What are the best zelda games of all time?
Legend of Zelda is an immensely popular game around the world.
Created by Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, originally developed and published by Nintendo, it was first released in February 1986.
The action-adventure game is considered one of the greatest video games of all time.
Below are the 15 best Zelda games of all time.
This ranking statistics are based on sales, popularity, and achievement.
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Best Zelda Games of All Time
15. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (810,000 copies sold)
Four Swords Adventures is the eleventh installment in the Zelda series.
It sees Link, the protagonist, on a journey to Hyrule to bring peace and balance after his evil counterpart Shadow Link has brought about destruction and violence to the dimension.
It was released in 2004 on the GameCube platform.
Critics praise the game for its outstanding gameplay.
With over 155,000 units sold, Four Swords Adventures was the best-selling game of June 2004 in North America.
The game was the 48th best game made for a Nintendo system.
14. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (1.76 million copies sold)
Flagship and Capcom gaming studio developed the twelfth installment in the Zelda series, The Minish Cap.
The story plot dwells on an expansion of the Four Swords Adventures plot.
It centers on a magical creature called Ezlo, capable of reducing Link to the size of a bug-sized race, the Minish with territorial residence in Hyrule.
The Minish Cap won Gamespot’s Game Boy Advance Game of the Year award.
13. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (2.96 million copies sold)
In Spirit Tracks, Link travels on a steam train to receive his engineer’s certificate from Hyrule Castle.
However, he soon finds himself escorting Princess Zelda to the Tower of Spirits to escape the castle, which is believed to be the source mystery of the disappearing train tracks.
2009 saw the game first release on Nintendo DS and a second release in 2016 on the Wii U Virtual Console.
It was the best-selling game in Japan, with sales of over 290,000 copies upon release.
It is no surprise the game won the “GAME” Award of 2009.
12. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (3.67 million copies sold)
In Skyward Sword, the sixteen installments in the Zelda series, Link plotting route in the floating island of sky loft, will complete several quests that further the story plot and unlock useful information to aid him in gameplay.
It was released in 2011 and sold over 3 million copies as well as bagging numerous gaming awards.
11. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (3.99 million copies sold)
In 2001, the seventh installment in the Zelda series, oracle of seasons, was released.
The game is played from an overhead perspective.
Link is the protagonist in the game, which players would control.
In his search for the eight Essence of nature and the eight Essence of time, Link, in Holodrum, must fight his way through enemies and solve complicated puzzles.
The game story plot is as simple as that.
It sold over 3.9 million copies and was Japan’s third best-selling Game Boy color game.
10. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (3.99 million copies sold)
Oracle of Ages is the eighth installment in the Zelda series.
In Oracle of Ages, Link is transported to the forest land of Labrynna, where he must and defeat the antagonist, Veran, to set Queen Ambi free.
Similar to its predecessor, Oracle of Ages gross over 3.9 million in sales.
It was a commercial success.
The game receives an appraisal for its gameplay, graphic quality, and design.
The game ranked 39th as the best game in Nintendo’s Power Top 200 Games list.
9. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (4.07 million copies sold)
The seventeenth installment in the Zelda game series, A Link Between Worlds, was released in 2013.
It is an action-adventure game that sees Link, the protagonist, in a mission to rescue Princess Zelda, who has been captured by the evil sorcerer Yuga and caused chaos and panic in the Kingdom of Hyrule.
The game received a positive review from critics and, within five months, sold over 2.5 million copies globally and got recognition in various gaming industry awards and nominations.
8. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (4.76 million copies sold)
Phantom Hourglass was released in 2007 on the Nintendo DS.
It was developed and published by Nintendo, and its story plot sees Link in his journey to rescue Terta from Bellum, with help from Captain Linebeck and his trusty ship, the S.S. Linebeck.
It is the fourteenth installment in the Zelda series.
This series won the Nintendo DS game of the year award and was given positive reviews from various reputable gaming bodies, including IGN, GameSpot, and GameSpy.
7. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (6.36 million copies sold)
Majora’s Mask is the sixth installment in the Zelda game series.
Its story plot is set in a different, but similar dimension to Hyrule, Terminal.
Its main protagonist link must hunt down a deceitful imp who has stolen the most powerful ancient artifact in the universe, the Majora’s Mask.
If Links fail to track down the imp, Terminal would be plunged into an evil unbalance.
The game was released in 2000 for the Nintendo 64 and sold over 3.3 million copies worldwide.
6. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (6.71 million copies sold)
Link is on a mission to rescue his sister from the claws of an evil sorcerer, Ganon, while also trying to acquire a sacred wish-granting relic.
He is accompanied by several allies including, Tetra, the pirate captain, a talking boat called King of Red Lions, and an incarnation of Princess Zelda.
Such is the story plot of The Wind Waker, the tenth installment of the Zelda series.
It was developed and published by Nintendo and release on the GameCube platform.
The game received positive reviews upon release from critics who praise it for its excellent gameplay, story plot, and visuals.
It won numerous Game of the Year awards.
5. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (7.43 million copies sold)
A Link to the Past was published for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System by Nintendo.
The game story plot focuses on Link’s Journey to save Hyrule and is played from a top-down perspective.
The game-commercial success set the landmark for the Nintendo game after peaking sales of over four million copies globally.
It is deemed one of the best video games of all time.
It was released in 1991 in Japan and the following year in Europe and North America.
4. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (8.21 million copies sold)
Link’s Awakening, the fourth installment in the Zelda series, was one of the oldest Legend of Zelda games with release dates as far back in 1993.
In this series, players will guide Link to find his way of an island he is trapped in by solving several puzzles and completing quests in a bid to find the right musical instruments to awaken the sleeping Wind Fish.
It was developed and published by Nintendo and was a huge commercial success.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (9.96 million copies sold)
Twilight Princess, the thirteenth installment in the Zelda series and one of the greatest video games of all time, was a massive hit in the gaming industry upon release.
Developed and published by Nintendo, it was released in 2006 on GameCube and Nintendo Wii.
Twilight Princess follows Link’s journey to prevent Hyrule from being overtaken by the Twilight Realm, a corrupted parallel dimension.
As of 2015, the game had sold 8.85 million copies globally.
It received a positive review from critics.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (13.22 million copies sold)
Ocarina of Time is one of the best-known series in the Zelda game franchise; it was released in 1998.
In this installment, Link is on a quest to stop the evil spread of King Ganondorf’s wrath in Hyrule and has to traverse time and journey through dungeons to restore order to Hyrule.
The game received a positive review from critics and was a huge commercial success, winning several game industry awards.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (19.08 million copies sold)
Breath of the wild was released in 2017, and it became the best-selling Zelda game peaking over 17.84 million sales globally.
Its story plot sees Link in a mission to destroy Calamity Ganon, a beast that threatens the Hyrule Kingdom’s existence.
The open world of the game gives players the freedom to explore.
It is considered one of the greatest video games ever and has reflected that justification in the numerous awards it has won.
Final Words
Hope you enjoyed our collection of the best zelda games you can play right now.
Think we missed out any top game?
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