Top 10 The Legend of Zelda Games Of All Time (#5 – #1)

First of all, we would like to apologise to all our readers for keeping them waiting for these next five entries for so long, and for postponing this list again and again. However, here is the list now, as promised. You can check out the first five entries here, to take out as much fun and excitment you can from out list!

So, without any further ado, let’s begin!

#5 – #1

5. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Platform: N64 | Developer: Nintendo | Release Date: 2000

Ah, probably the most underappreciated, yet the most beautiful and probably the most epic Zelda game ever. People fail to recognize it’s beauty, and thus call it the ‘black sheep’ of the series. It was anything but. Having an awesome gameplay structure, very different to that of a typical Zelda game, a moving, thrilling story, memorable characters and some of the most emotional scenes one will ever come across in any game, this is what defines almost anything Zelda. This is how an ideal reboot of the series should have been. If the gameplay structural change in the upcoming Skyward Sword is anything like this, we’re sure in for a treat.

4. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Platform: SNES/ GBA | Developer: Nintendo/ Capcom | Release Date: 1991/ 2004

Like all Nintendo games of that era, A Link to the Past represents peak pitch perfection, and it can never be outdone. Many have tried, and all have failed. People have often hailed its successor, Ocarina of Time (which, if I may be so bold to say, was nothing more than a 3D re-imaging of this game) as the greatest game ever created, and yet, people forget to look upon the progenitor as the one that started it all. A Link to the Past can be played today and still enjoyed, maybe more than it was back when it was first released, and that is because it is not dated, obsolete or irrelevant in spite of the two decade gap that separates it from the date of its conception. And, knowing this game so well, I am confident that it never will be.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Platform: N64 | Developer: Nintendo | Release Date: 1998

Ocarina of Time did what few franchises have managed to do. It took the core formula of a series as beloved as anything else in the world, and completely changed it. It translated the Zelda franchise into full glorious 3D, with graphics which till this very day can awe all players, improved upon every aspect of gameplay of the previous Zelda games, while also adding some of its own new mechanics, provided us with an epic sound-track, epic boss battles, a moving, complex and an incredibly deep story and a presentation styl that left our mouths hanging open. It took everything that the original Zelda games had, and polished it and refined it to the point of perfection.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

Platform: GCN | Developer: Nintendo | Release Date: 2002

The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker is one of the few games to hold a distinction of being dassified as a true work of art. When it was fist revealed as the GCN’s flagship title, people were aghast at what Nintendo has done to their beloved franchise- Wind Waker appeared to be a step backward. Instead of the realistic graphics that its N64 predecessors had boasted of, Wind Waker featured cel shading that made it look like a cartoon more than anything else.

Of course, Nintendo were accused of catering to the young crowd again.

However, upon the game’s release, when it was greeted by rave reviews, everybody had to eat their words. The Wind Waker not only outdid its predecessors in every conceivable way, but it also ensured that it itself would remain timeless, a dassic that would remain so for all the echelons of time.

Due to the relatively subdued commercial reception of the game, Nintendo would revert to a realistic style for the next Zelda game. However, WW’s triumph is evident when it is seen just how moving and immersive the game was.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Platform: Wii | Developer: Nintendo | Release Date: 2006

Although much maligned by fans for being too similar to Ocarina of Time (but it had been the very same fans who had asked for a retread of Ocarina in the first place), The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is the ultimate Zelda game ever created. Taking all the tried and tested conventions of each Zelda title that has appeared before it, Twilight Princess presents the player with the most refined and perfected entry in the series till date. The inclusion of motion controls breathes new life into an aging Zelda setup, and the fact that this is the most cinematic Zelda of all time only helps its case. Whereas it may not be the most acceptable on this list, it certainly is the one I enjoyed the most for the longest time.

And That Is All…

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