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The 15 Best Legend of Zelda Games of All Time

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Ignacio Weil

Gaming - August 18th 2026, 23:30 GMT+2

The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass 2007 cropped processed by imagy — 15. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (2007)

Drawing circles around monsters with a stylus sounds like peak Nintendo DS gimmickry, yet *Phantom Hourglass* makes the idea feel remarkably natural. The direct follow-up to *The Wind Waker* preserves its sailing, broad comedy and wonderfully elastic version of Link, now accompanied by the magnificently unreliable Captain Linebeck. Scribbling clues onto maps remains a smart use of the hardware rather than touchscreen busywork. Repeated trips through the timed Temple of the Ocean King are undeniably exhausting, but they cannot sink an inventive portable adventure packed with personality. | © Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda The Minish Cap 2004 — 14. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (2004)

Capcom was handed the keys to Hyrule and returned them with one of the prettiest games on the Game Boy Advance. *The Minish Cap* lets Link shrink to Picori size, turning puddles into lakes, bookshelves into landscapes and ordinary rooms into miniature expeditions. Ezlo supplies comic friction from atop Link’s head, while Vaati brings welcome villainous variety beyond another confrontation with Ganon. Its campaign ends just as the shrinking mechanic reaches full stride, although the dense world, excellent dungeons and dangerously distracting Kinstone fusions make every hour count. | © Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda 1986 cropped processed by imagy — 13. The Legend of Zelda (1986)

The first *Legend of Zelda* drops Link into an open field, places a sword in a nearby cave and trusts curiosity to handle the rest. Hyrule feels genuinely mysterious because progress depends on experimentation: bomb that wall, burn that bush, push that suspicious block and accept that an old man may charge you for breaking his door. Many of its clues now seem cryptic enough to qualify as workplace harassment, but the freedom remains exhilarating. Its nonlinear exploration, hidden dungeons and reshuffled Second Quest established the adventurous DNA Nintendo has been mutating ever since. | © Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword 2021 cropped processed by imagy — 12. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011, 2021)

*Skyward Sword* is the Zelda game most likely to start an argument between a player and their own wrist. Directional swordplay can be fussy, but when an enemy finally reads the angle correctly, the combat delivers a physical satisfaction no other entry quite reproduces. Beneath the motion-control debate sits one of the series’ warmest stories, strengthened by a charming Zelda, an unexpectedly magnificent Groose and the creation of the Master Sword. Recycled surface areas and persistent guidance test the patience; the HD edition’s button controls and streamlined interruptions let its superb dungeons breathe more freely. | © Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages cropped processed by imagy — 11. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages / Oracle of Seasons (2001)

Counting *Oracle of Ages* and *Oracle of Seasons* as one entry feels slightly illegal, which is exactly why it is so satisfying. *Ages* favors intricate puzzles and time travel across Labrynna, while *Seasons* leans harder into combat and reshapes Holodrum through the Rod of Seasons. Complete either adventure and a password connects it to the other, changing characters, unlocking extra content and extending the story toward its proper finale. The linking process is clunky by modern standards, yet these are two substantial Zelda games whose best trick only appears when they are allowed to speak to each other. | © Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past 2003 cropped processed by imagy — 10. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991, 2003)

Much of the Zelda rulebook was written in *A Link to the Past*: the opening rescue, the Master Sword pilgrimage, the tightly sequenced dungeon items and a second world hiding beneath the first. Switching between the Light World and Dark World turns geography itself into a puzzle, with every inaccessible ledge quietly asking players to approach it from somewhere stranger. The colorful 16-bit presentation has barely aged, and the pace wastes almost no movement. Its later Game Boy Advance edition also arrived with *Four Swords*, but the original quest hardly needed a companion to prove its importance. | © Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda A Link Between Worlds 2013 cropped processed by imagy — 9. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (2013)

Reusing the map and visual language of *A Link to the Past* could have reduced *A Link Between Worlds* to a nostalgia tour with nicer furniture. Instead, Link’s ability to flatten into a painting turns familiar walls into paths, escape routes and puzzles hiding in plain sight. Ravio’s rental shop loosens the traditional dungeon order, allowing players to choose their tools early and wander through Lorule with unusual freedom. The adventure is easier than the classics it resembles, but its speed, cleverness and total lack of reverence for sacred series conventions make it one of the Nintendo 3DS library’s sharpest games. | © Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom 2024 cropped processed by imagy — 8. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (2024)

Princess Zelda finally takes command of her own adventure in *Echoes of Wisdom*, solving problems less like Link than an overprepared stage magician. The Tri Rod copies beds, tables, monsters and assorted Hyrulean junk, letting players build staircases, summon bodyguards or defeat obstacles through inspired nonsense. Bind and Swordfighter Form prevent the system from becoming a single-gimmick act, even if crowded menus and uneven performance sometimes interrupt the improvisation. Zelda’s first turn as the series’ main protagonist is never treated as ceremonial; Nintendo gives her a mischievous sandbox that rewards ideas the designers apparently hoped someone would try. | © Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda Links Awakening 2019 cropped processed by imagy — 7. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (1993, 2019)

Hyrule gets the night off in *Link’s Awakening*, leaving Link shipwrecked on Koholint Island among talking animals, Mario refugees and one enormous sleeping Wind Fish. The smaller setting produces a more intimate adventure, especially through Marin, whose dreams lend the cheerful island an ache that becomes harder to ignore. Its eight dungeons are compact, witty and perfectly suited to portable play, while the occasional side-scrolling passage proves Zelda can borrow from its neighbors without losing itself. The remake’s toy-box appearance is more than decoration; it makes the entire world resemble a precious dream already beginning to fade. | © Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker 2003 cropped processed by imagy — 6. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2003)

*The Wind Waker* was mocked for looking like a cartoon, only to outlive the visual realism its critics wanted instead. Cel-shading gives Link an expressive face that doubles as a puzzle hint, while Tetra, the King of Red Lions and a weary Ganondorf turn a maritime detour into one of Zelda’s richest casts. Crossing the Great Sea creates a wonderful sense of distance and discovery, though the original sailing speed and late Triforce hunt stretch that romance thin. Even with those doldrums, its flooded Hyrule, bold art direction and music make this the rare game that feels more confident with every passing generation. | © Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda Majoras Mask 2000 cropped processed by imagy — 5. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (2000)

Most Zelda adventures ask Link to save the world; *Majora’s Mask* gives him 72 hours and makes him watch everyone realize the moon is falling. The repeating three-day cycle transforms Clock Town into clockwork, with residents following schedules, hiding fears and revealing stories only at specific moments. Transformation masks make Deku, Goron and Zora bodies function like entirely different characters, while smaller side quests carry as much emotional weight as the four main dungeons. What initially feels like a stressful timer becomes the game’s greatest source of empathy: Link remembers each tragedy even when everyone else is reset. | © Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild 2017 cropped processed by imagy — 4. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)

*Breath of the Wild* did not merely redesign Hyrule; it removed the velvet ropes and invited players to climb over whatever remained. The Great Plateau teaches survival, physics and experimentation without disguising the lesson as a lecture, then releases Link into a kingdom where nearly any visible landmark can become the next objective. Weapon durability and the repeated Divine Beast aesthetic remain fair arguments against it, but neither diminishes the thrill of solving problems through weather, fire, momentum or mild criminal ingenuity. Its open-air structure changed Zelda permanently and left the wider industry scrambling for its own paraglider. | © Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess 2006 cropped processed by imagy — 3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006)

*Twilight Princess* is Nintendo answering everyone who wanted *The Wind Waker* to grow up, then handing them a wolf. Its vast, shadowed Hyrule occasionally confuses scale with empty horseback mileage, yet the dungeon lineup is extraordinary: Snowpeak Ruins, Arbiter’s Grounds and the City in the Sky each build an identity beyond locks and keys. Hidden Skills give Link’s swordplay unusual flair, while the boss encounters understand that spectacle counts. The slow opening and repeated twilight hunts deserve criticism, but Midna’s journey from gleeful nuisance to emotional center gives this grand adventure a heart as memorable as its darkness. | © Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 1998 cropped processed by imagy — 2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)

*Ocarina of Time* did more than translate Zelda into three dimensions; it helped teach 3D action games how to behave. Z-targeting made combat readable, context-sensitive controls kept the controller manageable and the shift between child and adult Link turned time into both story and puzzle architecture. Hyrule Field looks modest now and the Water Temple has probably inspired several unfinished therapy sessions, yet its sequence of discoveries still lands: leaving Kokiri Forest, drawing the Master Sword and walking into a ruined future. Countless successors refined its ideas, but very few assembled them with this much clarity, confidence and mythic force. | © Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom 2023 cropped processed by imagy — 1. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)

Reusing *Breath of the Wild*’s Hyrule sounded conservative until *Tears of the Kingdom* placed islands above it, the Depths below it and a construction workshop in Link’s new arm. Ultrahand, Fuse, Recall and Ascend overlap so elegantly that puzzles rarely have one intended solution; a bridge, catapult or deeply unsafe aircraft may all count as wisdom. The familiar surface gains fresh meaning through vertical exploration, stronger regional quests and caves tucked beneath places players thought they knew. Managing materials and Sage abilities can become fiddly, but no other Zelda game offers this much mechanical freedom without letting its enormous world collapse into chaos. | © Nintendo

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For 40 years, The Legend of Zelda has recycled one heroic assignment—save Hyrule—without making the adventure feel recycled. Nintendo has stranded Link beneath cursed moons, dropped him onto floating islands and handed him enough building materials to turn medieval fantasy into an engineering accident. Ranking the best Legend of Zelda games means balancing brilliant dungeons, memorable worlds, inventive mechanics and the entries that permanently changed how adventure games are made. These 15 represent the franchise at its most daring, magical and dangerously good at stealing entire weekends.

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For 40 years, The Legend of Zelda has recycled one heroic assignment—save Hyrule—without making the adventure feel recycled. Nintendo has stranded Link beneath cursed moons, dropped him onto floating islands and handed him enough building materials to turn medieval fantasy into an engineering accident. Ranking the best Legend of Zelda games means balancing brilliant dungeons, memorable worlds, inventive mechanics and the entries that permanently changed how adventure games are made. These 15 represent the franchise at its most daring, magical and dangerously good at stealing entire weekends.