Best-To-Worst Zelda Games List

[Legendary Sword]

1. Twilight Princess. This game took classic Zelda elements and added new, unique elements to make what I feel is the best video game in history. The story was exciting, dark, and even touching. And this game was massive. It took me almost 57 hours to beat my first time, which is great.

2.Ocarina of Time. This game is actually tied for first, but for the sake of the list I will put it second, because some of my feelings for the game probably have to do with nostalgia, since it was my first game. This game is spectacular, especially the story, music, and dungeons.

3. A Link to the Past. This game is so close to creating a three-way tie for first, it's not even funny. Everything was great, and it has aged very well. I want to particularly point out that I feel this game, despite being 2D, has the best dungeons in the entire series.

4. Wind Waker. Very close behind the first three. The best part about this game is its appearance. This is by far the most beautiful and breathtaking Zelda game.

5. Majora's Mask. All of these games are so close, lol. This might be my fourth favorite, I change my mind based on my mood. I loved its depth and uniqueness, and the soundtrack is second in the series only to its predecessor, OoT.

6. Spirit Tracks. The music was great, and I had so much fun playing this game. It took a great game (PH) and fixed all of its mistakes.

7. The Legend of Zelda. Even though I just played it for the first time this summer, its age doesn't hinder the enjoyment of the game. This is where Zelda began, the greatest video game franchise in existence.

8. Link's Awakening. I loved the game's relaxed, childish story, and the music was phenomenal. It's my second favorite handheld, and I think it's the most charming Zelda game, if that's the correct word.

9. Minish Cap. This game was too short, but that didn't really matter to me, because it was so fun, and it was very unique. Capcom's best Zelda game.

10. Four Swords Adventures. This came can't rank too high because there's hardly a story, along with no explaration factor... but this game is so freaking fun to play, especially with friends! If only it had a story...

11. Phantom Hourglass. This game is great, but I few complaints that bring it down on this list. I didn't like Temple of the Ocean King (the revisiting mostly; the time limit I could look past), and I didn't like choosing a path for the boat, I prefer WW's method. And the game was a tad too easy, but that doesn't really bother me. It was still great.

12. Oracle of Ages. The Oracle games are my least favorite "full-length" Zeldas. They kind of copy all of its predecessors, and mash them into one game. All Zelda games share elements, but they usually have originality as well.The Oracles didn't really feel original to me. But they ARE Zelda games, so I still think they're wonderful, and they're probably still in my top 25 video games of all time.

13. Oracle of Seasons. See above. I prefer OoA because it's puzzle-based, as opposed to action-based like OoS.

14. Four Swords. This game was still great and pretty fun, but it only takes 2-3 hours max to beat, and there was basically no story. But what can one expect? It was just thrown in with the ALttP remake, which makes the whole cartridge even better.

I can't manage to make any progress in my copy of AoL, so I can't rank it. But there's the rest of them!

 

[sword collector]

1.twilight princess
2.ocarina of time
3.majoras mask
4.wind waker
5.a link to the past
6.minish cap
7.the lengend of zelda
8.four sword adventure
9.spirit trackes
10.phantom hourglass

these are some games i like music to our gameplay i like music of zelda any way i have loads!

 

[small link]

1. Ocarina of Time- My first zelda game, the best zelda game... need I go on?
2. Majora's mask <LOVED that game. it was almost as good as OoT and its different from all the other games
3&4. Wind Waker and A Link to the Past
5. Four swords Adventure (GC)
6&7. Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
8. Links Awakening
9. Minish Cap
10. Legend of Zelda <this game was a great game but i like a game with more story to it.
11. Adventure of Link < I liked playing this game, and I even like the side scrolling, but the level up systym... not for me (unless it's pokemon)

 

[Majora's Cat]

Hey everyone! I just got de-repped for this thread because some users are not posting the quality that is encouraged. I'd like to make sure everyone posts enthusiastically from now on! And BTW, I can't believe that a lot of you guys like TP so much!

 

[TriforceHunter]

IMO. Best to worst.

MM- Best and most unique
OoT- Awesome 3D action!
WW- Unique Artstyle, better combat and animation. Tedious sailing though.
ALttP- Like the 1st one but better!
LA- This is handheld Zelda at it's best!
OoX- Just okay.
LoZ- The one that started it all! Though sometimes traveling around sorta bored me, magnificent game nonetheless.
AoL- I liked the enhanced combat system and the RPG and adventure style.
ST- Awesome soundtrack.
MC- Just okay. The boss battles were good.
FSA- Sucks when you play it alone, sucks when you play it with other people, well the whole disconnecting issues, fun game though.
PH- Never really got into it.
TP- In my opinion: Very lame, repetitive, dull and boring at times, not to mention easy as all hell. Great cutscenes and artsyle though, and the bosses were awesome though they were really easy...

 

[Locke]

I assume you want a subjective list?

1. Wind Waker - my first Zelda game, the best soundtrack, I very much enjoyed the overall mood of the game (I thought the cel-shading was very appropriate and inviting) and the dynamic characters.

2. Majora's Mask - I almost placed TP before this one, but MM has more than just characters going for it. The masks are probably the best unique gameplay feature to date, and the whole game added so much more to everything that made OoT so good. I think the thing that sets it aside from TP is that it isn't just an interactive story. It's a good game with very deep meaning and involved side-quests. You really feel like you're making your own story when playing this game. And it was very challenging. It took me at least four tries over 5ish years to beat this game.

3. Twilight Princess - Yes, it was easy, the overworld was boring, etc. But I felt the story really pulled through, and the characters were very well done, perhaps even better than MM. The wolf mechanics were pretty enjoyable, though the motion controls left much to be desired. Overall I think this was a very creative game and I enjoyed it as an interactive story, even if that's not what Nintendo had intended.

4. A Link to the Past - This is the game that comes to mind when I think "classic Zelda." It perfected everything that LoZ introduced, including some of the most enjoyable dungeons and puzzles in the series. LttP really got the timeline going, introducing major legends and themes. It also set the precedent for many soundtrack themes, including Hyrule Castle's theme, Zelda's theme, Kakariko Village, and many more amazing tracks.

5. Ocarina of Time - I don't have much to say about this one. It didn't make much of an impact on me, probably because I didn't get it on VC until I had already played WW several times. I realize why this may be closer to the top of some lists, but to me it's just another game, which was improved upon by MM. I don't usually think 'first's make games good. OoT was good at the time, but MM built off it and was better, so I rank MM higher. Same deal with LoZ and LttP. But OoT was fun to play, the concept was interesting, the characters started to get a decent amount of depth, and of course the soundtrack was amazing.

6. Minish Cap - This one surprised me; I really didn't expect it to be this high. It has a good story, decent soundtrack, huge side-quest mechanic, and a fun spin on the two-world theme seen in most Zelda games. It was fairly easy, but I enjoyed playing it, and almost "forgot" to return it to the person I borrowed it from.

7. Spirit Tracks - This was leaps and bounds better than its predecessor, PH. The soundtrack was actually very creative and memorable, the characters were more defined, the puzzles were more interesting (albeit still almost as easy most of the time), the train was fun, the central dungeon wasn't super annoying, and it had a much larger impact on the overall timeline, with stronger ties to WW and more implications for the future. The only reason it's this low is the shallow sidequests. It only really had a few dumb trading sequences and those indescribably annoying bunnies.

8. Link's Awakening - I sadly haven't played this game. I've read that it revolutionized the franchise and prepared it for OoT, and that it was a very enjoyable game. I'd like to see this for myself, so for now I'll put this game beneath some of the ones I know are good, and look forward to its 3DS VC release.

9. Oracle of Ages/Seasons - I only have Ages (just because it was the only Zelda game the store had when I went looking for LA), so I wasn't able to take advantage of the code system, connected game, etc. This seems almost as inaccessible as FS to me. The characters also aren't developed nearly as much as they deserve to be. Overall not a bad game though.

10. Legend of Zelda - It was a great game at the time, I'm sure, but it is overshadowed by the many improvements throughout the rest of the series. I guess I just don't feel drawn to 'classics' like some people are. Maybe if I was old enough to call this my first game I would be more appreciative of it.

11. Four Sword Adventures - This game made a mess of the timeline. It was too linear. Levels with no overworld doesn't belong in Zelda. It did have decent gameplay, reminiscent of LttP plus the interesting concept of controlling four characters at once.

12. Phantom Hourglass - This game had the shallowest/flattest/most static characters of all time. Anyone who thinks Navi's annoying needs to spend a week with Ciela. The gameplay and story completely failed to leave a lasting impression, and the soundtrack was dull and forgettable.

13. Adventure of Link - This really should be higher up on the list, having a very good soundtrack (somewhere around the 3rd best imo), but I'm just too lazy to get over the hurdle of such a dramatic change in gameplay. I don't really like the feel of side-scrolling platformers. This is the reason why I never got in to the classic Mario games.

14. Four Swords - Probably not fair to put it down here as I haven't played it, but its inaccessability does invite much criticism. And if it's anything like FSA, the story progression would leave much to desire.

 

[Schmeeze]

Alright here's the thing. For the most part, I think I agree with your list. The one thing I'm not sure about is Twilight Princess however. Don't get me wrong, it was unarguably a fantastic game. But it just doesn't seem right to put it above Ocarina of Time. You said it yourself, it is the greatest game of all time, and I just can't accept Twilight Princess to be better, but it is for sure #2 on the list.

 

[JuicieJ]

As if you couldn't already see it in my signature lol (jk). Anyway, I'm gonna list them off and do a sort of mini-review for each one. Do note that the final scores are not a composite, especially when it comes to the stories of the early games.

#1 -- Majora's Mask

Visuals: S
Audio: A+
Story: A
Content: S
Gameplay: S

Final Score: S

#2 -- Ocarina of Time

Visuals: S
Audio: A+
Story: B
Content: S
Gameplay: S

Final Score: S

#3 -- A Link to the Past

Visuals: S
Audio: A
Story: C+
Content: S
Gameplay: S

Final Score: S

#4 -- Skyward Sword

Visuals: S
Audio: S
Story: A
Content: A+
Gameplay: S

Final Score: S

#5 -- The Minish Cap

Visuals: S
Audio: A
Story: B+
Content: S
Gameplay: A+

Final Score: A+

#6 -- Link's Awakening DX

Visuals: S
Audio: A
Story: B+
Content: A+
Gameplay: A+

Final Score: A+

#7 -- Spirit Tracks

Visuals: S
Audio: S
Story: C+
Content: B+
Gameplay: A+

Final Score: A

#8 -- Phantom Hourglass

Visuals: S
Audio: B+
Story: A
Content: A-
Gameplay: A

Final Score: A

#9 -- The Legend of Zelda (NES)

Visuals: S
Audio: A-
Story: C-
Content: A
Gameplay: A

Final Score: A

#10 -- Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Visuals: S
Audio: A-
Story: C-
Content: C+
Gameplay: A-

Final Score: B+

#11 -- Twilight Princess

Visuals: A+
Audio: B+
Story: B
Content: B-
Gameplay: A-

Final Score: B

#12 -- The Wind Waker

Visuals: S
Audio: A+
Story: B
Content: C+
Gameplay: B-

Final Score: B-

 

[Vanessa28]

Guys it doesn't really make sense to quote a post made almost three years ago. Because the poster might have changed their opinion or might no longer be active and this list might be very outdated. The best thing is to make a new topic. Thanks