The opening section ofThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomis fairly linear, but it doesn’t take long for Zelda to be presented with a significant branching path. After Zelda makes her way to Suthorn Village and takes care of some business there, the main quest offers a choice between venturing into the Gerudo Desert to the west or heading northeast to Jabul Waters. While the 50/50 isn’t as overwhelming as the complete directionalfreedom offered inBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdom, there’s not a lot of information to help make the choice.
Since both avenues are presented as equal options, it might be easy to assume that there’s no real benefit to choosing one over the other, and it’s true thatEchoes of Wisdomwon’t actively punish Zelda for either path. Even so,the perks that each route offers aren’t the same, and the order ultimately affects the gameplay experience despite leaving the basic story unchanged. It’s fine to pick on a whim, but for those considering the decision carefully, one option ultimately emerges as the more attractive path overall.
Benefits Of Going To Gerudo Desert In Echoes Of Wisdom
The Closer Region Has A Lot Going For It
Although the Gerudo Desert is often a location that shows up later inZeldagames,Echoes of Wisdomplaces the arid zone almost directly to the left of Suthorn Village. In the absence of any other factors, this is already a strong enough reason to prioritize it. While Jabul Waters isn’t too far up the road to the northeast, it’s still a longer walk, andclearing out an area near the bottom of the map first just makes sense.
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Gerudo Desert also makes for a goodEchoes of Wisdomstarting area in terms of content. It’s not a massive commitment, as the quest line there doesn’t get too tangled, and the challenges found in the desert aren’t particularly intense. Most overworld threats can be easily avoided in the largely open expanse, and puzzling through the primary dungeon should be a breeze forZeldaveterans.
Buying the Gerudo Sandals prevents Zelda from sinking in quicksand, which isn’t relevant for much of the Gerudo Desert experience but proves very handy in a couple of fights.
The biggest advantage to the Gerudo Desert, however, lies in the echoes that can be found there. Immediately after entering the area, Zelda can pick up the crow echo, which is a great way to deal with early-game enemies and generate rupees while doing so.It also doesn’t take particularly long to acquire the soft bed, which makes regenerating hearts way easier, and the flying tile, an excellent solution for quickly crossing gaps. The otherbig treasure of the Gerudo Desert is the flatboom, a platform that can elevate Zelda to heights much easier than stacking beds can.
Benefits Of Going To Jabul Waters In Echoes Of Wisdom
One Jabul Waters Echo Is A Real Standout
While Jabul Waters isn’t quite as close as the Gerudo Desert, it’s also not far off, and Zelda can easily stop by to grab the crow echo on her way to Jabul Waters without exploring the rest of the desert. With two interesting Zora civilizations and a charming seaside village to boot, Jabul Waters is an especially exciting region to visit inEchoes of Wisdom.
Unlike pastZeldagames,Echoes of Wisdomfeatures both theRiver Zora and Sea Zoraliving in a relatively cooperative manner, although there’s still some strife at the time of Zelda’s visit.
Some of the challenges in Jabul Waters might be slightly tougher than what the Gerudo Desert has to offer, mostly because the presence of water can complicate maneuverability. All the same, there’s nothing there that can’t be managed directly after Suthorn Village.The final boss fight for the quest line is also fairly easy to handle, and it can be approached in a surprisingly straightforward manner.
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As far as echoes go, there’s one huge argument for tackling Jabul Waters before the Gerudo Desert — the water block. While the Gerudo Desert’s flying tile and flatboom can respectively help Zelda move horizontally and vertically,the water block can take care of both aims as a modular echo that can stack in either direction. The bombfish is another useful echo to be found within the region, providing a way to blow up obstacles that are invulnerable to many other attacks.
Zelda Should Go To The Gerudo Desert First
The Gerudo Have A Little More To Offer Than The Zora Do
Despite the arguments to be made for prioritizing Jabul Waters,the Gerudo Desert ultimately makes more sense as Zelda’s first chosen destinationinEchoes of Wisdom. True to what the map would indicate, venturing forth to meet the Gerudo is more convenient, and solving the problem of the rifts in the desert can be completed with reasonable efficiency.
The real hook for the Gerudo Desert is how versatile the echoes found there are, even if there’s no single echo among them that can do quite as much as the water block.A large portion of the echoes in the Gerudo Desert will prove to be useful in Jabul Waters, which can’t be said for doing things the other way around. The various aquatic creature echoes found in Jabul Waters are cool, but grabbing them first and then attempting to make use of them in the desert will prove largely fruitless.
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Ultimately, however, there’s no wrong way to approach the first big choice inEchoes of Wisdom.Although he desert path makes a little more sense, the difference between the two options isn’t so huge as to override any personal preference, and those who feel inclined to visit the Zora before the Gerudo won’t ruin the natural curve of the game’s progression by doing so. Anyone undecided about which way to go should head to the Gerudo Desert first, but either approach to early exploration inThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomshould work just fine.
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
Strange rifts are tearing Hyrule apart, and with Link missing, it’s up to Princess Zelda to save the kingdom. Armed with the Tri Rod and aided by a mysterious fairy, she must solve puzzles, create environmental “echoes,” and battle enemies while navigating new regions and uncovering hidden secrets.
