Ranking the Zelda Series

[PretentiousHipster]

I was gonna make this into a VERY LONG video, but upon changing hobbies, I'm ditching that project. I don't want it to be for nothing so I'll post my ranking here and a few other places. I'm curious to see this forum's rankings as well as the people here tend to have more in-depth knowledge, and most likely played a lot more games from this series.

If needed, I will provide points as to why there are ranked that way, but I want it to be in other posts to not crowd up this one. Anyways, here's the ranking:

1. Ripened Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love
2. Link's Awakening
3. A Link to the Past
4. Tears of the Kingdom
5. Minish Cap
6. Ocarina of Time
7. Breath of the Wild
8. Majora's Mask
9. Tingle Rosey Rupeeland
10. Oracle of Ages
11. The Legend of Zelda
12. Zelda 2 Adventure of Link
13. Twilight Princess
14. Four Swords Adventures
15. BS Zelda
16. Spirit Tracks
17. Wind Waker
18. A Link Between Worlds
19. Phantom Hourglass
20. Ancient Stone Tablets
21. Hyrule Warriors
22. Oracle of Seasons
23. Skyward Sword
24. Cadence of Hyrule
25. Link's Crossbow Training
26. Twilight Princess Picross
27. Four Swords
28. Tingle's Balloon Fight
29. Zelda Wand of Gamelon
30. Zelda's Adventure
31. Age of Calamity
32. Link The Faces of Evil
33. Tri-Force Heroes

[prfsnl_gmr]

Very impressive, PH! My ranking would certainly differ from yours, but it would not be as comprehensive since I have not played through as many games in the series. (I have about eight more on my list.) My initial impression is that I am surprised to see Spirit Tracks so high and Tri-Force Heroes so low. If I have some spare time later this week, though, I’ll try to put together a ranking of the games I have beaten.

If you’re looking for a few more games to beat, maybe try OoT: Master Quest (which is available in NA on the GC and 3DS) or the LoZ LCD game (which is available on one of the Game & Watch galleries, if I recall. Something I’d really be interested in are your impressions of more modern LoZ clones. There are a lot of indie games now that imitate the LoZ formula, some to great success, and I’m curious as to what you think of them.

[marurun]

I haven't beaten many Zelda games, and I've played more than that, but I do have large holes in my Zelda gameplay experience. But here's my ranking of the titles I have played. I expect this list will not match that of many other folks.

1. Tears of the Kingdom
2. Breath of the Wild
3. A Link to the Past
4. The Adventure of Link
5. The Legend of Zelda
6. Oracle of Ages
7. Link's Awakening
8. Ocarina of Time
9. Minish Cap

[Raging Justice]

There's so many. I can't believe some people have played them all.

Of the ones I've played

1)The original one on the NES
2)Link to the Past
3)Zelda II on the NES (underrated) - I wish someone would do a fun modern update like Infernax was for Castlevania II

You can't beat nostalgia so those three are on top for me

4)Twilight Princess - I love the darker take, the older Link, and the elements of Lord of the Rings. The twilight princess herself was cool too. My favorite modern 3d Zelda
5)Hyrule Warriors - I sense that the second one (Age of Calamity) is probably a better game but I haven't had the chance to play through it. I like seeing a classic franchise made into a brawler (like A king's tale Final Fantasy XV)
6)Ocarina of Time - I feel like Ocarina did the whole bounce projectile between characters thing first with that cool Ganon fight and so many other games have copied it

Two games that I think deserve to be recognized while not actual Zelda games are Okami and Beyond Good and Evil

[Ack]

I am very curious about the wide disparity between Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages. I always think of those two as paired together, so to see them separated so has me curious about your thoughts.

[PretentiousHipster]

Very impressive, PH! My ranking would certainly differ from yours, but it would not be as comprehensive since I have not played through as many games in the series. (I have about eight more on my list.) My initial impression is that I am surprised to see Spirit Tracks so high and Tri-Force Heroes so low. If I have some spare time later this week, though, I’ll try to put together a ranking of the games I have beaten.

With Spirit Tracks I didn't enjoy the first item, but I enjoyed how the dungeons were, especially with their difficulty progression. The last time you go into the giant tower it was one of the most challenging dungeons in the series, but in a great way. Although I'll admit the final boss battle is awful. I think another aspect is that it's just a huge improvement over Phantom Hourglass.

Tri-Force Heroes was mostly single player for me, and I find that it completely fails in that regard. The timing you need is at an ridiculous level. There's also the whole "free mobile game" energy that it gives. Repeating levels just at the chance of getting very important outfits, or even opening the chest once a day. It's a shame because I love its silly fashion-heavy setup and plot.

I am very curious about the wide disparity between Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages. I always think of those two as paired together, so to see them separated so has me curious about your thoughts.

With Seasons it mostly came down to 3 things:

1) I'm not big on the plot for Zelda games, but it's practically non-existent in this.
2) Most of the bosses are rehashes of previous zelda games, especially the first one. It makes sense because Capcom was initially gonna do a remaster of the first part, but I was getting tired of it eventually.
3) Those magnetic gloves is easily the worst item in the series.

I also simply prefer the more puzzle oriented dungeons, so ages is obv better for that. I find that the boss battles in ages were fantastic because the sword is rarely used. They had incredibly clever ways of defeating the bosses.

[RobertAugustdeMeijer]

I've only beaten these:

1. A Link to the Past (1991)
2. Zelda II: Adventure of Link (1987)
3. A Link Between Worlds (2013)
4. Breath of the Wild (2017)
5. Link's Awakening (1994)
6. The Minish Cap
7. Tears of the Kingdom (2023)
8. Ocarina of Time (1997)
9. Majora's Mask (2000)
10. Oracle of Seasons (2001)

Stopped Wind Waker at the treasure quest. I couldn't get through the tutorial of Twilight Princess. I was busy with squatting when playing Oracle of Ages and lost track. Skyward Sword got a 10 from Matthew Castle

[Melek-Ric]

Ranking of the LoZ games I've played, most of which I have completed. If I didn't complete an entry, it was because I really didn't care to continue the game. The last 3 on this list meet that criteria.

1. Link's Awakening
2. Wind Waker
3. Ocarina of Time
4. A Link to the Past
5. Minish Cap
6. Twilight Princess
7. Zelda II: AoL
8. Legend of Zelda
9. Skyward Sword

SS kind of killed my interest in the series.

[Raging Justice]

I think I should note that my previous post focuses on games I've beaten. There are Zelda games I did not consider for my ranking despite having put some time into them. Doesn't seem fair to judge a game I didn't finish, though one could argue that this in itself reflects poorly on them I suppose. I never finished Skyward Sword or Wind Waker for example, just lost interest in them. Most 3d Zeldas bore me, this applies even more so to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Both of those games put me to sleep.

I barely even finished Ocarina of Time back in the day, but the final act and final battles with Ganon won me over with their epicness, so I guess it was worth it. Twiliight princess and Hyrule Warriors (if that counts) are the only 3d Zeldas to really hook me. I played through one level of Age of Calamity, and that game felt even better than Hyrule Warriors. I actually DO want to finish that one some time.

I mentioned games like Okami and Beyond Good and Evil, because I consider them to be better games than the majority of 3d Zelda titles. They may not have the super complex puzzle solving, but their worlds, stories, characters, art styles, and music are far more engaging. Plus, they were fairly innovative for their time with the paint brush god powers or the wild life picture taking. I also thought the restoring nature aspect of Okami was amazing. I was actually AFFECTING the game world. Your actions in Okami MATTERED, unlike modern Zelda games.

[opa]

Here's my ranking of what I've actually beaten:

A Link to the Past
Legend of Zelda
Windwaker
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Twilight Princess
Minish Cap
Phantom Hourglass
Skyward Sword

The only other games in the series that I still want to beat are Link's Awakening and (maybe) the Oracle games. I did try Breath of the Wild but couldn't get into it. I don't really understand the hype for that game.

Oh, there's also the 3DS Link Between Worlds game. I need to check that one out too.