I'm replaying Ocarina of Time right now so I was inspired to make this thread. I love both the N64 ones but I think Majora's Mask is slightly better

01. Breath of the Wild
02. The Wind Waker
03. Ocarina of Time
04. A Link Between Worlds
05. Twilight Princess
06. A Link to the Past
07. Skyward Sword
08. The Minish Cap
09. Majora's Mask
10. Four Swords Adventure
11. Oracle of Seasons
12. Oracle of Ages
13. The Phantom Hourglass
14. The Legend of Zelda

Haven't played:
The Adventure of Link
Link's Awakening (very much anticipating the Switch remake)
A Link to the Past & Four Swords
Spirit Tracks
Tri Force Heroes

Majora's Mask 3D
Breath of the Wild
Skyward Sword
The Wind Waker
Ocarina of Time
A Link Between Worlds
Twilight Princess

2-4 are pretty equal for me. Breath is so huge, Skyward single-handedly justified my Wii purchase (I hated using that controller for 95% of games but had so much fun swinging the Wiimote around for that one) and Wind Waker just has the coolest style. I wish they would port the remake to Switch, I never got it on Wii U.

I should point out that I rarely ever finish these games (Mask, Sword and Link are only ones I've beat Ganon/The Moon), so I am not that invested in the story. They just go on for so long. Majora's Mask was very well paced and creepy and had fantastic gameplay, so it is my easy #1.

I think my favorite is probably Wind Waker. I just enjoyed it so much and I've played it the most times through. Even sailing long distances and collecting random treasure was a treat for me.

1. Wind Waker (Gamecube)

second place is a tough call... I think Ocarina easily the most impactful/transcendent at the time I played it, but I've played Twilight Princess through more often. Love its style and gameplay.

2. Twilight Princess (Gamecube)
3. Ocarina of Time (N64)

Then the handheld that was my introduction to the series:

4. Link's Awakening (Gameboy)

The most recent 3D one I've played didn't really hold up on a second run-through, but still has a lot to offer:

5. Skyward Sword (Wii)

then, it was fine:

6. A Link Between Worlds (2DS)

haven't played Breath of the Wild or the two NES games, and only played half of Link to the Past. Did play Minnish Cap but don't really feel like it's official Zelda for some reason.

I literally CANNOT play Majora's Mask. I think I've tried three separate times over the years and always quit around 3 hours in. I hate the time constraint and the whole thing stresses me out.

Bump, can this be sent to the WaterCooler?

1. Majora’s Mask
2. Ocarina of Time
3. The Wind Waker
4. A Link to the Past

1. Majora’s Mask (when I think of video game as art, I think of this game)
2. Ocarina of Time (not only the quintessential Zelda game, but also a surprisingly poignant take of the coming of age story)
3. Breath of the Wild (still the best opening to a game ever made, but ironically, its ending was so weak, it kept it from masterpiece territory for me)
4. Twilight Princess (I go back and forth between this and Wind Waker for this spot. Both kinda fill the role of living in the shadow of previous Zelda’s, but this one much more so as it is in many ways a spiritual redo of Ocarina of Time. Yet it has a melancholy vibe to it that makes it stand out)
5. Wind Waker (it probably is my subjectivity getting in the way, as it really has aged well, but the cartoony style clashes poorly with the narrative for my tastes. Also its exploration methods are far more shallow than it leads on. Still, it is charming with a great ending)
6. Skyward Sword (once you adjust, the Wii motion controls weren’t as bad as people made them out to be, and it has some of the most interesting dungeons, but it is far too linear and has poor pacing in the third act that drags out the game too much)
7. The Legend of Zelda (maybe I am too young or bias towards the games I grew up with in the late 90s, but Zelda doesn’t work super well until it became more cinematic with later games, it just lacks the magic even if the design is great.

I haven’t beaten Link to the Past, but have played it deep into its story. It to me has the same issues as the original and is why I don’t like the 2D Zelda’s despite loving the 2D Mario’s. Zelda just took such a leap with Ocarina of Time even if A Link to the Past set all the standards. I just think adventure games that tell its story through exploration don’t translate well into a 2D environment unlike JRPGs.

I also haven’t beaten Tears of the Kingdom, being a dad to young children, it is hard to get immersed in adventure games like I used to when I was single. Still it feels disjointed, but I wonder if a second playthrough where I focus on the main story beats might improve my opinion.

So, now that I have beaten Tears of the Kingdom and am going back and listening to everyone’s thoughts, it appears mostly negative. What the fuck? I want to hear some positive perspectives, like Corpse, you like the game, why is it worthy of praise?

I think this game might age better if people play the story straight instead of endless adventuring. Like I would be curious how it plays if you play the story as intended and cut out the exploring. Will it age well?

Tears of the Kingdom definitely has the strength of a great final boss

Ocarina

Only ever played link on original NES. Then switched to PS during my heyday of games so missed the train

I've been on a bit of Zelda bender the last couple years. I got a Switch in 2021, played Breath of the Wild for the first time. Game changing, incredible, best game ever. I was also reminded of classic Zeldas and how much I love the whole series. I've always loved living out the adventurer archetype in such a clever, exploratory, and rewarding kind of way. Gameplay, design, music, everything, the best. My favorite video game series, easy, no contest.

So I went back and played to completion: Skyward Sword, Link's Awakening (Switch version), Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask (first time), The Minish Cap, Link to the Past (first time), and of course Tears of the Kingdom as soon as it dropped in May 2023, which I managed to put in even more hours than I did Botw (280 vs 230).


I love the Zelda series so much.


My favorites have evolved, I'll attempt a ranking here:


1. Tears of the Kingdom (Switch) / 1. Ocarina of Time (N64)

cheating right off the bat, I'm giving two games the tie. One is pure nostalgia magic, and undeniably just a masterclass in video game story-telling, design, and game-play. Ocarina was my first big videogame "boner" and it still hits 25 years later.

Tears of the Kingdom is an unfocused sprawl, a chaotic and scattered mess. It's also the coolest fucking thing I've ever seen or played, and the moments where it 'hits' are the best videogame moments of my life. It embodies the spirit of ultimate power, creativity, and play, and rewards the player in its sense of pure possibility and joy.

my feelings for this game are truly bipolar in that I often kinda hated it, even while I was obsessively playing it (and also loving it). It's got problems, most notably---how the main story plays out of order is a terrible choice; it is far, far too scattered and unfocused, the infinity of endless competing possibilities diffuses any possibility of narrative momentum, cohesion, or impact. The game was so vast that I frequently had to muster my own momentum, muster from power of will the psychological intent / story-line in my mind, I had to remember how to make myself make it fun, but then I could and did, and this game has me by the balls of wonder, I dunno what to say, I'm obsessed, infatuated, I love it profoundly despite the things I hate about it.


3. Wind Waker (Gamecube) / Twilight Princess (Gamecube)

cheating again, I'm low key obsessed with each of these games but haven't played either in probably 10+ years? damn I'm old. And I really wanna play them again.

each one is just such a delightful embrace yet evolution of the 3D Zelda traditions established in the previous console generation (Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask). Gamecube era gave us these two gifts, each so different but beautiful. would love Nintendo to bring a port of these on one cartridge to the Switch for $60, Please!!! (but they're kind of evil geniuses and are definitely saving that for the Super Switch aka Switch 2 whenever it comes out).


5. Breath of the Wild (Switch)

technically in my mind this is also #1, and TotK owes almost everything phenomenal about it to this game, so I'm cheating again and this is a sneak #5 Top 1 Favorite Zelda game, I just can't.


6. Skyward Sword (Wii [Switch]) / Majora's Mask (N64)

each of these games would, and do, rank among my favorite Zeldas but somehow each is hindered by a mechanic that doesn't fully work for me. Skyward Sword's motion controls are mostly fun as shit, and I don't mind the linearity of it, love the drama and puzzles.... but some of the sword-fight battles with Ghirahim just did not work, the controls get totally fucked and make those battles a carpal tunnel inducing trial of spastic frustration and endurance. and the 3-time repeat of that annoying-ass spiraling turd boss is a little iffy.

Majora's Mask is incredible, and I can see and appreciate why it's many peoples' favorite, but the game for me is unplayable without modern save-states. I tried three or four separate times to play on both the N64 and the Gamecube, and could not get through more than one dungeon before bailing because I hated the attentional demand of playing a full cycle every time you play.

The three day cycle turns out to be quite beautiful, amusing, and fun once you're able to master it. And the characters and side-quests here definitely are among the best in the series. But overall I just don't like the time limit idea, it's always a low-key pressure in my experience of playing it. I like lolly-gagging and fuckin around in Zelda too much to be time-conscious. ((but also low key, down low, super secret, this is also like maybe tied for number 1 on this insane list))


8. A Link to the Past (SNES) / Link's Awakening (GB / Switch)

my first Zelda game, my entry into the series, will always have a place in my heart. Gameboy's Links Awakening was life-changing. I think deep in my bones I'm still enchanted and bewitched by playing this handheld adventure, that felt somehow huge yet intimate, playful yet challenging and deep. Silly and profound. (two of my favorite qualities about myself)

Link to the Past, clearly iconic, I bailed on this game once or twice a decade ago on 2DS, but played and conquered it finally this year on the Switch. Playing this 25 years after I first played Ocarina of Time, it's incredible to see how much of the design (music, items, gameplay mechanics, themes/motifs) repeat in its 3D successor. That said, I think I officially just love the 3D Zeldas so hard that these brilliant games can only squeak in the Top 10 because there aren't 10 3D Zelda games.

10. A Link Between Worlds (2DS)

this game is amazing, an absolute joy, cleverly familiar yet subtly revolutionary, and somehow even better the games that inspired it. I just haven't played it in awhile. This would benefit from a big screen port to the Switch, thanks Nintendo!

11. The Minish Cap (GBA)

Love this one too, it was a joy to play. But with a Top 10 that consists of like 6+ number ones, how's a little Capcom semi-official knockoff gonna compete? I bailed on this one halfway through the final dungeon last year, whereas all the others I completed. Loved playing it, lots of clever design and art. but somehow more forgettable than the others



I haven't ever played the original Nintendo ones (Zelda, Zelda II) or Gameboy Color ones (Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Seasons) and am hesitant to try the Switch online version of any of these. I dunno why I just feel like I already don't like them?


Echoes of Wisdom (Switch) is on deck, and I'm hoping it gives me a boner.


Thank you for attending my Zelda Masters Thesis Presentation, graduating class of WoKJ 2024.

the best build-up to a final boss, and the best final boss. Incredible what they did with the atmosphere and progression with this whole sequence. I had to replay the long finale two nights in a row when I finally beat it.

Wind Waker has a poor final battle but I'll always love that they made Ganondorf say that the gods destroyed Hyrule instead of saving it when they flooded it. Better villain writing than almost any MCU movie.

Definitely the best written Ganondorf has ever been, but I stand by Ocarina of Time being his best overall version