The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is an all-time classic that remains beloved by many. Originally released for the Game Boy in 1993, the game received a Game Boy Color update in 1998. This updated version specifically has stood out over the years and serves as the main inspiration for the indie title Echo Isle.
Developed by solo indie developer Josh Koenig Games, Echo Isle is a bite-sized, modern-day love letter to Link's Awakening. It utilizes a similar art style with 8-bit sprites, music heavily reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda, and all-too-familiar gameplay. If you simply replaced the protagonist with Link, you could easily mistake it for a Zelda game. But does that automatically make it a good game?
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The Story:
Echo Isle takes place on—you guessed it—a tiny island with a lighthouse. The lighthouse once used its light to protect the island from monsters, but when that very same light faded, the terrors moved back in. With little to defend themselves with, the residents of the island look to the legend of an Astral Knight hero for hope, and that is where our protagonist comes into play.
The game begins with Aster arriving on the island and learning of the four legendary Echo Stones. By obtaining these stones, the lighthouse can be restored, but getting to them is no easy task. Each stone is located within one of the island's dungeons and guarded by a fierce monster. To save the island, Aster will need to overcome each trial, just as the Astral Knights before him did. But is it really that simple?
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Gameplay:
The gameplay in Echo Isle is very similar to other 2D, top-down action games. Aster's basic moveset consists of walking in any direction—no grid limitations here—and using his sword to slash at things. Grass can be cut, pots can be broken, and enemies can be defeated. Sometimes hidden items are found by breaking specific objects, which can then be used to unlock basic upgrades, but the main reason to look for them is to pick up hearts. While Echo Isle uses a familiar "heart system" for health, each heart represents a single hit, meaning your health drops faster than you might initially assume. Heart upgrades can be found hidden throughout the game, but players will still need to constantly replenish their health after taking damage. If your hearts hit zero, Aster is sent back to the previous checkpoint—physical tiles the player must step on—and all progress after that point is lost.
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The overworld itself is extremely small, spanning only 25 screens, with entrances to dungeons that are scaled down as well. While there are a few buildings you can enter—one of which provides a revive item—some are strictly decorative. NPCs are scarce, and there is a very small variety of enemies to encounter. Most of these foes can be taken out with a few sword swings, but they can also be dispatched by knocking them into the water or pushing them down pitfalls, which players must also avoid.
Once inside a dungeon, the core loop remains the same. Keys are hidden to unlock locked doors, a Boss Key is required to fight the dungeon's big bad, and a new item always awaits you, serving as the true "key" to completing the area. These upgrades include the ability to jump, a swim technique, a bow and arrow, and bombs. These items have unlimited use, with two of them doubling as secondary attacks, and they are required to advance through the overworld. This makes the game a very linear experience, with some light backtracking required to grab upgrades you previously couldn't access. By the end, Aster can enter the lighthouse and take on the final challenge, where the game itself recommends completing everything else prior to entering. Overall, the game is quite easy with simple puzzles, though the final area definitely throws a sudden difficulty spike your way in the combat department. Still, with a little practice, it can be overcome without following the game's warning.
Should you play it?
Echo Isle is a game made for Zelda fans, by a Zelda fan. Everything about this title feels familiar, though it isn't an exact one-to-one adaptation of Link's Awakening's style. Small differences, such as how the health system works and bomb placement that feels a bit more like Bomberman, help the game retain its own identity rather than being a complete copy. The game's small scale and nearly exclusive focus on its dungeons also differ quite a bit from what its main inspiration typically does with its overworld, but this is sadly the game's biggest weakness.
Despite how fun the game is, its length ultimately holds it back. The experience is exactly as advertised—a bite-sized adventure—and honestly, that's a shame. It is not because the game is bad by any means, but because the developer has created something that could easily be expanded into a full-sized title. The basic mechanics are solid, and a great foundation of tools is already in place. This is a perfect opportunity to use Echo Isle as a proof of concept and run with it, but for now, this short experience is all we have. It is a roughly one-hour adventure that leaves you wanting more, with little reason to ever return.
Overall, Echo Isle is a fun trip through nostalgia, but its short run-time will leave you wanting more.
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