I wish Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom had Breath of the Wild’s item degradation

I’ve been having a good time with The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, but a glaring problem has reared its head just a few hours in. The user interface for sorting through Echoes leaves a lot to be desired. By the time I cleared my first few dungeons in Echoes of Wisdom, I already felt overwhelmed by the amount of Echoes available, and I didn’t have adequate ways to sort them. As a result, I’m already finding myself relying on the same couple of Echoes rather than experimenting with each new one I come across.

Echoes of Wisdom is at its best when I can use new Echoes, or a unique combination of them, to solve puzzles or navigate dungeons in clever ways. However, the clumsy UI and overwhelming number of options with Echoes sometimes get in the way of those glorious moments. That has left me yearning for a controversial feature present in both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: item degradation.

Weapon durability and degradation in 3D Zelda games

Breath of the Wild might not have featured an Echoes mechanic, but the game was still built around players exploring every inch of Hyrule and adapting to whatever they find. To encourage continued exploration and interaction, Nintendo introduced a weapon degradation mechanic. Common in survival games, this kind of durability mechanic makes tools or weapons break after a certain number of uses.

Its inclusion in Breath of the Wild is still extremely controversial. Many players dislike the fact that their favorite weapons constantly break, forcing them to find something else to use. Its sequel,Tears of the Kingdom, went on to find a clever way to solve for this. Weapon degradation still exists, but players gain the ability to fuse weapons with other items or weapons found around Hyrule. If the sword I like is close to breaking, I can fuse it with something else and create a whole new weapon.

• After The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, it’s time for Zelda Maker
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