In Echoes of Wisdom, Zelda Has Plenty to Teach Us With Her Unusual Problem-Solving Styles

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In the Legend of Zelda series, it's the swordsman Link who always finds himself on a quest to save Princess Zelda. But for the latest installment of the franchise, Echoes of Wisdom, it's Zelda who must roll up her royal sleeves to fight monsters and unlock dungeon puzzles to save her knight -- and the kingdom. 

I got a chance to play a small portion of the game, which comes out Sept. 26, to get a taste of the mechanics and style. To take on the tough bosses, game designers bestow Princess Zelda with a magic rod, giving players numerous options for confronting problems and puzzles. The cutesy visuals of the game are simplistic. It's a graphical style similar to the 2019 remake of Link's Awakening. 

Watch this: I Played the New Zelda Game, Echoes of Wisdom (Hands-On Preview)

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But don't take the simple art and 2D-levels to mean the gameplay is antiquated. This heroine's quest is an amusing brain exercise in how to use your new abilities. It brings back elements of classic Zelda games that fans will appreciate, but you may find yourself solving problems in new and often ridiculous ways.

For example, I went a little overboard using beds to solve many of my early challenges. But someone else might lean into pottery. Or summon flying bat creatures for attacks, or instead use spiky sea urchins as a shield.

Zelda gets magical assistance on her quest from a creature called Tri and a staff called the Tri Rod. It lets Zelda make copies of all sorts of in-game objects (rocks, beds, decorative pottery) and copies of monsters (used to fight other monsters, naturally). The Tri Rod also can be a tether, which moves objects or it can act like a grappling hook. And this being a Zelda game, she, of course, gets a sword -- but her sword-fighting skills are used in limited-time bursts.  

It's delightful, it's addicting and even a bit therapeutic. In my brief time, I realized Zelda's style of fighting and problem-solving may offer us all some new wisdom to apply to our own lives.

Men are simple to fool

I was a little stressed starting my quest without fighting skills or weapons, but as I made my way around the castle and collected objects to copy -- known as echoes -- I realized most problems don't need to be solved by swinging a sword. 

In one part, you need to avoid detection from male guards, and they are pretty simple to get around. The game encourages you to break some pottery to cause a distraction. But I found another way out of the jam -- I hid inside a large ceramic pot and carefully hopped around the guard. Lucky for me, he didn't notice a giant decorative pot was moving around. Doesn't take much to fool some foes!

Don't let friends fade away

The big, scary problem of the game is that a mysterious purple void is consuming the kingdom of Hyrule. Objects and people that fall into this void wind up in a spooky dimension called the Still World, where Zelda finds people frozen in time, just floating in space. We're told they may eventually fade from existence. We know Link also fell into this void.

Zelda's powers with Tri are keeping her safe to explore the Still World, but it's not known how many people will be counting on her as this void swallows up more people. Zelda must push forward in this uncomfortable situation to prevent the people she cares for from fading away. Part of that is done by solving puzzles in classic-style dungeons to go after Link and find out what's causing the void to grow. 

Make self-care a priority

Among the many items you can duplicate, and the most helpful for me at the start, is an old bed. I was using beds as boats and bridges and staircases and quickly learned that you can sleep on any of these beds at any time. Even if monsters are around the corner, you can just conjure up a bed and take a nap. In fact, it's important to do that in tough zones. Sleeping replenishes your health. 

Zelda is out here reminding us that no matter how tough things get, the crisis can wait -- you need to make time for rest and self-care, especially before facing a giant rock monster.

A good leader knows when to delegate

It is a lot of fun to play as Zelda while slicing baddies with a sword, but her sword-fighting abilities come with a limited energy meter. So sometimes the smartest move is to save your strength and generate monsters to do the fighting for you. 

Once you defeat a monster, you can use the Tri Rod to learn an "echo" of it to make a copy of it later. There is some strategy in how you decide to unleash monsters. Zelda is limited in how much she can create, and the type of monster determines how many can be generated at once. For example, you might summon a fleet of small bat creatures called Keese or choose a single ax-wielding armored warrior called a Darknut. 

Either way, it's a handy way to make sure you get the job done without getting your hands dirty. It's OK to save your health and ask for help from those who are the experts in the (battle)field. 

Make time to savor life's treasures

I'm used to playing Link in the open-world Zelda games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, where treasure chests open to reveal cool weapons. But all I unlocked for the princess in this early demo was a few keys, some radiant butter and electro apples. Busting open wooden boxes gave me floral nectar, not fire arrows. Food is a big treasure at the start.

Nintendo has said she will be using these items to make smoothies. I can appreciate the efficiency of a smoothie -- of staying hydrated and nourished on-the-go. But there are many more elements and treasures I have yet to discover in the gameplay.

Do I want to keep playing? Absolutely. The cute cartoon-style design mixed with open puzzle-solving possibilities has me hooked. I found nothing in the first section of the game too hard to become discouraging. But it's also very rewarding to find a creative solution to a tricky problem -- especially when it makes you laugh with unexpected furniture and creature combos. 

I am a fan of 2023's Tears of the Kingdom, which also invokes the spirit of solving problems in various ways. Even though this game is not an open world, Tears fans may also like the absurdity of Echoes and using all sorts of objects in odd ways to win.

The Legend of Zelda is an 38-year-old franchise with about 20 different titles. But Nintendo found yet another way for it to feel fresh -- and yet different for everyone who plays it.