it’s one of the most critically
acclaimed series of all time with almost
all of its titles considered among the
best on their systems welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top 10 games in
the Legend of Zelda franchise for a
series where every title is regarded as
one of the best on their respective
consoles ranking each title wasn’t an
easy challenge so we’re ranking each
game based on a combination of how great
they were at launch and how well they
hold up by today’s standards number 10
The Legend of Zelda we’re starting this
list off with the game that started it
all this was the first console game ever
that allowed you to save your game via
battery backup and one of the first to
introduce nonlinear gameplay on a large
map
you
while the gameplay hasn’t aged as well
compared to the other titles in the
series the fact that the 10th slot is
given to one of the best games on the
NES meant the series only got better
number 9 Oracle of Seasons this was a
toss-up between this one and the Oracle
of Ages as both games were released on
the same day the two featured similar
mechanics in Ages you could travel
between two different time periods and
its seasons you could change the seasons
and thus the landscape for us we’re
going with Oracle of Seasons since time
travel has been used in several zelda
games before and since though this is
essentially a tie
number eight Skyward Sword it’s true
this game gets more than its fair share
of criticism compared to other entries
so let’s quickly address those yes he is
annoying the open sky is rather empty
and shooting the bow is more complex
than it needs to be well I thought looks
like we’re having a little interference
here but on the good side this game has
some of the finest and most creative
dungeons in the series Yura Hamm is a
great new villain and this is probably
the best portrayal of Link and Zelda out
of all of their incarnations number 7
highlight princess being the only game
in the series to be released on two
consoles at the same time while some
complain that’s essentially a darker and
edgier version of Ocarina of Time we say
that’s not a bad thing
changing into a wolf was satisfying and
the atmosphere in the Twilight Realm hit
the right tone ensuring that this was
probably the closest thing we’ve ever
had to a cinematic Zelda experience
number six Link’s Awakening the Gameboy
may not have had the horsepower of its
bigger brother the SNES but that didn’t
stop Link’s Awakening from not only
retaining its tight responsive gameplay
but it also brought in another series
first emotional storytelling there’s a
plot twist halfway through the game that
makes you question whether your quest is
the right thing to do and the game’s
ending left few gamers with dry eyes
which is pretty impressive for a game
released on a monochrome brick number 5
Majora’s Mask one of the most
unconventional games in the series this
entry explores the theme of impending
death as the moon itself is on a
collision course with the land of
termina while it only makes the fifth
slot for having the least amount of
dungeons in the series Majora’s Mask
makes up for that with creative side
quests that require clever thinking and
Groundhog Day style trial and error
this is probably why it has a strong
community campaigning for a 3ds or Wii U
R even number for a link between worlds
the most recent entry in the franchise
admittedly when this was on the horizon
the Zelda formula started to get a bit
repetitive but link between worlds
managed to do the unthinkable it was
able to walk the line between complete
overhaul and shameless remake with
perfect form opting for nonlinear
exploration having all of the items
available to you upfront and multiple
solutions to the dungeons it may have
looked like Link to the Past but it was
revolutionary in terms of progression
plus hearing that SNES theme in full
stereo total nerdgasm number three the
Wind Waker cel-shaded graphics may have
been a controversial choice back in 2002
but today we now see that they hold up
way better over time
Wind Waker is by far the most beautiful
Zelda game out there with vibrant colors
being set to the backdrop of a vast
ocean which truly captures the sense of
an epic adventure
and the HD remaster on the Wii U trims a
lot of the unnecessary paddock in the
final Triforce Quest what’s not to like
Oh number two a Link to the Past who
would have thought that the SNES game
released more than 20 years ago still
holds up as one of the best in the
series this game has more dungeons than
any other entry in the series yet still
manages its pacing very well it
introduced new elements that would go on
to become standard in future titles most
notably the debut of the three triangle
Triforce design and the franchise’s most
iconic weapon the Master Sword
before we get to probably the obvious
number one let’s take a look at some
honorable mentions
and just for fun here are some
dishonorable mentions as well how about
a kiss for luck you’ve got to be kidding
number one ocarina of time yeah yeah
yeah
call us predictable call us on original
but in reality ocarina of time is still
as amazing as it was back in 98 in fact
the recent remaster on the 3ds has the
game both looking and feeling better
than ever
after all this was the game that not
only set the standard for future Zelda
games but also all action-adventure
games in general and to this day few
come close to matching the grand scale
of this masterpiece
with all of the games in the series
being regarded like royalty our list is
obviously going to be different from
everyone else’s so let us know what your
favorite games in the franchise are and
for more defining top 10s published
every day be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com
you
acclaimed series of all time with almost
all of its titles considered among the
best on their systems welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top 10 games in
the Legend of Zelda franchise for a
series where every title is regarded as
one of the best on their respective
consoles ranking each title wasn’t an
easy challenge so we’re ranking each
game based on a combination of how great
they were at launch and how well they
hold up by today’s standards number 10
The Legend of Zelda we’re starting this
list off with the game that started it
all this was the first console game ever
that allowed you to save your game via
battery backup and one of the first to
introduce nonlinear gameplay on a large
map
you
while the gameplay hasn’t aged as well
compared to the other titles in the
series the fact that the 10th slot is
given to one of the best games on the
NES meant the series only got better
number 9 Oracle of Seasons this was a
toss-up between this one and the Oracle
of Ages as both games were released on
the same day the two featured similar
mechanics in Ages you could travel
between two different time periods and
its seasons you could change the seasons
and thus the landscape for us we’re
going with Oracle of Seasons since time
travel has been used in several zelda
games before and since though this is
essentially a tie
number eight Skyward Sword it’s true
this game gets more than its fair share
of criticism compared to other entries
so let’s quickly address those yes he is
annoying the open sky is rather empty
and shooting the bow is more complex
than it needs to be well I thought looks
like we’re having a little interference
here but on the good side this game has
some of the finest and most creative
dungeons in the series Yura Hamm is a
great new villain and this is probably
the best portrayal of Link and Zelda out
of all of their incarnations number 7
highlight princess being the only game
in the series to be released on two
consoles at the same time while some
complain that’s essentially a darker and
edgier version of Ocarina of Time we say
that’s not a bad thing
changing into a wolf was satisfying and
the atmosphere in the Twilight Realm hit
the right tone ensuring that this was
probably the closest thing we’ve ever
had to a cinematic Zelda experience
number six Link’s Awakening the Gameboy
may not have had the horsepower of its
bigger brother the SNES but that didn’t
stop Link’s Awakening from not only
retaining its tight responsive gameplay
but it also brought in another series
first emotional storytelling there’s a
plot twist halfway through the game that
makes you question whether your quest is
the right thing to do and the game’s
ending left few gamers with dry eyes
which is pretty impressive for a game
released on a monochrome brick number 5
Majora’s Mask one of the most
unconventional games in the series this
entry explores the theme of impending
death as the moon itself is on a
collision course with the land of
termina while it only makes the fifth
slot for having the least amount of
dungeons in the series Majora’s Mask
makes up for that with creative side
quests that require clever thinking and
Groundhog Day style trial and error
this is probably why it has a strong
community campaigning for a 3ds or Wii U
R even number for a link between worlds
the most recent entry in the franchise
admittedly when this was on the horizon
the Zelda formula started to get a bit
repetitive but link between worlds
managed to do the unthinkable it was
able to walk the line between complete
overhaul and shameless remake with
perfect form opting for nonlinear
exploration having all of the items
available to you upfront and multiple
solutions to the dungeons it may have
looked like Link to the Past but it was
revolutionary in terms of progression
plus hearing that SNES theme in full
stereo total nerdgasm number three the
Wind Waker cel-shaded graphics may have
been a controversial choice back in 2002
but today we now see that they hold up
way better over time
Wind Waker is by far the most beautiful
Zelda game out there with vibrant colors
being set to the backdrop of a vast
ocean which truly captures the sense of
an epic adventure
and the HD remaster on the Wii U trims a
lot of the unnecessary paddock in the
final Triforce Quest what’s not to like
Oh number two a Link to the Past who
would have thought that the SNES game
released more than 20 years ago still
holds up as one of the best in the
series this game has more dungeons than
any other entry in the series yet still
manages its pacing very well it
introduced new elements that would go on
to become standard in future titles most
notably the debut of the three triangle
Triforce design and the franchise’s most
iconic weapon the Master Sword
before we get to probably the obvious
number one let’s take a look at some
honorable mentions
and just for fun here are some
dishonorable mentions as well how about
a kiss for luck you’ve got to be kidding
number one ocarina of time yeah yeah
yeah
call us predictable call us on original
but in reality ocarina of time is still
as amazing as it was back in 98 in fact
the recent remaster on the 3ds has the
game both looking and feeling better
than ever
after all this was the game that not
only set the standard for future Zelda
games but also all action-adventure
games in general and to this day few
come close to matching the grand scale
of this masterpiece
with all of the games in the series
being regarded like royalty our list is
obviously going to be different from
everyone else’s so let us know what your
favorite games in the franchise are and
for more defining top 10s published
every day be sure to subscribe to
watchmojo.com
you
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