Submit a news tip



The Legend of Zelda

Today, we’re going over the best Legend of Zelda games of all time. More specifically, we’ve made a list of the 10 best entries the series has seen to date.

With most big name Nintendo franchises, it’s fairly easy to see which game is most popular among fans – not necessarily the best, but the most popular. For example, many Mario fans will tell you Super Mario Galaxy is their favorite entry – that doesn’t mean it’s the objective best, per se, but it does mean it’s probably the most popular. Pokemon fans at this point in time will probably tell you that Black and White or HeartGold and SoulSilver are their favorites. But things are more complicated for the Legend of Zelda series. Breath of the Wild, while a fantastically successful game, did sort of split the hardcore fanbase in two: those who prefer the new open-world gameplay style, and those who prefer Zelda’s more linear outings. In other words, it’s virtually impossible to put together an objective “best Zelda games of all time” list. But it doesn’t mean we can’t try!

So here’s our 10 favorite Zelda games in order, and along the way, we’d like to ask you to let us know what your own personal top 10 Zelda games are in the comments down below. There are no wrong answers! Before we continue, do be advised that we’ll be discussing spoilers for many Zelda games. Make sure you’re okay with that before you continue.

When you think about the type of gameplay featured in The Legend of Zelda’s mainline titles, three types should come to mind. First there’s 2D, which was obviously established at the very start and has continued into Echoes of Wisdom. Then there’s the traditional 3D, dungeon-focused games fans came to know following the launch of Ocarina of Time. Now more recently, Nintendo has put out the “open air” entries – essentially Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom – which look to be the focus going forward.

For Zelda games, which style do you prefer? Are you a purist that appreciates the 2D titles more than anything else? Perhaps you’d like to see Nintendo revisit the traditional 3D style? Or maybe you’ve only started to come on board since Breath of the Wild. No matter the case, let us know in the comments.

If there’s one thing fans know about Nintendo, it’s that the company focuses on gameplay over story. This even applies to The Legend of Zelda, which does have more of a plot compared to some of the company’s other major series like Super Mario.

On the topic of Zelda, series producer Eiji Aonuma has weighed in on how Nintendo approaches the story for the franchise’s games. The plot only comes about after the game design has been settled upon. That’s something we recently heard about with Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, where the gameplay was nailed down first and the story was more of a late addition.

Zelda animated series DVD re-release

The infamous animated series for The Legend of Zelda is returning – sort of. The Complete Series is coming out on DVD in a little over a month.

The Legend of Zelda animated series aired in 1989. Just thirteen episodes were made, so the entire show had its run between September and December of that year. Every episode will be included in this release.

A man in the UK has been sentenced to four months in prison after being found in possession of a small replica of the Master Sword whilst out in public.

Zelda movie Miyamoto

After working with Illumination on The Super Mario Bros. Movie – with that partnership continuing in the future – Nintendo is now shifting to live action as part of its collaboration with Sony for The Legend of Zelda.

In an interview with Deadline, Sony Motion Pictures Group chairman Tom Rothman commented on the project. He said that the Zelda movie “is going to be huge for us” and also said it’ll be “massive”.

LEGO Zelda rumor

Bricktastic claims to have new details about the first LEGO set based on The Legend of Zelda, which will be the previously-rumored Great Deku Tree.

According to the site, the product launches this September. Once again, you’ll apparently be able to choose between looks inspired by Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild – the latter features green leaves while the latter has pink leaves.

The Zelda Orchestra Concert from is now available in its entirety. Remember that this was originally planned for Nintendo Live 2024 Tokyo, but that event was scrapped.

Tears of the Kingdom, Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past, Skyward Sword, and Link’s Awakening are among the titles featured. Other songs like Zelda’s Theme were also played.

Zelda Maker Aonuma

Super Mario Maker has had two successful games, and some fans have wanted Nintendo to explore something similar for The Legend of Zelda. However, don’t expect anything on that front in the near future.

Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma spoke about the possibility in an interview with Polygon, but seemed to rule it out. While Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have allowed for creativity through its different gameplay systems, Aonuma doesn’t feel that the actual concept of Zelda Maker would be a good fit for the franchise.

Zelda linear Eiji Aonuma

Starting with Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda has moved away from the linear and traditional 3D games fans had been accustomed to since Ocarina of Time. The series is now focusing on “open air” experiences with a huge world to explore and with much more freedom. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have done well from both in terms of sales and reception, though some fans miss what came before.

Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma has now responded to some of those discussions as part of an interview with IGN. Here’s what Aonuma shared when asked how he feels about those who miss linear Zelda given where the series is at now:


Manage Cookie Settings