Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom First Play (Spoilers)
Needless to say, I have set aside my playing of Tears of the Kingdom and stared on Echoes of Wisdom.
Please be careful reading this post because I may have spoilery info. I have no filter, lol.
My screenshot of the opening title. I wanted to cry.
I got my game the day after the release. The place I ordered it from usually ships early so it'll arrive on release day itself (happened with my Legends Arceus) but there was a delay. It sucked because I had a lot of things to do for an event I had so I couldn't find time to play. But I did it anyway and started and oh boy.
I never played Link's Awakening, and if you missed me saying it, Breath of the Wild was my first ever Legend of Zelda game. The other game I tried was Minish Cap, which is my only top down, 2D LOZ experience. But it's interesting to note that my limited experience has helped in playing the game because it has given me an idea of the game's general mechanics. The tutorial stage of EoW isn't as big as BotW/TotK, and til now I'm still struggling to remember the buttons.
As of this post, I'm on my way to Jabul Waters after having finished the Gerudo region. I still have some side quests there and maybe a couple of undiscovered treasures and heart pieces, but I'm happy to leave those for the moment.
Currently have 7 hearts, my energy is at level 2, Tri is at level 3.
It was cool to start the game off as Link. Later I find out that in this game is on the 'Zelda doesn't know Link" line, rather than the "Link and Zelda have known each other since childhood" storyline.
That moment when you first control Zelda. Look, this may be my 4th LoZ but knowing this is the first game with ZELDA as the actual main character feels life-changing.
Link being known as "the swordsman" until Zelda reached his home village.
Can I just say that I LOVE the STAMP GUY?! It's such a Japanese thing to add to this game (I mean, it is a Japanese game but you know what I mean) and appeals to me as someone who went around Tokyo and Osaka looking for train stamps.
I am so amused at the idea of Zelda going after Link and how Link is not really Link, particularly since this is the next game after Tears of the Kingdom and there was a similar component there.
I have more thoughts but it's a mess right now. But I'm really enjoying this game and looking forward to finishing it. It's open-worldish in a way that places aren't blocked off or dependent on your progress.
I'm really loving this game.