“The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom” is brimming with an abundance of twists and turns borrowed from other games. In this iteration, players step into the shoes of Princess Zelda instead of the familiar green-clad hero Link. As they embark on their adventure, Zelda doesn’t wield the iconic Master Sword but rather a magical rod that enables her to copy and paste items and creatures. However, there is at least one key aspect that remains unchanged: grass cutting. And now, I am utterly enamored with the way you mow the lawns in “Echoes of Wisdom”.

Grass has not merely served as a decorative element to enhance the scenery in The Legend of Zelda games. Many installments in the series feature a distinct type of grass that Link – and now, Zelda – can cut to gather precious items such as rupees, bombs, and hearts. According to the dedicated “grass” page on the Zelda fan wiki, this fundamental gameplay element has been a part of the series as far back as “A Link to the Past” which Nintendo released in 1991.

Throughout the long history of the Zelda franchise, there have been numerous ways to cut the grass. You can toss a bomb to clear a patch or, if you’re playing a game like “Tears of the Kingdom”, you can simply set it ablaze with a torch or a fire arrow. But slashing it with a sword has long been a go-to method; you can unleash Link’s regular combo or clear an entire area by using a spin dash. And now, I am delighted to report that the development team behind “Echoes of Wisdom” has faithfully preserved the time-honored Zelda gameplay.

All you have to do is hit the R button and Zelda will let loose a twirling motion that effortlessly cuts the grass. There is no need for a charge, and when you press the button, she spins around a few times, and the movement feels truly sublime. You don’t experience that jarring start and stop sensation that comes with slashing like Link and can keep on moving smoothly. As she spins, you can run along an area and twirl through it, quickly snatching up items as they appear. The movement reminds me greatly of the Deku Link transformation in “Majora’s Mask”, except that you don’t have to play as a weakling and it doesn’t require a special mask or item to use it.

All in all, it is some of the finest grass-cutting gameplay seen in a Zelda game to date. The only thing that could be better than what “Echoes of Wisdom” offers would be a literal copy-paste of a real lawn mower – Nintendo, get on that!