Which Zelda games should I play?

[raystriker]

So here's the deal- I haven't played any of the Zelda games. Yes, judge me-but I want to change that. Which Zelda games are a must play? And in what order? System no bar, but shortest list.

 

[netovsk]

BotW is a good start, it's accessible and well done. Link to the past (or something like that, the snes one) is a good choice too. Its not like they are sequels one to another.

Stay away from Skyward Sword. It's not bad, but solving puzzles out of boredom is not very cool.

 

[raystriker]

How about Majora's Mask and Minish cap etc?

 

[Futurdreamz]

Minish cap is awesome, but i have a banged up micro I keep in my pocket at all times.

 

[Benja81]

Original LOZ, Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, BotW. All the rest are worth it as well, but those are my favorite.

 

[raystriker]

I reason I want to play the previous games is to get into the Zelda franchise. I wanted to get a feel for the Zelda games so that I can enjoy BotW even more.
(I might buy a Switch based upon the type of games they release regarding the IP they decide to work upon.) Seems the Zelda games aren't sequential so I guess I'll work my way up from older systems to the newer ones.

 

[Cha0tic]

I really enjoyed the original LoZ I played and beat it a few months ago.
Beside that OoT, Majoras mask, Skyward Sword, Windwaker and the new one. Never tried the gba games or twlight princess.

 

[gamesquest1]

tbh botw mixes up the formula quite a bit, so playing the old games wouldn't really represent the experience you will get from botw, tbh I really like most of the Zelda games, they nearly always offer something new and fresh in each game, so it worth playing as many as you can if your really wanting to experience what the Zelda franchise has to offer, my personal favourite would be a link to the past but that's not to say its the best, they all tend to shine in different ways

 

[8BitWonder]

If you play any of them I recommend trying Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess.

 

[astrangeone]

The old games I would recommend:

Portables:
- Minish Cap on GBA (Great storyline and fun characters, very fun puzzle solving, although the first boss makes you want to slap people)
- A Link Between Worlds on the 3DS (not a long game, but very accessible and has very fun puzzle solving mechanics - although sometimes you need the 3D to understand how to solve a puzzle. Fun characters too!)
- Ocarina of Time on the 3DS (a classic that still works for a lot of people. The water temple is no longer a tedious drag (or so I've heard from N64 vets)

Classic Gaming:
- A Link to the Past on the SNES/virtual console on 3DS (very great gaming. People say that A Link Between Worlds feels like it's a more polished version of this! I disagree, but I like the new game better)
- Link's Adventure 2 on the NES (sidescrolling, weird version of Zelda. Still fun, but HARD as hell. I recently completed this with help of save states.)
- Link's Awakening on GBC/virtual console on 3DS (slightly wonky mechanics, but fun!)

I have to say, try out Majora's Mask on the 3DS. Some people like the time mechanics, I did not. LoZ was always about clearing dungeons, getting the next key item and then using the key item to clear more dungeons. Having the time reset, as well as everything made me want to pull my own hair out - it felt fruitless.

 

[Noctosphere]

if you want puzzle challenge, then dont begin with the original two, they have lot less puzzle than others
twilight princess is my favorite, but it might change with botw

 

[Ricken]

If you want to do 2D Zelda Games, I'd highly recommend Oracle of Seasons/Ages. They both focus on battles and puzzles respectively, so that's a simple way to get into it
3D ones though, OoT, WW, and TP are must plays. I'd recommend OoT first, since it stages what happens before the chronological timeline splits

 

[WeedZ]

Botw should NOT be the first. Shame on all of you that suggested it. It's nothing like the original Zelda formula. If you're new to the series you should play the original nes, a link to the past and ocarina of time. Those are a must. There are more but those are the core Zelda games. Once you have a feel for the style, THEN play botw. If you play it first your gunna think Zelda is no different from any other adventure game.

 

[Silterpy]

link's awakening dx is a really good zelda game IMO,. the Oracle games are also good zelda games. they are for the gbc

 

[BORTZ]

Link to the Past -Stay away from Link Between Worlds, its a bad game built to cash in on the success of LTTP
Link's Awakening DX
Ocarina of Time - if you want to see what all the hype is about. Stay away from Majora's mask, unless you fall in love with Ocarina. It's a vast departure from the rest of the series.

The best thing to do is to figure out if you like the 2D (top down) or 3D Zelda games. My two personal favorites are Minish Cap and Twilight Princess, but I don't think those are a good place to start.

 

[sarkwalvein]

Twilight Princess, A link to the past, Link's Trollwakening, Ocarina of Time, etc.
Please keep away from Wind Waker if you suffer Thalassophobia... better keep away from it anyway, too much water.

Regarding ALBW, I suppose to each one whatever they like, I really liked that game.

 

[AmandaRose]

You need to play all of them lol and in any order you like.

 

[DaFixer]

You can always try those CD I zelda games

 

[slingblade1170]

I would say start with the remakes of oot and majoras mask on 3ds cause the graphics and controls are great, then twilight princess and that should be enough to get u into breath of the wild. If u do play of them make sure to go fishing.