Chris’ Top Ten Zelda Games

When people think about the Legend of Zelda, they automatically think about Ocarina of Time, admittedly, it is one of THE greatest games in the world, but there are other Zelda games in the series and they all have a lot to offer and maybe more than Ocarina of Time. I was watching a video about some other guy’s top ten Zelda game’s and it got me thinking, what are my top ten? Well some in the top five may not surprise you and some might do. If my friends and fellow readers know me well, I am a HUGE Zelda fan; it is my favourite gaming franchise. It always allowed me to go back and collect more things other than thinking ‘I have completed the storyline….now what…’. So, I am going to go into what my favourite ten are and why they strike me in that way! Skyward Strike…NOW!

 

10. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Gameboy/GameBoyColour)

So we have started with the first portable Zelda game. This game was a wild card for me for a while, it never really captivated me enough to WANT to finish the game, and however as time moved on and I started to understand the mechanics of games and the storylines of them, this then started creeping up towards me. The story is a great one, if any. Link is stranded on an island and the only way that he can leave there is to awaken the sleeping fish. Sounds a little bizarre but what the hell! This game is also great with the ways it sneaked in the Mario characters, e.g. Goomba’s, Chain Chomp and Shy Guys amongst the few. The gameplay itself was not amazing, but it had that air where you would want to overcome what you have lost or died against and then beat the crap out of them with your sword of the item you finally figured out was the answer all along -_-. Other than that this game is a great one, with an interesting story and oh, it got a re-release on the Game Boy Colour ☺ Sweet!

 

9. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo DS)

DS games aren’t the greatest in the world, they have completely renovated the way people play games and their lifestyles, but they could never match up to the games on the home consoles. However that changed with the first Zelda game released for the portable system. Phantom Hourglass takes on the graphics of its brother, The Wind Waker, and continues the story from it. It also changed the way that we could play the Zelda games. Swipe the stylus to swing your sword and you can then flip you map out, write on it (that’s right, write on it!) so that you do not forget what it is you had to do next. Ok, you also get to draw out your own route on the sea as you sail along the sea once again to reach your destinations, that’s pretty epic, but what of the story?

Tetra get’s kidnapped by the main antagonist, Bellum (sound’s a bit like a Pok’emon…) and Link gets washed up on a new island, nothing new. Link then has to forge the Phantom Sword to defeat Bellum and so he sails the Great Sea again in search for the pieces to forge the sword. The story itself is great, it really captivates and there is stillroom for a bit of comedy as the game goes on. Another feature added to this game was the online mode. I myself have not played on this, but from what I have read, it seems to be a bit too simple. I have not played it so I won’t go into any more details over it. Either way, this is still a great Zelda game, and one you should look out for!

 

8. The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap (Gameboy Advance)

The first Zelda game to be released in Europe over North America! Minish Cap was indeed a game that was interesting in both story and new items. The graphics followed it’s previous counter-part, Four Swords and brings in a whole new world, where Link meets a mysterious hat named Ezlo. There is also a new race to speak to, called the Picori, a little sounding like the Kokori. Either way, the story follows Vaati (previously in Four Swords) who petrifies Zelda, Link must rescue her but he cannot do it alone, he needs the help of Ezlo and the power to transform into the Picori, in other words become really really small! Link was chosen to do this because he is a child and only children can see the Picori. The game brought with it a whole new load of weapons on top of previous favourites. We also saw the return on Tingle in the game and a load of new collectibles, such as Kinstones and figurines. This was released before the Nintendo DS was released, which may be a reason to why this game was not as popular as it should or could have been. Other than that this game is a must have for true Zelda fan boys and girls and truly an extraordinary game!

 

7. The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords (Gameboy Advance)

I have this game at this number for a simple reason; multiplayer. This was perhaps the most fun I had with a Zelda game, whiles amongst other people! It gave us more reasons to play with each other on our Game Boy Advances and to mess around. It was also a great game to pass the time, as you could also play on your own, however you had to play with multiplayer if you wanted to collect everything! Vaati is the antagonist of this game, as you need to use the four sword to destroy him. The concept of the game is also fun, needing your friends to jump across or to be thrown across to get to a switch; these helped bring players closer to the Zelda franchise!

 

6. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo Wii/GameCube)

The beginning of re-inventing the way we all play the Legend of Zelda games starts right here! Twilight Princess brought about a new way to play the Zelda games, using the Wii Remote to slash and hack you way through the games story! Of course there are a lot of people that believe that this game did not do what it said on the tin, being the darkest Zelda game out there. Some say it tried to hard and some say that it definitely is but what do we all know? Of course it is dark, there are hardly many colours used in this game!
The story was good itself! Many people look at a game for a new story or for a better way to play the game or just for a new feel. This game did both of those, being the most beautiful Zelda game of the time and then allows us to have a closer and better feel to riding Epona! There was however a new feature in this game, which included a brand new friend called Midna.

Link was able to transform into a wolf, which gave him the power to howl music notes out, being that games musical instrument. Zelda games have a thing with music, there is a musical instrument in all of them, it just depends whether or not you have noticed them or not!

So in this Zelda game, Link works on a farm, which is then attacked by monsters that take away a few of the children that work there. Link follows and ends up being dragged into the Twilight realm, where he is turned into a wolf. He is then imprisoned but then freed by Midna, who takes him to see Princess Zelda. It is there that you learn of the antagonist, Zant, who has taken over the twilight realm. It is Link’s job to defeat Zant and free the twilight realm and to save Hyrule at the same time.

The great thing with this game is that it did have an amazing twist, and perhaps the greatest boss battle out of all the Zelda games! It was constantly being sold as the Wii console was brought, and helped put Zelda back into the Market, with a nice, fresh and dark tale to go along with it!

 

5. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)

This is perhaps the oldest classic out of the entire Zelda series. Of course there are two before this game and to be fair, without them this game would not have existed, but this was a great turning point for the Zelda series, and it also put the franchise back on the map for gamers!

The game kicks us off with Link in bed (which seems to happen a lot!) and is then awoken by the sound of Zelda calling him for help. Of course there is a storm going on at the same time and that can only mean that things are not going to end nicely. The basic concept of this game is that you have to rescue Zelda and the sages before Ganon truly becomes the King of Hyrule and the Sacred Realm. Boasting the new features of the time, A Link to the Past has two parallel worlds, the light and dark. The light world is Hyrule where Link has grown up with his Uncle, and then the Dark World is what the Sacred Realm used to be before Ganon had acquired the Triforce!

This game brought about with it a few new items such as the hookshot and Pegasus boots and continued the top down scrolling screen from the original Zelda. It has a great place in the Zelda history, where it is constantly voted as one of the greatest Zelda games out there. This, I agree. Although it is a bit old, it never gets boring, and it is definitely one that every Zelda fan should acquire, considering is has been re-released on the Wii Virtual Console and the GBA!

 

4. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (Nintendo 64)

One of the last games to be released onto the Nintendo 64 and it also one of the greatest. Majora’s Mask is a difficult game to grasp but at the same time one of the most captivating of it’s kind. You have three days, just three to save Termina, a parallel world to Hyrule, from destruction; by the Moon falling onto the land. Doesn’t sound too bad, however you need to travel across Termina, find the four giants and possibly collect every single mask in the game.

Speaking of the Masks, it is perhaps my favourite side mission out of any game! Collecting the masks meant you could show off your reward for helping out a specific character and this then led to getting a bigger and more badass mask at the end, which spawns my favourite Zelda character, Fierce Deity Link. Down side to this mask is that you can only use it during boss battles, but still, it does kick ass! You can also transform into a few of the other races that Termina brings with it including the Deku, Zora and Goron. They all have their own special abilities which help you progress through the game as well as their own variation of a musical instrument!

None of the Zelda games prior to this had the dark feeling this brings with it. The atmosphere whiles playing the game helps bring you into this world that is about to be wiped out, and you are the only one who can save it. But you must go through many tasks before you can fully save it, and they aren’t easy.

Just think, Link only went and came to this place all because he was looking for Navi, or was he? Either way Skull Kid or in actual case the Majora’s Mask ruined this and sent Link spiraling into another adventure before he knew it!

Majora’s Mask is a classic Zelda game, one of the most important milestones of its career.

 

3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64)

Determining what the greatest game in the world is a hard one. Many people would usually vote because of biased opinion, which gaming usually conveys. Lots of people would think Call of Duty is the best because; it is great for it’s multiplayer, or Halo because it brings us together to kill Aliens and fellow Spartans. Either way, we all know that this game is one of the greatest!

Ocarina of Time lands number three in my list because, despite its general awesomeness, it just doesn’t cut out to make those special top two places in my list. Admittedly it is the game that got me into the series, as it did for many people. The graphics at the time were spectacular and it was amazing to see the Zelda franchise move into this area of 3D world gaming, since most of the games had stuck to the side scrolling, screen switching phase, this moved the game into the free roam world. Did you know it was also the first game to feature any playable way of riding a horse, whiles doing what you want. Bet you did not know that! Either way, playing this game is nostalgic to any Zelda fan, but it is not always their favourite.

The graphics, of course, at the time where astounding, portraying a beautiful land known as Hyrule, galloping or running along it’s scenery, taking in the different sights and lands that you could experience to the finest detail, until the one known as Ganondorf destroys that beauty and turn’s the land upside down! Of course now it does not look anything like I just described, but that is, what I can guess, what most people would have thought during the times of this games release.

A particular thing I love about this game is all the little things you can do on the side of the main quest. Granted, there may not be a lot, but nonetheless they were fun and brought about an extra need, instead of having to save Hyrule. Perhaps one of the best mini games that the game had was fishing. Now fishing seems to be a big part of later Zelda games, Ocarina brought about a new way in which you could fish and enjoy yourself…until the biggest fish gets caught…and then runs off…bugger.

The main quest itself is not too straight forward, nor is it a walk in the park (unless you have completed it fifty million times by now!). The Master Quest version of this game on the Gamecube and 3DS allows us to relive all of Ocarina’s glory, with a few twists and turns here and there. Not as great as the original, as everything is pretty much twisted around, but not a big flop!

Ocarina of Time is obviously one of the greatest, that’s why it makes number three for me, but it was not THE greatest Zelda game for me. Now to Number Two…

 

2. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Nintendo Wii)

Now this game was not on everyone’s good list. Many reasons that sprouted were because of the graphics, the controls never responded correctly etc. I personally believe that these were all great within the game. This is not because I’m an avid Zelda fan and I believe that everything they do makes it AMAZING. I sincerely think that utilizing the graphics in an art style form, with that mixture of Twilight Princess and Wind Waker, I believe that it brought about a sense of purpose, and that was to Prologue the entire Zelda franchise! The graphics were fun and bubbly, they may have not been that dark and twisty edge that Twilight Princess brought about without but whiles on the island of Skyloft (Link and Zelda’s home) it gave a sense of security. Admittedly when you travel to below the clouds on the ‘land’ the colours are still there but you feel as if you are not safe anymore, which in a sense is a good thing because there are pretty much monsters everywhere…

The story depicts Link and Zelda as the chosen people, who will lead the land below the skies to peace and away from the evil known as Demise. The biggest and greatest thing that this brought to the Zelda franchise was emotions and a heart felt story. Link expresses a lot of emotion during this game and quiet frankly, it gives the player that feeling as though they MUST accomplish this for Link’s sake! Zelda meant a lot more to this game than just the princess who has been captured. She mattered to Link. They have this connection where you can tell there is a love story going on, but at the same time Demise was close to being free and it was not time for all the lovey stuff.

The controls can take time to get used to though. With this game you have to be patient with how the controls work and this is meant for 1:1 gaming. Either way you cannot just push aside how epic and truly magnificent the gameplay is for this game, as you get to literally move Link’s sword where you want and think strategically about where you have to hit you foes, as they all need to be hit somewhere important, apart from the obviously slash and hack!

There are bits on the side that you can do with this game as well, such as bug collecting, collecting random objects to upgrade your weapons, which increase the power, speed, or the type of thing that that weapon brings to the game!

This is not a bad game, it is literally one of the best that the Zelda franchise has to offer and by far the most moving and emotional of the entire series! However, it did not make it to number one for me, this little one did!

 

1. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GameCube)

I may get absolutely killed by saying this but it is my favourite of the Zelda games. I had never been as excited for any other game than this! I had to wait 3 MONTHS before I could play this game, because it came out before my birthday. Since I got it I never came out of my room!

I’m not sure entirely why but I loved the graphics. They went extremely well with the story and the music is utterly magnificent, it literally brings a joy to my heart when I hear the music from this game! The gameplay itself was good, even though it was the standard hack and slash.

The thing about this game was that it felt alive! There was a lot to explore amongst the Great Sea, and there were also a lot of characters to develop through. Music wise it brought about a new instrument, the Baton, that controls the wind, which works in your favour throughout the game. Back to the graphics, there were a lot of talks about how these would affect how people would perceive the game. Of course it was a risky decision for Nintendo to move into this direction but it did not disappoint…well to certain people. Some thought it looked too childish and that it was not as good as Ocarina of Time or Majora’s Mask. However you have others such as myself that believe this game was a very very very…important milestone for Zelda! It sprouted those wings of a new timeline, years after the events of Ocarina the sea demolishes Hyrule to keep it safe. Sounding so tragic, but finding Hyrule during the game, under the sea, is one of my proudest moments in video gaming history!

Every Zelda game has its music and this one does not disappoint! This soundtrack is a little lighter hearted, bringing about a nice sense of enjoyment whilst playing through the game whilst still maintaining that edge that something serious is going down!

That brings me to the main story. You start off pretty much the same as in all Zelda games. Asleep, lazy and then you get woken up! This time by your sister. You continue your normal adventures on Outset Island until your sister gets kidnapped. Then it’s on! However you cannot go for your sister unless Tetra allows you to travel with her on her pirate ship! As you continue your journey things start to unravel and come clearer to the person playing the game and to Link!

In contrast to Ocarina, you can see the scenery is much more colourful and yet as beautiful as the land of Hyrule was delivered to us. Of course everywhere you look the sea pretty much gets caught in your eye, but it’s the people, the islands and the story that really captivate what Wind Waker is all about. Simply just walking around, slashing at pigs and then running away from them is fun! You also have mini side quests such as the post delivery and collecting figurines (which is my favourite of them all!)

What Can We Expect from Future Zelda Games?

One thing for sure, Zelda is going to be sticking around! There are rumours that they should be rebooting the entire series, which in my point of view, is an outrage, as they have worked on this series for twenty-five years and it would be a waste to just let it all go like that! But on the other hand we have two more Zelda games heading our way, one for the 3DS and one for the Wii U. No details have yet been released for either of these, which make the anticipation all the more exciting! Majora’s Mask looks very much like it will get a remake for the 3DS but that looks very far off, as they want an original game for the 3DS, not just remakes. What can we expect? Only time can tell and hopefully Nintendo, Shigeru and co get something spectacular together!