My favorite Zelda games

My favorite gaming series of all time is Zelda and now I'll try the nearly impossible feast of ranking the games

Written by Tomas Lyngen

Published: 15 Sep 2021

First Zelda game I ever played was A Link to the past, followed by Ocerina of time (first Zelda game I completed)

This list is my personal opinion and it felt like trying to rank my favorite kids. I still feel like moving some around, some of these was extremely hard to place

List goes from least favorite to favorite and only covers main series, not spin off titles such as Four Swords Adventure. Each title is only featured once, even if the game might have been upgraded for a newer console

#15 Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

This is a game I have not really played, but wasn't to found of what I played

#14 The Legend of Zelda

I like the original Zelda game, but there's a lot of other games I'd pick before this

#13 The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

This wasn't a too bad Zelda game, but I didn't feel it's as memorable as other titles

#12 The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

This is a fun game, but not as memorable as some of the other titles

I also had to replay the final boss way to many times, as it just wouldn't register properly me playing the song (by blowing into the microphone) and I was also once thrown off screen at the final boss. So neither coule so damage to the other

#11 The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

A lovely handheld game, especially as I'm a big fan of the Wind Waker. But it must have one of the most cryptic puzzles in the entire series, that I completed by luck

Minor spoiler warning: Later in the game, you'll come across a puzzle. That says something like "When two maps meet". On the top screen you've a map and on the bottom touch screen, you've a map you can draw on. I don't know how many times I keep redrawing the map and the game wouldn't accept the answer. Luckily I was at a family dinner and when I was called to eat, I closed the lid (instead of powering off). When I was done eating and resumed my game, I was welcomed with a puzzle resolved screen and was confused at first. Then I got it, when you close the screen, the top and bottom map meet

It's a cool idea, but it's the first and last time I personally have seen it been used

#10 The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

I liked Skyward Sword when it came out, unfortunately this is one of the few Zelda titles I've never completed. I got very far, but moved abroad and no longer had access to it. On the agenda, now that it's re-released on the Switch

#9 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Open world Zelda game was a complete new experience, but I personally prefer the more linear Zelda games. As I like to experience all, so I felt the game got to open and wide

So I felt I missed out key aspects, that would have made the game much more enjoyable

Still, it's a great game and I'm curious how the sequel will be, as they've a great foundation

#8 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

How wonderful it was to experience a bit darker Zelda game, a game that felt a bit more realistic and the same time a wonderful fantasy adventure

#7 The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

I love the ability to shrink and see the world in a completely different perspective

#6 The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons / Oracle of Ages

I'm fully aware that these are two different titles, but to me they go hand in hand and I'm not sure how to separate them

#5 The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening

Not sure how many hours I spent in The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening DX on the Game Boy and then they release the awesome upgraded Nintendo Switch version that's decently loyal to the original

I wish they made a spiritual sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening

#4 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

I can hear your screams, why is this only a forth place and I know, it's an awesome game. This was a really hard list to put together and the top positions are really close

#3 The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

The Game Cube controller is the controller I have the most found memories of and considering many people still buy it to use on Nintendo Switch, I'm not alone in that opinion. When you combine that with a magical journey, it's like a dream come through

Only thing I wish, was that Nintendo would release a deluxe edition on the Nintendo Switch (was hoping this would come for the Zelda 35th anniversary, at least a re-release), considering a lot of content was cut to make deadline. Lot of this cut content was used in preceding games, but I would still like to see a deluxe edition with this content

#2 The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Nintendo made an master piece with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, used the engine and created an even better sequel

#1 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

This was a game I never owned myself as a kid, but my best friend had it and I've lost count on how many hours I have spent in this game

Later emulators became common and even more hours went into this game. I've since bought the GBA version of this game, but I prefer playing the SNES version