Alongside the likes of Super Mario and Pokemon, Nintendo loves thinking up Legend of Zelda adventures. Since its inception in 1986, the franchise has been all over the place and evolved immensely. Recently, with the release of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, it went through its biggest changes yet. At the same time, the Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake and Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom have also reminded players how much has come before.
Developed by Grezzo, the Zelda: Link’s Awakening remake and Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom harken back to the franchise’s past, as they have both reintroduced players to the top-down style the series was known for. Through a colorful and unique art style, the studio has been able to craft some thrilling adventures that many will not soon forget. However, although these titles may look extremely similar, the tales they have to tell could not be more different.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and Link’s Awakening Are Vastly Different
Zelda: Link’s Awakening Brings Back a Classic
Back in 1993, players were taken on a journey with the acclaimed Zelda: Link’s Awakening. Serving as the first title in the franchise to release on a handheld, this game took Link away from the confines of Hyrule to the beautiful island of Koholint. On this island, players had to fight their way through countless monsters and dungeons in hopes that they could escape.
In 2019, Nintendo surprised fans when it revealed that it would be revisiting that story through a fully-fledged remake developed by Grezzo. This remake would retain much of that original game, but with a whole new art style that gives the entire adventure a toy-like feel. Additionally, it introduced brand-new features like a customizable dungeon, Amiibo support, and a plethora of quality-of-life features. But at its core, it was still the same fantastic adventure players went on decades before.
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Brings the Franchise to New Heights
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom once again whisks players away on an exciting journey within this fantasy world, yet this time, it is unlike anything that has come before. Instead of following Link, this title puts players in the shoes of Princess Zelda, a first for the mainline series. Along with that, it introduces new features such as the power to create echoes of virtually everything within Hyrule, making the game feel truly special.
Grezzo headlined this title too, and because of that, it looks very similar to the Link’s Awakening remake. The games share similar control schemes and that toy-like art style, and the way they are structured also feels familiar. Some players may even notice that Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom‘s version of Link looks ripped straight from Link’s Awakening. However, unlike Link’s Awakening, Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is an entirely new adventure within the franchise, and as such, the art style and some elements of structure are really where the similarities between the two games end.
With the release of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Grezzo has now shown fans that it can both handle the classics and create its own new Zelda adventure. Because of that, there are likely other Legend of Zelda titles from the studio on the way, so it will be interesting to see just what that future entails. There are tons of classics that could do wonders with the toy-like art style, but after its successful innovations in EoW, maybe Grezzo wants to keep looking to the future. Whatever the case may be, fans of the series are surely in for something exciting.
