Top Ten Zelda Games with my brother, Dylan
“It’s Dangerous to Go Alone. Take This”
With those immortal words began one of the most famous video games series of all time. Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda in 1986 when I was three. Dylan, my little brother, who is co-authoring this post, was born in 2002, the year The Wind Waker made its’ debut
Super Mario Brothers / Duck Hunt may have been the game that came with the original NES, but it was The Legend of Zelda that captured my imagination. A world with no map that you could explore. The game became my favorite for the original NES and each subsequent sequel has proven that Nintendo is not satisfied with merely repeating their success. Each Zelda game has a “gimmick” (for lack of a better term) which reinvents the game play, creating an entirely new experience. And while those “gimmicks” have advanced games in amazing ways, it is the Zelda story that continues to grow and become more interesting.
Rather than making true sequels, with a couple exceptions (The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Adventure and the sequels to The Wind Waker), the Zelda series has rather reinvented itself with each successive story. Seeking to create a Jungian story, about how the same legend repeats in every generation, the Zelda series shows how the archetype of the hero, Link, is reborn into each generation, and how Zelda, the archetype of the lover aka the dreamer, helps Link save Hyrule. Realizing that the Links are not all the same person is key to understanding the story and how it has evolved. The seminal game to the story in the series is Ocarina of Time where Link’s travels through time result in three separate time lines being created; one where Link is returned to his childhood and grows up; one where Zelda continues on after the events of Ocarina; and one where Link loses to Ganon allowing him to conquer the world.
For the best break down of the timeline, watch this incredible documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ak8jzShE3Vk&t=51s
For Dylan, Link was the first hero he ever knew. Wanting to be Link, we bought and made him various costumes of Link throughout his childhood. Not able to find the mirror shield for Ocarina anywhere my mother made it out of wood and painted it.
During his illness, Dylan and I have bonded even more over our love of Link as both of us got Switches and were blown away by the power and scope of Breath of the Wild. As a result, he and I have replayed many of the Zelda games in the last couple of months and having done that decided we would voice our opinions on the power of each game. Below is both Dylan and my top ten Zelda games, as well as one of our takes on each of the games below.
Dylan’s Top Ten
1. Breath of the Wild
2. Ocarina of Time
3. Twilight Princess
4. Majora’s Mask
5. The Wind Waker
6. A Link to the Past
7. Four Sword Adventures
8. The Legend of Zelda
9. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
10. Skyward Sword
Jeremy’s Top Ten
1. Ocarina of Time
2. Breath of the Wild
3. The Wind Waker
4. Majora’s Mask
5. A Link to the Past
6. Link’s Awakening
7. The Minish Cap
8. The Legend of Zelda
9. Twilight Princess
10. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
The Legend of Zelda (NES)
Jeremy’s Take:
The first time I played this game, I was frustrated. I had no idea what to do. I think I even went on the adventure at first without the sword, because the cave looked dangerous on the opening screen. The fact that this game holds up today is rather extraordinary. I still go back and play it. It is challenging, especially the second surprise quest (I had forgotten the existence of walk through walls), but in a good way. The gameplay holds up and the overworld has so many hidden treasures that unless you look them up or have a very good memory, it’s still fun to find them.
The original The Legend of Zelda has such a special place in my heart because it truly is the game that got me into gaming. I have often looked for games that gave similar feelings of exploration and Breath of the Wild delivered it in a way that I never thought possible.
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES)
Jeremy’s Take:
I have never understood this game. I have beaten it (reluctantly) and one of my best friends, Marc, loved this game. While I appreciate the magic system and the exploring of towns to figure out the secret items or spells hidden, it is the actual game play that makes this game not merely challenging, but annoyingly and frustratingly so. Battles with Iron Knuckles deep within dungeons descend into pure anger as their shield blocking and striking makes it almost impossible to do without being hit. In the end, I appreciate that Nintendo refused to simply “remake” Zelda in the sequel and try something new, but while the idea was great (Link searching for a way to revive a Zelda put to sleep years before) the execution was not well done. Although, the game did give us the great villain, Dark Link / Shadow Link, who would make a memorable appearance in Ocarina of Time.
A Link to the Past (SNES)
Jeremy’s Take:
This is the Zelda game I have probably played through more than any other. For the first time, a real story emerged from the game itself as opposed to having to read the instructions that came with it. Link awakes to his uncle leaving to save Zelda who has been kidnapped by the evil wizard Agahnim who plans to use the seven maidens, descendants of the Seven Wise Men who sealed the golden realm away, to break through that barrier. For whoever goes to the golden realm and claims the Triforce will transform the world into what they desire. Improving on the dungeon and item system that made the first game so great, Link to the Past offers wonderful game play which is intuitive, figuring out where you have to go based upon how the item from the previous dungeon unlocks the next. This is perhaps the best “classic” version of the game. No real new innovations other than perfecting what was done so well in The Legend of Zelda.
Link’s Awakening (Gameboy)
Jeremy’s Take:
The pre-cursor to other fantastical side-stories like Majora’s Mask, Link’s Awakening is not only a great entry in the Zelda series, but perhaps the greatest game on Game Boy. Yes, the graphics suck and the later “colored” version doesn’t add much, but the imagination and risk of doing the first Zelda game outside of Hyrule pays off. The first game to introduce so many of the famous items in Zelda which expanded the options in the game in such amazing ways. Whether it is the rock feather with its jumping or the Pegasus boots or the hookshot. You saw them all here first and in a story that is so emotional. It may have the darkest ending of any Zelda… a powerful story about how what we experience is real and matters even if it is just a dream.
Ocarina of Time (N64)
Dylan’s Take:
Ocarina of Time was the first Zelda I ever played or saw. When I got to the section where Link traveled through time and grew up, I was amazed. Ganon in the game always seemed like an impossible boss, an evil that couldn’t be defeated. But, I would always ask Jer to play it and beat Ganon for me. This is where I discovered what being a hero means.
Jeremy’s Take:
Super Mario 64 was great! I had a sleep-over for my birthday with my two best friends, and we stayed up all night playing it. We nearly beat it in on sitting. But, like my original Nintendo experience, Super Mario 64 may be the game that came with the system, but it was Ocarina of Time that made me realize the limitlessness of 3-D gaming. Prior to that, my true love in gaming was 2-D side scrollers so adjusting to 3-D was difficult, but, Ocarina of Time made it worth it. The story is still my favorite in the Zelda universe, using time travel in such an ingenious way to connect all the previous and future plots. It is still breathtaking, although the combat system while revolutionary at the time has aged poorly. That being said, still one of the greatest games ever made, not just the best of the Zelda series in my opinion.
Majora’s Mask (N64)
Jeremy’s Take:
The best “gimmick” Zelda ever produced. A game so different that it followed in the footsteps of The Legend of Zelda: The Adventures of Link. Rather than making a safe sequel to the greatest game of all time, Ocarina, Nintendo chose to do something bold. They chose to make a game that is unlike any game they have ever made. The gimmick of having not only to wear masks to become new versions of yourself, but more importantly, of the world ending in three days, always you play with time and redoing things in such an extraordinary way. Would be higher on my list if not for the ridiculously long opening that you cannot save until you complete. A minor squabble, but one that drove me crazy at first.
The Wind Waker (Gamecube)
Dylan’s Take:
The Wind Waker has the best Ganondorf / Ganon boss fight in Zelda. The exploring the world is the closest to Breath of the Wild which I love. Toon Link also is my favorite visual version of Link.
Jeremy’s Take:
When The Wind Waker came out, so many people railed against the cartoonish graphics. I always thought they were amazing. In fact, I think it is still the best looking Zelda game (with the release of Breath of the Wild that may be hypocrisy [Dylan is staring at me in disbelief as I type this]). But again what really makes The Wind Waker one of the great games of all time is that revelation about where you are. Realizing (spoiler alert) that you are in Hyrule, but it has flooded and that place where Ganon has returned is actually the top of Death Mountain. When you descend down to the depths of the ocean to find Hyrule Castle I was in pure awe. I also second Dylan’s take. Best Boss fight in Zelda history.
Four Swords (Gamecube) - Dylan
Dylan’s Take:
A new way to tackle puzzles. Having to use multiple Links to figure out how to do stuff. I thought it was cool and fun. I also liked the multiplayer, although when we all played together we ended up purposefully getting in each other’s way and taking each other’s coins in order to be on the top at the end. Still innovative and fun.
The Minish Cap (GBA)
Jeremy’s Take:
I am still shocked at how much I like this game. One of the only Zelda games not to be made solely Nintendo. Capcom didn’t do as well with Oracle of Sages and Oracles of Seasons, but here, the gimmick of the Minish cap works well, shrinking you like Ant Man. While it is not as successful in my mind as Majora’s Mask it certainly is better than Twilight Princess’ gimmick (again Dylan is staring at me in anger). What I find really invovative is that normal enemies become bosses when small. Also each place is used more than once, once when small and once when large, even though they are the same map. The creativity involved was great. Also superior graphics obviously to Link’s Awakening.
Twilight Princess (Wii) - Dylan
Dylan’s Take:
The first Zelda game I played entirely on my own. Twilight Princess’ gimmick of turning into the wolf and exploring the twilight realm was awesome. Similar to what Jeremy was saying in Minish Cap, it allows each map to be used twice. Fighting as the wolf is just cool. Also it has a level of freedom that Ocarina does not and that is similar to Breath of the Wild. Playing this one recently, I forgotten how much I like it. Also second best Ganon fight in Zelda.
Skyward Sword (Wii)
Dylan’s Take:
While it is cool that Skyword Sword deals with the origin of the Zelda story, here the controllers just plain suck. The motion plus controllers don’t enhance the game play and for me while recovering from surgery I actually found them painful. Fighting some bosses in tiny locations made the controllers even more of a pain and you would accidently break things around you. All in all, not a great entry in the series.
Breath of the Wild (Switch)
Dylan’s Take:
This game is just beautiful. I have nearly 100% the game. I have over 800 Koroks, almost all of the armor upgrades. I’ve beaten it multiple times. Done all the shrines. Done the DLC. In short, I love this game.
The ability to roam the world is the best free world game I have ever played. It’s amazing to just turn off your map and go. The variety of enemies is also great, with the best being the challenge of fighting Lynel’s, although now they are a joke. I love when I was first playing figure out how to drop bombs on enemies rather than facing them directly. The first time I saw a dragon, it blew my mind. But the first thing that really blew my mind was getting off the Plateau. The Great Plateau did not feel like a play through, but seemed like the entire world. When you finally glide off of it, the true adventure begins. Will be playing this over and over and over. The only thing I wish they had added was an ability to craft, not only cook. Imagine if you could make your own weapons.
