You’ve probably seen the timeline. It’s a mess. Honestly, trying to organize a list of Legend of Zelda games is like trying to untangle a drawer full of old charging cables while someone screams "Hey! Listen!" in your ear. Since 1986, Nintendo has been iterating on this "boy meets sword, boy loses girl, boy kills pig-demon" loop, and frankly, it’s amazing they haven’t run out of steam yet.
Most people just want to know what to play. Should you go back to the NES? Is it worth dusting off a 3DS for the remakes? Or do you just stick to the massive open-world behemoths on the Switch? It’s not just about the big releases; it’s about understanding why Zelda II feels like a weird experimental side project and why Majora’s Mask is basically a psychological thriller disguised as a fantasy adventure.
The Classics That Started the Fire
The 1986 original, The Legend of Zelda, was a revelation. It didn't hold your hand. You just walked into a cave, got a sword from an old man, and were told to go figure it out. That's a level of trust between developer and player we rarely see anymore. Then came The Adventure of Link. It’s the black sheep. It's side-scrolling, brutally difficult, and uses an XP system. Most people hate it. Some people (the ones who enjoy pain) think it’s a masterpiece.
By the time we got to A Link to the Past on the SNES, Nintendo had perfected the 2D formula. It introduced the concept of parallel worlds—Light and Dark—which became a staple for the series. If you're making a list of Legend of Zelda games that are essential, this is usually at the top. It feels modern even now. The controls are tight, the world is dense, and the music is legendary.
When 3D Changed Everything
Then 1998 happened. Ocarina of Time.
It’s hard to explain to someone who wasn't there how much this changed gaming. It invented the Z-targeting system. Suddenly, combat in 3D wasn't a clunky nightmare. You weren't just swinging at air; you were locked on. It felt cinematic. But then Nintendo did something weird. They followed up the most successful game in their history with Majora’s Mask.
💡 You might also like: Marvel Rivals Emma Frost X Revolution Skin: What Most People Get Wrong
Instead of a sprawling adventure, they gave us a three-day time loop. Everyone is going to die. A moon with a horrifying face is screaming toward the earth. It’s stressful. It’s weird. It’s arguably the most "human" game in the entire franchise because it deals with grief and futility.
The Toon Link Era and Beyond
People lost their minds when The Wind Waker was revealed. They wanted gritty, "realistic" Link. Nintendo gave them a cartoon. "Cel-shading" became the buzzword of the year. But here’s the thing: it aged better than almost any other game from that era. Sailing the Great Sea felt like a true adventure, even if the Triforce shard hunt at the end was a bit of a slog.
Later, Twilight Princess gave the fans what they wanted—the dark, moody aesthetic. It’s basically Ocarina of Time on steroids, featuring a wolf transformation and a companion, Midna, who actually has a personality. Then came Skyward Sword. It’s controversial. The motion controls were polarizing. Some people loved the 1:1 sword fighting; others just wanted to sit on their couch without waving their arms like a maniac. It’s the earliest point in the timeline, showing the origin of the Master Sword.
The Handheld Heroes
Don't ignore the portable entries. They aren't just "smaller" versions. Link’s Awakening—originally on the Game Boy—doesn't even have Zelda or Ganon in it. It’s a dream sequence on an island with a giant egg on a mountain. It’s surreal and heartbreaking.
Then you have the Capcom-developed titles. Yes, Capcom made Zelda games. The Minish Cap is gorgeous and features a talking hat that shrinks you down to the size of an ant. On the DS, we got Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. These are divisive because they rely entirely on touch controls. You draw the path for your boomerang. You draw the path for the train. It's... an acquired taste.
📖 Related: Finding the Right Words That Start With Oc 5 Letters for Your Next Wordle Win
The Recent Revolution
When Breath of the Wild launched in 2017, it threw the "Zelda formula" in the trash. No more linear dungeons. No more "get the hookshot to pass this one specific gap." If you can see it, you can go there. You can climb anything. You can burn the grass to create an updraft.
It was a total reset.
Tears of the Kingdom took that same world and added "Ultrahand." Now you aren't just a swordsman; you're an engineer building tanks and flying machines out of literal junk. It’s overwhelming in the best way possible.
Sorting the Full List of Legend of Zelda Games
If you’re looking for a chronological release order to track the evolution of the series, here is how the main entries shake out:
- The Legend of Zelda (1986) - The NES start.
- Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1987) - The side-scrolling experiment.
- A Link to the Past (1991) - 16-bit perfection.
- Link’s Awakening (1993) - The weird Game Boy dream.
- Ocarina of Time (1998) - The 3D revolution.
- Majora’s Mask (2000) - The dark, 3-day loop.
- Oracle of Ages / Oracle of Seasons (2001) - Two games that link together.
- The Wind Waker (2002) - The high seas adventure.
- Four Swords Adventures (2004) - Multiplayer chaos.
- The Minish Cap (2004) - Shrinking down with a bird-hat.
- Twilight Princess (2006) - The "dark" Zelda.
- Phantom Hourglass (2007) - Stylus-driven sailing.
- Spirit Tracks (2009) - Link becomes a train conductor.
- Skyward Sword (2011) - The origin story.
- A Link Between Worlds (2013) - A spiritual successor to Link to the Past.
- Tri Force Heroes (2015) - Fashion-focused co-op.
- Breath of the Wild (2017) - The open-air masterpiece.
- Tears of the Kingdom (2023) - Building things in the sky and depths.
- Echoes of Wisdom (2024) - Finally, you actually play as Zelda.
Why the Timeline is a Trap
Newer fans often get obsessed with the "official" timeline from the Hyrule Historia book. Don't do that to yourself. It splits into three branches based on whether Link wins or loses in Ocarina of Time. It’s a retroactive attempt to make sense of decades of games that weren't really meant to fit together perfectly.
👉 See also: Jigsaw Would Like Play Game: Why We’re Still Obsessed With Digital Puzzles
Nintendo cares more about gameplay than lore consistency. Each game is a "legend," which means the details change every time the story is retold. Think of it like a myth. One version of the myth has a vast ocean; another has a sprawling field. It’s the same struggle, different flavor.
Where Should You Actually Start?
If you want the "true" Zelda experience without the 1980s frustration, start with A Link to the Past or the 2019 remake of Link’s Awakening. They give you the structure—dungeons, keys, boss fights—without being too cryptic.
If you want the modern "do whatever you want" vibe, go straight to Breath of the Wild. Just be warned: it’s hard to go back to the older, more restrictive games after you've had that much freedom.
For the historians, Ocarina of Time is still the benchmark. Even the 3DS version holds up remarkably well. It’s the DNA of almost every action-adventure game made in the last twenty-five years.
Actionable Steps for Your Zelda Journey
To get the most out of this series, don't try to marathon them all at once. You'll burn out by the third dungeon.
- Pick a style. Do you want top-down (2D) or over-the-shoulder (3D)?
- Check your hardware. Most of these are available on the Nintendo Switch via the Online Expansion Pack (NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, and GBA apps).
- Use a guide sparingly. Part of the magic is feeling like an explorer. Only look up a map when you’ve been running in circles for thirty minutes.
- Listen to the music. Koji Kondo’s scores are half the experience. Play with headphones.
Start with A Link to the Past for 2D or Breath of the Wild for 3D. If you finish those and want more, move into the "weird" ones like Majora’s Mask or The Wind Waker. Every game on the list of Legend of Zelda games has its own personality, so find the one that fits your playstyle.