// THE VERGE — MOBILE & WEB
Echo Isle is a pint-sized adventure inspired by classic Zelda
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You can finish the whole quest in a little over an hour.
You can finish the whole quest in a little over an hour.
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Echo Isle is heavily inspired by The Legend of Zelda, and it’s not afraid to show it: The retro graphics bear a striking resemblance to Link’s Awakening, the main character wears a blue tunic and wields a sword, and he navigates dungeons to collect items and keys to fight bosses and gather magical MacGuffins. But where Echo Isle shines is how it takes the best parts of a Zelda adventure and shrinks them down to their essence — I finished the game in a little more than an hour.
The game starts with the main character falling from the sky onto Echo Isle, an island protected by a magical lighthouse that has mysteriously gone dark. While you don’t have any equipment to start, within a matter of minutes, you’ll find a sword, and from there, you’re off to the familiar Zelda loop: exploring the world, finding a dungeon, finishing the dungeon, and using whatever new items you have to get to the next one.
To replicate the retro feeling, each screen in Echo Isle is a square, which isn’t just a charming tribute to the classics: It helps each screen feel focused and approachable as you traverse the island and delve into dungeons. It also means that text boxes are small, so text and dialogue have to be snappy to fit, something more games should emulate.