#10 Skyward Sword / Wii - 2011
Yes, this game had a few problems. The world felt empty and devoid of life which was strange for a series known for great environments that feel rich and lived in. The dungeons felt uninspired and overly frustrating. The Wii Motion plus swordplay worked well, but felt gimmicky. There were a few strange UI quirks like why do I have to read about how an item works that I just picked up for the 150th time! But Skyward Sword isn't as bad as some people make it sound. I mostly enjoyed my time with this game and think some of the hate is a little unwarranted
#9 Link's Awakening / Game Boy - 1993
This is actually the first Zelda game I played and this is the one that hooked me. I remember thinking how interesting it was that you could steal stuff from the shops if you got the shop keeper to look the other direction. But then the shop keeper would zap you if you return and the village would brand you as a thief for the rest of the game. I was quite enamored with this concept and there were no other games that I played that were doing stuff like this at the time. I still have a ton of nostalgia for this game, but I'm not sure I'll ever replay it - partially because the text scrolling is SO SLOW
#8 The Legend of Zelda (Original) / NES - 1986
I already had several Zelda titles under my belt by the time I went back and played the original. Yes the translations are hilariously bad. And yeah, I'm not so sure you could get away with some of the obscure things you have to randomly try to progress through the game if you tried them in a modern game, but the original Legend of Zelda will always be a great classic. It's the one that started it all
#7 Twilight Princess / Gamecube, Wii - 2006
I found the first quarter/third of this game to be pretty rough. It was extremely linear which felt strange coming off of Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and Wind Waker which encouraged exploration and had tons of hidden secrets and mini-games to find. After about the first third of the game, Twilight Princess opens up and reveals a rich world to explore, but it takes a long time to get there. Plus I found the wolf sections where you fill the chalice with drops or whatever it was to be extremely tedious. I also got the sense that this game was trying really hard to be Ocarina of Time, which you would think I'd be in favor of as it's one of my all-time favorite games. But after playing Twilight Princess, I think I'd prefer that each Zelda game have it's own identity rather than trying to evoke another's
#6 Four Swords Adventures / Gamecube - 2004
This multiplayer Zelda game was a really cool idea that I think a lot of people missed out on because who actually had a bunch of extra Game Boy Advanced with Gamecube link cables lying around? The decision to implement the multiplayer with the GBA was also a bit head scratching since most of the time, all of the Links can be represented on the same screen at the same time. This game can be a bit frustrating when your team isn't cooperative or when a teammate "accidentally" pushes you into a pit, but this game is still fun and a really neat idea
#5 A Link Between Worlds / 3DS - 2013
Really cool level/puzzle design featured in this game. I think this game might possibly have the best dungeons of any game in the series. I loved the "renting items" concept too, although by about halfway through the game, I had enough rupees to buy all of the items outright. I found this to be a really interesting idea too, because on paper it seems like it shouldn't work. It destroys the sense of power progression via items you get with any other game in the series since you can have any item at any time by renting whatever you want. The level designers still found a way to make it work and they pulled it off really well. A Link Between Worlds is a really solid game that fans of A Link to the Past should absolutely play
#4 A Link to the Past / SNES - 1991
Another great classic. I think this is the ultimate evolution of the 2D Zelda formula that the original Legend of Zelda established. To me it's close between this game and A Link Between Worlds as to which game is the best of the 2D Zeldas, but I think A Link to the Past just edges out its spiritual successor based partially on the fact that the sequel got to build on the great foundation already established by this great classic, now nearly 25 years ago.
#3 The Wind Waker / Gamecube, WiiU - 2002
This is a great entry point to the series if you've never played a Zelda game before. Even though the game is nearly 15 years old, the graphics have aged really well - even on the original Gamecube version. This has the memorable characters, locations and excellent puzzles of the N64 Zeldas, but without the finicky controls and with a much better looking graphical engine.
#2 Majora's Mask / N64, Gamecube, 3DS - 2000
I absolutely love this game aesthetically. It's got a dark and creepy undertone throughout the whole game and there seems to be a constant theme of death throughout. I would absolutely love to see another "darker" Zelda game like this. I think it was the perfect follow up to Ocarina of Time both aesthetically and mechanically. It was just different enough from OoT to form it's own unique identity but also not totally alienate its player base. I loved the idea of the 3 day timer where Link would essentially keep Groundhog Day-ing through the same 3 day cycle throughout the game's duration. It gave the world a sense of consistency, familiarity and realism as you could follow key characters schedules in your notebook as well as track key events that happened consistently through the 3 day cycle. I'd love to see some of these ideas iterated and expanded upon in a modern game
#1 Ocarina of Time / N64, Gamecube, 3DS - 1998
This will probably always be my favorite Zelda game as I spent so much time playing it and replaying it over and over as a kid. I have so much nostalgia tied up in this game and I know it like the back of my hand. The sense of wonder and amazement at being able to explore a fully 3D world was mind blowing and I still remember exactly how that felt. This game is a masterpiece. All fans of Zelda games should absolutely play through this game at least once
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