Everyone has their own opinion on the best Zelda games, but there are some clear choices. I’ve played The Legend of Zelda games since I could pick up a controller, and have managed to play a lot of them as they were released, as well as their numerous remakes. However, after replaying many of them multiple times, I don’t hold reverence for the early titles just because they came first. To be clear, these are not ranked in any particular order. These are just our picks for the very best in the series, and we’ll leave it to you to decide which one sits at the very top.
You can also check out our Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review to get the full deep dive into the latest Link adventure and get a Hyrulian headstart by checking out our guides for Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom shrines and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom depths.
Here are our picks of the best Zelda games:
Tears of the Kingdom – Switch
It’s fair to say that Tears of the Kingdom is the biggest of all the Zelda games, and you know what? It might just be the best. TotK takes all the best ideas from the wider series and combines them with the best bits of Breath of the Wild for an experience unlike any other, completely deserving of its 10/10 in our Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom review.
Taking place years after the events of Breath of the Wild, this adventure opens up the skies above Hyrule and the depths down below, turning an already massive map into something almost overwhelming. Still, thanks to the sandbox nature of this game, it never gets intimidating, with plenty to keep you entertained as you trek across Hyrule to four ancient temples containing powerful foes.
Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
2024 saw Zelda finally star in her own adventure – you can read all about it in our Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom review here. Made in the same art style as the Link’s Awakening remake, chibi Zelda finds herself having to save Hyrule with a mysterious fairy, Tri.
Except, this time, it’s not all swords and making arrows out of things you find lying around – it’s about learning ‘echoes’ of items or enemies and using them to pick your way across the land and through dungeons. You can also deploy a swarm of keese to defeat your enemies, or set a peahat on them, too. This entry is great fun and brings back classic Zelda dungeon-ing to the Switch.
A Link Between Worlds – 3DS
If you didn’t know, this is a spiritual sequel to the classic game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. So much so, in Japan, it’s known as A Link to the Past 2. Link Between Worlds simply could not exist without the former, and expands upon its predecessor, while surprising you by toying with your love and nostalgia for the original.
Saying that, Link Between Worlds does so many fresh things with a familiar world, that it works astoundingly well. New features include the ability to rent almost every item and tackle the dungeons in any order, and Link being able to turn into a painting and travel on walls (which adds so much fun to puzzles), while you once again travel between a world of light and one disrupted by evil.
Twilight Princess (HD) – Wii, Wii U
