The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is getting its own Hyrule Warriors spin-off with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. In it, players are thrown into the Imprisoning War at its height, and they must cut down enemy forces with the same exaggerated flair that the Dynasty Warriors series has always been known for. Whether players are interested in the game's action or its story, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is giving The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom fans a lot to look forward to.
While there are many reasons to be excited about Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, there's one more Switch title that could use some representation in Hyrule Warriors. After all, the spin-off series has not shown much love to the 2D Zelda games when compared to the 3D ones, and there is one contender that could make for a hilarious and chaotic Hyrule Warriors entry: Echoes of Wisdom.
Who Is Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom’s Null?
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom introduces Null as its primary antagonist, who also happens to be an overarching villain for the Legend of Zelda series.
Hyrule Warriors Should Consider Borrowing From Echoes of Wisdom
Almost a year ago, fans were surprised when a new game with the Link's Awakening remake's art style was announced during a Nintendo Direct. The even bigger surprise came when it was made clear that it was up to Princess Zelda to save the kingdom this time. Teaming up with a fairy named Tri, the princess uses a powerful artifact, the Tri Rod, to summon echoes of objects and enemies to face her foes. This ability, just from description alone, would be hilariously fun in a game like Hyrule Warriors.
How Echoes Could Be Used in Hyrule Warriors
Starting a combo by throwing an echo of a pot from Hyrule castle, keeping it going with a spiked roller echo, and finishing it by dropping a bed echo onto the large crowd surrounding the princess sounds like a delightful and chaotic experience. There could be specific echoes attached to Zelda's regular, strong, or special attack, and the object could change every time the attacks are used. Considering that Hyrule Warriors: Age of Impisonment has to make the returning characters stand out to keep gameplay fresh, a moveset based on Echoes of Wisdom's echoes would be perfect to get players to expect the unexpected.
Of course, there are a few difficulties with the idea of a Hyrule Warriors: Echoes of Wisdom game. It could be weird for some players to see Echoes of Wisdom's Zelda translated into Hyrule Warriors' art style, while the game's original aesthetic might clash with Dynasty Warriors' usual action-packed sequences if it was kept. It's also unlikely a Hyrule Warriors spin-off of Echoes of Wisdom would keep the top-down perspective, but there may be room for some experimentation in future titles. Another option could be that Echoes of Wisdom's Zelda could be added to Age of Imprisonment as a fun DLC bonus, which could make the act of using echoes even more hilarious and ridiculous. However, that might go against the game's themes too harshly.
No matter how it's implemented, being able to throw furniture and monsters at swaths of enemies just sounds too fun to pass up on. The Zelda series is known for embracing creativity as one of the core aspects of its gameplay, and bringing echoes to Hyrule Warriors is a perfect way to continue that approach. Whether Echoes of Wisdom is given its own spin-off or its mechanics find their way into another Hyrule Warriors game, Age of Imprisonment needs to have time to shine first. At the end of the day, there are plenty more Zelda games that could be used in the hack-and-slash spin-off, and Echoes of Wisdom is a surprising choice that has more benefits than some might expect.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 95 /100 Critics Rec: 97%
- Released
- May 12, 2023
- ESRB
- Rated E for Everyone 10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Havok
- Cross-Platform Play
- N/A
- Cross Save
- N/A
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Action, Open-World
