Echoes of Wisdom has somehow perfected the Zelda art of grass-cutting

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom contains plenty of twists from other games. Players assume the role of Princess Zelda, instead of the green-clad hero Link. As they play, Zelda doesn’t wield the iconic Master Sword, but a magical rod that allows her to copy and paste items and creatures. However, there’s at least one key aspect that hasn’t changed: grass cutting. And now, I’m in love with the way you mow lawns in Echoes of Wisdom.

Grass hasn’t just been a way to decorate the scenery in The Legend of Zelda games. Many entries in the series have a special type of grass that Link — and now Zelda — can cut to collect items like rupees, bombs, and hearts. According to the dedicated “grass” page on the Zelda fan wiki, the object has been a part of the series as far back as A Link to the Past which Nintendo released in 1991.

Throughout the Zelda ages, there have been loads of ways to cut the grass. You can toss a bomb to clear a spot or, if you’re playing a game like Tears of the Kingdom, you can just set it on fire with a torch or fire arrow. But slashing it with a sword has been a go-to way to cut grass; you can unleash Link’s normal combo, or you can clear out a whole area by using a spin dash. And now, I’m happy to report that the development team behind Echoes of Wisdom has preserved the time-honored Zelda gameplay.

All you have to do is hit the R button and Zelda will unleash a twirl that cuts the grass. There’s no charge needed and when you hit the button, she spins around a few times and the movement feels phenomenal. You don’t get any of the start and stop feeling that comes with slashing as Link and keep zipping along. As she moves, you can run along an area and twirl through and snap up items as they appear. The movement reminds me a lot of the Deku Link transformation in Majora’s Mask, except you don’t need to play as a wimpy scrub and it doesn’t require on a special mask or item to use it.

All and all, it’s some of the best grass-cutting gameplay in a Zelda game to date. The only thing better than what Echoes of Wisdom delivers would be a copy-paste for an actual lawn mower — get on that Nintendo.