Let's talk Zelda! Your Favorite Zelda Titles!

[2Hack]

Favorite is the obvious OoT. I like the 3D version a bit better, as it looks much nicer, and has 3D and Gyro Scope aiming, which is awesome
Then Majora's Mask. I kind of prefer the older one in this case, but the one issue is the framerate. If they didn't butcher the Zora swimming in the 3D version, I would take it a bit better. Either way, it's very close. Maybe the Gyroscope+3D+c-Stick do edge it a tad better. I'm still sad about the swimming though
the rest of the 3D Zelda's are also my favorite that the series has produced;
Twilight princess
Skyward Sword
Windwaker HD
no particular order.
Idk, top down Zelda just has never been my thing, so I don't count any of the 2D zelda's as my favorites.

 

[Blaze163]

There aren't any Zelda games I consider bad, so to speak. Link Between Worlds didn't strike me as particularly memorable but it was still decent. The CDi games I was exposed to cost me six months in quarantine and another 18 months of intense therapy, but they don't really count. Other than that, on a technical level all the Zelda games are about the same to me. But I will always have a soft spot for the Gameboy games, especially Link's Awakening, since that was the first game I played seriously. Before that it was all Mario, Sonic, etc. Link's Awakening was not only my first Zelda game (I'd seen the 2 NES games being played but never played myself) but my first game that required any sort of thought instead of just holding right on the D pad and occasionally jumping.

Funny story, I got stuck in the 2nd dungeon of Link's Awakening as a kid for months (yes, MONTHS) because I was too dumb to get the stone tablet to figure out the pattern to killing the enemies to get the boss key. Nobody else I knew played games and I had no internet, even at school, so I had no idea what to do and got stuck in that dungeon for literally about 3 months on and off before I finally stumbled onto the solution. Yeah, I was pretty much brain dead back then.

Nothing much has changed.

 

[Sakitoshi]

Saki reporting in to bring hybrid 2D and 3D Zelda love. I'll split my ranking in 2D and 3D as the experience between a 2D and 3D Zelda game is different.

3D
1- Twilight Princess: Best 3D Zelda ever. Link here is a real man that knows how to act, the new items where original and the double clawshot was fenomenal, best dungeons(oohhh gawd the City in the Sky and Temple of Time). all the cast(specially Ganondorf) badassness was in full force and Midna is the best companion you could ask. also best special effects/graphics and good soundtrack.
2- Wind Waker: Best soundtrack(dat Dragon Roost island and Molgera) engaging bosses and original concept about forming the Triforce instead of being the chosen one and all that. also charming graphics.
3- Skyward Sword: Original concept built around the ability of swing the sword in almost any direction, best combat system, good dungeon design(Lanayru Desert Mines are awesome), many new items that remain useful longer, good soundtrack too. Zelda doesn't get kidnapped or taken prisoner and actually loves Link and boss rush mode.

2D
1- A Link to the Past: Best 2D Zelda ever, also the longer game I think. Introduction of the Master Sword, introduction of the sacred realm/dark world, best 2D soundtrack, best 2D dungeons, loads and loads of items that remain useful longer.
2- Minish Cap: Best 2D graphics, introduction of a second important sword, best 2D Zelda combat system, good soundtrack, original bosses and items and good dungeon design.
3- Link's Awakening DX: First portable Zelda game, original story(Ganon?? who is Ganon), full blown gameplay not cut for being portable. can't remember more to say truth, long time since I played it.

Twilight Princess and Wind Waker where my first and second Zelda games I've played. ALttP though played it very late, right before ALbW. I'm playing Majora's Mask right now, so I can't deliver a veredict on it.

 

[RevPokemon]

Favorite?

TWP (GC edition) by far, it is probably the best Zelda game I've ever played mainly due to I like the style and story.

2d would be a link to the past

 

[VinsCool]

The only minus point is Minish Cap being TOO SHORT.
Great 2d zelda engine, too small overworld. I mean, you could have been better, link to the past was HUGE.
Not enough dungeons and sidequests... Kingstones fusion, but that's only that. Almost non existent.

I finished the game on GBA years ago with all kingstones fusion, all items, all figurines and soundtest room unlocked.

 

[Jayro]

Favorite console Zelda? Twilight Princess. This is the first game that really gave it the look and feel of what a Zelda title should be. Dark, gritty, mysterious... Love the game.

Favorite handheld Zelda? Link's Awakening on Gameboy. Not the color remake, because you can't skip long text stories with the B button anymore, nor can you take advantage of the screenwarp glitch for speedruns.

 

[Flame]

Its that time of the year I see...

2. All of them.
1. Minish cap (has a special place in my heart)


Zelda games are boss. Haters gonna Sony.

 

[Sol Sanctum]

Honestly I can't really put the 2D and 3D Zelda franchise games on the same list. So, I have a 3d Zelda list and a 2d Zelda list.

3D

3. Skyward Sword
This game is one of my personal favorites because of its storyline, music (best Zelda music collection ever), and mechanics (emphasis on the Sand Temple/Time Travel mechanic.)
2. Wind Waker
This is an amazing game because of the fighting (pretty basic, yet really fun), and the look (I really commend Nintendo for changing things up when it comes to the graphics in this game.)
1. Twilight Princess
The best Zelda game with an amazing storyline, music, fighting, and mechanics. It is really the Zelda direction that I hope Nintendo points toward with any future Zelda titles.

2d

3. Zelda 1 and 2
These are mostly on my list because if it wasn't for them there wouldn't be any other Zelda title at all.
2. Minish Cap
Nintendo took a simple idea of stones, hats, and shrinking and made what I see as one of the best GBA games out of it.
1. Link to the Past
The best 2d Zelda game for graphics, fighting, and amazing mechanics for a 2d game.

 

[Nathan Drake]

So I have to ask:
Why do people like A Link to the Past so much? It seems I have to ask this with every game that comes up as the most popular title in a long running series, but once again, I find myself unable to share the sentiment that this is such an incredible experience. You can call it long, but once you know the game, it's actually rather short and can be completed quickly. The difficulty isn't friendly with dungeons often being more trap laden and trial and error based than skill based, at least on the first play through. The items aren't super amazing creative, nor is the story something to hold in high esteem. Just because it introduced a series staple such as the Master Sword doesn't mean it is an amazing game. Honestly, I don't think it has aged all that well and wouldn't resonate worth a damn with younger gamers today, and not just because "omg it's 2D Zelda and younger gamers only like those shit 3D Zelda games." It legitimately seems like many of you are just echoing ALttP because you feel like you have to, or because people have told you it's the best Zelda game so many times that regardless of how much you actually liked it compared to other Zelda games, you've tricked yourself into believing that no Zelda game could trump it.

Much like with FFVII and Ocarina of Time, the nostalgia glasses seem to have an overpowering effect where ALttP is concerned. 2D Zelda since has easily trumped it with more enjoyable and better crafted experiences.

As for my favorites:

3) Minish Cap: I came back to this game a couple of times before really giving it a proper go, and this turned out to be a really well made game. It has a couple issues mostly revolving around the kin stones, but otherwise I felt this game maintained a reasonable amount of challenge to be a worthwhile experience.

2) Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask: I pair these two up simply because I can't seem to divorce the two in my mind, likely because the two share so much that Majora's Mask kind of just feels like OoT Part 2. I put them on par with each other as memorable experiences that were lots of fun to play through. Although overpriced for the content received, I felt the remakes really helped to breath some life into these old games, especially MM which didn't port all that well to other systems like the Gamecube. MM gets more praise for being reworked in a more substantial fashion, but ultimately both games share the same place for me.

1) Twilight Princess: This game easily has the best swordplay in the entire LoZ series. The amount of moves you can learn transcends the number available in any other Zelda game allowing for far more diverse combat that doesn't rely on the use of set moves and combos (like Wind Waker heavily relying on the parry system). The tone of the game made for a very interesting experience, and I thought the dungeons were the best we've seen in a 3D Zelda title. The required wolf bits are the only major negative I can think of, and even then, you are only forced to go into wolf mode in an uncontrollable way a small handful of times. Past that, the transformation simply becomes a well integrated part of the gameplay and another avenue by which combat can happen. All in all, this game is beautiful, fun, and I can't understand the amount of flack it has received over the years due to its art style.

 

[Sakitoshi]

nor can you take advantage of the screenwarp glitch for speedruns.

who needs screenwarp??

 

[Jayro]

who needs screenwarp??

Neato! But does this only work on the Japanese version?

 

[Sakitoshi]

Neato! But does this only work on the Japanese version?

as far as I know the glitch world(or kennel world) work in all versions, even the BW one. click here for more details.

 

[Hells Malice]

Neato! But does this only work on the Japanese version?

A lot of speedrunners use jap versions of games because the text is more compact and thus faster to skip.

 

[Coto]

Zelda Majora's Mask being my favourite, ZOOT I never liked it too much tbh. Someday i'll try ZWW I've heard excellent reviews about it.

I know the N64 ZMM 100%

For some reason the 3DS version seems rather easy, and some events were fixed (N64 version: If you talk with Anju + Kafei's Mask past 2:30pm 1st day (and watch the scene where the postman delivers a letter to her), you take out the mask , talk to her again and ask for a reservation, so you get the room key).

On the 3ds getting the soaring song earlier and owl statues don't require the sword / save points everywhere .. nope.

PLUS

The song of time to save, all this is lost on the 3ds version, you can restore from whenever your last save data was. This is not the realtime majora's mask I grew up with.

And well, the zora's swimming, makes the game more interesting if you ever get a bottle & the piece of heart like it was on the N64.

 

[Catastrophic]

3. Twilight Princess - Really liked the story and style of this game, and combat was plenty of fun. Sadly, I found it far, far too easy, and it tried to hard to be edgy.

2. A link to the Past - It's just a really good game. I loved the difficulty in this game. Enemies were actually a threat and traps were all over the place.

1. Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask - I played Ocarina when I was little so I'm a bit biased towards it, but I just gotta include Majora as well. Ocarina of Time was a masterpiece when it comes to design and the temples were fun and atmospheric, but Majora's Mask took that atmosphere to a whole new level.

 

[endoverend]

5. Link Between Worlds - I know this game gets a crap ton of hate but for what it's worth I thought the game just worked. The music and graphics were both amazing and I wasn't terribly annoyed at the game deviating from the formula a little. This would be higher but it is also kind of a remake so I kept it down here. It also proved that Zelda still worked well in 2D.

4. Wind Waker - Tons of fun with an amazing art style. The story was well-told and the music was great. It was the Zelda game with the biggest open world with tons and tons of islands to explore and it probably will remain the biggest until Zelda Wii U comes out.

3. Ocarina of Time - I probably spent the most time in this game admittedly, beating the main quest and master quest three times already. It's not my favorite, since it was rather short and very easy, but it is an amazing game in its own right. It managed to transition the series into 3D and did it with aplomb.

2. Link to the Past - Grew up playing this one on the GBA as a kid (no, I'm not old enough to remember the super nintendo ) and I loved it. The way the game starts off is great. Wanted in prison, trying to stop the goddamn world from being taken over from the very second you wake up in the morning?! Pretty crazy. This game shines in its transition to the Dark World. It's just like, "Here are seven dungeons. Beat them." It doesn't need to feed a story through you each time. A really great game.

1. Twilight Princess - I remember getting this game on launch day. It creeped me out from the beginning. I can remember turning off the game and not playing it till the next day after that wolf transformation scene and that first prison-dungeon you had to go through. What an atmosphere this game created. A good amount of challenge in this game, and some creative puzzles involving wolf/human mode in the later game (which is where this game shines - those last dungeons were amazing).

 

[Arecaidian Fox]

5. Oracle of Ages
4. Twilight Princess
3. Majora's Mask/3D
2. Wind Waker/HD
1. Ocarina of Time/3D

5. Let's start at the bottom and work our way up...Ages is just about the perfect example of a top-down Zelda done right. It certainly feels more accessible (not the "accessible" associated with "easy") than it's twin, Oracle of Seasons, but is certainly not lacking in any way. Mind-bending puzzles, an immersive overworld, many great things that make Zelda what it is, and from third-party developer Capcom nonetheless. This is one of the best examples of the classic Zelda formula.

4. Twilight Princess is dark, in terms of story, narrative and visuals. It does this without sacrificing those lighthearted Zelda moments unique to the series. It also stands out as having some of the most fun and epic boss fights in the entire series. Twilight Princess also gave us the first truly expansive and huge Hyrule Field in 3D (sorry, Ocarina), which probably won't be topped until the release of the WiiU Zelda, and a soundtrack that ranged the emotional spectrum. And if you can pull off running it on Dolphin at an internal resolution of 1920x1584, you will be left wondering why this game wasn't instantly in line for a HD remake. The team at Nintendo took their best shot at unseating Ocarina of Time with this title, and while they fell short, they still gave us one hell of a great game.

3. I labeled number four on this list as dark. Well, if that's dark, then Majora's Mask is pitch black. As the strangest and most surreal entry in the series thus far, this game is a breed unto itself, somehow both mesmerizing and terrifying, all wrapped up in a box that is undoubtedly Zelda. This is a game where you can feel the world so very well, especially it's sadness. Words almost always fail to encompass the experience of it, and is certainly a game that should be on everyone's list.

2. Wind Waker...This is a game that polarized the Zelda community on its visuals alone. This was our Arbiter/Master Chief war. Regardless of where you stand on its appearance (I happen to like it), this game yet again pushed the boundaries of what a 3D Zelda game could do, backed by a musical score that always felt right and a story that continued the saga of arguably the greatest game of all time. While I wouldn't put it on a gaming bucket list exactly, this is a game that should be on a Zelda player's list of games to go get and play. NOW. Seriously, NOW. You will never feel the same epicness in any other game that you get while sailing the Great Sea.

1. Ocarina of Time has been lauded over and over as the greatest game of all time. I can sit here and reference mechanic and stylistic revolutions for 3D gaming, or components of its simple but engrossing story, but I won't. We all know why Ocarina of Time has perfect or near-perfect scores almost everywhere. And if you don't know why...Well, this game should be at the top of everyone's list. ALL their lists. Go and play this game. Drop whatever game you're playing, let it gather dust and play Ocarina. You won't be sorry.


Honorable mentions go to A Link to the Past (formula), Minish Cap (story and formula) and Skyward Sword (story). It should be noted that in all instances where there is a HD or 3DS rerelease on this list, I prefer the rereleases for their gameplay tweaks and control reworkings. In all three instances, each game did nothing but get better.

 

[Sakitoshi]

So I have to ask:
Why do people like A Link to the Past so much? It seems I have to ask this with every game that comes up as the most popular title in a long running series, but once again, I find myself unable to share the sentiment that this is such an incredible experience. You can call it long, but once you know the game, it's actually rather short and can be completed quickly. The difficulty isn't friendly with dungeons often being more trap laden and trial and error based than skill based, at least on the first play through. The items aren't super amazing creative, nor is the story something to hold in high esteem. Just because it introduced a series staple such as the Master Sword doesn't mean it is an amazing game. Honestly, I don't think it has aged all that well and wouldn't resonate worth a damn with younger gamers today, and not just because "omg it's 2D Zelda and younger gamers only like those shit 3D Zelda games." It legitimately seems like many of you are just echoing ALttP because you feel like you have to, or because people have told you it's the best Zelda game so many times that regardless of how much you actually liked it compared to other Zelda games, you've tricked yourself into believing that no Zelda game could trump it.

Much like with FFVII and Ocarina of Time, the nostalgia glasses seem to have an overpowering effect where ALttP is concerned. 2D Zelda since has easily trumped it with more enjoyable and better crafted experiences.

As for my favorites:

3) Minish Cap: I came back to this game a couple of times before really giving it a proper go, and this turned out to be a really well made game. It has a couple issues mostly revolving around the kin stones, but otherwise I felt this game maintained a reasonable amount of challenge to be a worthwhile experience.

2) Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask: I pair these two up simply because I can't seem to divorce the two in my mind, likely because the two share so much that Majora's Mask kind of just feels like OoT Part 2. I put them on par with each other as memorable experiences that were lots of fun to play through. Although overpriced for the content received, I felt the remakes really helped to breath some life into these old games, especially MM which didn't port all that well to other systems like the Gamecube. MM gets more praise for being reworked in a more substantial fashion, but ultimately both games share the same place for me.

1) Twilight Princess: This game easily has the best swordplay in the entire LoZ series. The amount of moves you can learn transcends the number available in any other Zelda game allowing for far more diverse combat that doesn't rely on the use of set moves and combos (like Wind Waker heavily relying on the parry system). The tone of the game made for a very interesting experience, and I thought the dungeons were the best we've seen in a 3D Zelda title. The required wolf bits are the only major negative I can think of, and even then, you are only forced to go into wolf mode in an uncontrollable way a small handful of times. Past that, the transformation simply becomes a well integrated part of the gameplay and another avenue by which combat can happen. All in all, this game is beautiful, fun, and I can't understand the amount of flack it has received over the years due to its art style.

I can say for sure that isn't the rose nostalgia glasses of blindness what is making me say that ALttP is a good game as I finished for the first time this game last year and right before ALbW.

A Link to the Past introduced many elements that where used in subsequent games, improving the overall experience. things as simple as a crack in the wall to inform the player "hey, you can bomb that wall" where introduced here and enhanced the gaming experience.
The items you acquire through your quest became a staple of the series the famed Master Sword, Hookshot, Boss Key, Zora's Flippers, Fire and Ice rod and even something so simple as the bottles have appeared in one way or another in every Zelda game after ALttP.

The dungeons became much more complicated having multiple floors and setting traps in a way that, when is difficult is also really accomplishing. the tips also where more scarce(I mean because there are no old mans inside of the dungeons) but eliminated the useless step of the search for the tip, like I said earlier, a crack in a wall is much more effective than a clue saying "bomb the north wall of the west room".

And the story was really fleshed out, the story evolved from the traditional "there is a bad guy taking over the land, defeat it!!" to a more complete and original story involving even an alternate dimension.

At least those are my reasons of why A Link to the Past is the best 2D Zelda game, Minish Cap was the first 2D Zelda I played and love it, but ALttP was a better experience. but I agree that most people can't let go of the nostalgia glasses, specially with Ocarina of Time, worst 3D Zelda in my ranking.

 

[TecXero]

1: A Link to the Past
2: A Link Between Worlds
3: Minish Cap
4: Oracle of Ages/Seasons
5: Link's Awakening
6: Wind Waker
7: Majora's Mask
8: Twilight Princess
9: Ocarina of Time
10: The Legend of Zelda
11: Link's Adventure

That's all the ones I've enjoyed. Yeah, there's nostalgia involved.

 

[cloudfe]

While Ocarina of Time and (especially) Majora's Mask are classics, "A link to the Past" is still the greatest in my opinion. That feeling when you finally get Zora's flippers and think "This world is mine now"