative ways.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is about the creativity that comes from your choices and options, and a large part of that has to do with echoes.

Zelda can use the Tri Rod to make imitations (or “echoes”) of certain objects and enemies found in Hyrule. For example, you can do something as simple as making an echo of a rock and then throw that rock at an enemy. Or you can make echoes of flying monsters and have them swarm an enemy. Or distract an enemy with a piece of meat, create a hole behind them, and then push one in. Or light the surrounding grass on fire to take out an entire group of enemies. If you think something may work, just try it out!

This idea also extends to puzzles in the game. There are multiple ways to solve puzzles using your echoes—even completely impractical ways!

So…what’s the best echo combination? C’mon, you can tell me.

Yeah, you prooobably shouldn’t approach this game like that. It’s more about building up your assortment of echoes, learning how you can use them, and experimenting to find tactics or solutions that are fun or silly to you. (Writer’s note: With that said, I personally liked causing chaos with Caromadillo early on in the game…)

You’ll get a lot of practice using echoes since you’ll be exploring Hyrule, helping the locals out, entering rifts to access dungeons, and growing your assortment of echoes that can be used in the next area or dungeon. The order you find echoes and tackle obstacles may differ from someone else who plays the game.