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[Robb]

Do you think they are making another open world Zelda? What's the next step?

For sure. BotW/TotK are just the beginning, this is the new formula for the Zelda franchise.

I’d imagine the next step is simply to keep experimenting with/evolving all of the systems and physics they’ve already come up with and create a more dense/alive world.

I’m just hoping they bring us some new visual style for variety’s sake, a new version of Link/Zelda, new story and new version of Hyrule to play around in. As well as more classic style dungeons.

 

[Banjo64]

Another day, another amazing Nintendo game.

 

[Banjo64]

For sure. BotW/TotK are just the beginning, this is the new formula for the Zelda franchise.

I’d imagine the next step is simply to keep experimenting with/evolving all of the systems and physics they’ve already come up with and create a more dense/alive world.

I’m just hoping they bring us some new visual style for variety’s sake, a new version of Link/Zelda, new story and new version of Hyrule to play around in. As well as more classic style dungeons.

I love the idea of TotK style gameplay in a crazy world other than Hyrule. Another ocean world where you captain your own ship, or some mad trip like Termina.

 

[HogIsland]

The art style looks bad to me. Reminds me of Quest 64.

 

[Blade2.0]

This should have been called "The Legend of Link" and that's the only reason I'm not buying it.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Excellent insights, now I know
How would a Zelda game be like if it would combine all those things (like open world, old dungeon structure... everything gamers want and still to fit in the modern-style game structure)

Semi-Open World though I think after BotW I dunno if they can go back. Something similar to Dragon's Dogma 1 with it's own Zelda style mind you. Dogma is actually very similar to 3D Zelda in a lot of ways. Bad thing happens. Get set on quest to solve bad thing. Many more mini adventures during the main quest to pace things out.

Though I think if you took away Weapon Durability and had traditional atmospheric dungeons with the gear and unique weapons instead of how they are handled in BotW/TotK they have potential.

The last 2 games rely on what I feel are MMO elements(lotta craft/gather/buy/sell) and the Zelda memories(find the special spot on the map) to tell a story which tends to be all over the place and you have to put the events in order. The show don't tell approach in the environment and short interactions that are prominent in top down Zeldas or OoT/MM/TP are how I feel a Zelda story should be told. Simple yet dynamic when all the pieces in the game world fall into place through careful observation.

I think if they took elements from all their other games you could have a rather grand adventure. Utilizing repeated tropes of gather these artifacts to be deemed worthy of the Sword of Evil's Bane or conquering dungeons that give you pieces of the Triforce. Or both. But done in a way with good pacing that isn't too short or isn't too long.

 

[Spukc]

Game should have been called The Legend of Link.

You play as zelda? That makes no fucking sense dude

 

[darth.shrimp]

IGN gave it a 9 out of 10.

Damn, so the game sucks then?

/s

 

[StereoVsn]

I'll probably grab it for the kids if it hist $40-45 this Black Friday.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Game should have been called The Legend of Link.

Nah the Legend of Groose. You know you want it.

 

[hemo memo]

I dunno about y'alls, but this is the single most important release of the year.

Ftfy

 

[Azelover]

Fanboys

The Famitsu guys? Or me?

 

[Barakov]

Sounds like a great game, but I'm worried that most of these reviews mention but gloss over the game's performance issues and hand wave them away.

I'm hearing it performs worse than Link's Awakening remake at points. It's hear say but worrying to say the least.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I'm hearing it performs worse than Link's Awakening remake at points. It's hear say but worrying to say the least.

Probably because the Overworld is 8 times as large as Link's Awakening.

 

[Azelover]

Probably because the Overworld is 8 times as large as Link's Awakening.

That and the fact you can do a lot more things at any given time.

 

[Hookshot]

Played it for an hour, taking my time getting the chests and echoes. it's fun so far but the echoes could have been separated into different categories, I've 10 or so and it's already becoming annoying flicking between what I need.

And the frames can get iffy by people and grass. I'll properly get stuck in later today.

 

[Bruno_Arrais85]

I'm hearing it performs worse than Link's Awakening remake at points. It's hear say but worrying to say the least.

Yes it's worse with more fluctuation between 30 and 60fps... but from my experience in portable mode it performs better than docked

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

You play as zelda? That makes no fucking sense dude

Sure it does. In TLoZ you always play as Link, so now it should be called TLoL just to keep with tradition.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

18. The Adventure of Link (78)

Should be a solid 90.

Way better than the first Zelda game.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Even Nintendo is woke, this and the Peach game.

So having a female lead means being woke now?

 

[MagiusNecros]

Sure it does. In TLoZ you always play as Link, so now it should be called TLoL just to keep with tradition.

Nah it is always The Legend of Zelda because the Legend is retold by the Royal family across Generations and all traces back to the Goddess Hylia. Hyrule and Hylians are all descended from Hylia when she chose Mortality.

Prior to Skyward Sword the name was chosen because it sounds better and in 90% of all Zelda games, Princess Zelda, usually plays a pivotal role whther as a deutergonist, damsel in distress or is important to seal evil away as a direct descendant from the bloodline of Hylia(per Skyward Sword origins).

 

[Danjin44]

Even Nintendo is woke, this and the Peach game.

I'm sorry this is just beyond stupid, so having female characters is "woke" now? Are you god damn kidding me!? Let us not be like Resetera just in opposite side.

 

[ShadyAcshuns]

Nah it is always The Legend of Zelda because the Legend is retold by the Royal family across Generations and all traces back to the Goddess Hylia. Hyrule and Hylians are all descended from Hylia when she chose Mortality.

Prior to Skyward Sword the name was chosen because it sounds better and in 90% of all Zelda games, Princess Zelda, usually plays a pivotal role whther as a deutergonist, damsel in distress or is important to seal evil away as a direct descendant from the bloodline of Hylia(per Skyward Sword origins).

... I wasn't being serious.

 

[nial]

Which I guess makes sense since it was made in cooperation with the same developer, and uses the same engine (and seems to be suffering from the same problems, still).

It's made BY the same developer, which is why I could see from the beginning that it wasn't going to be anything special.
As someone who just doesn't care about current Nintendo, Mario & Luigi: Brothership looked like their better release this year.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I'm sorry this is just beyond stupid, so having female characters is "woke" now? Are you god damn kidding me!? Let us not be like Resetera just in opposite side.

Personally I wouldn't even dignify this Germuso person with a response.

May as well call OG Tomb Raider, Bloodrayne, Stellar Blade, Senran Kagura, Gravity Rush woke games too. Hint. They aren't.

Lots of people aren't even using the word correctly. It's all about addressing prejudice and social injustice. Instead it is being used to promote prejudice and social injustice. Ironic. And very sad.

 

[Robb]

Mario & Luigi: Brothership looked like their better release this year.

I hope so, I’m really looking forward to that one!

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

the fun part is that once the honey moon phase of a Zelda game ends, reviewers actually score the game without the nostalgia glasses on, just look at the scores of the launch titles ( inflated scores ) and the remasters ( grounded scores )

Nothing to do with the honeymoon phase.
Remasters usually come out much later, when at least a full generation has passed since the original*. Anything new the original version brought to the table is common at that point, and the remaster must be judged in a different gaming landscape, against products that more than likely borrow a page or two from its book - and do it better. You could make the best Ocarina remaster imaginable - it’d still be a 1998 game in 2024. Bells and whistles can’t bring the clock backwards.

That said, Wind Waker’s 96 is ridiculous.
On the other hand, Echoes scoring less than 90 is going to hurt some narratives.


*Unless you’re Sony, of course, or you’re Nintendo and your previous system sold like shit.

 

[_Ex_]

That makes no fucking sense dude

Because in all the previous The Legend of Zelda games, you played as Zelda, right?

-

Also a reminder that this is technically not Zelda's first "she's the protagonist this time!" game. She's had two previous games as the protagonist:

Spoiler

Zelda's Adventure

Zelda's Adventure is a game that was developed by Viridis for Philips Media and released for the Philips CD-i.

www.zeldadungeon.net

Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon

Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon is a side scrolling action adventure game for the Philips CD-i, starring Zelda herself as the main character. It was developed by Animation Magic and released in 1993, on the same day as The Faces of Evil. A sequel to both games, Zelda's Adventure, was released in...

www.zeldadungeon.net

Nintendo didn't make those, but they were developed and published with Nintendo's legal blessing.

 

[Ainem Enamas]

Probably because the Overworld is 8 times as large as Link's Awakening.

This game is so great that it doesn't matter, at least for me

 

[Spukc]

Because in all the previous The Legend of Zelda games, you played as Zelda, right?

-

Also a reminder that this is technically not Zelda's first "she's the protagonist this time!" game. She's had two previous games as the protagonist:

Spoiler

Zelda's Adventure

Zelda's Adventure is a game that was developed by Viridis for Philips Media and released for the Philips CD-i.

www.zeldadungeon.net

Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon

Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon is a side scrolling action adventure game for the Philips CD-i, starring Zelda herself as the main character. It was developed by Animation Magic and released in 1993, on the same day as The Faces of Evil. A sequel to both games, Zelda's Adventure, was released in...

www.zeldadungeon.net

Nintendo didn't make those, but they were developed and published with Nintendo's legal blessing.

Eww CDI was fucking woke

 

[jm89]

I'm reading some of the user reviews and i think i'm going to have an aneurysm reading this shit.

 

[Holammer]

This should have been called "The Legend of Link" and that's the only reason I'm not buying it.

It would even make sense considering the in-game narrative.

 

[Dafegamer]

I'm sorry this is just beyond stupid, so having female characters is "woke" now? Are you god damn kidding me!? Let us not be like Resetera just in opposite side.

Yeah, playing as a Woman is far from "Woke". I have no problem playing as Lara Croft, Samus Aran and Joanna Dark etc.

 

[BlackTron]

For sure. BotW/TotK are just the beginning, this is the new formula for the Zelda franchise.

I’d imagine the next step is simply to keep experimenting with/evolving all of the systems and physics they’ve already come up with and create a more dense/alive world.

I’m just hoping they bring us some new visual style for variety’s sake, a new version of Link/Zelda, new story and new version of Hyrule to play around in. As well as more classic style dungeons.

TBH if the next one is still obsessed with making shit and the physics of how it flops around then I'm out.

 

[Robb]

TBH if the next one is still obsessed with making shit and the physics of how it flops around then I'm out.

I guess we’ll see, but Nintendo isn’t really one to re-use ideas like that. You weren’t building stuff in BotW and you’re not building stuff in Echoes of Wisdom.

I’m sure physics and free-form puzzle solving etc. will still be at the hearth of the next one, but I imagine they’ll do some other wacky stuff with it. They’ve done very little with water/fluids, so I could see some cool water physics/powers maybe? Who knows.

 

[BlackTron]

I guess we’ll see, but Nintendo isn’t really one to re-use ideas like that. You weren’t building stuff in BotW and you’re not building stuff in Echoes of Wisdom.

I’m sure physics and free-form puzzle solving etc. will still be at the hearth of the next one, but I imagine they’ll do some other wacky stuff with it. They’ve done very little with water/fluids, so I could see some cool water physics/powers maybe? Who knows.

I don't have a problem with physics or this brand of puzzle-solving, I just want Zelda to be a different game than Lego Digital Designer.

 

[Robb]

I don't have a problem with physics or this brand of puzzle-solving, I just want Zelda to be a different game than Lego Digital Designer.

Then I think you’ll be fine.

 

[od-chan]

oh god this plays like such a mess.

The game is absolutely stunning and I love that we got a new 2D Zelda, and that we finally got to actually play as her. The concept may sound nice in theory, but so far it's just excessive. I'm not even in the first dungeon and I already have EIGHTEEN THINGS I can summon. Also the stacking of things (beds, tables) to get to higher places feels imprecise. Combat, as sadly expected, feels also really lacking because of this. All in all these systems just don't really click.

I'll keep playing for a while, I really want to like this.

 

[Hookshot]

You can change your d-pad list to show the last echoes you used and hit pause if you have to find something from much further down the list. It’s not great but it’s quite quick once you know where what you’re looking for is.

Stacking is stacking? It’s a grid system, not sure what the issue could be there. Alternatively just use the spiders. The one that crawls can be latched onto with x and followed with r.

Combat is often quicker if you just keep respawning the echo instead of letting it stay out, which seems dumb but it’s not like mashing a button isn’t exactly how the sword works.

 

[od-chan]

which seems dumb but it’s not like mashing a button isn’t exactly how the sword works.

I see what you're saying, but I don't agree. I keep finding myself waiting for my Caromadillos to roll, bats to attack and so on. It's a lot of waiting, really. Also summoning doesn't work if your enemy is too close, your sword always works.

I played up until the "Water Temple" now. The overworld is gorgeous. It's so much fun to stroll around there, do quests, dive. Well it's fun until you need to use the summoning.

Summoning, so far, can be broken down into two things: Either you're stacking stuff, or you need to use the specific solution to a specific problem (spider to go up, ignishit to make fire). Which, then in returns, feels more like basically using items again, but with more annoying steps added in between.

It certainly doesn't look like a bad game to me. It's just the age old Nintendo problem. Having gimmicks just for the sake of it and suffering for it. I'm not saying the summoning system is bad per se, this implementation is just not very well thought out. Honestly it's just inconvenient, it's bothersome. You don't really develop a rythm because you're constantly swapping summons or shit.

I'll definitely finish it one day, but I'll get a used copy or something. Honestly I'm kinda disappointed, since the game simply could've been so much better if Nintendo weren't so hellbent on their stupid gimmicks which they deem sooo cReAtIVe

 

[Hookshot]

I see what you're saying, but I don't agree. I keep finding myself waiting for my Caromadillos to roll, bats to attack and so on. It's a lot of waiting, really.

Then use quicker attacking enemies and as I said once it’s attacked spawn another in, so it’s attack attack attack with each button press . Not attack, watch it roll away because it hit a wall and waste your life. Or just use links abilities, if you explore you can find ways to upgrade that so it last longer.

Alternatively give up on it, I’m sure there are games much better suited for your skills or dispositions, if this seems to be too cumbersome for you.

 

[Danjin44]

It certainly doesn't look like a bad game to me. It's just the age old Nintendo problem. Having gimmicks just for the sake of it and suffering for it. I'm not saying the summoning system is bad per se, this implementation is just not very well thought out. Honestly it's just inconvenient, it's bothersome. You don't really develop a rythm because you're constantly swapping summons or shit.

Honestly disagree, some echos immediately attack after they are summoned and I sometimes recall them back and re-summon to attack again, it’s honestly no different than using swords.

At the beginning summon echos it felt wired but now honestly it’s second nature, heck I’m using echos more using Link powers.

 

[Andyliini]

Honestly disagree, some echos immediately attack after they ate summoned and I sometimes I recall them back and re-summon to attack again, it’s honestly no different than using swords.

At the beginning summon echos it felt wired but now honestly it’s second nature, heck I’m using echos more using Link powers.

I agree with this. Once I learned to combine different elements (echoes with Swordfighter form), the combat can get very creative on how you approach enemies. I only just learned that if you target the enemy while summoning an echo, it will attack that enemy right away. Some echoes are naturally more useful than other, like the water block which can be used to reach pretty much every place.

I just earned enough triangles to summon a Sword Moblin Level 3, and my god that thing deals death. Even Darknuts are powerless against it.

 

[Danjin44]

I agree with this. Once I learned to combine different elements (echoes with Swordfighter form), the combat can get very creative on how you approach enemies. I only just learned that if you target the enemy while summoning an echo, it will attack that enemy right away. Some echoes are naturally more useful than other, like the water block which can be used to reach pretty much every place.

I just earned enough triangles to summon a Sword Moblin Level 3, and my god that thing deals death. Even Darknuts are powerless against it.

Honestly speaking, I'm having more fun fighting in this game than I did other Zelda games and I have more reason to fight when I see new enemy, its pretty fun addictive gameplay loop.

 

[Robb]

I just earned enough triangles to summon a Sword Moblin Level 3, and my god that thing deals death. Even Darknuts are powerless against it.

That thing is a machine. The fact that it has a shield makes it really OP.

Literally every enemy when I spawn it:

 

[od-chan]

I only just learned that if you target the enemy while summoning an echo

Also another very idiotic thing about these systems: Targeting isn't exclusive to enemies. So what happens is that in combat you target something like a pot or a sign instead of your enemy. Great fun. As I said, it's not well implemented.

Then use quicker attacking enemies

Honestly disagree, some echos immediately attack after they are summoned and I sometimes recall them back and re-summon to attack again, it’s honestly no different than using swords.

I'm really not sure what you guys are using that is supposedly so quick. By the time I stopped playing I had like 25+ summons. The fastest, by far, were there Caromadillos, these snake like things and the bats. What's also pretty fast is to spam these spike balls, but then you run into the issue that I described earlier: If an enemy is too close, your summon doesn't work. So melee-summoning isn't great fun either. All of this is much, MUCH slower and inconvenient than, for example, Link's Awakening or ALttP. You know, the kinda gameplay we grew to love from 2D Zelda.

I mean it's great if you enjoy these systems. Honestly I wish I could too. But it's disingenuous to act like the things I mentioned aren't a big deal. It's great if some could adapt to it and that they found enjoyment in a formula that is so vastly different from classic 2D Zelda's: Both in terms of structure as well as in combat. Again, I love how it's structured, the world is great.

It's not so much that it's not "suited for my skills or depositions", lol. It's that the key gameplay loop (the combat) was abandoned for a badly implemented shoehorned in gimmick.

 

[Robb]

It's not so much that it's not "suited for my skills or depositions", lol. It's that the key gameplay loop (the combat) was abandoned for a badly implemented shoehorned in gimmick.

I personally agree that it feels.. Undercooked, if you will. Leaves a lot to be desired. Both in how it’s implemented in the UI with the menus, but also from a gameplay standpoint. It is strange to me that you can’t tell the AI to attack something specific, what direction to go, or not aggro other enemies etc. for example. You have so little control.

There’s no point for me to ‘reverse bind’ an enemy that will just move in some random pattern… I feel a lot of utility is lost just because of that.

I also haven’t really encountered many puzzles where you get that ‘wow’ moment of doing something your own way and then realizing the intended solution after the fact. I would’ve liked more complexity given all of these tools, I can’t even recall the amount of echoes I have right now but the majority is never used.

I also agree combat is not as good as in past games. Which I guess is corroborated by the fact that they felt the need to still include Links abilities.

Anyway, all my nagging aside I appreciate them trying something new and not just making a game where Link is wearing a Zelda outfit.

 

[TikiLagoonSam]

Just beat Echoes Of Wisdom. And then restarted it. Zelda is my favorite franchise. Endgame was strong. Happy to see unique bosses and dungeons back. World is more beautiful than the Links Awakening remake (wasn’t a huge fan of the visuals). There were times I missed being Link and just swinging a sword so I went back and played Links Awakening. I missed conjuring stuff as Zelda! So I was going with a 7.8 before finishing the game and restarting it. Now, Im going with an 8.7. Its one of those games where you get really good at it and it makes it more fun when you restart it. Lost to do and explore that I hadn’t first go around.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Damn I really want to play Link to the Past now

It's been years

I can see a remake coming to the Nintendo Switch or it's successor at some point. I think they know this is a classic that most people love so it seems like an eventuality.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Even Nintendo is woke, this and the Peach game.

Oh boy I hope you're kidding. You don't think it's woke because you play the woman in this, do you? I don't know sarcasm is hard to tell online.