ICYMI: Yes, Dungeons Return In The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom
Nintendo reconfirms
by Liam Doolan · Nintendo LifeIn case you missed it, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will see the return of proper dungeons.
Nintendo this week shared a feature on its official website discussing "everything you should know" about this upcoming release and one of the last questions officially acknowledges dungeons in the new game:
Nintendo: "Hold on, there are dungeons in this game?! Yep."
Nintendo elaborates on the dungeons, revealing how players will be required to "explore different rooms, defeat enemies, solve puzzles, find keys, unlock doors, and take on bosses!". So it's definitely sounding like it's got traditional dungeons!
In our Nintendo Life 'hands on', we also spoke about the return of the familiar dungeon system in this new entry:
Later on in our play session we entered the Still World, wherein loads of people and trees, and probably financial stability, are kept in stasis, and we wandered into a dungeon. Not a Divine Beast, not an open-ended romp around floating wet platforms in the sky - a linear dungeon just like Mama used to make.
Despite our apparent flippancy, we’re huge fans of the open-ended gameplay offered in the likes of Tears of the Kingdom; it allows for some incredibly creative and leftfield gameplay and solutions to problems, but we can’t deny that it really was refreshing to come back to the old faithful designs of the past.
That’s not to say you won’t be using fun and creative ways to get through the dungeon though, no sir! Echoes are the bread and butter of the whole experience (with one exception), and every puzzle has multiple different Echoes that can help you overcome them.
So, there you go - there's a more traditional dungeon focus but it still blends in with the new mechanics like Echoes.
Related Articles
Hands On Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Brings Tantalising Creativity To The 2D Template
Echo, Echo, Echo, what's going on here?
Are you excited about the return of dungeons in Echoes of Wisdom? Let us know in the comments.
[source nintendo.com]
Related Games
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Switch)
See Also
• 50 Best Nintendo Switch Games To Play Right Now (2024)
About Liam Doolan
Liam is a news writer and reviewer for Nintendo Life and Pure Xbox. He's been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of Mario and Master Chief. He's also got a soft spot for Sonic the Hedgehog.
Comments 85
- 1
- VoidofLight
- Sun, 5:21am
So glad that traditional dungeons seem to be back in some form or fashion.
- 2
- AtlanteanMan
- Sun, 5:24am
Fully realized dungeons > shrines in Zelda.
Cool. Mildly disappointed that Ganon is here again. I'm a little tired of fighting that guy. I hope the real bad guy is someone else. But overall super stoked for this game!
- 4
- VoidofLight
- Sun, 5:31am
@wollywoo I feel like the villain probably is going to be something different from Ganon, given how the whole rift thing doesn't seem to be his doing- despite it stemming from his trident.
Really need a break from this “choose your own adventure” style of video game creation on the Zelda series. Having a little deviation is cool but this whole use anything anyway you want to solve it how you want in your own way is just tiring for me.
This game appears to be a compromise of both but I wish it was just traditional imo. Will still play it but I’m fairly disappointed from what I’ve seen so far.
Didn't they say this for tears of the kingdom? I don't think this should be a thing to advertise; it should be more of a thing that should be expected. Like they know we want traditional dungeons.
- 7
- Truegamer79
- Sun, 5:55am
There better be at least 8 of them. Botw and TOTK each have only 4 propper ones unless i missed something. Heck even Majoras mask only had 4 and that was way before all this Hylians Creed nonsense. What's up with Zelda games lately skimping on the Dungeons? Nintendo running out of ideas for them or something?
@VoidofLight I hope you're right! Although not that big a deal either way.
- 9
- VoidofLight
- Sun, 6:41am
@Truegamer79 The reason why BotW and TotK don't have 8 is because they have smaller puzzles scattered around the world that are supposed to supplement the lack of full on dungeons. It doesn't really work in my opinion, but it's the reason.
As for Majora, the four that game has is only due to how Majora's Mask was made in a very short time-span from reusing a ton of assets. They only had enough time for four dungeons in that game.
- 10
- Coffee-Waffle
- Sun, 6:57am
I’d rather have Link + Dungeons back and none of this Minecraft nonsense.
Please let this just be a phase.
- 11
- SpaceboyScreams
- Sun, 6:59am
Still shocked we ever got to the point where we'd even need an article like this in the first place. Whose bright idea was it to ditch conventional temples in the first place? Did they think BotW and TotK would be TOO good with them included?
- 12
- RygelXVIII
- Sun, 7:08am
@Truegamer79 They made Zelda games centered around classic dungeons for decades. They’re probably as tired of creating them as most of us are of playing them.
I don’t want Zelda to regress to old templates. I’ve played enough of those, and sales numbers seem to indicate that’s the predominant feeling among players too.
- 13
- VoidofLight
- Sun, 7:16am
@RygelXVIII I personally don't want them to regress, but I don't want the temples in their current state either. I feel like the best approach would be a middleground where it mixes the non-linearity of the terminals with more classic elements. Clever puzzles that are actually designed around concepts (like with the Lightning Temple in Tears of the Kingdom), mixed with elements like having bosses that actually guard the terminals or replacements for the terminals.
- 14
- RygelXVIII
- Sun, 7:34am
@VoidofLight I am sure they will iterate on the concept, yeah. I’m personally really happy with their iterations on alternatives so far in BotW and TotK both. I was so tired of the old structure by the time of Twilight Princess that I skipped that and Skyward Sword, and when I’ve gone back to try them recently, my gut feeling was correct — I am completely over their designs, and they’re not even as traditional as what some seem to ask for.
Zelda games were always about adventures for me, and dungeons often felt like obnoxious roadblocks at the worst of times. I love it when the world itself is full of challenge and lateral puzzles to solve.
- 15
- VoidofLight
- Sun, 7:38am
@RygelXVIII Ehh I personally loved the dungeons the most when I played Zelda titles. The intricate details and little bits of world-building with each and every dungeon. The puzzles tailor made specifically for them, along with the bosses that you could fight through the entirety of the structure.
BotW's dungeons made me feel wanting in a sense, given how much they lacked. The bosses were all the same, and the puzzles basically were a case of "If you did one of these dungeons, you did them all."
Tears of the Kingdom is an improvement, with actual unique themes for each dungeon. The bosses were also pretty unique. I just felt like what fell flat with Tears of the Kingdom was the way that the puzzles were handled in the dungeons themselves- along with the general vibe of the dungeons. The only one I genuinely loved was the Lightning Temple- since it actually managed to fuse the old structure that people loved with the new structure that BotW and TotK had. The build-up for TotK's dungeons were well done though.
- 16
- CazSonOfCaz
- Sun, 7:40am
Removed - inappropriate
- 17
- LikelySatan
- Sun, 7:41am
@tblalande Eh, "choose your own adventure" style would be more traditional, where puzzles have a single or few solutions.
- 18
- LikelySatan
- Sun, 7:45am
@Truegamer79 Seems a very, VERY vocal minority would be all too happy if every dungeon in every Zelda game was forest, fire, ice, wind, water, blah blah blah
- 19
- VoidofLight
- Sun, 7:53am
@LikelySatan Personally I don't want the exact same dungeons every game. I just want something with actual well designed puzzles and thought out background lore. Something which looks like it actually existed for some sort of practical purpose. Twilight Princess did dungeons well in that regard.
I also just want mini-bosses in dungeons back.
They didn't mention items. For me the whole principle of a dungeon needs that one special item you must find in the dungeon to be able to clear it. So ... there are dungeons ... ok .. but not the ones I'd imagine.
Anyways, there seems to be enough things to do in this game already.
- 21
- DripDropCop146
- Sun, 8:01am
@Yalloo Oh wow, thinking of that reminds me something I didn't like about Twilight Princess. Many items were so dungeon specific, it was just extra baggage once the dungeon was over.
- 22
- SpaceboyScreams
- Sun, 8:07am
Removed - inappropriate
- 23
- GooseLoose1
- Sun, 8:16am
@SpaceboyScreams What a petty defensive response. Hate to break to ya, but BOTW is the highest selling game in the entire franchise.
The fanbase never left and is still present. It's just a tiny subset of the fanbase that thinks they speak for everyone when voicing their displeasure.
- 24
- Joeynator3000
- Sun, 8:36am
I'm just glad traditional dungeons are staying...I don't care if BotW or TotK were the best selling games ever and are considered the best Zelda games in existence...I found them to be.....VERY....boring. They had their moments, but compared to past games, I considered them my least favorite games. Took me forever to actually beat BotW because I just kept going to other games because, you know, I just kept losing interest. Despite TotK fixing some problems I had, it was still basically BotW...didn't even bother beating that one. Would rather just play an older Zelda game. Wished they would bring Wind Waker and Twilight Princess to Switch. :c
@DripDropCop146 I think you're slightly exaggerating, even the spinner was necessary to find some chest/hearts in the overworld!
I think items is the only thing that has been missing from the Zelda games since BotW.
And Twilight Princess used to be my favourite Zelda game. Before that was A Link to the Past. And now it certainly is Tears of the Kingdom.
- 26
- VoidofLight
- Sun, 8:44am
@SpaceboyScreams As someone on the spectrum I would advise that you probably shouldn’t use that as an insult towards someone. Doesn’t do any favors in getting your point across- and it only makes it worse for people who actually have autism.
@SpaceboyScreams That kind of insinuation about someone else's neurodivergence just because you disagree with them about Zelda dungeons is completely out of line. Please stop it.
- 28
- VoidofLight
- Sun, 8:50am
@Joeynator3000 For me, I personally don’t mind more open puzzles or dungeons. My issue was just that BotW lacked proper themes for the dungeons and Tears of the Kingdom had really weak puzzles and a lack of mini-bosses that made the dungeons stand out. If the next game takes a similar approach but improves on the puzzles and adds mini-bosses, I’d be happy.
- 29
- GravyThief
- Sun, 9:47am
Good. It’s not a Zelda game without ‘proper’ dungeons
- 30
- LEGEND_MARIOID
- Sun, 9:49am
I love both or all styles of Zelda. I am fed well.
Zelda DID need something different at the time when BOTW was released, but I'm also glad we have co-existing, "new" Zelda games in modern times that have dungeons . Awakening DX and now this.
But I'll also always love a well made open world game. Having Zelda open world was like stuff dreams were made of at the time of BOTW's release.
umm...yeah. We knew about this months ago shrug
@Truegamer79 we weren’t really starved of Dungeons when you look at it less broadly 😉
BOTW has 6 main dungeons - The 4 Devine Beasts, Hyrule Castle, and the Final Trial (from the DLC). You then have mini dungeons such as the Yiga Clan Hideout, The Master Sword Trials, and of course the 136 Shrines (a few of which are quite lengthy in the DLC).
TOTK has 7 main dungeons - Wind Temple, Water Temple, Fire Temple , Lightning Temple, Spirit Temple (Construct Factory), Hyrule Castle, and the Under Castle approach to Ganondorf. Mini Dungeons include the 156 Zonai shrines which vary in length, the approaches towards the temples, and the Mazes which take on a more substantial approach than in BOTW.
FINALLY Nintendo is admitting something was wrong with its latest iterations.
Big win for long time Zelda fans
- 34
- LikelySatan
- Sun, 10:50am
@VoidofLight Looks like it was created for practical purposes? I mean...sure. If we are just saying "looks like." Cause otherwise, yeah, you gotta suspend disbelief a lot in the Zelda games. All of them. But anyway, all of us are fans. I'd be really happy with a new traditional Zelda.
- 35
- JohnnyMind
- Sun, 10:50am
We already knew about it thanks to the various trailers but still, love to hear it again because as much as I enjoyed the Shrines and dungeons in BotW/TotK in their own way I absolutely love the more traditional dungeons, so looking forward to them and the rest of Echoes of Wisdom!
That said, while a mix of both past and present is more than welcome it just makes sense (and I couldn't be happier as creators should listen to constructive criticism, but not at the cost of not making the game or whatever else they want to make) for the Zelda team to experiment more with the latter when we got games exclusively following the former template for decades even letting the critical and commercial success of BotW/TotK aside...
- 36
- LikelySatan
- Sun, 10:52am
Removed - flaming/arguing
@SpaceboyScreams I agree with what you said, however it was tasteless. So, between my inflammatory hate for modern Zelda and insensitive comments…. you take the lowest spot. I can agree with your opinion but naah, you’re the lowest of the lowest.
There’s no place for insults like that. Grow up.
Hope you’ll never have to learn the sorrow of living with what you think it’s an insult.
I can disagree with many about Zelda, but we all agree with this. You need to be taught something. Reported.
I think Twilight Princess and Link Between Worlds perfected the "traditional" 3D and 2D dungeon formulas. Then they moved on to new gameplay styles.
With TOTK, they did try to accommodate more regular dungeons.The entire questline leading up to the Wind Temple, as well as the temple itself was just masterful. No, the temples are not exactly like traditional dungeons, but you can feel they tried to give them more structure, at the same time having them fit in the free-form open-world gameplay. I'm hoping Echoes will do the same.
Also bear in mind that designing and developing a traditional dungeon takes a long chunk of development time. It's not some checklist item. They cut 2 dungeons from Wind Waker to make the release on time. Quality over quantity.
@Qwiff naah, they had 6 years to develop true dungeons. And they did pretty well with a 1 year limit with Majoras Mask. Instead of wasting time with their Minecrafty gameplay, they should have focused on the real Zelda things. There’s no excuse to lie about having “true” dungeons with TotK. They are the worst of the worst, only surpassed by BOTW. Don’t know how they went from bad to worse.
@GooseLoose1 nah… you’re no different belittling what other people think about their favorite IP. Saying it’s a “little” fanbase doesn’t do you any favors, there’s a reason why Nintendo is course correcting.
Of course dungeons are back in 2D Zelda. Seems a little silly Nintendo has to go out there and reconfirm it. It's a future 3D Zelda that needs to make sure people know it has them.
- 42
- GooseLoose1
- Sun, 11:35am
@Yoshi3 Nintendo isn't course correcting anything. It's a spinoff game with a different gameplay style more akin to traditional Zelda. It has no bearing on whatever the next big title will be.
Secondly, I never said it's a little fanbase. I said it's a small part of the fanbase who think they speak for everyone whenever they rant about things they hate while also being antagonistic towards anyone who disagrees.
I guess really it depends what people want out of a “Dungeon” these days.
Personally, both open and linear styles appeal to me if they are crafted well.
I was pretty happy when TOTK expanded and improved on BOTW’s approach. Everything was a designed with more cohesion and much less generic in feel. The lead up to the Dungeons were really exciting events and the Temple’s themselves felt far more themed in nature and had systems that challenged the user in a variety of ways for each of the “locks”, this made them far more satisfying beyond reaching a button like in the Devine beasts.
If NLife’s and other previews are anything to go by - Echoes will have more traditional Dungeon layouts with multilayered puzzle solving approaches, which sounds like a really fun compromise.
- 44
- Bratwurst35
- Sun, 12:15pm
@Sonicka Im just waiting for a sci-fi Zelda game set in the far future. Hyrule is now a city, and Zelda is the daughter of it's president.
Ganondorf takes the form of an evil politician who seeks to be a dictator.
Link is a scrappy kid who tinkers with parts and creates his own gadgets which aids him throughout dungeons.
All three characters become linked when Ganondorf behind the scenes destroys Link's hometown and uses it as scapegoat on why Hyrule needs new leadership.
Link sets out on motorbike on goes on quest to uncover who the real villain is and avenge his friends.
I know none of this fan fiction will happen, but I always wondered what a futuristic take on Zelda would be like.
If you want traditional dungeons play other games that do those. There's a ton of indie games that have just as much heart and soul put into them as any Zelda game that follow that traditional Zelda style, please try those out so the developers can get rewarded for their hard effort.
I'd love if Final Fantasy games remained turn-based, but hey, I'm in the minority and that's fine, things change and evolve, the series is doing fine without me and I can still enjoy the games for what they are than what I want them to be. There's many other games inspired by Final Fantasy I can play instead for that same experience, so I do!
Instead of whining to the ether of Nintendo ruining a series that's still doing well, accept they've gone a different direction and seek out other games that follow that old style. There's a lot of action-adventure games out there that aren't published by Nintendo, you should try them out!
- 46
- RubyCarbuncle
- Sun, 1:11pm
I'm ok with this but I still enjoyed BOTH and TOTK though so even if this game played in a similar manner to those I would still be ok with it either way.
So is Nintendo trying to let classic Zelda and modern Zelda coexist with each other? I absolutely love how they’re evolving Zelda’s gameplay in BOTW and TOTK, but I do miss the classic games’ more linear, structured stories and dungeons.
They may be called temples in TOTK, but they’re just Divine Beasts all over again, but at least each dungeon had a unique look to them.
- 48
- batmanbud2
- Sun, 1:20pm
*looks in comment section
*Zelda fans agreeing to not agree
*Checks out
Just like Star Wars fans.
- 49
- DripDropCop146
- Sun, 1:26pm
@batmanbud2 Look, all Im saying is Link shot the arrow first. I don't why Zelda fans keep arguing the Bokoblin did.
- 50
- LikelySatan
- Sun, 1:37pm
@batmanbud2 Got your fill of that calling people names yesterday, didja?
Edit: it's actually hilarious how much of your recent comments are dedicated to fighting other fans of Zelda and other series.
- 51
- batmanbud2
- Sun, 1:37pm
@DripDropCop146 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
- 52
- SpaceboyScreams
- Sun, 1:54pm
Removed - flaming/arguing
- 53
- SpaceboyScreams
- Sun, 1:56pm
Removed - flaming/arguing
- 54
- SpaceboyScreams
- Sun, 1:57pm
Removed - flaming/arguing
It's all a bit ... Meh. Way too many echoes to juggle from the start. Constantly dipping in and out of the menu to use the echo at the end of the list gets tedious ... fast. I miss the good old unlock a cool ability and use it in the dungeon style. Echoes are varied enough but should unlock much slower... Not EVERY time u see a new item or enemy.
@Bratwurst35 honestly, you're not alone, would welcome some crazy ass changes like that - and I'm pretty sure Nintendo have experimented conceptually with similar ideas (if their art books are anything to go by).
@Mega64 agreed 100% and I've been saying this for such a long time (The FF comparison is so on point as well). But yes, ultimately there are other games that are often better than the root/source material - if gamers search those out and they'll be in for a welcome surprise. Nintendo don't need to backpedal to keep a fraction of their consumers happy when we have other developers filling a void.
- 57
- SpaceboyScreams
- Sun, 2:13pm
@Mega64 They are still following the old style. The Ultra Beasts in BotW and "temples" in TotK are just objectively worse versions of the older games. Smaller, less substance, less atmosphere, less rewarding. Watering something down isn't evolving it, they just clearly lacked the manpower to focus on them as much due to all the focus the rest of the games took, and that's fine for everyone that loves all the new stuff (including me!) but it's still an obvious sore spot. I'm curious which games you think nail temples the way Zelda used to.
Anyways, I'll definitely "play another game that does those" buys Echoes of Wisdom
I am glad to hear this. I always wanted to like zelda... But I simply wanted to explore the world. TotK let me do so, and EoW seems to be doing the same, so maybe that will be the prod I need in order to enjoy the less-open areas!
@SpaceboyScreams So, that might mean that either the original comment he made was edited when you first replied, or it was removed without trace. Because all I can see (and judging from others replying to you they see the same as well) is that you said what was said first.
This is probably why the context and perspective of the label naming narrative has shifted, resulting in this negative response you're getting.
- 60
- Quiet2down
- Sun, 2:57pm
@Sonicka Eh, Im going to call sus on that. My evidence?@VoidofLight and the timing of the comments.
Looking at the timing of each comment, @VoidofLight and @RygelXVIII were in constant communication. Yet @VoidofLight only called out @SpaceboyScreams which comment didn't appear till much later.
Now certainly if @VoidofLight was upset enough to call out @SpaceboyScreams, they would have done the same the moment they replied to @RygelXVIII if that were the case. As it can't be possible for @RygelXVIII to have edited their comment before @VoidofLight saw it, but after @SpaceboyScreams saw it.
The time frame and @VoidofLight comment just doesn't support the idea @RygelXVIII started it first.
- 61
- RygelXVIII
- Sun, 3:05pm
@Quiet2down I assumed @SpaceboyScreams was referring to this comment with the spectrum label, even if I found it a bit odd that it was in a comment directed at me: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2024/09/icymi-yes-dungeons-return-in-the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom#comment8292893
I haven’t edited my comments nor deleted any. I got busy and only checked back just now due to your @.
I do think avoiding/ignoring the spectrum labels are for the best though particularly in the context of being used as a sort of indirect ad hominem. It’s not very conducive to a good discussion.
- 62
- Quiet2down
- Sun, 3:25pm
@RygelXVIII There it is then. Thanks for shedding light on it. I thought it was weird given your responses.
I agree, it shouldn't be used at all here, @SpaceboyScreams did himself no favors in that reply either. It doesn't matter if it was at the wrong person, it's still in poor taste.
Was anyone honestly expecting anything else?
Dungeons have never left the series anyway, they just weren't up to the standers of some people haha. They never left.
- 64
- LikelySatan
- Sun, 4:06pm
@SpaceboyScreams okay.
I was saying that you (a Zelda fan), were insulting other Zelda fans, here, yesterday.
But look it's just videogames so let's stop being meanies, mister! Leave the arrogant insults to me.
It's a really sad state how toxic the Zelda fan ase has become.
Personally, I’ve found the further away from linear they go the more convoluted and patchwork the story gets (not just a problem to the Zelda series either).
I truly do miss that linear approach with a strong narrative, Elden ring as an example was a disaster from a story telling perspective unless you follow along with online articles. TOTK was not quite that bad but still felt more like doing things with one vague objective to go through all game.
Good.
There absolutely should be a happy medium in Zelda between freeform puzzle solving and some structure. I was fine with the Divine Beasts in BotW, since that whole game was meant to shake up the series and the 'dungeons' themselves were thematically and conceptually unique, but the Temples in TotK were just... disappointing. Why make them like Divine Beasts? The whole point of the Divine Beasts is that they were enormous machines. If you're gonna have dungeons, make them puzzle-filled gauntlets like previous Zelda dungeons.
@Yoshi3 TotK was an interesting experience, but yeah, I'm ready for future open world Zeldas to actually have meaty dungeons and setpieces to structure them a bit. Something like Elden Ring is honestly closer to where I wish that game had gone, but with actual puzzles.
- 68
- WaffleRaptor01
- Sun, 5:32pm
@tblalande Zelda never really had much a strong narrative to begin with. This is was deliberate choice on behalf of the devs.
- 69
- VoidofLight
- Sun, 5:38pm
@Mega64 As an estranged fan of multiple series Nimtendo made, Indie games really don’t act as replacements for the series I love. I love Zelda- not just for the gameplay, but then over-all vibe and atmosphere that Nintendo made for the series in specific. Something which fangames and indies completely fail to capture. Same for Animal Crossing. I like Animal Crossing specifically how it used to be. I don’t like what New Horizons did for the series, and I don’t like the other “cozy” games that try to ape off of it. Most of them don’t scratch that itch or do any of the things I loved about Animal Crossing in the first place.
- 70
- VoidofLight
- Sun, 5:41pm
@Bratwurst35 Breath of the Wild is the closest we’d ever get to a futuristic Zelda. Partially because it takes place in the most current era of the timeline, but also because the tech present is something that doesn’t exist in the same way within other games in the series. Link even gets a motorbike.
- 71
- VoidofLight
- Sun, 5:43pm
@Yoshi3 technically most of the 6 years spent producing Tears of the Kingdom was spent on the physics engine and making Ultrahand work instead of the map being worked on.
Personally I didn’t think there was much wrong with the old Zelda format outside of the constant reuse of the same items over and over again. “You got the hookshot, “You got the bombs”, “You got the boomerang”, etc, etc.
Unique, new weapons would have made the games feel fresh and original. ALBW was great because of the wall merge puzzles (and because it basically gave you all the other weapons right away instead of slowly doling them out).
Give me a classic Zelda with new items and new puzzles and I’d be very happy.
@VoidofLight The best compromise would be to design temples or dungeons with puzzles that have one main solution, and then like 10 different ways you can achieve the same result, as with Shrines, but having the said puzzles be centralized around a theme or having to do with the dungeon or the boss.
Personally I didn't mind the Divine Beasts that much but - wait hold on a tick [skims throughs comments] nope never mind not even touching this one. Don't need to force another headache on myself.
@tblalande That elden ring take is absolutely ridiculous. That being said, the one thing I dislike about totk is the story, so I agree with you there.
- 76
- VoidofLight
- Sun, 7:48pm
@MegaVel91 That's what I'm thinking, and that's what people keep saying Echoes of Wisdom is doing. One main solution, but multiple ways to get to said solution. I feel like having them centered around a theme is pretty much what they did with Tears of the Kingdom, but it just didn't feel as good due to how easy it was to cheese a lot of those puzzles. The Lightning Temple had puzzles based around the mirror shield, the Water Temple had puzzles based around playing with water and bubbles, the Fire Temple had the minecart puzzle, the Wind Temple played with updrafts (but still felt kind of all-over the place), and the Spirit Temple played with building a construct and getting all the parts to where they needed to go.
Out of those few the Lightning Temple and the Spirit Temple felt genuinely interesting to me. Mainly because the Lightning Temple was the closest to recreating that feel of other classic Zelda dungeons, and then the Spirit Temple tried something new (you could discover it on your own), and changed the structure in a way that felt genuinely interesting to me.
If they keep going the terminal route, I still feel like there's room to actually make things even more like a mesh between the classic dungeons of old and the new non-linear dungeons. The terminals weren't actually a bad idea in my opinion- but it felt like it would've been better if each one had either a puzzle you had to do to get to it, or a mini-boss you had to fight in order to clear the room.
@tblalande The series has always been choose your own way since the very first game. Like that was the entire point of the series back then. If anything BOTW and TOTK is more akin to the actually original style than linear games.
@Truegamer79 I'd say 5 for BotW and 7 for TotK. BotW has Hyrule Castle beyond the core four, and TotK has the four temples, Hyrule Castle (again), Construct Factory / Spirit Temple (basically one dungeon across two locations, similar to Spirit Temple in OOT), and the final Chasm.
While you can probably argue about Chasm / both Hyrule Castles, Spirit Temple is pretty clearly the fifth major dungeon of TotK.
@ShinNioh Indeed, I feel like the older 3D games were so linear only because of hardware limitations. Where BotW / TotK were the first 3D games on hardware that could actually handle an open world Zelda.
I think Nintendo will iterate on open world Zelda in the following 3D Zelda games as well. But a return to the old 3D games? I don't think we'll see that.
- 80
- amongtheworms
- Yesterday, 10:52am
I like the idea of some more traditionally-inspired dungeons in a future mainline Zelda. Perhaps they could be like that island in BotW where your equipment is taken from you, but you retain some of your abilities. I did really enjoy the open world of TotK, but would love some (possibly optional) classic “challenge” dungeons as mentioned above.
I agree re Elden Ring. I thinks it’s the worst From game (but still very good!). From excel at small, dense worlds full of shortcuts and detail. ER feels bloated and the lore feels like it was crowdsourced from Tumblr and Reddit: lots of good ideas from different people but awkwardly patched together.
maybe the Dungeon item is some from of unique echo used for puzzles in that dungeon? this week needs to hurry up and sod off
Dungeons are great!
I hope theres a light and dark world like LTTP and LBW, doubling up the fun
- 83
- Tempestryke
- Yesterday, 7:54pm
Water dungeon or water/ice dungeon?
- 84
- Serpenterror
- Yesterday, 8:19pm
Good I was getting tired of those multiple temples in the recent games.
Great news. I'm really looking forward to playing an old fashioned 2D Zelda again.
I liked the 120 or so hours I put into BoTW, although not without having a few criticisms, but 25 was enough of TotK for me to realise it was a sandbox too far.
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