#I can't understand the people who want Zelda to feel exactly like playing Link

[gaylactic-fire]

Y'all: Because we can't physically go up to an enemy and press A to stab Nintendo are obviously trying to suggest Zelda is too dainty and feminine for combat

Nintendo: Here is Zelda killing things with a rock. Here is Zelda killing things while riding a giant beyblade. Here is Zelda killing things by using twisted clones of their fallen brethren. We have invented many new ways to kill

[multbasa]

I don't think enough people appreciate the smaller Zelda titles.

Saw a YouTuber calling Echoes of Wisdom "brilliantly forgettable" and I just cannot understand. The first mainline Zelda title to feature Zelda herself as the main character with a unique moveset compared to all other Zelda titles is not forgettable.

My favourite Zelda game is Spirit Tracks, and while the game has its faults as all games do to some degree, it was a spectacular Zelda game that had a very unique vision. I love the bigger titles as well, but the small Zelda titles have this lovely charm to them.

I like when Nintendo makes the smaller Zelda games precisely because it's a smaller, shorter experience. I have a lot to do with a full time job and loads of chores and responsibilities that need to be done, so I love being able to jump into a game quickly even when I don't have time to do a whole lot. The beauty of a lot of Zelda games is that they're easy to pick up again (I say a lot simply because I put down Skyward Sword on the Wii for some time just before the second last boss and was incapable of getting my muscle Memory to kick in with the motion controls 😶 but I still enjoyed Skyward Sword for what it was); I don't play games like Baldur's Gate and the Witcher 3 because I just can't keep up with all the dialogue and story that I have to remember between sessions. They're big games with a lot of storylines and characters—it's just so much to remember by the time I can return to them. Zelda games generally don't have that issue because the direction is pretty straightforward and easy to get back into.

Echoes of Wisdom was a great game. I almost completed it 100% besides the better times for the Dream Dojo, and no, it didn't take a huge amount of time to do so but I am perfectly fine with that. There are so many games that I have never gotten to the end because they're such a chore and there're so many things to remember and do, especially when it comes to heavy dialogue choice games which really hold me up. I can acknowledge that they are good games for those who have the time and energy to dedicate to them, but I prefer games that I can put down and pick back up without needing to remember what exactly I was doing or scour guides for how I'm supposed to do something.

In Echoes of Wisdom, I liked the change of pace where I can't just rely on my sword and shield. It's a really unique experience in the franchise and I hope they experiment further in the future especially with Zelda with a different playstyle compared to Link. I liked how I could approach challenges in different ways and experiment with different things. A lot of the puzzles were really clever and I actually enjoyed the boss battles (besides Ganon because I was really failing at volleying his energy attack 😵‍💫). The game was a lot of fun and I hope I'll have the time to play it again soon although I really need to finish Minish Cap and A Link Between Worlds, so I should focus on doing that when I have the time.

Anyway...Echoes of Wisdom wasn't forgettable or underwhelming to me. Yes, it has its faults but there are faults in other Zelda games too. For instance I hate the falling floor tiles in A Link to the Past boss rooms with a passion—I'm glad that it has not returned because it sucked, the motion controls in Skyward Sword did impact my experience especially because Link just never wanted to do the skyward strike on my wii which was really frustrating, having to pay Tingle some annoyingly odd amount of rupees in Wind Waker to read the Triforce charts...I absolutely hate that still...why couldn't it be a reasonable number, Twilight Princess has a really long opening sequence which I actually found charming but I kept getting a scratched copy so I did that no less than 3 times and it was a chore after my first, I really enjoyed playing the flute in Spirit Tracks but the DS mic is definitely really spotty and I would always feel light headed using the leaf blower, I can't stand having only two item slots in the original Link's Awakening which was thankfully improved in the Switch version, I really hate aiming with a joy stick which just makes 3D games like Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess on GameCube hard to aim with a bow, so all of those games would benefit greatly with a gyro option (I haven't tried the HD versions or anything)—anyway, there are plenty of things to complain about and it's good to want improvements or changes, but I don't think it's fair to write off a game in the series because it tried something different and isn't incredibly long.

I actually want more small Zelda games. The big titles are taking so long and require so many resources, so I want smaller games to fill the time in-between. We got Echoes of Wisdom and we even got a spin off title in Crypt of the Necrodancer: Cadence of Hyrule which I absolutely loved. Also Link's Awakening was a great remake which is also quite a short title; I think it took me less time than EoW actually. Actually both EoW and the original LA have item management issues yet a LOT of people adored Link's Awakening on the Gameboy even though I could not finish it until it was released with much needed QoL improvements. I think EoW was more tolerable to me because of the quick menu with the most recent tab because I just could not stand swapping items in LA especially having to remove the sword—hmm, perhaps Zelda's usual lack of a sword and separate sword equipping function without opening the menu made the item swapping more tolerable to me. Having a dedicated jump button rather than equipping the rocs feather is also much better...Other Zeldas just had automatic ledge jumping which is also better. I want to reiterate that I loved Link's Awakening on Switch, it's a beautiful and fun game. Perhaps I prefer LA over EoW but that's probably because of the Ballad of the Windfish and the fact that it's the only Zelda game that actually made me cry at the end.

If you got this far reading my meandering word vomit, I hope you continue to enjoy games despite what other people say about it. It doesn't matter what people say, they'll never take away my enjoyment of Echoes of Wisdom. I can't wait to see what Nintendo plans for the future for smaller Zelda titles. I hope we get more unique games that are given the room to experiment because that's what I Love about the series.

[mobloomspell]

I've played more, so some first impressions: this is a good game. Considering I spent most of my first days with it just exploring and doing side missions, I can't deny it was worth the delays for just how much stuff there is to do.

For the first few hours I was frustrated, because I accidentally kept running into enemy camps I wasn't adequately prepared for and didn't understand the fusion mechanic. I feel the latter would have been helped if Nintendo used advertising to tell me what their games actually *are* but that's a whole rant for another time. Once I finally figured out how the game wants me to create my own weapons, I started having fun with it. It helps that I travelled from tower to tower to fill out most of my map first and thus found little areas to mark for resource gathering. Still have trouble finding good bows though, which are basically exactly the same as BOTW, and that can get annoying when they break in the middle of doing something.

I like the side missions. A lot are still basically get item for person, receive reward, but the game also has slightly more involved, interconnected quests like finding musicians and helping them get back to their troupe. Most of my playthrough so far has been going from stable to stable chasing rumors for a newspaper. Why save the world when I can instead be a plucky little reporter working with some Rito guy who reminds me of the albatross from Rescuers Down Under, right? These side adventures help the world feel just a bit more lived in, and like characters are actually doing stuff even when I'm not around. It's the main thing I wanted from a sequel and I'm charmed by what I've encountered.

As for the main story I've glimpsed so far... meh. Don't get me wrong, I'm intrigued to see more, and I've even liked the vibe of the few cutscenes I've gotten. But the basic shape of the story I'm seeing is "Ganon was just born evil, and other people can stop him because they were simply born powerful." I'm not surprised, Zelda games are formulaic to a fault, but I will be disappointed if nothing more interesting happens even by accident. I'm also getting the impression this game is more standalone than people were first theorizing. It practically overwrites Sheikah tech from the previous game as if it doesn't exist anymore, and references to BOTW's story can be summed up in a sentence or two. I actually enjoy this approach, I prefer when sequels take the chance to build on what was done before and do something different, but I can see how this might bother other fans. On the bright side, for those annoyed most of BOTW focused on snippets of a story that happened a century prior, Link's side of things seems most focused on the present.

Also, Zelda herself is still basically my daughter. Seeing her get excited about finding murals at the beginning is immediately endearing, and I want to find out what her half of the story is. I know it won't bring up the flaws that helped her feel like a person before, but I hope the writing treats my girl well.

TL;DR I love the world that's been created, but wouldn't be shocked if the main story is lacking in some much needed complexity.

I told myself I was gonna get through main story quests as quickly as possible when I play TOTK, and save exploring for a later date. 

But then the game told me I could find cool outfits in caves, so now that’s all I’ve done. I’m literally in Rito Village ignoring their plight because frostbite set pretty and I will scour every inch of mountain to find all of it.

[ghosttoasts]

LITERALLY!!!!

Y'all: Because we can't physically go up to an enemy and press A to stab Nintendo are obviously trying to suggest Zelda is too dainty and feminine for combat

Nintendo: Here is Zelda killing things with a rock. Here is Zelda killing things while riding a giant beyblade. Here is Zelda killing things by using twisted clones of their fallen brethren. We have invented many new ways to kill