I was incredibly excited when this game was revealed, although I was in the group that wondered why Zelda couldnt just wield a sword instead of having to give her a non combative trait instead. With that being said, the Echo system seemed interesting and I held out hope that it would be better than expected.

Now having finished the game, the Echo system is a really solid idea. But it got so unbelievably cumbersome in certain areas of the game that I would not be disappointed if this is the last time we see it as a mechanic. For puzzle solving it was wonderful, and a really refreshing way of changing how players look at Zelda puzzles. When it came to combat however, it was somewhat annoying. The Echo AI was a little dumb, and not only would they send themselves right into lines of fire, but they would constantly miss shots, or take so long to attack that the echo would get killed before it could even do any damage. In my opinion all it did was slow down the gameplay to a point where it all felt sluggish. Yes there was the sword fighter mode, but it being a limited power required you to use it sparingly

Beyond the gameplay, the world and characters all looked really good, reusing the Link’s Awakening remake art style, which I love. All of the characters were super well written, and although the story is no more complex than you’re average Zelda game, I did think there were some really good moments such as the Goron that’s living up to his dad’s shadow or reuniting the two Zora tribes to please Jabu Jabu

For trying something new, I think Nintendo succeeded. I would love to see more games focused around Zelda, although I think a Sheik game would be the better option in my opinion. I would absolutely recommend picking this game up to give it a try

My overall score is an 8/10