The best Zelda games, ranked from best to worst

What more can be said about one of the best N64 games of all time? The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is widely regarded as one of the best games of all time. Most polls would probably deem it the best in the series. And while we think it’s just outside of the top three, that’s more of a testament to the franchise’s prowess than a sleight on OoT. Ocarina of Time brought Zelda into the 3D era, making it the most important evolution in the franchise. From the first steps into the open terrain of Hyrule to the moment when Link retrieves the Master Sword from the Temple of Time to the final showdown with Ganon, Ocarina of Time was a true marvel at every turn. It has also aged far more gracefully than most early polygonal games and is every bit as engaging today as it was in 1998.

Link’s Awakening, the first handheld entry in the franchise, morphed from a port of A Link to the Past into the weirdest entry in the iconic series. Featuring cameos from Kirby, a SimCity character, and 2D sidescrolling sections where Link hops on Goombas, Link’s Awakening had an experimental vibe to it that simply oozed charm. Swapping Hyrule for Koholint Island, Link’s Awakening cemented itself as a unique and valiant foray into portable adventuring. Since its 1993 launch on Game Boy, Link’s Awakening has received two remakes. In 1998, Koholint Island was doused with color in Link’s Awakening DX. But it’s the Switch remake that convinced us to catapult Link’s Awakening from the fifth spot on our list to number two. Updated with a bright visual style that makes all the denizens of Koholint Island resemble adorable toy dolls, Link’s Awakening on Switch is stunningly cute. Nintendo updated far more than just the graphics. A cleaner inventory system allows Link to have more than two active items at once. There are far more Heart Pieces and Secret Seashells to find. The more robust scavenger hunt is complimented well by a map pin system borrowed from Breath of the Wild. Link’s Awakening was always incredible, but the Switch remake solidifies it as the best top-down Zelda game ever made.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap swapped Link’s iconic green cap for Ezlo, a magical anthropomorphic hat that was also green. With Ezlo’s powers, Link could shrink down to the size of the Minish, and explore areas from a very small perspective. The mechanic made dungeons, the overworld, and even towns a joy to explore and uncover secrets in this great GBA game. Add in Kinstones, which altered a specific part of the world when matched, and The Minish Cap introduced just enough new features to make it feel like an entirely fresh Zelda adventure, complete with wonderful characters, an interesting story, and a reworked version of Hyrule. It’s a game not internally developed at Nintendo, but instead, created by Capcom.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is the best Nintendo 3DS game, which is saying a lot considering the strength of the library. Top-down, but in beautiful 3D, this sequel to A Link to the Past traded one (huge) ingrained mechanic. Rather than finding new items in dungeons, Link rented and eventually bought them from a shopkeeper. The change didn’t delight everyone, but it let you approach each area differently, deciding which items would suit you best in the moment. Link could also merge into walls to move about in 2D, a mechanic that bore some resemblance to The Minish Cap. It felt more like an extension of A Link to the Past than a completely new experience, but that’s not really a complaint.