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The Legend Of Zelda:
Echoes Of Wisdom
18 Accessibility Features

We've documented 18 accessibility features for The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom, including Select Difficulty, Play Without Hearing, Audio Cues, Speaker Indicator and Fully Subtitled (Or No Speech). Its accessibility is strongest in Navigation and Getting Started but it also has features in Reading, Difficulty, Visual, Controls and Audio to reduce unintended barriers.

This report is created with input from accessibility experts and the player community to help people find games that have the accessibility features they require. Once you have found potential games on the database, there are excellent specialist accessibility sites that offer in-depth reviews to guide your purchasing decisions.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is an adventure in Hrule that stars Princess Zelda rather than Link. Play involves the usual Zelda exploration and combat, only here your main tool is a staff that can recreate things you've found in the world - tables, rocks and even enemies. It stands out for a more puzzle-oriented adventure with a more thoughtful protagonist at the helm.

Our accessibility examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom accessibility 9 months ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 9 months ago.

NotesAccessibility Notes

There are Normal and Hero difficulty settings. Hero difficulty means you take twice as much damage and have fewer ways to replenish your health. You can use Beds to recover health whenever you want provided you are not in combat.

You need to hold down the Targeting button to aim your arrow at a particular enemy. You need to hold down a button to dive or surface when swimming.

You can hold Right on D-Pad and then use the stick to quickly change what item will be made - this list can be ordered by most often or most recently used to reduce the number of presses. You can press in the right Stick to get an overhead view.

You can access tutorials whenever you want via the menu. A pop-up tip appears in the game to tell you which buttons you can press for things like Throw/Drop/Release. There is a map you can zoom in on for the overworld and dungeons. You can place markers on the main map, and they appear on the Head-Up-Display mini-map.

The subtitles are clear and have good contrast but don't meet our 1/20 screen height limit. Some text uses colour for emphasis which reduces the contrast and can be hard to read. There is a lot of other text in the game that is significantly smaller.

DetailsGame Details

Release Date: 26/09/2024

Out Now: Switch

Skill Rating: 7+ year-olds

Players: 1

Genres: Adventure, Puzzle, Simulation (Action, Fighting, Platform, Role-Play and Traversal)

Accessibility: 18 features

Components: 2D Overhead, Cartoon, Day and Night and Open World

Developer: Nintendo (@Nintendo)

Costs: Purchase cost

 

ControlsControls

We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Controls in The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom which deals with how you control the game, different options for alternative inputs and whether you can remap these settings to suit your needs.

Gamepad

Can play with the following:

Multiple Buttons & Single Stick: Can play with multiple buttons and a stick.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls

If you want to play The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:

DifficultyDifficulty

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Difficulty in The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom which deal with how you can adjust the challenge of play, and whether this is locked once chosen or can be adjusted as you play.

Difficulty Options

Select Difficulty: Select the level of difficulty from a range of presets. This not only offers a way to adjust the challenge of a game but enables you to do so without dealing with individual criteria.

Adjust After Setting

Adjustable Anytime: You can adjust the difficulty while playing, without having to restart the level you are on. This enables you to quickly adjust the game to suit your needs and see the difference immediately.

Getting StartedGetting Started

We've documented 4 accessibility features for Getting Started in The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom which deal with what support is offered to get started with the game. This includes customising the experience when you first open the game via any onboarding processes it provides as well as tutorials and other assistance when you first start playing.

Assistance Getting Starting

These features aid your play of the game in terms of cognitive load on learning controls, dealing with pressure and coping with the environment and challenges.

Tutorials: There are helpful tutorials and instructions on how to play. Information is provided in a timely manner, with appropriate level of detail.

Practice Area: You can practice freely without opponents or time pressures. This can be a specific practice option, or the ability to play levels with the easiest opponents to improve understanding and skill.

View Control Mapping: You can view a map of controls during play. This clearly displays the mappings of actions to buttons/keys/mouse/keyboard without having to leave the game. This includes games that always display buttons to press during play.

Assistance For Progressing

These features aid your progress through the game offering different ways of maintaining your progression.

Bank Progress With Frequent Checkpoints: If you fail you can retry that level or aspect of the game without losing a lot of progress (less than 5 minutes). This is often provided via Frequent Checkpoints combined with restarting without losing time, equipment or score.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started

If you want to play The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:

ReadingReading

We've documented 4 accessibility features for Reading in The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom which deal with how much reading or listening comprehension is required, how well the game provides visual and audible access to the text and whether subtitles and captions are a good fit for purpose.

Reading Level

How much reading is required to play the game's main path or story and how complex the language is. The presence of voiced characters doesn't reduce this requirement, as it's recorded as a separate datapoint.

Moderate Reading: Moderate reading required. The quantity and complexity of reading are at a level that a high school student (14-year-old) would appreciate.

Text Visibility

High Contrast Text: Text colour contrasts to the background or can be adjusted to be. The text in menus, instructions and other information is presented in high contrast with a solid background.

Subtitles

All Speech Subtitled (Or No Speech In Game): All spoken content has subtitles, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to hear spoken dialogue or narrative to play the game.

Captions

Speaker Indicator: Textual captions indicate who is speaking (or there is only ever one person speaking). This can also be indicated visually in the game with character icons or placing text in speech bubbles next to the person speaking.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading

If you want to play The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:

NavigationNavigation

We've documented 5 accessibility features for Navigation in The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom which deal with how the game provides guidance and assistance to navigate its worlds. These are only for games that have traversal and exploration in 2D and 3D spaces.

Clarity

Clear Mission Objectives: The game provides clear, structured missions with directional guidance and advice on which can be attempted next. This also indicates (ideally on maps where they are provided) which missions can't be attempted because you do not have the appropriate items yet.

Head-Up Display

Head-Up Display Navigation: Indication of where to go next with overlaid arrows, minimaps and waypoint markers. This supplements in-game visual and audible cues with additional guidance about where you are and where you need to go.

Game Map: View a map of the game world during play, with the landscape, points of interest and missions highlighted throughout the entire game. This enables the orientation of the player and the world, confirming a direction of movement and the location of destinations or points of exploration.

Menu Navigation

Menu Audio Cues: Navigating menus provide an audio cue for each selection.

Digital Menu Navigation: Menu choices with Gamepad can be made without using an analogue stick to guide a cursor to a selection. For example, using D-Pad, buttons or the Stick to change menu selection in a single action.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation

If you want to play The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:

VisualVisual

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Visual in The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.

Audio Cues for Visual Events

Audio Cues for Visual Events: Audio is provided to indicate visual events. Game events or progress highlighted by visual icons, effects or animations are also accompanied by audio to signify that progress. This is useful for blind players.

Menu Audio Cues: Navigating menus provide an audio cue for each selection.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual

If you want to play The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:

AudioAudio

We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Audio in The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom which deals with how you can adjust the audio of the game and whether audio cues compensate for aspects of the game that are hard to see.

Play Without Hearing

Play Without Hearing: No audio cues are necessary to play the game well.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Audio

If you want to play The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:

System Accessibility Settings

In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:

Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch has some built-in features, including a lockable zoom, that can be used on all games.
 
Read more about system accessibility settings.

VSC LogoAccessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors Andy Robertson and Jo Robertson


Taming Gaming Book Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships.

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