Best Zelda Games Tier List

Breath of the Wild is the best Zelda game, and it rewards players who prepare for danger: cooked meals add effects like cold resistance, warm or cool clothing protects Link from the climate, and metal gear held in a thunderstorm can draw lightning. For dungeon-focused play, choose Ocarina of Time, where items such as the Hookshot open paths you could not reach earlier.

#1 on our boardSThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild2017 · Switch, Wii U

Classic dungeons gave way to more than 100 shrines and a Hyrule you can cross in any direction. Still the open world every later Zelda answers to.

1. 2Tears of the Kingdom2023The 2023 sequel turns Breath of the Wild's Hyrule into a builder's sandbox, fusing weapons and bolting together vehicles. Our pick for the most inventive Zelda yet.
2. 3Ocarina of Time1998Zelda's 1998 jump into 3D on the Nintendo 64 set the template every 3D entry since has built on, and it still plays beautifully.
3. 4The Wind Waker2003A cel-shaded GameCube voyage across a Hyrule lost beneath the sea, with an art style that has aged better than almost anything from 2003.
4. 5A Link to the Past1992The Super Nintendo classic split Hyrule into a Light World and a Dark World, and its dungeons are still the high bar for top-down Zelda.

3D Zelda is better overall, but 2D suits players who like reading a whole room at a glance before they move. Start 2D with A Link to the Past, then play A Link Between Worlds, its 3DS sequel set on a reworked version of the same Hyrule map. There Link can merge into walls as a painting, so knowing the old map will not solve every puzzle.

A Link to the Past is the best Zelda on Super Nintendo, The Legend of Zelda on NES, Ocarina of Time on Nintendo 64, The Wind Waker on GameCube, Twilight Princess on Wii and Breath of the Wild on Wii U and Switch. On handhelds, play Link's Awakening on Game Boy (DX on Game Boy Color), The Minish Cap on Game Boy Advance, Spirit Tracks or Phantom Hourglass on DS and A Link Between Worlds on 3DS. Nintendo Switch Online includes A Link to the Past, and its Expansion Pack adds Ocarina of Time.

Where each of the best Zelda games plays, and the best game on each system

Game	NES & SNES	N64 & GameCube	Wii & Wii U	Switch	Handheld
A Link to the PastS	Best	Not on it	Not on it	Not on it	Not on it
Ocarina of TimeS	Not on it	Best	Not on it	Not on it	Not on it
The Wind WakerS	Not on it	Best	Not on it	Not on it	Not on it
Breath of the WildS	Not on it	Not on it	Best	Best	Not on it
Tears of the KingdomS	Not on it	Not on it	Not on it	Best	Not on it
Link's AwakeningA	Not on it	Not on it	Not on it	Not on it	Best
A Link Between WorldsA	Not on it	Not on it	Not on it	Not on it	Best

The best-known ones do: Tears of the Kingdom matches Breath of the Wild, and Majora's Mask stays close to Ocarina of Time even though Nintendo gave the team about a year and had it reuse Ocarina's engine and character models. The weak spot is the DS pair. Phantom Hourglass falls furthest short of the game it continues, The Wind Waker, but Spirit Tracks deserves a look for Zelda's Phantom possession, which lets you direct a second character through puzzles.