While a unique idea, the moment to moment gameplay became too tedious and disruptive to flow. Fantastic art style and concept marred by too many puzzles and even more menu navigation.

Warning

Spoilers below!

Stats

Started Playing: 6/13/2026
Beat: DNF
Total Playtime: 10~ hours

Legacy

Overall

While a unique idea, the moment to moment gameplay became too tedious and disruptive to flow. Fantastic art style and concept marred by too many puzzles and even more menu navigation.

Graphics/Performance

4K60 on Switch 2. Can’t get better than that.
The NPCs have great, quick expressions.
Definite step up from Link’s Awakening. More vibrant. Rich.

Gameplay

“I wonder how I go over the guards...wait...I block the guards. Oh my goodness it’s a puzzle game.”
I love the diegetic design of Tri’s little triangles telling you how many echoes you have out and can make.
Combat is slower and strategic. I can’t dive straight in and slash away. It’s the most I have thought intentionally about combat in a 2D Zelda game since I was a kid figuring it out.
The menus, prompts, mission structure, design, etc. is all BotW era, but adapted to 2D Zelda. This is how you do it, not like Sons of Sparta from Ragnarök, for example.
I love the silly and useful echoes. Every enemy. Random objects. It’s an adaptable puzzle game and the world is full of resources.
Water blocks and beds are goated.
Why can I not change the locked on target for the tether ability or attacks? For a series that practically invented lock-on, this feels like a major oversight.
Some actions just take longer, like combat scenarios. It’s good and bad. I could breeze through these as Link, but the problem solving approach is original. I wonder if it is just novelty and will wear off.
Too many “2D” sections?
Feels choppy and chunky. Very segmented and interrupts flow quite a bit

Music/Sound Design

Bright, airy, Zelda
I love the Gerudo Sanctum theme.

World

It feels all new to me. I am not sure if this is the same map as LttP and ALBW, but it feels nice to explore
Both Zora races are here and I love it.

Story

Rifts are cropping up all over Hyrule. Link is a swordsman from a small town. Zelda does not know him. Link defeats Ganon, but both of them end up in a rift.
Zelda goes back to the castle where a rift spawns, absorbs the king and his aides, and frames Zelda.
We set out to fix rifts and save people with a little spirit named Tri.
Tri, unfortunately, lacks a signature partner personality. Kinda bums me out.