by SmashPad Staff
Nintendo needs to do a better job celebrating themselves, especially since they’re probably the ones that started that marketing trend in video games.
Pokémon fans are eating great after the weekend, celebrating the series’ 30th anniversary with the recent re-release of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen along with the announcement of the 10th generation of the series in Pokémon Winds and Waves, but a lot of the industry despite acknowledging its greatness have flat out ignored The Legend of Zelda, which celebrated its 40th anniversary on February 21. Nintendo even tweet.
So we’ve decided to do something out of our ordinary. We made a listicle. If you’ve followed us for years, you know that we only do this for our Game of the Year series, but it’s Zelda.
So how does this work? SmashPad staffers and contributors were asked to provide their Top 5 Zelda games with each game receiving a point rating; their fifth favorite Zelda would get a 1, while their most favorite Zelda would get a 5. Aside from that, the only rule was to be specific. For example, if someone voted for The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, they had to specifically mention whether it was the original/DX version or the Switch remake.
We believe this method of voting makes it easy, and while it was, we also saw a lot of ties that we had to break. 20 Zelda games in all were nominated, but we had to bring it down to 10.
So here we are folks, starting with #10, here are SmashPad’s Top 10 Zelda games.
10. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (2000, Nintendo 64)
“I totally understand why people pick Ocarina of Time. It was the first Zelda game I ever beat, so I understand its popularity, but the direct sequel was really more my vibe. I really preferred the darker tones of its stories, and all the sidequests that had to do with all the Happy Masks. Earning the Fierce Deity’s Mask and using it to defeat Majora’s Wrath to me will always be one of the most epic feelings in all of gaming. Majora’s Mask to me will always be the true Master Quest of Ocarina of Time. Its dungeons and sheer challenge despite a shorter story prove it.” – Danreb Victorio, Executive Editor
9. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006, GameCube)
“The darker atmosphere made the game stand out. The temples are well designed. The Wii remote functionality was also fun to utilize.” – Chris Penwell, Contributor
8. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (2019, Switch)
“I missed this on the Game Boy. So it was awesome to play this for the first time on my TV.” – Filippo Dinolfo, Senior Editor
Editor’s Note: The original Game Boy version of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening actually tied with Majora’s Mask at the final tally, but a second vote broke the tie. Should we have just combined both Link’s Awakening games? Perhaps.
7. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (2005, Game Boy Advance)
“A near-perfect combination of the old style with a more modern touch, Minish Cap is a truly fantastic game in its own right.” – Andrew Farrell, Contributor
“When I tried this on NSO, I wanted to see what I had missed out on. It’s a bite-sized experience that left me hungry for more; it’s the sweet spot of a grand adventure that doesn’t take dozens of hours, but still feels like a worthwhile experience all the way down.” – Mike Fertitta, Staff Writer
6. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (2013, 3DS)
“A great start to breaking the stale formula by letting you do the dungeons in any order and rent the tools needed to do them until you could buy them outright.” – Chris Selogy, Managing Editor
5. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2003, GameCube)
“Great style, great vibes.” – Chris Selogy
4. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023, Switch)
“I love being able to solve puzzles creatively using Zonai devices and abilities.” – Kayla Merritt, Staff Writer
“It took going back to basics, and then completely reinventing them. BOTW managed to ressurrect the spirit of discovery and adventure that the original Zelda made. Its sequel added several lovable characters AND encourages the creativity of its audience.” – Brandon Perkins, Host
“It’s the ultimate playground that does everything that BOTW did and bumps it up a notch while expanding the lore and world. Some incredible moments and scenes that show just how great the series is and can be.” – Michael Murphy, Contributor
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998, Nintendo 64)
“It’s an incredibly focused game that truly moved the medium forward. Every aspect of it is memorable and full of attention and care.” – Andrew Farrell
“Its DNA is still used to this day as a template for every other Zelda game, and was revolutionary at the time in its gameplay and storytelling.” – Myles Obenza, Associate Editor
“My first taste of the series on arguably one of my favorite consoles.” – Christian Paraguya, Contributor
2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1992, Super Nintendo)
“This is the only correct answer.” – Filippo Dinolfo
“A functionally perfect game that captured the scale of epic adventure in the 16-bit era. It’s just the perfect true sequel the series needed after Zelda II weirded things up, established lots of lore and recurring characters/settings, Dark World was cool and buffed out the game without bloating it too much, music you’ll never forget, and fun-ass dungeons that challenge you to the end. Sidequests are fun and rewarding too. I could replay this any time.” – David Rodriguez, Staff Writer
1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017, Wii U / Switch)
“When this game was first revealed, it was unlike anything I had ever thought a Zelda game could be. It genuinely felt like a whole different experience to me back in 2017, and it still remains as one of my favorite games of all time.” – Mike Fertitta, Staff Writer
“This version of Hyrule is amazing to explore. It has a fun story, an engrossing world, and lots to find along the journey.” – Chris Penwell
“I didn’t care about the story, I cared about exploring. It was a joy to just do anything. Peak sense of discovery.” – Kurosh Jozavi, Contributor
“Another vast departure, but one that will – like it or not – maintain its presence in the series for years to come. Even as someone’s 100th open world game, I think it has the ability to dazzle and impress with its scale, systems, and nuances that Tears of the Kingdom did a little TOO much of. Only problem was the weapon durability.” – David Rodriguez
“If I’m gonna say I want to re-experience Breath of the Wild, but mention Tears of the Kingdom is better, I have to mention Breath of the Wild. What the series did by embracing its original roots from the OG Zelda made it one of the best open world games of all-time despite it’s open world being “empty.” It was an absolute joy having this alongside the launch of the Switch and talking about what I did in Hyrule with all my co-workers after ever night I spend playing this masterpiece.” – Danreb Victorio
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It goes without saying The Legend of Zelda plays in integral part in the lives of most gamers, and that’s definitely true of the SmashPad staff. While it’s unfortunate that Nintendo hasn’t paid the 40th anniversary much homage, it’s still March. To Japan, the fiscal year isn’t over yet.
Will Nintendo have something special up its sleeve during the next Nintendo Direct of 2026? Might there be a Zelda Direct? The possibilities are endless, including nothing. That’s just part of Nintendo’s allure.
Let’s just hope for something legendary.