Last year, hot behind Tears of the KingdomI wrote a statement my love for Zelda’s ‘Modern’ dungeons. Sure, these puzzle-focused areas are a bit hit or miss, but I found that there was a lot to enjoy in each once I got past the terminal activation feature common to all.
I thought I had surpassed Zelda’s ‘Classic’ dungeon format – moving from room to room through a series of puzzles, opening chests with increasingly brilliant designs and picking up unique items unique along the way. I think the series is aiming for something new and I’m excited by that prospect. I think The Divine Beast formula is the future and I’m ready to welcome it with open arms.
Last week, I started Echoes of wisdom and, upon entering two rooms in Suthorn Ruins, I realized that I had been completely wrong. The ‘traditional’ Zelda dungeons still really hold my heart and I didn’t realize how much I missed them until now.
I’m sure there will be a few of you who have finished reading Echoes of Wisdom for all that it has to offer. I’m not at that stage yet – nowhere near it, in fact. At the time of writing, I’ve only completed the first three dungeons and I’m avoiding internet spoilers like the plague. I’ll discuss this first trio of dungeons in more depth here So if you’re also taking a break from social media, please bookmark this page and come back when you’re ready…
I’d love to be a little bit of a Zelda fan and say that what excited me the most in Suthorn Ruins was a bit of hidden lore, a room layout, or an obscure returning monster, that’s true. The truth is seeing a big boss door, with a big lock on it. What can I say? Years of “We have X terminals left” have left me desperate for a bit of archway anticipation, and I’m a sucker for an oversized keyhole. We are back.
But it’s not just aesthetics. This opening dungeon offers just about every traditional standard I can think of: sealed-off rooms packed with enemies; a transformation puzzle that requires moving a giant statue; a collection of small keys with just the right amount of backtracking needed to find their homes. In the grand scheme of Quality Zelda dungeonsit’s nothing special; but like the first time original Classic Zelda for so many years, it brings me nothing but joy to be reintroduced to all these mechanics once again.
Things aren’t completely confusing on this first playthrough, although Ruins is essentially an early-game tutorial, so I’ll forgive that. Luckily, the next two dungeons provide the most ‘Zelda’ feel the series has had in years.
I first went to the Gerudo Desert (who’s walking North when you’re already in the general area?) and after some Rift shenanigans, I set off for Sanctum. This is more like that. We’re no strangers to a sand-themed shrine at this point – heck, even TOTK put one out – but the puzzle layering had me instantly reminiscing about old Zelda dictionary.
Naturally, each room serves as its own mini-challenge with a gap to cross, a flamethrower to move around, or a group of monsters to defeat, but it’s the larger underlying puzzles that convince. convince me to do this. Yes a little Ocarina of time‘s Deku Tree with a puzzle that you will need to remember across multiple rooms and a bit Small hatDeepwood Temple with piles of dust/sand. TOTK’s freedom is still present and correct (I completely cleared a seemingly immovable statue by jumping over it), but all the stacked puzzles offer some dungeon exploration Classic, pure.
The Jabul ruins have kept the happy times flowing. I spoke up love for OOT’s water temple more than once, so you can only imagine my excitement when I first stepped on the big purple button in the dungeon’s open room. It’s a puzzle built around changing water levels!
Now that I think about it, Vah Ruta assigned the right mechanic there. Breath of the wild (Hey, I said modern dungeons are good), but there’s something about Jabul Ruins’ central fountain room that makes me nostalgic. Perhaps it was the way the water controls were divided into separate sections or the clear color-coded directions that connected each section, but as I gradually moved up to the dungeon’s central room, it was the Water Temple of OoT or A link to the pastThe Swamp Palace is reminiscent of the later adventures of the Hero of Hyrule.
This To be More linear, that’s true, but after the best part of a decade of “Here are your goals, accomplish them in any order you like,” it’s nice to see something A little more structure will come back.
I’ve yet to explore the full extent of Echoes of Wisdom beyond these first three areas (I’d be surprised if it wasn’t the other four dungeons), but nostalgia is still strong in everything I’ve seen so far. now. . There was a time and place for less structured temples, and BOTW/TOTK proved that it could work, but I let that blind me to the series’ origins.
Welcome back, Big Keys. I’ve missed you.
