Topic: The Universal Games Ranking Forum (Currently: Characters/Weapons/etc. You Hate Playing Against)

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...I was afraid the Zelda poll entry would win, lol. They're all such excellent games that I have a really hard time ranking them; I change my mind on the ordering a lot. I'll try and keep the entries short and concise this time. I've currently played 14 of the 19 main LoZ games, though I own all of them in some form (divided between original games, remakes, and VC) barring Four Swords Adventures. I plan to play them all, but I'm missing a couple key entries in my list that others have probably played to death. I'm not counting spinoffs like Hyrule Warriors, fun as they are.

Incoming spoilers, obviously.

14. Zelda II - This one suffered from the sequel-itis of the time period. It had some great ideas that returned in later entries, but the difficulty spike after the first palace is nothing to sniff at. Honestly if I hadn't played this on the 3DS VC and abused restore points, it's possible I would have never beaten it.
13. Phantom Hourglass - Some good ideas here as well, and I probably would have appreciated it more if I had played Wind Waker. Barring dungeons 4 and 7, most of the rest were pretty meh. In this game's defense, it does have Linebeck.
12. Four Swords [Anniversary Edition] - This was a fun yet short-lived departure for the series. The Realm of Memories addition was great, though my poor loyal 3DS went through quite a bit of verbal abuse during the Hero's Trial levels. Still surprised I beat those, honestly....
11. The Legend of Zelda - The iconic game that started it all. Overall I enjoyed the non-linearity, dungeons, and simplistic story, but I feel that many of its successors surpass it and improve on its foundations. Plus, once you know what you're doing, Ganon is cake.
10. Oracle of Seasons - I originally played this as a linked game and had a richer story as a result. Without the Ages references, it's a little barebones. Changing the landscape with the Rod of Seasons is pretty fun (but becomes repetitive), and the Subrosians are one of my favorite races in the franchise. Still an excellent game, but I like its twin better.
9. Spirit Tracks - I felt like this fixed a lot of Phantom Hourglass's control issues. I found more of the characters memorable, Zelda actually travels with you in a hulking suit of armor, and I enjoyed most of the bosses (barring Fraaz....That guy is a troll....). Add in the unique form of transportation via train and a more memorable soundtrack, and this one more than blows PH out of the water in my book.
8. Oracle of Ages - A great story, hilarious Maku Tree, great characters (Yay Ralph!), better dungeons, and more creative bosses. Veran was a little disappointing, though. I also enjoyed many of the references to the previous games in this one (though Song of Storms in OoS takes the nostalgia cake in my book).
7. Skyward Sword - An excellent game, but one that isn't without flaws. A decent story and excellent dungeons are slightly marred by meh/irritating boss fights (minus Koloktos, which would make a top ten list of mine). I generally didn't have any problem with the motion controls other than the thrust movement (which is critical for a boss fight). Some characters were also memorable.
6. Link's Awakening [DX] - This game packed a big punch for the system it was released on. It acts as an interesting departure from the traditional mold of the series. I feel that most of the dialogue is well-written, many of the characters are lovable, Mario references run amok, and most of the dungeons were decent. Many of the bosses ranged from meh to terrible (Slime Eyes and Angler Fish, anyone?), but the final fight is quite fun. Some of the tunes are very memorable (Ballad of the Wind Fish is my favorite), and that ending....It's pretty deep.
5. A Link to the Past - ...Did I hear someone from the back yell "blasphemy"? We're getting to the part of the list where my rankings are fluid and difficult to determine. This game did so many things right, with fairly decent dungeons, amazing Dark World bosses, a neat initial antagonist, a princess who initially isn't helpless, and a decent story. The thing is, I feel like its remake/sequel did a couple things a bit better. Which brings me to....
4. A Link Between Worlds - A lot of the positives I typed for ALttP also hold true here. What this game did better, I thought, was bring you to actually care about each of the Sages by helping/meeting them before they're portrait-napped. In ALttP, most of the Sage descendants are girls that you know very little about. I really loved the portrait Link mechanic. In terms of story and dialogue, I felt like this game had a bit more personality. Yuga-Ganon still pales in difficulty to normal Ganon, though.
3. Minish Cap - A vibrant, unique world, both large and small. What this game lacks in dungeons and length, it makes up for in clever writing, amazing visuals and environments, fun dungeons and items, an amazing partner, and (mostly) cool bosses. Definitely my favorite 2D entry and one of my favorite GBA games.
2. Ocarina of Time [3D] - The 3DS was the first platform I played this game on and was my primary motivation (plus Super Mario 3D Land) for buying one back in early 2012. The graphics and most textures have definitely been improved, the story is amazing, the game is home to some of my favorite bosses and enemies in the entire series, it has (mostly) decent dungeons, an awesome soundtrack, and a killer end boss battle. Link's screams from battling Barinade still haunt me....
1. Twilight Princess - Some nostalgia may be at play here since this was my first ever Zelda game. The gameplay is phenomenal, the story is decent, Midna is still my favorite companion, Link turns into a friggin' wolf, some of the bosses still hold up well, most of the dungeons are excellent and present some neat ideas, some of the items are fun (Ball & Chain, Spinner). While somewhat easy overall unless you bother legitly tackling the Cave of Ordeals, the difficulty was perfect for a series greenhorn. I understand the complaints of some regarding the general emptiness of Hyrule Field and the muddier/grittier coloring in this game, but I don't really mind either.

Honestly, if I were to post this list again in a week, it would probably change a little. I would recommend nearly all the games, though.

Edit: As an added bonus, here's a list, in no particular ranked order, of my favorite dungeon boss in each LoZ game I've played:
The Legend of Zelda - Gleeok
Zelda II - Barba
A Link to the Past - Tie between Trinexx/Helmasaur King
Link's Awakening [DX] - Slime Eel
Ocarina of Time [3D] - Bongo Bongo
Oracle of Ages - Ramrock
Oracle of Seasons - Medusa Head
Four Swords [Anniversary Ed.] - Sea of Trees Guardian
Minish Cap - Tie between Gleerok/Gyorg Pair
Twilight Princess - Stallord
Phantom Hourglass - Eox
Spirit Tracks - Phytops
Skyward Sword - Koloktos
A Link Between Worlds - Gemesaur King

I'm willing to do a similar list of least favorite dungeon bosses, too.

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The Legend of Zelda series is my favorite video game series of all time. The only main series Zelda game I haven’t played was Four Swords on the GBA. I did play Four Swords Adventures on the Gamecube, but I didn’t have the link cables for the GBA so I couldn’t play that version. I’ve played and beaten the rest of the Zelda games, although not all of them when they were released since I was born in 1995. That might play a role in the ranking of a few of the early Zelda games since I don’t have the nostalgia factor with those ones. I’m not including Triforce Heroes on this list because according to Wikipedia it’s not a main series Zelda game (also to avoid this wall of text from getting any bigger), but if I did it would probably lie somewhere around the middle.

17. The Legend of Zelda
This game is just really dated. Sure it is the “legend” the started it all, but playing the game today just isn’t fun. My first experience with the game was playing it on The Legend of Zelda Collector’s Edition on the GameCube, which was also the first time I played Majora’s Mask, Ocarina of Time, and Zelda II. Needless to say this game wasn’t very exciting in comparison. I thought to myself “I love Zelda, so I have to beat this”, which I did, however it felt like a chore after beating the first dungeon. It may have been great in its time, but as it stands it’s by far the worst of the worst of the Zelda games.
16. Four Swords Adventures
It’s really not that great. It doesn’t feel like a full Zelda experience in my opinion. Maybe it would be better if I played it with friends, but playing this one solo was just strange, especially the weird GBA view when going into buildings. To me it felt like some poorly made fan game, not what I expect from Nintendo.
15. Spirit Tracks
A worse version of Phantom Hourglass which itself is a worse version of Wind Waker. The only thing that was better in this game than Phantom Hourglass was that the Spirit Tower was much less tedious to go back to compared the Temple of the Ocean King. I hated the train mechanic. I find it extremely boring to not have any control while moving from location to location except for every couple of minutes choosing which direction to move. I keep trying to force myself to like it, but I find it so hard to go back and beat it a second time.
14. Zelda II
I actually found this game kinda enjoyable. It’s one that I still find myself thinking “Hey, I should go back and play that again”, so I do until an hour later when I get too frustrated and close the game. In my opinion the only thing holding this game back is the fact when you get game over, you go all the way back to the starting area. It was a real challenge to beat, which can be nice, but it goes a bit too far past the line from enjoyably challenging to frustratingly challenging. Death Mountain was the bane of my existence for however long it took me to finally get past it. I didn’t mind the leveling system and it was pretty unique for a Zelda game, but it’s still not the best this series has to offer.
13. Phantom Hourglass
I know I called it a worse version of Wind Waker earlier, but it still has plenty of unique mechanic differences from Wind Waker which I enjoyed a lot. It’s certainly more different to Wind Waker than it is to Spirit Tracks. I enjoyed the boat customization and traveling around the map was pretty enjoyable, the fairy collecting and upgrades were fun, the introduction of the stylus controls was pretty interesting, and Linebeck was a great character. But it just didn’t feel like a grand adventure like Wind Waker and simply didn’t have as much charm. On top of that, the Temple of the Ocean King was extremely annoying to go back to all the time. It’s a fun game overall, but there’s plenty of Zelda games I would recommend over this one.
12. Minish Cap
When this game first came out I loved it. Although at this point in time, there wasn’t many Zelda titles that I had played. At one point I ended up trading this game in at my local game store to get myself a DS Lite, so I didn’t have a chance to play it again until I got my 3DS and Minish Cap came free with the Ambassador Program. By that point I had played every Zelda game released to date and realized how truly mediocre this game is. The growing and shrinking aspect was pretty fun, but overall I found it to be a cheap, less polished version of A Link to the Past. Something about it just felt shallow. Honestly I’m not 100% sure why I feel this way, but when someone asks me to talk about all of the Zelda games this is usually the one I forget about.
11. Link’s Awakening
The Gameboy Zelda games were all pretty great in my opinion, but this one falls short of the other two. Link’s Awakening does have a lot of charm and it was fun to see the Mario character cameos, but overall I found it didn't have anything to make it stand out more than the Oracle games.
10. Ocarina of Time
I know a lot of people probably won't agree with this being at rank 10, but I really don't think it deserves to be higher on the list. It was great in it's time, but it's essentially the baseline for future Zelda games. Games like Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword improve upon the formula that Ocarina of Time established for 3D Zelda games. I still enjoy going back and playing it sometimes but it has some tough competition with how many amazing games there are in the series.
9. Oracle of Seasons
Oracle of Seasons had some really enjoyable features, like the partners and changing the seasons to solve puzzles. The villain isn't quite as good as Ages though and changing between 4 seasons was a bit more tedious than just flipping between 2 ages, so Ages beats it out. Both games have memorable locations and characters though and are each completely unique experiences, so don't think that if you've played one then you've experienced both. It's a very popular Zelda game but I'd definitely reccommend it for those who haven't played it.
8. Oracle of Ages (Spoilers)
This was my very first Zelda game and still holds strong as one of my favorites. Just to add a bit of a side story of how I came across this game, I was 6 or 7 at the time and my mom took me into a nearby EB Games. She allowed me to pick one of any of the used games, which was a pretty big decision for me since the only time I’d typically get a game was Christmas or my birthday. We were there for a while and my mom was getting pretty impatient. The guy behind the desk was playing one of the used games on his Gameboy Color and said “Hey, you should buy this game. It’s one of my favorites”, so I agreed and he took the game out of his Gameboy and sold it to me. It then became my favorite game that I owned at the time.

It has a lot of sentimental value for me, but that’s not the only reason why it’s so high up on my list. To be honest I liked the time mechanic in this game more than in Ocarina of Time. After acquiring the tune of ages and being able to travel between past and present essentially wherever you are it opens up so much freedom for exploration and puzzles. I found it so cool how the game slightly changes depending on which partner you get, and there’s a lot of creativity both in and out of dungeons. Getting the raft to go to Crescent Island then losing all your items and figuring out how to get them all back, and going between the past and present version of Mermaid’s Cave are a couple of my favorite moments in the entire Zelda series. Some of the puzzles can be a bit cryptic though, and the gameplay is a bit dated which is why it isn’t higher up on my list.
7. Skyward Sword (Spoilers)
Skyward Sword certainly starts off a bit slow, but it eventually picks up. I actually enjoyed the motion controls and the new items, like the beetle, were a ton of fun. I also really enjoyed the fact that you can upgrade them. I loved sniping out enemies with the fully upgraded bow, or scouting out areas with the fully upgraded beetle. The timeshift stones were a really cool mechanic, and returning to the initial areas later in the game with a fun twist was pretty creative. Losing all your items and trying to traverse Eldin Mountain with just the whip reminded me a lot of Crescent Island from Oracle of Ages, and the Roller Coaster reminded me of Donkey Kong Country. The final dungeon was also a ton of fun, being able to rearrange the rooms in order to advance.
6. Twilight Princess
Midna is definitely my favorite Zelda companion. She doesn't annoy you or hold your hand. Instead she's hilarious and has some actual character development. Transforming into a wolf was a pretty cool mechanic and the game has some memorable dungeons too, like Snowpeak ruins which didn't play out like a traditional Zelda dungeon. The map is big but can admittedly feel a bit empty at times. Overall though the game was a great experience the whole way through.
5. A Link to the Past
This game just feels so polished and perfected. It has certainly stood the test of time and is enjoyable to this day. The difficulty is just right, the world is diverse and a joy to traverse, the puzzles in the dungeons are satisfying enough, and the length of the game is perfect. As much as I loved the Oracle games, It's hard to deny this was the pinnacle of 2D Zelda games.
4. A Link Between Worlds
Somehow Nintendo made A Link to the Past even better with this game. It has all of the strong points of A Link to the Past except it introduced the wall merge mechanic, which was a blast to use, and had a ton of freedom with picking the items you want right from the beginning of the game. I've played through this game plenty of times and enjoy it every time.
3. Majora’s Mask
This one is a really unique game in the series. Not only because of the time mechanic and masks, but also because of the fleshed out side stories. This game has by far the most interesting side stories, with the Aliens invading the ranch, Kafei and Anju’s love story, or the sad deaths of each of the mask’s spirits. Playing as a Deku, Zora, and Goron was also extremely fun and introduced cool puzzles. The game was a bit too short, but overall it's a great experience.
2. Breath of the Wild
I was so hyped for this game and it certainly lived up to the hype. I'm a sucker for cel shaded graphics, so this game looks beautiful. Exploring the world and finding fun little Easter eggs was exciting and it never got tiring because there was always new items to get or new shrines to find. I loved how when I heard the haunting piano music of the Guardian I was terrified and filled with adrenaline. None of the shrines felt too similar to previous ones, other than the tests of strength. I've put well over 100 hours into the game and I'll definitely be putting a lot more in the future. While the Divine Beasts were pretty fun, I think one big traditional style Zelda dungeon would have made the game perfect.
1. Wind Waker
I love Wind Waker so much. My initial favourite Zelda game was Majora’s Mask, but with the introduction of the HD remake this game was pushed to the top. It fixed the major flaws in the game that was the triforce piece quests, slow boat speed, and constantly having to change the wind direction when sailing. Like I said, I love cel shaded graphics. This game is just so bright and colorful and makes me so relaxed when playing. The boss of Forbidden Woods really sticks out in my mind. When cutting it down and The flower opens, the burst of color and particle effects is just gorgeous. The music is phenomenal and exploring each island is always fun no matter how many times I play the game. I've 100% this game more than any other Zelda game (probably around 10-12 times) and I'm sure I'll continue to do it in the future.

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Okay, as always, before I begin I'd like to say that I haven't finished every Zelda game so I won't be ranking those that I have yet to finish or even pick up and play. Also, unlike with the mainline Pokémon releases, not all Zelda games are great imho. With that said, let's go:

13. Phantom Hourglass: To me, this game is as if the vet would take your favorite puppy, rip its head off and sew an ugly ugly head in its stead on to the puppy's body. My girl Tetra/Toon Zelda is gone for the whole game, the time-limited yet stealth-focused Ocean King dungeon gives me a nervous breakdown everytime I entered it and had to work my way through it (I hate stealth, hate it!) and the islands, dungeons and bosses are just really forgettable. Linebeck's awesome, though.

12. Skyward Sword: It was a close battle between this and Twilight Princess for this and the following spot but I think I despise SS a little bit more: Skyloft is just plain empty and forgettable, why is the Surface between its three regions!? This has to be the first official Zelda where we have a sort of level selection! The areas and dungeons aren't all that memorable, the bosses are repeated way too often and new ones are just goofy (remember the boss from that pirate ship? Yeah, her especially! It's a her, right?). This counts especially for The Imprisoned! If I had to fight him a fourth time, I would have probably punched through my tv in anger and bitter frustration. And finally, those annoying Silent Realms! Remember that I hate stealth because it's boring or nerve-racking and not fun. Yeah, nuff said. But I do gotta defend the game in regards to a few points: I really liked the opening hours as it established the world, the relationship between the characters, especially the relationship between Link and Zelda, very well. I've never found Fi annoying but again, never did I Navi but to that in a bit. And finally, I actually really enjoyed the motion controls! Yeah, the motion controls. In my honest opinion and belief, it lead to the most interesting puzzles and enemy encounters the franchise had seen in a while and in a way, kept me going through the game.

11. Twilight Princess: Like I already mentioned in one of my previous comments, Twilight Princess's art style and looks were chosen as a direct response to the fan outcry over Wind Waker's cartoony aesthetics. Now a hint of my undying love for Wind Waker may taint my opinion a little bit but TP's Hyrule, even with light being returned, just looks like somebody put the color saturation to a minimum. It's just dark for the sake of being dark, because that's what the fans want right? Not dark because you're tackling more mature themes. Yeah, we have the whole Twili theme but like I said, even at places that have their light already restored, they still like rather lifeless and gloomy. Plus, the character designs ... are just plain ugly and goofy at the same time. Also those Wolf Link segments, especially the tears collecting ones are just boring, though, I do like Midna much like I like Fi and Linebeck as companions. The bosses and dungeons were very memorable, though, and this game gives the best Ganon encounter yet imo.

10. TriForce Heroes: This game is just here at this spot for charges of forgettablility and blandness. I feel like the later levels are impossible without using Skype, Discord or a good, ol couch co-op to communicate with your teammates. It just really suffered from the local in-game voice chat, something you'll never find me saying elsewhere. I also hate how easily a teammate could drop out, ending the entire level for the other two. I liked seeing all the different costumes, though never enough to make me wanna craft them.

9. Spirit Tracks: I love Spirit Tracks because I could finally travel with my girl Toon-Zelda. What? No, I didn't find traveling by train boring! I love Spirit Tracks because I could finally travel with my girl, Toon-Zelda. No, no, I didn't find the bosses and dungeons very forgettable! I love Spirit Tracks because I could finally travel with my girl, Toon-Zelda. No, I didn't hate returning to the Tower of Spirits over and over and over again, just what are you talking about!? And no, before you ask, no, I didn't hate having to blow into the mic to play that stupid pan flute! I love Spirit Tracks because I could fin ... No, you know what? You are right! I do hate all those things you've mentioned but I really loved traveling with Toon-Zelda and her possessing Phantoms lead to interesting puzzles imho. Though, if this list was decided by my love for Toon-Zelda alone, this would be number 1.

8. Ocarina of Time: I hadn't finished this game until its 3DS remake a few years ago. I did play the original as a kid but once I became Adult Link, I dropped it like a hot potato. These ReDeads in Hyrule Town simply scared me out of the experience and I didn't want any help because who knows, those things may be lurking around any corner. The child dungeons are more memorable than the adult ones (though that may be because I already had played those three in the original version), all of the bosses safe for Phantom Ganon, the real Ganon and Dodongo were forgettable and bland. The transition between Child and Adult could have been made as user-friendly as the transitions between Light and Dark Worlds in ALttP. The areas outside of towns are rather empty and boring but that is forgivable given the time it came out.

7. Breath of the Wild: BotW is a great game and it alone helped the Switch be played far longer in just its first month than the WiiU in its first entire year. Yes, it's very open and you are given a lot of freedom but from a story perspective, the visits to the four races are a bit too carbon-copy for me: 1. Meet the Beast, 2. Meet the Elder, 3. Meet what imo is the new Champion of the race, 4. Have Champion help you onto the Beast in what is sometimes an epic battle, yet most other times frustratingly easy given the size of that thing (but, Nintendo, I expected a Shadow of the Colossus type of battle!), 5. Defeat Ganon's Scourge, 6. Leave village. Also too many sidequests are just fetch-quests. The few dungeons and shrines were awesome, though, and again, all the different costumes and outfits are great. Overall, too few story and too few resolution for me and way way too long to ever be replayed.

6. A Link Between Worlds: Spoilers for the second place - it's A Link to the Past. But I did play ALBW first. And what do I have to say? I feel like the wall-merging led to interesting puzzles and some of the bosses are great. I also love the item renting mechanic and the story of Lorule and Princess Hilda. But the overall dungeons are just forgettable and the reveal regarding Ravio can be seen coming from miles away. I mean, we have Lorule-Zelda and Lorule-Ganon so where's you know who? Overall, it wasn't as charming as ALttP.

5. Majora's Mask: In fear of ReDeads, it wasn't until the 3DS remake that I dared touch Majora's Mask. Dungeons, Bosses and locations are very memorable this time. The many side quests are each very unique and use the time mechanic well. The characters, especially those in Clock Town, are memorable as well. And the many masks, while some only have limited use, are fun to collect and tough to give up for that Fierce Deity's Mask. The dungeons were a bit too few in numbers imho but there's clearly quality over quantity here and the opening takes a bit long to get started and you're able to get out of Clock Town imo.

4. Hyrule Warriors: As you might have noticed, I became a tad tired of the Zelda formula and too many bland dungeons during the Wii/DS era. I was craving for something fresh. And while HW may not be a Zelda game, it's still fresh air being breathed not directly into the franchise but rather into my love for the franchise. I may not have played it for as many hours as other people and I may never have picked up the Legends DLCs but I just love Musou games for being easy to pick up but deeper to master. If BotW had been a few years earlier, it would have certainly taken HW's place as the one that breathed fresh air into my interest for the franchise.

3. Minish Cap: Last year was a real drought when it comes to Nintendo games. So I decided to head to the WiiU eShop and play some VC games I've always wanted to play. That's how I came to play Minish Cap and ALttP. So what do I have to say about it? One, I naturally like the Wind Waker-inspired aesthetics. Secondly, many of the locations, bosses, dungeons and characters are plain great. I especially adore the Minish aesthetics with many dungeons taking a cue from the fact that Link is roughly as tiny as an ant. I just love it.

2. A Link to the Past: An all-time-classic and one that, like I mentioned above, hadn't played until a year ago. And I have to say - all of the praises this game receives are rightfully earned. The looks, the dungeons, the locations, the side quests, the secrets, the characters, the bosses - everything about this game I just pure awesome and it would have taken first place for sure if it wasn't for the nostalgia bomb that is ...

1. Wind Waker: What do I have to say? What can I even say? Well, like I've already mentioned a couple of times on this site, Wind Waker was the first game that I ever finished as a young 7-years old. I love many of the islands, the characters, the art style, the beautiful, beautiful HD remake, the fact that two of my favorite characters in the entire game accompany you on your boat and into two dungeons. But what I love above all else, yes even moreso than my childhood crush Toon-Zelda (I was 7!), is the ocean. The wide and open ocean. Of course, it takes a while to get places, it's a vast ocean! Some may find that boring but travelling across the Great Sea simply filled my young heart with a sense of grandness and adventure, an adventure of epic proportions. I love this game so much, not even the first visit to the Forsaken Fortress could stop me from replaying it time and time again. (Phew ... finally ... done...)

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Wow, this thread has seriously picked up some steam, I woke up to like 7 new posts, and the amount of effort and passion is staggering. Thanks guys!

Either way, here's my list, I'm gonna have to leave out all the multiplayer Zelda games, Minish Cap, Zelda 2 and Phantom Hourglass cause I haven't touched 'em. I'm gonna leave out Breath of the Wild too, as I haven't come close to finishing it. Gotta be honest, from what I've played, it feels like it's on a whole other level.

11. Legend of Zelda - Yeah, this game just hasn't aged well. It was groundbreaking at the time, and it was the beginning to an incredible series, but we've come so far since. The non-linearity was cool, but there's not much else going for this one.

10. Link to the Past - God, I know this game is good, really good, but I can't for the life of me get invested in it. I don't know what it is, but this game feels like a complete slog. I didn't want to explore the world, the dungeons felt like a chore, I can't for the life of me figure out what doesn't click here. This is some serious bias, but I'd be lying if I put this any higher.

9. Twilight Princess - This game is a game of extremes for me, the dungeons and bosses are some of the highlights of the series, but the overworld and characters fall a tad flat for me. The artstyle is the same situation, suits the tone and dungeons brilliantly, but it's a bit overbearing while just trekking around the overworld. The start is also a bit of a slog, but the wolf mechanic was really cool, as was Midna. Awesome game, just not quite as good as some others for me.

8. Link Between Worlds - I enjoyed this a lot more than LttP for some reason, I think it was that the non-linearity made the game feel like less of a slog to me. The world still wasn't that interesting to me, but it was a lot more fun to get around at least. Yuga was an interesting new character, the drawing mechanic was fun, the item renting system was pretty cool, and most importantly, Ravio is just a cool dude.

7. Spirit Tracks - My first Zelda game, and still holds up nicely today. Some people dislike the train, but I personally really enjoyed using it. (I watched a lot of Thomas back in the day aight, trains just do it for me.) The Tower of Spirits wasn't that bad, although the dungeons were a real treat. The bosses were really cool too, although the areas outside of the train weren't the most interesting and most characters weren't either. Love this game, but it slipped down the rankings over time.

6. Link's Awakening DX - I don't know why, but I love all the GBC Zelda games. They have this really cute charm to them that made them interesting to explore, had really fun and quirky characters, and had tight gameplay with awesome dungeons. No major complaints here, just a real solid and pleasant game.

5. Ocarina of Time - Absolute classic, there's nothing I can say about this game that hasn't already been said, and there really isn't anything that wrong with the game other than the Water Temple and a somewhat shallow postgame. It's just that there are other games I found even better.

4. Skyward Sword - This game was a bit of a shake-up for the series, but I still love it nonetheless. The motion controls were so on point, and really some of the best I've seen in any game. The side quests were fun and interesting, as were the dungeons and bosses. Having to fight the giant avocado feller 3 times wasn't too thrilling, but that's my only major issue.

3. Oracle of Seasons/Ages - Two of my favourite handheld games of all time honestly, they had everything Awakening had going for it and more. With an awesome new overworld, things to do, just as much charm, and even better dungeons and bosses. We even got new villans, Veran especially. Could be some bias again, but I really love these two.

2. Wind Waker HD - Wind Waker was really an adventure, and while some people disliked it, the sailing was really incredible to me. Having to search for islands in dangerous waters was thrilling, although I will say it's a bit of a chore sometimes in the GC version. The dungeons were also some of my favorites, although bar the first and final bosses, the bosses aren't too special. Also Wind Waker's combat is just so fun to play around with, it's no Breath of the Wild, but it's so well done.

1 and a half. Link: The Faces of Evil - wHEn I'M crOuCHiNg, YoU caN MAkE me dO ThE DuCk WaLK. COOL HUH?

Hold up, how did this get here? Begone.

1. Majora's Mask - This game does so much right for me, it's so outlandish in so many ways, it doesn't have many dungeons, but the ones it has are brilliant, especially Stone Tower, which might be my favourite in the franchise. The character building, sidequests and tone were really where the game shined though, with memerable characters you really felt for, and the sense of impending doom across the town. Majora was a really interesting villian that I wish we could find out more about, and one of many fantastic boss battles. I could go on about this for ages, but this game is really a masterpiece to me.

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I LOVE these sorts of topics. I make lists all the time. It allows me to organize the chaos of my opinions, which is both fun and enlightening.

I'll leave out Skyward Sword (never owned or played it), Twilight Princess (got bored with it after a few hours and haven't felt any desire to return), the DS games (have some limited experience with them, but not enough to judge fairly), The Minish Cap (never owned or played it), Oracle of Ages (only played a few hours of it), and the multiplayer-focused games (don't really consider those real Zelda games).

ANYWAY

If multiple versions of a game exist, I'll only be talking about what I consider to be the best version.

11. The Legend of Zelda (without a map and walkthrough) - Wander around aimlessly. Die. Go in a dungeon you're not supposed to enter yet. Die. That's pretty much my experience of the game without some sort of external tool to help me.

10. Zelda II - Nintendo was experimenting with the formula. The experiment failed. That's not to say that there aren't interesting aspects to this game — there definitely are — but it's not fun to play.

9. The Legend of Zelda (with a map and walkthrough) - A very basic, very brutal Zelda game. I like the openness of it, but the visual style is so basic that every screen almost looks the same to me. With that said, when you have some sort of guide to structure your adventure, it can be fun. For the first game in the series, Nintendo really did a good job establishing the structure that would be fully realized in ALttP.

8. Link's Awakening - I like some aspects of this (the weirdly tragic plot and bizarre characters), but the unintuitive dungeon design and loathsome trading sequence soured my opinion of this more than I would like. I also found the overworld a chore to navigate. It's definitely not a bad game, but I don't understand all of the love it gets.

7. Ocarina of Time 3D - It's OK. I understand how huge this was at the time of the original version's release, but I don't think it has aged as well as later games in the series. The game feels very safe and vanilla, has the most boring 3D iteration of Hyrule, a barren, unengaging overworld, a lack of interesting side content or things to do and see, and almost none of the wild creativity I've come to associate with the best games in this series.

6. Oracle of Seasons - I thought the season changing mechanic was pretty creative and, overall, the game is just way more fun than Link's Awakening, which is pretty remarkable when you consider this was made by Capcom. A fun experience all around.

5. A Link to the Past - The game that really established the Zelda formula: a timeless, engaging masterpiece of 2D game design from beginning to end. This is traditional Zelda at its absolute best. I love the huge number of dungeons, the fantastic music, and gorgeous sprite work.

4. The Wind Waker HD - The most charming game in the series with a wonderful cel-shaded artstyle, expressive character models (seriously, has Link ever been quite THIS goofy before or since?), a lot of interesting twists on the normal Zelda experience (especially the prominent pirate theme), and a simplistic but very fun combat system. The reason it's not higher on my list is because I feel like the last third of the game kind of devolves into an easter egg hunt and kills the tight pacing it had previously established. Also, there's a plot development that REALLY bugs me. Overall, though, it's a joy to play.

3. A Link Between Worlds - A lot like ALttP, but with an interesting, much more open-ended progression structure and a FANTASTIC new mechanic that adds a whole new dimension to traditional Zelda puzzle solving. Also, the game is brilliantly designed, and, unlike all other Zelda games, I never felt like I hit any snags that halted my progress. Also love the verticality of the dungeon design and how well that feeds into the expertly implemented stereoscopic 3D.

2. Breath of the Wild - WOW! Speaking of being open-ended, this game up-ends almost every Zelda convention that has been set in stone since ALttP, and its a huge breath of fresh air. One of the best overworlds I've ever seen in a video game, a fantastic new combat system, astoundingly fun exploration (seriously, any open world game without a paraglider and the ability to climb almost anywhere is doing it wrong), the return of a lot of the expressiveness I loved in The Wind Waker, and the most environmental interactivity I've seen outside of something like Minecraft. This is such a freeing experience. Missing most of the things I didn't like in other open world games (limited exploration, clunky movement/platforming, hours of dialogue delivered by dead-eyed NPCs, and journals randomly barfed out around the map, among other things), and is the best new Nintendo game since Super Mario Galaxy.

1. Majora's Mask 3D - A gorgeous, dark, weirdly compelling game from beginning to end. Unlike OoT, this game has a detailed overworld that is filled with interesting side-quests and memorable characters. Its progression structure is incredibly unique, with Link gradually becoming more powerful as he relives the same three days before the end of the world over and over again. The sobering focus on mortality, the things that keep us connected to the world, and the things we leave behind when we die makes this the most thematically rich Zelda game I've ever encountered. It has a limited number of dungeons, but that's OK when the overworld is more compelling than any of its more traditional Zelda dungeons. This is the only Zelda game where I can't think of a single complaint I had about it. It's almost perfect. A true masterpiece in game design. A pity this will always be overshadowed by its predecessor.