The 15 Best Legend of Zelda Games of All Time
Zelda Countdown
The Legend of Zelda series is one of Nintendo's most storied franchises for a reason: It has provided over a dozen amazing journeys to Hyrule, introduced us to lovable (and evil) characters and a ton of musical instrument-themed macguffins. Whether you love the original, the 3D stylings of Ocarina of Time or the portable open world of Breath of the Wild, each game has a special place in our hearts. Here are our favorite Zelda games, starring Nintendo's silent Hylian hero, Link.
Credit: Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
One of the Nintendo DS' finest adventures saw Link returning to the world of Wind Waker in an effort to forge the Phantom Sword and rescue his pirate pal Tetra. While Phantom Hourglass' more casually slanted gameplay makes it divisive among Zelda fans, it also introduced a number of mechanics that made fine use of the DS' unique hardware. The handheld's touch screen was used for everything from plotting your ship's journey to throwing Link's boomerang, while the DS' nascent Wi-Fi connectivity enabled competitive multiplayer. Novel though it was at the time, there's something stifling about Phantom Hourglass' hand-holding in retrospect, especially compared to more ambitious entries in the franchise. — Adam Ismail
Best Place to Play: 3DS, Wii U
Credit: Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
The Minish Cap was Link's only original adventure on the Game Boy Advance. As far as portable Zelda titles go, it got the job done. Link squared off against the evil sorcerer Vaati, shrinking and growing in order to solve clever puzzles and best foes of all sizes. There's nothing really wrong with Minish Cap — save for Link's annoying sidekick, Ezlo — but the game was a bit short and simple, and finding the next objective was sometimes difficult. — Marshall Honorof
Best Place to Play: Wii U
Credit: Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: The Four Swords
As the first multiplayer game in the series, Four Swords is notable for taking Zelda into uncharted territory. While it bore the unenviable position of serving as a side attraction to the Game Boy Advance port of Link to the Past, Four Swords is a fun jaunt in its own right, encouraging players to work together in a truly addictive way while they navigate dungeons. The challenges intelligently scale to suit the number of players in your party, which was a fortunate thing, given that the biggest issue working against Four Swords was the difficulty of finding three other people to link up with. Unfortunately, that same roadblock prevents current gamers from revisiting this underrated classic. — Adam Ismail
Best Place to Play: DS/3DS
Credit: Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages/Seasons
Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons were The Legend of Zelda's take on dual-release Game Boy Color games, taking a page out of Pokemon's book. Unlike Pokemon Red and Blue, though, Oracle of Seasons and Ages were two unique games, each one with different items, enemies, dungeons and storylines. Needing both games to get the full plot was disappointing, but at least they were both solid, if unexceptional, adventures. — Marshall Honorof
Best Place to Play: 3DS
Credit: Nintendo
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link was an experiment. And, like many experiments, it didn't fully succeed. Instead of another top-down action/adventure, Zelda II was a side-scrolling RPG, complete with experience points, a magic system and explorable towns. Sounds fun — except that the difficulty curve was through the roof, and a poor translation made it very tough to figure out what to do next. At least it gave us Dark Link, the hammer and a few other series mainstays. — Marshall Honorof
Best Place to Play: 3DS, NES Classic
Credit: Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
While gamers may remember Skyward Sword primarily as a tech demo for the Wii Motion Plus, Link's second Wii adventure was so much more. Skyward Sword wound the clock back to tell a prequel story about the origins of the Master Sword, Ganon and the recurring cycle of good versus evil in Hyrule. The motion controls weren't quite as perfect as advertised, but the puzzles were deviously clever, the sword fights were thrilling and the soundtrack featured some of the most memorable tunes in the series. — Marshall Honorof
Best Place to Play: Wii U
Credit: Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Link's Awakening stands out for not taking place in Hyrule and not involving Princess Zelda. It was also the first portable game in the franchise, released on the Game Boy in 1993 and re-released for the Game Boy Color in 1998. While the graphics were nothing to write home about, Link's journey to awaken the Wind Fish proved that Nintendo could put a great story on the Game Boy as well as it did on a console. And if you got Link's Awakening DX, the Game Boy Color version, you got access to extra levels and Game Boy Printer compatibility. — Andrew E. Freedman
Best Place to Play: 3DS
Credit: Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda
Man, just thinking of that golden cartridge takes me back to a 7-year-old me, sinking hours into exploring Hyrule in search of adventure and new loot. The game that launched a 30-year love affair with its fans, The Legend of Zelda was the first home console title to feature an internal battery so you could save your game. Outside of the technological achievements, the original Zelda features some memorable music, lots of action and dungeon crawling. It also introduced us to two classic Zelda weapons: the bomb and boomerang. — Sherri L. Smith
Best Place to Play: 3DS, NES Classic
Credit: Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Call it the gift and the curse. In Twilight Princess, Link is tasked with saving Hyrule from being absorbed into a parallel world called the Twilight realm. To do this, he teams with Midna, a denizen of the dark realm, and he gains the ability to change into a wolf. Unfortunately, he's trapped in that form for a decent chunk of the game. If you played the Wii version of this realm-jumping, action-adventure title, you could swing the Wiimote to control Link's sword strikes, while the GameCube version allowed you to freely control the camera. Filled with action, adventure and a whole lot of intrigue, Twillight Princess is definitely the dark horse of the series. — Sherri L. Smith
Best Place to Play: Wii U
Credit: Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Recapturing the joy and magic of 1991's A Link to the Past is no small feat, but A Link Between Worlds does it with ease. This 3DS sequel to the iconic SNES title brings us back to that beloved, top-down take on Hyrule, re-creating many of the original game's key locations while giving us no shortage of brilliant new dungeons, puzzles and boss fights. But what truly makes A Link Between Worlds special is Link's ability to merge into walls and seamlessly travel between Hyrule and Lorule, adding an exciting new wrinkle to the tried-and-true 2D Zelda formula. It's a perfect combination of nostalgia and innovation, and makes for one of the best Zelda experiences on any platform. — Mike Andronico
Best Place to Play: 3DS
Credit: Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
A tale of dealing with loss and grief, Majora's Mask might have the most mature themes in the series. Taking place a few months after the events of Ocarina of Time, Link finds himself alone and displaced from his own time. On a mission to find Navi, his fairy friend who left him after Ocarina, Link is ambushed by a mysterious Skull Kid and follows him to Termina, a land about to be destroyed by a deranged-looking moon on a crash course into the planet. Using magical masks and the Ocarina of Time, Link will relive the same three days over and over until he restores the four guardian giants and finally comes face-to-face with Skull Kid. — Sherri L. Smith
Best Place to Play: 3DS
Credit: Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker wasn't considered a masterpiece by all when it launched on the GameCube, but in hindsight, it's easy to see why it's one of the best titles in the franchise. It had a unique, cel-shaded art style that created the beloved "Toon Link" variant of our favorite hero, and it gave Zelda more agency than almost any other title in the franchise. Sailing the sea on the King of Red Lions was novel at first, even if it eventually got tiring. But the game's whimsy and sense of exploration have largely held up. — Andrew E. Freedman
Best Place to Play: Wii U
Credit: Ninentdo
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
A Link to the Past is one of the top-selling Super Nintendo games of all time, and one of the best reasons to hunt down an SNES Classic. This chapter saw the debut of the iconic Master Sword, and gave us key gameplay elements such as the now-standard spin attack. It set itself apart from other games of its time with its beautiful soundtrack, including delightful rain sound effects, as well as by featuring the richest, most expensive version of Hyrule we had seen yet. A Link to the Past created the template for every 2D Zelda game that would follow, and still inspires a slew of top-down adventure games to this day. — Henry T. Casey
Best Place to Play: 3DS, SNES Classic
Credit: Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Who could forget their first time playing Ocarina of Time? Link's first 3D adventure was a revelation when it was released in 1998, fully realizing the scale and scope that was only hinted at in previous Zelda installments. Galloping around Hyrule on Epona; chatting with Navi; exploring the game's unforgettable dungeons; traveling through time and battling Ganondorf — they're all unforgettable moments that exhibit some of the best storytelling, charm and gameplay that The Legend of Zelda has to offer. More importantly, Ocarina of Time still holds up pretty well today, and everything from its lock-on 3D combat to its use of music as a gameplay mechanic has influenced generations' worth of action-adventure games. — Mike Andronico
Best Place to Play: 3DS
Credit: Nintendo
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Beautiful, gripping and innovative, Breath of the Wild reinvented the beloved Legend of Zelda series, creating a massive open world that players could explore at their leisure. The characters of Link and Zelda have depth that makes you want to root for them, with all their strengths and character flaws. It's a new retelling of the intertwined fates of Link, Zelda and Ganondorf that is one of the few games we've reviewed to earn a perfect 10 rating. — Sherri L. Smith
Best Place to Play: Switch
Credit: Nintendo
