Since 1986, The Legend of Zelda franchise has constantly brought fantastic games to the landscape. With 19 games in the main series, many are considered the best game of all time. We all have our ranking, and today, I’ve decided to rank them all from my worst to best.
Honourable Mentions
The Hyrule Warriors games were surprisingly fun to play, with a lot of content to keep coming back. With the cast of different characters, you could conquer the levels in many ways.
#19 The Legend of Zelda (1986)
The story of this game gave us an invading Ganon stealing the Triforce of Power and kidnapping Princess Zelda. Link must travel to eight dungeons to reassemble the Trifore of Wisdom and save Hyrule.
I think there aren’t any bad Zelda games, just ones that I didn’t play as much as the others. The first Zelda game’s impact can’t be denied for what it did with the action genre. “It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this,” will forever be a part of gaming lingo.
#18 The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords (2002)
Taking place before the events of Ocarina of Time, Link finds a magic sword called the Four Sword and accidentally releases Vaati. The blade creates three copies of Link that must help him release three Great Fairies to seal Vaati once again.
The first of a trio of multiplayer Zelda games. Using your friends to solve puzzles instead of just doing it yourself was a welcome break from the regular gameplay. This also gave us randomly generated maps, a first for the series.
#17 The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure (2004)
The story revolves around Shadow Link tricking Link into releasing Vaati, who then tries to throw Hyrule into chaos. After freeing several shrine maidens, Vaati is defeated, and Ganon is sealed in the Four Sword.
This game is put above Four Swords because the game had more content included, the story was more extensive and had the bonus of having multiple modes to play.
#16 The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes (2015)
A departure from your standard Hyrule adventure, this game tasks you with breaking Princess Styla’s curse of wearing a brown jumpsuit.
The past three entries can be interchanged due to the similarities in the gameplay. This game, however, uses costumes to change up the gameplay. These costumes have great abilities that can be used to upgrade your Link.
#15 The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (2009)
A sequel to Phantom Hourglass, this game relies on a train to travel to several locations to restore the Tower of Spirits and Spirit Tracks. Using the disembodied spirit of Zelda to possess and control Phantoms, you must retrieve the artefacts and defeat the evil Malladus.
While yes, this gives us a change of scenery from vast oceans, grassy fields felt more empty. The use of both DS screens made this game stand out. Using Zelda to possess Phantoms to solve puzzles was a neat use of a character people have wanted to play for a long time.
#14 The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (2007)
A sequel to Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass took us back to The Great Sea that flooded Hyrule in search of Tetra after she was kidnapped by the monster Bellum. Link must forge the Phantom Sword by acquiring three metals to save Tetra again.
I enjoyed some good things about using the DS to play. Using the stylus to map out where the boomerang would go was fun, and having to draw out an island to find the secret was neat.
#13 The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (2013)
In the Sequel to A Link to the Past, this game introduces an “evil twin” world called Lorule. This new world shows what would happen if the Triforce were ever destroyed. Link must defeat the evil Yuga before he can use the Triforce to destroy Hyrule and bring Lorule back to its former glory.
The gimmick of turning into a mural and walking along the walls was a great way to introduce new and exciting puzzles. The twist that Hilda was trying to steal your Triforce to keep it as her own was very well done. However, the gimmick of renting your items from Ravio and returning them before using another was annoying until you could buy them outright.
#12 The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011)
As the canonical first game in the series, this game gives us the start of the eternal struggle of Zelda, Link, and Ganon. Living on several floating islands known as Skyloft, Link discovers the Goddess Sword and must search the surface for Zelda fighting the Demon Lord Ghirahim. Ghirahim is working towards freeing Demise, the Demon King who destroyed the land long ago.
This is so low on the list because this game felt very linear and didn’t give the free roam that I love from my Zelda games. That added to the combat gimmick where you needed to attack depending on how the enemy’s weakness was shown could get a little wonky. The story is remarkable, the music is always top-notch, and the motion controls never feel out of place.
#11 The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (1993)
Taking place on Koholint Island, Link must wake up the Wind Fish to return to Hyrule. This game is full of characters from other Nintendo properties that only show up in this game. During the adventure, it is heavily implied that the whole island is just a figment of the Wind Fish’s dream; however, no one can know. It isn’t until Link defeats Dethl that the truth is revealed, and Link wakes up on driftwood in the middle of the ocean.
The twist ended is one not many people can forget. The fact that by winning the game, you essentially destroy the whole island and everyone in it is something I would have never expected from the Zelda games at this point. Nintendo adding two dungeons that can only be explored if you had a Gameboy Color was also a marketing genius.
#10 The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (2004)
Link must reforge the Picori Blade with his magical hat Ezlo, which grants Link the ability to shrink down to Picori size and retrieve the Four Elements. Defeating Vaati restores Ezlo to his former glory and prevents Zelda from being permanently turned to stone.
My pick for the most underrated Zelda game is the Minish Cap. I loved the shrinking gimmick and making minor enemies seem more intimidating by changing your size. Plus, I’m always a sucker for a Zelda game without Ganon or Ganondorf as the final villain.
#9 The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (2001)
Link is transported to a land called Labrynna and meets Nayru, a singer and the Oracle of Ages. Nayru then gets possessed by Veran, who disrupts the flow of time. Link must then recover eight Essences of Time from the past and present to create a Huge Maku Seed to enter the Black Tower and defeat Veran.
This game and the next are both interconnected. Depending on which one you play first, you can get a password to make the other one a sequel so you can finish the story and defeat Twinrova and Ganon.
#8 The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (2001)
Link is transported to a land called Holodrum and meets a dancer named Din, the Oracle of Seasons. Din is quickly kidnapped by Onox and throwing the seasons into chaos. Link must find eight Essences of Nature to create a Huge Maku Seed to defeat Onox and save Din.
The last two games are neck and neck. This game gets the slightest edge over Oracle of Ages because I enjoyed the season-changing gimmick more than the time-travelling one. Adding that you can finish quests in both games by getting passwords was genuinely amazing.
#7 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991)
Now we get into the games that can arguably be #1 on anyone’s list. This is the first game in which the legendary Master Sword makes its appearance, as well as the Dark World. Agahnim kidnaps Zelda, and Link must rescue the Seven Sages to break into the castle and defeat the wizard. Afterwards, Ganon appears in the Pyramid of Power in the Dark World, only to be defeated by Link again.
Giving us the Dark World and making us realize that we had only played half of the game was a fantastic twist. Moving from one realm to another to get to palaces was an ingenious way to add more puzzles to a franchise known for them. Adding in the fact that the visuals were a massive upgrade from the previous two games, this game has everything a Zelda fan would want.
#6 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006)
Ganondorf enlists the help of Zant, Usurper King of the Twili, to help him take over Hyrule. With the land covered in Twilight, Link must cleanse the realm with the help of Midna. After reviving the Light Spirits, Link is tasked with restoring the Mirror of Twilight to defeat evil once again and save both Hyrule and the Twilight Realm.
After Wind Waker, this game took a darker tone and gave the franchise a sense of horror and suspense. Link turning into a wolf for the first time was unnerving and yet awesome at the same time. Learning how to fight as both Link and a wolf made the combat that much more enjoyable to master.
#5 The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (2002)
A giant bird kidnaps Link’s sister, and it’s up to him and his talking boat, the King of Red Lions, to rescue her. While travelling The Great Sea, Link must acquire the Hero of Time’s power to defeat a returning Ganondorf. Discovering that Hyrule was flooded years ago, Link travels to the castle protected by an underwater barrier to defeat Ganondorf and save the land.
The cell shading graphics still hold up today, as the visuals are beautiful. The vastness of the Great Sea gives you that feeling of loneliness and adds to the need to find Link’s sister. With new races added to the lore and the combat throwing in counters, this game gives you the action you can expect from a Zelda game.
#4 Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link (1988)
The sequel to the first Legend of Zelda starts with the discovery that the first princess Zelda is in a cursed slumber. Link must travel to six palaces and place crystals in a statue at each location. During the adventure, Ganon’s troops seek out the hero after discovering that Link’s blood can help revive the beast. After defeating the guardian Thunderbird and his doppelgänger Dark Link, the Triforce of Courage is acquired, and Zelda is awakened.
This will be my most controversial pick. This was the first game I ever beat when I was five years old, and it’s what got me into gaming as a whole. The fact that they added an experience-based levelling system was entertaining and tailored the gameplay to your style. Should you level up your health or hold off to get that bigger attack? Add the fact that this game was, and is, very difficult, and the sense of accomplishment upon beating it is euphoric.
#3 The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (2000)
Travelling with Epona, the horse, Link is accosted by a Skull Kid wearing a creepy mask. Epona is taken, and Link follows, only to be turned into a Deku Scrub. Upon falling down a hole, he is transported to a land called Termia and discovers that the moon will fall and destroy everything in three days. Link must travel to four Temples to liberate the Giants to stop the moon from falling.
Giving us three days to stop the moon puts a strategy into everything you want to do. Will you stop the midnight thief or talk to the innkeeper about her lost love? Replaying the three days over and over again truly made things feel special when you finished a quest. Add the fact that all the masks gave you special abilities, which truly made the game enjoyable.
#2 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)
A 100 years after Ganon attacked Hyrule and defeated the hero, Link awakens in a chamber to a hostile land. He must travel the land looking for allies and champions to pilot Devine Beasts to help him defeat Calamity Ganon. After all four beasts are poised to attack, Link sneaks into Hyrule Castle and battles Ganon with the help of Zelda, defeating him and restoring peace.
Straying away from the conventional formula, BotW has gorgeous visuals and a scale that I haven’t felt since Ocarina of Time. Taking away dungeons and giving us shrines was risky, but I enjoyed figuring out how to solve them. The combat system keeps improving, and adding a parry system was a breath of fresh air. Being able to solve problems in multiple different ways meant that you could keep replaying this game to try new things.
#1 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
After discovering that the Great Deku Tree is sick and dying, Link travels to Hyrule Castle to meet Princess Zelda. They discover Ganondorf is attempting to find the Temple of Time to steal the Triforce. Link finds and pulls the Master Sword from the pedestal, but Ganondorf follows him and steals the Triforce. Link is sealed in the Temple for seven years until he is ready to wield the legendary sword. After emerging, Link must now call upon the seven sages to help seal Ganondorf away.
This is the perfect Zelda game. The first game to be in 3D as well as having a vast world that made you feel like you were actually in Hyrule. The music is memorable, with songs you can’t help humming even 30 years later. There is a reason this is considered one of the greatest games of all time.
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