Ranking the seven best Zelda games ever

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19 mins read

Ranking the Zelda games is perhaps the most daunting task Nick and I have ever faced in our gaming journalism careers. No series has been this venerated and loved by gamers so universally and it’s a hell of a thing deciding what is better than another, especially when over the 25 year history of Zelda comparing a certain title to another can be like weighing a tonne of apples against a tonne of kumquats. It’s all very tricky, but we have here a list that we have picked after careful debate of a few handpicked games in the franchise. These are the standout games in the series. Sometimes flawed, always breathtaking to legions of fans.

Those games that didn’t make the list are still good games – Nintendo’s rarely put a foot wrong with the series, but whether it’s that they’re a touch derivative, too old for their own good, or simply inferior to something on this list, they aren’t as memorable as the following titles:

6 – Wind Waker

NICK: For those who played Wind Waker, what is the thing that you remember about the game? Some people will undoubtedly say the cel-shading graphical style, some will say the cutesy take on the formulaic Zelda story. Not I, however. For me, the most memorable thing about Wind Waker was nothing so happy. Instead, what I remember most are the endless treks between areas in the game.

Wind Waker followed the conventional Zelda formula of travelling between temples and the like, but where games like Ocarina of Time or Link’s Awakening would throw simple puzzles and battles at you to make the travel time interesting, Wind Waker instead put you in control of a ship sailing across open sea. Which, as a concept, sounds fine enough.

Until you realize that the open sea is nothing more than a graphical representation of empty space. In which nothing happens. Thus we give the game the bottom ranking on this little list.
You certainly have to hand it to them for coming up with an original idea; an adventure game where you get to actively sail around the world is something that hasn’t been seen before. Of course, I think there’s a reason for that: sailing usually precludes other activity, which means that you can’t do anything else. And when you have to spend about half of your gameplay time traveling around the map, doing nothing, it’s hard to stay invested.

5 – Twilight Princess

ZANE: Twilight Princess is a notable game for very many reasons. First of all is that Nintendo continued to experiment with Zelda. The notable words in this sentence that should jump out at the reader is ‘Nintendo’ and ‘experiment.’ Nintendo is notorious with picking a handful of guns and sticking to them to the point when the only way to get them away from the company is to pry them their cold dead hands. Twilight Princess did rock the boat a bit, albeit in a less satisfactory way than Majora’s Mask, where Nintendo really threw out the formula and heaped burning fire upon it.

But unfortunately, we give it such a low slot because even though it was Zelda, it could easily have been another game if you had swapped out the story and the character set. It was perhaps the most generic fantasy of the series, and the fact that Nintendo went for the dark and edgy approach didn’t help.

Not to say that it was all bad. I award Nintendo points for taking a risk, and I must admit the graphics were singularly beautiful and stylistic. Combat as well Nintendo got right (when it wasn’t with a Wiimote) which is obviously very important. And I can’t really deny that it didn’t have a few memorable moments.

Despite all of this, I have to give it the low slot because, in the end, there is no excuse for making it a generic adventure game when you’re making another Zelda title.


4 – Link’s Awakening

NICK: While there are many out there who think quite highly of Link’s Awakening (our own EIC included), it must be said that, as compared to other Zelda titles, Link’s Awakening was a huge deviation from the formula.

And that’s the best thing about it.

Where nearly every other Zelda game pits you, as Link, battling against Ganon to save Princess Zelda and the kingdom of Hyrule, Link’s Awakening instead pitted you, as Link, trying to find a way off the damn island you’re stuck on. In a way, Link’s Awakening is the Lost of the Zelda series, only with a coherent ending and a lack of wishing it had ended two seasons earlier, and without that damn good versus evil thing that never gets resolved. And what’s the deal with the whole — sorry. Back on topic.

With enough content to nearly match Ocarina of Time and the same beloved Zelda formula transplanted into a separate world, Link’s Awakening certainly deserves a high spot on this list, if only because it is one of the most original titles of the franchise. But the real question is how it stacks up against the classic that spawned the original formula. Well…

4 – (also) – A Link to the Past

ZANE: Well see, thing is here is that we have to award a tie. Simply because of the reason we’re comparing apples and oranges, and it is impossible to decide what goes higher on this list.

A Link to the Past was the first “real” Zelda game; where all the canon and formula finally took root and defined every future game. Admittedly it had its flaws but that is to be expected of this prototype. Game design certainly could have been better, but we will forgive them for that exact reason.

But for the record, while I’m still talking about A Link to the Past, the temples in that were waaaay harder than those of Ocarina of Time. Yes. Even the Water Temple. *cue nerd rage*

3 – Majora’s Mask

ZANE: Majora’s Mask is perhaps one of the most criminally underrated games of all time. While everybody played OoT, nobody played Majora’s Mask. Maybe it was because Nintendo was too daring, or that it required some real hard thought in some places to solve. In any case, it didn’t do very well in pop culture.

Like I said previously, Nintendo really threw out the formula here and just said: ‘screw it. We’ll do something else.’ And they did. With startling results.

The mechanic the game revolved around was the three days you had before the Moon, the most horrific moon I have ever seen, crashed into the land of Termina (NOT HYRULE! ZOMGWTFBBQ!).

Link, being a time travelling kid with too many swords and free time on his hands decides to save the land, without any real clear cut personal reason to, other than the whole doomsday thing. Although in my opinion, he could have just gone back to Hyrule with a clear conscious. Saving one nation is enough for a lifetime, right?

Also it had the BEST companion of any of the franchise. Tatl’s dingalingding was so much more pleasant compared to this:

Before I get too off track I’ll hand over to Nick for the reasons why this game was so very different and amazing.

NICK: As Zane has pointed out, the best part of Majora’s Mask was how different it was. Much like with Link’s Awakening, Link wasn’t stuck saving Zelda from Ganon in Hyrule. Instead, you were introduced to an entirely new world, one that seemed so much more alive than the Hyrule of Ocarina of Time. You were able to interact with people, see them living their lives, and come to care about whether they lived or died.

Other Zelda games haven’t managed to make you care so much about the NPCs around you: in Ocarina of Time, you have the one village that actually had people in it but Majora’s Mask had numerous settlements, all filled with characters that were depending on you to save them. And the most amazing part of it all was that they all seemed to matter; maybe it was because of the visible impending doom, or perhaps it was simply because the characters were better realized. Whatever the case may have been, you came to care about the NPCs to the point where you were saving the world not for yourself, but for them.

The other fantastic thing about Majora’s Mask was that you got to delve further into the culture of the races that they had created by actually becoming one of them. The Zora, the Deku and the Goron; all of them were so diverse and alien, but Majora’s Mask allowed you to explore their worlds and come to care about them as much as the humans.

Majora’s Mask conjured some fantastic emotions, most of which seem foreign to Zelda games. It was that originality that really made it stand out and it was that creativity that makes one of the best — and certainly the most underrated — title of the Zelda franchise.

2 – Ocarina of Time

ZANE: Now, if I know my audience, at least half of you have done a spit-take upon reading the number two next to Ocarina of Time, and the other half are scrambling to Google search my name in attempt to find my home and torch it to the ground for such blasphemy. Before you get those rags soaked by that Molotov you’re holding right now, read the rest of this and let me explain why.

I believe the reason why Ocarina of Time has been booted out of number one spot is because of a couple of factors.

Firstly, I think it all really comes down to nostalgia. Ocarina of Time is the sort of game that you have to play when you’re ten years old. Because you’re so young, what is awesome becomes super-incredible-nothing-in-the-world-is-going-to-ever-beat-this-EVER because you’re reasonably impressionable. To back up my point here, watch this clip from Final Fantasy VII – when Aeris dies.

Uh.

Well that’s interesting. That’s not nearly as emotionally intense as it was all those years ago…
The generation that loves and holds up this game as the shining light of the Zelda series played it when we were all about ten – and this emotional amplification increased over time with nostalgia and old impressionability.

However, we were right in holding it up and cherishing it as Miyamoto’s (God’s) gift to gaming kind. It is still one of the best games out there. Period. And not just Zelda, in the history of gaming itself. Forget Mario, forget Metroid, forget Call of Duty, forget Final Fantasy VII, forget all of them. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time kicks the snot out of them, and fourteen years later – fourteen years – it still beats all comers. (I feel old now.)

Well, almost all comers.

1 – Skyward Sword

ZANE: Skyward Sword has beaten Ocarina of Time because of lots and lots of small reasons that turn it into a big ball of awesome.

I think the main factor is what they have done to the relationship between Link and Zelda. In every single game, Zelda has been this far off woman in an ivory tower – who you’ve only met once – that begs you to save the kingdom of Hyrule from whatever evil is going down in this generation/continuity/universe/whatever the hell is going on with Nintendo and the Zelda universe.

Zelda isn’t this anymore. She’s a, er, person.

Zelda is no longer just this woman guiding your journey to kick evil ass and collect cool toys, she’s an actual character that you really grow attached to, and the incentive for rescuing the princess is no longer the obligation of Link and the player, but now a personal desire to save this person and have her back among the clouds with you.

I cannot even begin to describe how monumental this is in terms of this franchise. An analogy I can take from Mario, however, can.

Imagine a game where Princess Peach is given a backstory, a personality and discards her one-dimensional facade in order to take on the appeal of Half Life’s Alyx Vance. Mario is no longer trying to rescue her just as a by product of giving Bowser a good beating, but because the audience gives an actual damn about her.

Mind blowing, huh?

The game itself is just polished to a mirror sheen, reflecting everything Zelda should be and has been. The graphical style utterly nails it. It’s very slightly cartoony and it feels like someone’s taken all the hard edges out of Ocarina of Time and replaced all the textures with updated renditions. The combat is very satisfying and they finally worked out all the problems that the WiiMote had with Twilight Princess. The Master Sword has never been more fun to swing. The puzzles are tricky but intuitive, and to my utter delight, there are more sliding block puzzles! Huzzah! It is Zelda, distilled into an intoxicating cocktail of awesome.

On a more frivolous note, Fai beats every other companion except Tatl. Hands down, despite the fact she sounds like GLaDOS in a blender. (and the fact that she doesn’t have any hands…)

Well, that’s my reasoning, but I still suspect pitchforks are being sharpened as I type this, so if you have an opinion or a well-honed blade, check out our forums.

Let us know. Did we get it all wrong? Should I reinforce my doors and fireproof my bed?

Peace!

Zane M. & Nick J.

This is the bio under which all legacy DigitallyDownloaded.net articles are published (as in the 12,000-odd, before we moved to the new Website and platform). This is not a member of the DDNet Team. Please see the article's text for byline attribution.

  • I like that every fan has his/her own ranking and opinion about how these stack up, not a general consensus. I've never seen a list remotely like this, so it made for a good read.

    Based purely on enjoyment, mine would be Wind Waker, Majora's Mask, Link's Awakening, Zelda II, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, Zelda 1.

  • I like that every fan has his/her own ranking and opinion about how these stack up, not a general consensus. I've never seen a list remotely like this, so it made for a good read.

    Based purely on enjoyment, mine would be Wind Waker, Majora's Mask, Link's Awakening, Zelda II, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, Zelda 1.

  • Agreed. Zelda, more than any other series, really divides fans when they try and rank the games.

    Personally? From 1-6: Ocarina of Time, Link's Awakening, A Link To The Past, Oracle of Seasons, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword.

  • Agreed. Zelda, more than any other series, really divides fans when they try and rank the games.

    Personally? From 1-6: Ocarina of Time, Link's Awakening, A Link To The Past, Oracle of Seasons, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword.

  • I like this list. I definitely wouldn't rank OoT and TP as high on my own list, but other than that I pretty much fully agree with this. (MM, ALttP, and SS are amazing~)

  • I like this list. I definitely wouldn't rank OoT and TP as high on my own list, but other than that I pretty much fully agree with this. (MM, ALttP, and SS are amazing~)

  • Skyward Sword is the only game in the series other than Link's Adventure I was unable to finish. I could not enjoy the game at all and I really tried. I really wanted to like it. The companion character was the most unbearable annoying thing I've experienced in any Zelda game.
    Wiimote controls were terrible. I hated having to reset the center of the screen every single time I went to aim at something. The Motionplus allowed for some interesting puzzle mechanics, but I'm sure I didn't get to the best of the game because I couldn't make it to the second dungeon. I could not enjoy the game. Hearing the developers say that they couldn't make another Zelda game WITHOUT them terrifies me that I won't be able to enjoy another Zelda game. =(
    I've loved near every other game in the series. Especially MM.

  • Skyward Sword is the only game in the series other than Link's Adventure I was unable to finish. I could not enjoy the game at all and I really tried. I really wanted to like it. The companion character was the most unbearable annoying thing I've experienced in any Zelda game.
    Wiimote controls were terrible. I hated having to reset the center of the screen every single time I went to aim at something. The Motionplus allowed for some interesting puzzle mechanics, but I'm sure I didn't get to the best of the game because I couldn't make it to the second dungeon. I could not enjoy the game. Hearing the developers say that they couldn't make another Zelda game WITHOUT them terrifies me that I won't be able to enjoy another Zelda game. =(
    I've loved near every other game in the series. Especially MM.

  • an interesting read, though I'm unable to weigh in on most of these.  I have only played the original 2 NES games and Windwaker, though I do have Twighlight Princess and Skyward sword now so I am hoping to give them a playthrough soon.

  • an interesting read, though I'm unable to weigh in on most of these.  I have only played the original 2 NES games and Windwaker, though I do have Twighlight Princess and Skyward sword now so I am hoping to give them a playthrough soon.

  • you had to play a windfish tune to open up the belly of the whale and then…it was just a childhood classic 🙂 an amazing game i think totally underrated zelda title Ballad of the Wind Fish. how can your forget that gem of a tune…..ammmmmaazzzzing 🙂

  • It's not the fact that OOT is not in the top spot … it's what IS in the top spot in it's place!  Skyward Sword … best Zelda ever!!?  You really think if the franchise ended today, and you stepped away and came back in 20 years and played these 7 titles, you'd REALLY call SS the best of the lot!?   

    Good lord, if you really just wanted to shock people, why not put Zelda II in the number one slot!?  

    I'm sorry, but while I enjoyed Skyward to a degree, it was probably the least interesting game in the 3D series.  Just because Zelda gets a back story does not improve the GAMEPLAY itself.  The problem with this game was how stretched out it got toward the end – revisiting the same areas for a THIRD time was really too much.  And the dungeons were essentially reduced to simple "get from point A to point B" – no real exploration or trying to figure out how one area might relate to another.  Just go in that room, get whatever's in it, and then go unlock a door. 

    By the way … no love for Phantom, Spirit, or Minish .. ?  Heck, what about Four Swords!?  These aren't the only Zelda games out there!!

  • It's not the fact that OOT is not in the top spot … it's what IS in the top spot in it's place!  Skyward Sword … best Zelda ever!!?  You really think if the franchise ended today, and you stepped away and came back in 20 years and played these 7 titles, you'd REALLY call SS the best of the lot!?   

    Good lord, if you really just wanted to shock people, why not put Zelda II in the number one slot!?  

    I'm sorry, but while I enjoyed Skyward to a degree, it was probably the least interesting game in the 3D series.  Just because Zelda gets a back story does not improve the GAMEPLAY itself.  The problem with this game was how stretched out it got toward the end – revisiting the same areas for a THIRD time was really too much.  And the dungeons were essentially reduced to simple "get from point A to point B" – no real exploration or trying to figure out how one area might relate to another.  Just go in that room, get whatever's in it, and then go unlock a door. 

    By the way … no love for Phantom, Spirit, or Minish .. ?  Heck, what about Four Swords!?  These aren't the only Zelda games out there!!

  • Not a bad list you got here, not at all. I agree with most of them although I'd change some places around. A Link To The Past is perfect where it is, but I'd put OOT and Majora's Mask further down and Twilight Princess and Wind Waker further up. It's funny, I played those games back in the day, but I never got all misty-eyed over them, and I actually find them difficult to go back to. I can replay ALttP, TP, and WW whenever I want and still find them fun. I still gotta play through Skyward Sword, but your description did make it sound appealing.

  • Not a bad list you got here, not at all. I agree with most of them although I'd change some places around. A Link To The Past is perfect where it is, but I'd put OOT and Majora's Mask further down and Twilight Princess and Wind Waker further up. It's funny, I played those games back in the day, but I never got all misty-eyed over them, and I actually find them difficult to go back to. I can replay ALttP, TP, and WW whenever I want and still find them fun. I still gotta play through Skyward Sword, but your description did make it sound appealing.

  • Good article guys.

    Surpassing console flame wars and PC gaming debates, ranking Zelda titles is probably one of the most volatile and divided topics around.  😀

    It's an interesting topic to say the least as zelda games have spanned such a large timeframe and can be very different.  I also find it interesting to compare fondness for a game based on when you first played it.  Do I end up wearing magic nostalgia goggles years later or does the game still deliver good gameplay even if it's a bit dated?

    Personally I stopped playing Zelda games after Zelda II and got lost in the PC gaming world until a few years ago.  I logged hundreds of hours into those two, but honestly am enjoying the hell out of Link's Awakening DX.  It's that 2D formula that I love, is portable on the 3DS and is just quirky or weird enough to shake things up while being fun.

    If I had to rank the few I have played:

    Link's Awakening DX
    Ocarina of Time (3D)
    Four Swords Anniversary Edition
    Zelda (1)
    Zelda II

    I'm also pretty sure LTTP will be #1 or tied when I get a chance to play it.  I really regret not playing it back then on a friend's SNES.  As for OOT I fully plan to get back to it, but want to keep going with awakening for now.

    Am also thinking about getting Majora's Mask with my club coins.  Just not sure how well it would fare today.

  • Good article guys.

    Surpassing console flame wars and PC gaming debates, ranking Zelda titles is probably one of the most volatile and divided topics around.  😀

    It's an interesting topic to say the least as zelda games have spanned such a large timeframe and can be very different.  I also find it interesting to compare fondness for a game based on when you first played it.  Do I end up wearing magic nostalgia goggles years later or does the game still deliver good gameplay even if it's a bit dated?

    Personally I stopped playing Zelda games after Zelda II and got lost in the PC gaming world until a few years ago.  I logged hundreds of hours into those two, but honestly am enjoying the hell out of Link's Awakening DX.  It's that 2D formula that I love, is portable on the 3DS and is just quirky or weird enough to shake things up while being fun.

    If I had to rank the few I have played:

    Link's Awakening DX
    Ocarina of Time (3D)
    Four Swords Anniversary Edition
    Zelda (1)
    Zelda II

    I'm also pretty sure LTTP will be #1 or tied when I get a chance to play it.  I really regret not playing it back then on a friend's SNES.  As for OOT I fully plan to get back to it, but want to keep going with awakening for now.

    Am also thinking about getting Majora's Mask with my club coins.  Just not sure how well it would fare today.

  • Link's Awakening is a brilliant way to get back into the series. Play OOT next and you've knocked off the two best Zelda games of all time anyway 😉

    Fingers crossed Minish Cap gets a eShop release for non-ambassadors. That's one that most love.

    Or Capcom's two Game Boy Color games. Those were neat.

  • Link's Awakening is a brilliant way to get back into the series. Play OOT next and you've knocked off the two best Zelda games of all time anyway 😉

    Fingers crossed Minish Cap gets a eShop release for non-ambassadors. That's one that most love.

    Or Capcom's two Game Boy Color games. Those were neat.

  • Yup – Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages. Great little Zelda games, they just might get virtual console releases 🙂

  • Yup – Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages. Great little Zelda games, they just might get virtual console releases 🙂

  • I'm playing through Twilight Princess again for the 4th time, and I personally think it's better than SS. I thought Skyward Sword was very overrated quite honestly, I couldn't stand the repetition with "dowsing" – the 1:1 motion is fantastic and playing TP now feels odd, but it would be interesting to see the sword motion added to all the games and see how opinions might change.

  • LTTP has to be in the #1 spot. I still enjoy it to this day, and I've probably played it dozens of times. It just never gets old! I don't really agree with your placing of SS at #1… I wouldn't even put it on the list, to be honest. It was a good game, but super repetitive at times, and I don't have the urge to replay it anytime soon.
    My list:
    1. Link to the Past
    2. Majora's Mask
    3. Twilight Princess
    4. Ocarina of Time
    5. Link's Awakening
    6. Minish Cap
    7. Oracle of Ages/ Seasons

  • LTTP has to be in the #1 spot. I still enjoy it to this day, and I've probably played it dozens of times. It just never gets old! I don't really agree with your placing of SS at #1… I wouldn't even put it on the list, to be honest. It was a good game, but super repetitive at times, and I don't have the urge to replay it anytime soon.
    My list:
    1. Link to the Past
    2. Majora's Mask
    3. Twilight Princess
    4. Ocarina of Time
    5. Link's Awakening
    6. Minish Cap
    7. Oracle of Ages/ Seasons

  • i have to disagree with the whole nostalgia argument for OOT, i didnt own an N64 growing up so i didnt play, i beat it for the first time a couple of years ago and absoultly loved it, i wanted to get to the end to see what happens, then restart and go for anything i missed.

    another problem with this list is your reason for putting wind waker in 6th and TP in 5th, you say that wind waker was great except for the ocean, yet TP you say is bad for a zelda game but good for any other action adventure game, so one mechanic ruins the game (i actually thought the open sea was awsome, gave you more to explore) but a lackluster game is better?

  • Hi Aaron,

    Thanks for dropping by and the input!

    I wasn't the one that wrote this piece, but I agree with the placement of five and six. There are a couple of Zelda games where the gimmick has absolutely ruined it for me. Spirit Tracks, for instance – that train ruined that game. And the boat in Wind Waker really hurts the experience.

    Twilight Princess, to me, didn't get anything wrong. It wasn't stand out brilliant, but it was safe, and overall enjoyable. 

  • My favorite is Link's Awakening, mostly because it was my first Zelda game. I also really enjoyed Minish Cap and I never got around to finishing Oracle of Ages. As a kid I could never figure out how to help that guy that wanted the toilet paper. And I don't think I will ever forget stealing from the shop owner in Link's Awakening. 

  • Great avatar, Miguel! 🙂 Pokemon FTW.

    Link's Awakening (the old B & W Game Boy game), was actually my first Zelda game too! 

  • I was lucky enough to play Link's Awakening and A Link to the Past although I wasn't able to finish the latter (I sort of got tired of the whole time traveling back and forth thing but also because I was a noob).

    sailing florida

  • i agree skyward sword is the best. but! twilight princess has also beaten ocarina of time by a lot. i am a gamer there's not a game i haven't beat in one day.

  • Id ont think there is a need for: Google search my name in attempt to find my home and torch it to the ground for such blasphemy anymore. People love Skyward Sword now.

  • I really enjoyed skyward sword, but I thought the bosses were a little too easy.  Most of the stuff in the game that you bought we on the most part, unnecessary.  (I find it more fun to get rupees and get the stuff and it be useful).  Oh and the biggest thing, why did Link not have different clothes?!?!  In that way, the game lack.  Although Twilight Princess has its own flaws, I found it more enjoyable

  • dude, oot beat everything outta the water. i admit, i was always severely disappointed that link didnt get enough credit at the end. i mean, after all he whooped a$$ several times throughout hyrule and didnt even get the girl. i DO like how skyward sword made it a little more personal though, i havent finished it yet, but the ending better be good! If they could take oot and make it better and longer and more personal, it would never be beaten.

  • The only Zelda game I've ever played was Twilight Princess and I thought it was absolutely amazing but that might have just been because I didn't have an idea in my head of what Zelda games were usually like.

  • I'd put Wind Waker in the number one, Ocarina of Time in two, and I'd put Zelda II: The Adventure of Link in third. Twilight Princess wouldn't even be in my top ten.
    It was awesome, but it sucked for a Zelda title.

  • Since it was my first ever Zelda game to play all the way through, and the one that sparked my love for Zelda titles, I'm disappointed that Phantom Hourglass wasn't even mentioned. How could you forget Linebeck? 🙁

  • Hey, out of all the Links, who do you think is the best. Like if each Link from each Zelda title entered a fighting tournament, with all of the items available in their respective games, who would come out victorious? Just a question I have…

  • I'm going to give it to Skyward Sword Link. Of all the Links, he's the most agile (running, climbing, frotnflip and backflip spin attacks) and he can perform a Sword Beam attack 9 different ways. Dude's a beast!

  • (Minor spoilers of Skyward Sword. MINOR)

    I played Phantom hourglass, and got bored near the end. I then played spirit tracks and just didn't care enough to finish it. Skyward Sword was AMAZING. I loved it. I loved Skyward Sword. though going back to the same place 3 times did get annoying. But the most amazing part was that I had an actual desire to save Zelda. That was the only reason I went through looking for Zelda, enhancing the sword, going through silent realms (hated these with all my heart), re-activating the time tunnel, stopping the imprisoned three god-damned times, assembling the triforce, and fighting a shit-load of bosses.

    Now, honesly, I haven't finished OoT yet (I just met Zelda) so I can't say Skyward Sword is better. But I really do like Skyward sword, I thought it was amazing.

  • I somewhat see your point regarding Wind Waker's sea exploration, but at the same time… no. There was plenty to do while on the open sea, and later on in the game you are given the trusty melody to instant warp your sail boat anywhere you want to go, so your point doesn't really hold water (no pun intended). Besides all that, couldn't we say the same thing about Ocarina of Time's overworld map? There is basically NOTHING to do… outside of the rare, but worthless, encounters with stalfos warriors. You don't see people complaining that it was nothing but empty space, though, do you? No, you don't, because giving you the feeling of an epic world and high adventure is what it's primarily there for.

  • Ugh… no, no, no. The boat MAKES the Wind Waker experience. It gets a bit redundant when searching for the Triforce shards, but that is not so much a problem with the boat as it is with Nintendo making us do another needless fetch-quest (as is their way). If you guys don't like the boat, that's totally fine. But don't play it up as a gameplay flaw, when it is merely an opinion. As I said in a previous post, OoT's overworld was even more empty and useless from a gameplay standpoint. As a matter of fact, the same argument used against Wind Waker's sea travel could be used against your guys' top pick. Skyward Sword's "air travel" was, for the most part, empty space… perhaps even more so than Oot or WW. It was the floating islands you had to land on, as well as the main continent below, that provided the quests and the gameplay in Skyward.

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    Ranking the Zelda games is perhaps the most daunting task Nick and I have ever faced in our gaming journalism careers. No series has been this venerated and loved by gamers so universally and it’s a hell of a thing deciding what is better than another, especially when over the 25 year history of Zelda comparing a certain title to another can be like weighing a tonne of apples against a tonne of kumquats. It’s all very tricky, but we have here a list that we have picked after careful debate of a few handpicked games in the franchise. These are the standout games in the series. Sometimes flawed, always breathtaking to legions of fans.

    Those games that didn’t make the list are still good games – Nintendo’s rarely put a foot wrong with the series, but whether it’s that they’re a touch derivative, too old for their own good, or simply inferior to something on this list, they aren’t as memorable as the following titles:

    6 – Wind Waker

    NICK: For those who played Wind Waker, what is the thing that you remember about the game? Some people will undoubtedly say the cel-shading graphical style, some will say the cutesy take on the formulaic Zelda story. Not I, however. For me, the most memorable thing about Wind Waker was nothing so happy. Instead, what I remember most are the endless treks between areas in the game.

    Wind Waker followed the conventional Zelda formula of travelling between temples and the like, but where games like Ocarina of Time or Link’s Awakening would throw simple puzzles and battles at you to make the travel time interesting, Wind Waker instead put you in control of a ship sailing across open sea. Which, as a concept, sounds fine enough.

    Until you realize that the open sea is nothing more than a graphical representation of empty space. In which nothing happens. Thus we give the game the bottom ranking on this little list.
    You certainly have to hand it to them for coming up with an original idea; an adventure game where you get to actively sail around the world is something that hasn’t been seen before. Of course, I think there’s a reason for that: sailing usually precludes other activity, which means that you can’t do anything else. And when you have to spend about half of your gameplay time traveling around the map, doing nothing, it’s hard to stay invested.

    5 – Twilight Princess

    ZANE: Twilight Princess is a notable game for very many reasons. First of all is that Nintendo continued to experiment with Zelda. The notable words in this sentence that should jump out at the reader is ‘Nintendo’ and ‘experiment.’ Nintendo is notorious with picking a handful of guns and sticking to them to the point when the only way to get them away from the company is to pry them their cold dead hands. Twilight Princess did rock the boat a bit, albeit in a less satisfactory way than Majora’s Mask, where Nintendo really threw out the formula and heaped burning fire upon it.

    But unfortunately, we give it such a low slot because even though it was Zelda, it could easily have been another game if you had swapped out the story and the character set. It was perhaps the most generic fantasy of the series, and the fact that Nintendo went for the dark and edgy approach didn’t help.

    Not to say that it was all bad. I award Nintendo points for taking a risk, and I must admit the graphics were singularly beautiful and stylistic. Combat as well Nintendo got right (when it wasn’t with a Wiimote) which is obviously very important. And I can’t really deny that it didn’t have a few memorable moments.

    Despite all of this, I have to give it the low slot because, in the end, there is no excuse for making it a generic adventure game when you’re making another Zelda title.


    4 – Link’s Awakening

    NICK: While there are many out there who think quite highly of Link’s Awakening (our own EIC included), it must be said that, as compared to other Zelda titles, Link’s Awakening was a huge deviation from the formula.

    And that’s the best thing about it.

    Where nearly every other Zelda game pits you, as Link, battling against Ganon to save Princess Zelda and the kingdom of Hyrule, Link’s Awakening instead pitted you, as Link, trying to find a way off the damn island you’re stuck on. In a way, Link’s Awakening is the Lost of the Zelda series, only with a coherent ending and a lack of wishing it had ended two seasons earlier, and without that damn good versus evil thing that never gets resolved. And what’s the deal with the whole — sorry. Back on topic.

    With enough content to nearly match Ocarina of Time and the same beloved Zelda formula transplanted into a separate world, Link’s Awakening certainly deserves a high spot on this list, if only because it is one of the most original titles of the franchise. But the real question is how it stacks up against the classic that spawned the original formula. Well…

    4 – (also) – A Link to the Past

    ZANE: Well see, thing is here is that we have to award a tie. Simply because of the reason we’re comparing apples and oranges, and it is impossible to decide what goes higher on this list.

    A Link to the Past was the first “real” Zelda game; where all the canon and formula finally took root and defined every future game. Admittedly it had its flaws but that is to be expected of this prototype. Game design certainly could have been better, but we will forgive them for that exact reason.

    But for the record, while I’m still talking about A Link to the Past, the temples in that were waaaay harder than those of Ocarina of Time. Yes. Even the Water Temple. *cue nerd rage*

    3 – Majora’s Mask

    ZANE: Majora’s Mask is perhaps one of the most criminally underrated games of all time. While everybody played OoT, nobody played Majora’s Mask. Maybe it was because Nintendo was too daring, or that it required some real hard thought in some places to solve. In any case, it didn’t do very well in pop culture.

    Like I said previously, Nintendo really threw out the formula here and just said: ‘screw it. We’ll do something else.’ And they did. With startling results.

    The mechanic the game revolved around was the three days you had before the Moon, the most horrific moon I have ever seen, crashed into the land of Termina (NOT HYRULE! ZOMGWTFBBQ!).

    Link, being a time travelling kid with too many swords and free time on his hands decides to save the land, without any real clear cut personal reason to, other than the whole doomsday thing. Although in my opinion, he could have just gone back to Hyrule with a clear conscious. Saving one nation is enough for a lifetime, right?

    Also it had the BEST companion of any of the franchise. Tatl’s dingalingding was so much more pleasant compared to this:

    Before I get too off track I’ll hand over to Nick for the reasons why this game was so very different and amazing.

    NICK: As Zane has pointed out, the best part of Majora’s Mask was how different it was. Much like with Link’s Awakening, Link wasn’t stuck saving Zelda from Ganon in Hyrule. Instead, you were introduced to an entirely new world, one that seemed so much more alive than the Hyrule of Ocarina of Time. You were able to interact with people, see them living their lives, and come to care about whether they lived or died.

    Other Zelda games haven’t managed to make you care so much about the NPCs around you: in Ocarina of Time, you have the one village that actually had people in it but Majora’s Mask had numerous settlements, all filled with characters that were depending on you to save them. And the most amazing part of it all was that they all seemed to matter; maybe it was because of the visible impending doom, or perhaps it was simply because the characters were better realized. Whatever the case may have been, you came to care about the NPCs to the point where you were saving the world not for yourself, but for them.

    The other fantastic thing about Majora’s Mask was that you got to delve further into the culture of the races that they had created by actually becoming one of them. The Zora, the Deku and the Goron; all of them were so diverse and alien, but Majora’s Mask allowed you to explore their worlds and come to care about them as much as the humans.

    Majora’s Mask conjured some fantastic emotions, most of which seem foreign to Zelda games. It was that originality that really made it stand out and it was that creativity that makes one of the best — and certainly the most underrated — title of the Zelda franchise.

    2 – Ocarina of Time

    ZANE: Now, if I know my audience, at least half of you have done a spit-take upon reading the number two next to Ocarina of Time, and the other half are scrambling to Google search my name in attempt to find my home and torch it to the ground for such blasphemy. Before you get those rags soaked by that Molotov you’re holding right now, read the rest of this and let me explain why.

    I believe the reason why Ocarina of Time has been booted out of number one spot is because of a couple of factors.

    Firstly, I think it all really comes down to nostalgia. Ocarina of Time is the sort of game that you have to play when you’re ten years old. Because you’re so young, what is awesome becomes super-incredible-nothing-in-the-world-is-going-to-ever-beat-this-EVER because you’re reasonably impressionable. To back up my point here, watch this clip from Final Fantasy VII – when Aeris dies.

    Uh.

    Well that’s interesting. That’s not nearly as emotionally intense as it was all those years ago…
    The generation that loves and holds up this game as the shining light of the Zelda series played it when we were all about ten – and this emotional amplification increased over time with nostalgia and old impressionability.

    However, we were right in holding it up and cherishing it as Miyamoto’s (God’s) gift to gaming kind. It is still one of the best games out there. Period. And not just Zelda, in the history of gaming itself. Forget Mario, forget Metroid, forget Call of Duty, forget Final Fantasy VII, forget all of them. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time kicks the snot out of them, and fourteen years later – fourteen years – it still beats all comers. (I feel old now.)

    Well, almost all comers.

    1 – Skyward Sword

    ZANE: Skyward Sword has beaten Ocarina of Time because of lots and lots of small reasons that turn it into a big ball of awesome.

    I think the main factor is what they have done to the relationship between Link and Zelda. In every single game, Zelda has been this far off woman in an ivory tower – who you’ve only met once – that begs you to save the kingdom of Hyrule from whatever evil is going down in this generation/continuity/universe/whatever the hell is going on with Nintendo and the Zelda universe.

    Zelda isn’t this anymore. She’s a, er, person.

    Zelda is no longer just this woman guiding your journey to kick evil ass and collect cool toys, she’s an actual character that you really grow attached to, and the incentive for rescuing the princess is no longer the obligation of Link and the player, but now a personal desire to save this person and have her back among the clouds with you.

    I cannot even begin to describe how monumental this is in terms of this franchise. An analogy I can take from Mario, however, can.

    Imagine a game where Princess Peach is given a backstory, a personality and discards her one-dimensional facade in order to take on the appeal of Half Life’s Alyx Vance. Mario is no longer trying to rescue her just as a by product of giving Bowser a good beating, but because the audience gives an actual damn about her.

    Mind blowing, huh?

    The game itself is just polished to a mirror sheen, reflecting everything Zelda should be and has been. The graphical style utterly nails it. It’s very slightly cartoony and it feels like someone’s taken all the hard edges out of Ocarina of Time and replaced all the textures with updated renditions. The combat is very satisfying and they finally worked out all the problems that the WiiMote had with Twilight Princess. The Master Sword has never been more fun to swing. The puzzles are tricky but intuitive, and to my utter delight, there are more sliding block puzzles! Huzzah! It is Zelda, distilled into an intoxicating cocktail of awesome.

    On a more frivolous note, Fai beats every other companion except Tatl. Hands down, despite the fact she sounds like GLaDOS in a blender. (and the fact that she doesn’t have any hands…)

    Well, that’s my reasoning, but I still suspect pitchforks are being sharpened as I type this, so if you have an opinion or a well-honed blade, check out our forums.

    Let us know. Did we get it all wrong? Should I reinforce my doors and fireproof my bed?

    Peace!

    Zane M. & Nick J.

    This is the bio under which all legacy DigitallyDownloaded.net articles are published (as in the 12,000-odd, before we moved to the new Website and platform). This is not a member of the DDNet Team. Please see the article's text for byline attribution.

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