I remember playing a lot of the Legend of Zelda games when I was younger, but to the best of my memory, I had never beaten most of them. With Tears of the Kingdom and Echoes of Wisdom calling to me in recent years, I decided it would be best to play through all the mainline titles in order before delving into the latest two Legend of Zelda games. Managing Editor Dalton Cooper insisted I keep a ranking of them, which fair spoiler warning, gave him a conniption of two.
This list is entirely based on my own opinion, and according to several people I’ve met in my life, I have bad opinions. It is what it is. There’s also a reason I’ve avoided returning to the Legend of Zelda games for years; as I got older, I’ve found myself more annoyed by puzzles than intrigued by them in any game. And obviously, those are a big part of the Zelda games. I also missed the zeitgeist on many of these games, so as removed from other opinions as I could be, here’s my official ranking of all 20 mainline Zelda games.
1
Phantom Hourglass
I love The Phantom Hourglass, and it is my favorite Zelda game. I loved how it followed up on Wind Waker, in terms of characters and gameplay, and it spoke deeply to the inner pirate lover in me. My absolute favorite part was the Temple of the Ocean King because I felt it handled the evolving puzzles, exploration, and combat really well. The pattern clicked instantly with me, and there’s a cozy game factor to Phantom Hourglass that also resonated with me. Overall, I have nothing bad to say about this game, and that’s about as rare as it comes.
2
A Link Between Worlds
Link Between Worlds is up there with Phantom Hourglass. The two worlds were fantastic, the soundtrack actually vibed with me (I am typically soundtrack agnostic), and the gameplay really spoke to me. The ability to merge with walls in Link Between Worlds was a core mechanic that just felt so smooth throughout it. With the more nostalgic set-up, a unique story (for Zelda anyway), and a standout art style, I just really enjoyed everything about Link Between Worlds.
3
Tears of the Kingdom
Recency bias? Perhaps. We’ll get to my thoughts on Breath of the Wild soon enough, but in short, I thought Tears of the Kingdom took everything from Breath of the Wild and turned it up a few notches. I wasn’t necessarily wowed by the new mechanics, save for like Fuse a time or two, but I thought it fit into the direction of the world. I wouldn’t ever take any acclaim away from it (though I do have a little beef with Breath of the Wild, funnily enough).
4
Skyward Sword
I knew about the various Zelda timelines going into Skyward Sword, but actually experiencing it was another story altogether. I feel like it puts a neat bow on the franchise as a whole because it’s easier to understand which timeline a game is set on when you know where it started. The story, characters, artistic direction, and everything, I vibe with it.
5
Wind Waker
Wind Waker is one of my wife’s favorite Legend of Zelda games, and hopping into it, I fully understood why. By the time I got to it, I was understandably a little underwhelmed by the classic setup, so the games that really experimented with the formula spoke to me. Again, this one spoke to the pirate lover in me as well, while also introducing some great characters and challenges. My biggest issue with Wind Waker, which holds it back from being at the tippy top, is just the sheer size of the map. It could have probably been cut in half, and it would have only made the sailing gameplay stand out all the more.
6
Twilight Princess
I put Twilight Princess right on par with Wind Waker. I liked the darker edge, and the gameplay was as fun as expected—even the puzzles weren’t too much of a detracting factor for me. Midna’s character is also a highlight. I do think the main gameplay hook, turning into a wolf, is stretched a little thin by the end of the game, but overall, it’s a lovely experience. Just like Wind Waker, Twilight Princess is one of my wife’s favorites, so having her along for the journey always helps a game.
I would consider all of the above my favorite Zelda games, or an S-Tier game, in my opinion. Yeah, I know what’s missing. I promise they’re coming.
7
Breath of the Wild
I know I promised to try to be as removed from popular opinion as I could be, but I have to say that I do not understand why people think Breath of the Wild is revolutionary. For the franchise, sure, I guess, but I’ve played this type of open-world game before. It feels a lot like a Ubisoft open-world game through and through, and coming from me, that’s a pretty mild criticism. I liked everything for the most part, though. I don’t have particularly strong feelings about its stamina or how weapons break, and I thoroughly enjoyed exploring this take on Hyrule. It just didn’t click with me as strongly as its sequel, but I enjoyed it.
Yes, I know it’s one of the highest-rated games of all time, too. I’m sorry. I do LIKE it, just not like THAT.
8
Majora’s Mask
Majora’s Mask is a sequel to Ocarina of Time by every definition of the word, and that fits it perfectly. I know Ocarina of Time is a little more beloved, but Majora’s Mask‘s eerie vibe, core gameplay loop, and overall direction just connected with me more.
9
Ocarina of Time
Funnily enough, I have more memories of Ocarina of Time than any other Zelda game from when I was a kid. I really enjoyed playing it on Nintendo 64, but I don’t think I ever made it past the Shadow Temple way back when. This time around, I played it on my 3DS, and I really enjoyed it. I think it represents the bare minimum of what I can tolerate from puzzles, while fun dungeons, solid graphics, and a pretty straightforward time travel story all help elevate it. It’s just not my favorite, but I certainly like it a lot. Yes, I also understand it is basically THE highest rated game of all time and I think it deserves those accolades, but it doesn’t get them from me.
I really like the above games, so these would be an “A tier” equivalency.
10
A Link to the Past
Everything about A Link to the Past speaks to me, from the presentation to the gameplay, and I know it introduced several staples for the Legend of Zelda franchise. Generally speaking, I’ve found I really like the games that deal with two worlds. I think it deserves every high spot on a greatest game ever made list that it gets, but I don’t know if it’s because I missed the zeitgeist or what, it just doesn’t speak to me on the same level as the others above. I like it quite a bit, but it just didn’t capture my imagination the same way the other Zelda games on this list do.
