NPD Reveals Top Five Best-Selling Zelda Games Of All-Time Within The US

1) Hyrule field from Ocarina of Time
2) Shiny Ocarina of Time
3) Original Ocarina of Time
4) Ocarina of Time subverted
5) Link's Crossbow Training

I thoroughly enjoyed Link's Crossbow Training (and was proud to actually get 100% completion), so I'm happy to see it get sales recognition, even if it will never receive much respect. 😥😥😥

The princess is in another castle! Oh wait, wrong game. :/

I need to try links crossbow training

Links Crossbow training is truly a beloved classic and stands as one of the best zelda games ever made so thats probably why it's fifth...Either that or because it was only 20 bucks.

Does this mean the beloved classic Link's Crossbow Training is next in line for a HD Remaster?

Guess it depends on the sales of which console the game is released on, well to some degree at least.

Majora's Mask was a surprise to me since it was released so late into the N64's life cycle.

A little surprised the very first game and Link to the Past didn’t make the top 5. I thought they would’ve sold more than Majora’s Mask.

Links crossbow training is actually a really fun game especially considering the price it launched at.

I wonder what would happen if you included the digital versions of ALTP.

Why throw shade on BOTW on the Wii U? It plays absolutely fine...I just wish they would have kept the map available on the gamepad. No love Nintendo...no love. Great game no matter the console.

When I first saved Zelda, I got a 1up. Hehe

@Grafeaux No shade. Some people genuinely wonder about how the Wii U version did for comparison's sake. I'm sure it plays fine, but its natural to be curious about its sales when all the hype was on the Switch version.

@flapjack-ashley Too true...I hear ya. 🙂👍

Surprised that Link to the Past or Link Between Worlds didn't beat Link's Crossbow Training. Apart from that, the list is pretty much how I thought it would be though part of that being a result of Wind Waker being doomed to release only on poorly selling consoles (GC and Wii U).

The Wii is probably the best-selling console, but Skyward Sword isn’t in the top 5. That’s what they get for releasing a game so late in the console cycle.

Link's Crossbow Training?!
wow shocking, well the game is fun so l understand that part.

I'm really happy to have played and beat Botw on my wiiU.

Weirdly enough, I picked up Link's crossbow training the other day on a whim for 75p... happy to contribute towards the sales numbers!

Link Crossbow training was a fun small game with an affordable price. People don't buy a game for a piece of plastic. Don't be condescending. -_-

@simevidas That has nothing to do with that. Pokemon was released when the Game Boy was on it way out. A good game will sell no matter the hardware.

Skyward Sword was simply not a good game. Too linear, the story was ridiculous and it was nothing but puzzles, puzzles, puzzles. It is one of the worst Zelda games ever.

Surprised Ocarina isn't #1, though it makes sense the Wii and Switch installments would've sold better. But these numbers are incomplete (USA only). Notably, Skyward Sword did sell better than Majora's Mask and the NES Zelda sold better than either (unsure if any of these figures include remakes and Virtual Console):

http://www.gamedesigngazette.com/2018/01/the-legend-of-zelda-global-sales.html

@Franklin
That was clever. The truth hurts!

@simevidas Skyward Sword is the worst 3D Zelda. It’s very linear, repetitive and had so much wasted potential. Despite the good reviews, most part of the fans skipped that one, it sold very poorly for a Wii game.

I keep forgetting that BotW has a Wii U version.

I loved the music and graphics of Skyward Sword. LOVED!

I liked not pausing to use items during an intense boss fight. FUN!

I disliked the motion controls letting me down in swinging my sword art different angles. UGH!

I HATED the overworld feeling like a dungeon. It was super constraining and I hated the first 60 minutes of the game (super slow).

All that said, the Ancient Cistern dungeon in Skyward Sword is my all time favorite Zelda Dungeon.
I'm glad to have played through the game.

Links crossbow training proves people just wanted Zelda on the Wii... Anything. Wonder how many people felt conned buying it even at $20.

I was certain the number one Zelda game was The Wand of Gamelon.

Well, I wasn't expecting number 5. But that's alright.

@simevidas

Most of those Wii console purchases were reserved for Wii Sports Bowling at bars and Grandma’s house. Let’s not be kidding ourselves.

Link's Crossbow Training is a great game. Even my mom loves it.

I easily got my $20 worth, and then some.

A Link To The Past and A Link Between Worlds are still the best ones though 😎

If I recall correctly, Links Crossbow Training wasn't 't even on the Zelda ranking list article on NintendoLife.

Proof that if Twilight Princess HD gets a Switch port, it should include Link's Crossbow Training as a sub-game. It could even use the Labo VR Blaster! How cool would that be?

@Euler
You info is outdated by over a year.
Breath of the Wild has now sold 15+ million copies globally across the Switch and Wii U. It is by far the best-selling game in the series across the world.

Global sales of all Zelda titles...

Original mainline releases:
> The Legend of Zelda [NES]: 6.51 million
> The Adventure of Link [NES]: 4.38 million
> A Link to the Past [SNES]: 4.61 million
> Link’s Awakening [GB]: 3.83 million
> Ocarina of Time [N64]: 7.60 million
> Majora’s Mask [N64]: 3.36 million
> Oracle of Ages/Seasons [GB]: 3.99 million
> Wind Waker [GCN]: 4.43 million
> The Minish Cap [GBA]: 1.76 million
> Twilight Princess [GCN/Wii]: 8.85 million (7.26 Wii + 1.59 million GCN)
> Phantom Hourglass [NDS]: 4.76 million
> Spirit Tracks [NDS]: 2.96 million
> Skyward Sword [Wii]: 3.67 million
> Link Between Worlds [3DS]: 3.71 million
> Triforce Heroes: 1.23 million
> Breath of the Wild [WiiU/NSW]: 15.11 million (13.61 million NSW + 1.5 milllon WiiU)

Remakes/Enhanced ports:
> Link's Awakening DX [GBC]: 2.22 million
> A Link to the Past [GBA]: 2.82 million
> Ocarina of Time 3D [3DS]: 5.61 million
> Wind Waker HD [WiiU]: 2.30 million
> Majora's Mask 3D [3DS]: 3.00 million
> Twilight Princess HD [WiiU]: 1.11 million
> Link's Awakening [NSW]: ???

Spinoffs:
> Zelda CDI games: hahahahaha
> Link's Crossbow Training [Wii]: 5.79 million
> Hyrule Warriors [WiiU/3DS/NSW]: 1+ million on Wii U alone, probably 2+ million across all platforms

These are worldwide rather than US specific numbers, but it's clear that Link's Crossbow Training sold exceedingly well. It has sold more than all Zelda titles with the exception of the NES original, Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and Breath of the Wild.

Best seling doesn't always=most money. Link's Crossbow Training sold well because it was like 2$, lol. Anyone would buy it at that point, just because it's Zelda. And cheap.

Pretty crazy how much BotW dwarfs most Zelda games and in a relatively short amount of time too. All of these success stories for BotW, Mario Odyssey, Smash Ultimate and more recently, FE 3 Houses. What's this nonsense I still see about Nintendo not making good games anymore/not making games people want?

The Top 4 are solid. I enjoyed Twilight Princess almost as much as Ocarina of Time. BOTW is on another level.

@westman98 I know that, my comment was mostly about Majora's Mask being in the top 5 (it isn't) and selling more than Skyward Sword (it didn't, I don't think either game moved many units between 2018-19).

@Morrow
This list is ranked by revenue, not units sold.

@ComposedJam Hero Mode fixes that, although IMO, it's kind of frustrating until you get more empty bottles.

@westman98 "top five best-selling Legend of Zelda titles of all-time" Best selling refers to how many copies were sold, not how much revenue they got from it.

@Morrow
NPD ranks everything by dollar sales.

No topdown Zelda's on the list, sadly. No wonder Nintendo doesn't make those anymore (with the exception of a Links awakening remake).