>>1028628
I started Echoes concerned about combat and items, and ended Echoes appreciating them. Combat with Zelda starts limited but improves during the game and Echoes ends near top Zeldas for item count. Spin often with R to move fast in combat. As Tri levels up, Zelda can spawn more echoes. Many weak echoes, or few strong echoes. Echoes draw aggro and dispersed attacks from weak echoes leave Zelda less open than focused attacks from strong echoes. Direct echoes to attack targets with ZL. Move them with Bind, so you don't stand by, but direct fights. To reduce their end lag after attacks, erase and respawn them, which keeps you involved. Reverse Bond lets you move yourself by echo movement, and at Lv. 3, Tri can summon echoes at a distance for more combat tactics.
Swordfighter Form summons the spirit of Link for traditional combat. Link can arrow, block, bomb, bombchu, charge spin attack, fast spin attack, jump, jump slash, jump spin attack, slash both ways, strafe, sword beam both ways, and triple arrow. Up to 150 might crystals, which an item helps find, can upgrade Link's items and energy bar. Salted Milky Smoothies (Fresh Milk, Rock Salt), Salted Twisty Smoothies (Rock Salt, Twisted Pumpkin), and Salted Tough Smoothies (Rock Salt, Tough Mango) fill the max level energy bar, and 3 accessory items slow depletion at different rates. Echoes also has a glitch to play as Link out of Swordfighter Form.
Spoilers ahead, except the final paragraph. 127 echoes are your items, and the 28 accessories, articles of clothing with effects, and more. For returning items, Bombfish are Water Bombs. Reverse bonding a Caromadillo Lv. 2 is the Pegasus Boots. Drippitune is the Song of Storms. Fire, Ice, and Electric Keese created at a distance are Fire, Ice, and Shock Arrows or Rods. Floating objects are the Stepladder. Flying monsters glide Zelda like Cuccos. Flying Tiles are Roc's Cape. Grilled Fish, Meat, and Stuffed Toy are Food to bait enemies. Holmills are the Shovel. Ignizol is the Lantern. Wind Cannon is the Gust Bellows. Objects shield Zelda. Pieces of heart and heart containers return. Bottles do, with 20 bottles. Fairies do, you find 4 fairy bottles. Rocks and pots return as echoes. Some echoes are like new items. Beamos fire lasers. Caromadillos spawn quick and ricochet off enemies and walls at angles. Crows spawn rupees. Clouds let you reach the sky. Redeads scare enemies stunned. Sea Urchins spawn quick for fast attacks and barricade you. Strandtulas spawn strands to climb up sidescroller sections. Some echoes use items. Boomerang Boarblin has a boomerang, Club Boarblin a club, Sword Moblin a sword and shield, Lizalfos a trident. The tactics of each work different on different enemies. Horses also return.
You can equip 5 from 26 accessory items. Zora's Flippers to swim faster, Zora Scale to hold your breath for longer underwater, Gerudo Sandals to not sink in quicksand, Gold Sash to not be windblown, Climbing Band to climb ladders and rock walls faster, Goron's Bracelet to carry things faster, Spin Brace to knock back foes that you hit with a spin, Ice Spikes to prevent slipping, Frog Ring to jump higher, Charging Horn to power up your horse's charge, Stone Anklet to reduce knockback, Clockwork Bangle to wind the clockwork key faster, First and Second and Final Mastery to slow energy loss in swordfighter form, Might Bell to sense when might crystals are nearby, Heart Pin and Heart Barrette to make hearts appear more often, Silver and Gold Brooch to make rupees appear more often when breaking objects or defeating monsters, Energy Glove and Energy Belt to increase the likelihood more energy will appear after defeating dark monsters, Survey Binoculars to make smoothie ingredients and monster stones appear more when you break objects or defeat monsters, Fairy Flower and Fairy Fragrance to make fairies appear occasionally when you cut grass or other plants, and Curious Charm to greatly decrease your damage.
Echoes has 8 clothing items without Amiibo, the Disguise, Royal Travel Attire, Customary Attire, Silk Pajamas, Dancing Outfit, Cat Clothes, Green Tunic, and Stamp Suit. Some grant abilities. The Silk Pajamas recover your hearts faster as you rest on a bed, the Dancing Outfit increases your spin area, and the Cat Clothes let you speak with cats. 7 heart containers plus 40 heart pieces. 5 stamp cards, the First, Exciting, Thrilling, Exhilarating, and Final Stamp Cards, with 25 stamps, and stamp rewards. 6 automatons, the Techtite, Tocktorok, Gizmol, High-Teku Baba, Roboblin, and Goldfinch. 16 ingredients, the Bubble Kelp, Riverhorse, Refreshing Grapes, Electro Apple, Warm Pepper, Floral Nectar, Fresh Milk, Chilly Cactus, Rocktato, Rock Salt, Radiant Butter, Twisted Pumpkin, Monster Guts, Monster Fang, Tough Mango, and Golden Egg. Eating ingredients restores hearts, and ingredients make smoothies. There are 69 smoothies. 3 sanctions, from Din, Nayru, and Farore, and 10 key items, the Monster Stone, Lovely Pendant, Floral Seashell, Magma Stone, Blastpowder Soil, Happy Clover, Heirloom Katana, Steel Trap, Golden Fan, and Prismatic Music Box.
Early as Zelda, I was concerned about combat, and items were few. Over time, both really pleased me. Echoes is the longest overhead Zelda, with the biggest overworld, more quests, many items, and large dungeons. Zelda represents wisdom, and uses echoes with wisdom. She's a wise tactician, not a powerful warrior. Tri has the echo magic, even Deku Scrubs can beat Zelda if Tri can't echo. She's not a courageous braveheart, she hangs back. She's not Link, and she shouldn't be. She's not a Marvel superwoman, who beats up 50 men with martial arts. Zelda wasn't woke, a breath of fresh air in 2024. That's just my opinion.