More Thoughts From Me #58: My Favorite Zelda Games

With Breath of the Wild for the Wii U and Switch right around the corner, I thought I would take a look back at my favorite Zelda games so far. I’m a huge fan of the Zelda series and have been playing the games since the very start on the NES. The following list will only be my top 5 Zelda games and some of the picks may surprise you.

Here are my top 5 Legend of Zelda games. As always, these are my picks and do not reflect of the opinions of anyone else at this website:

5. Ocarina of Time

I never owned a Nintendo 64 but I did play Ocarina of Time at a Walmart once during the 64 era. I liked the game. Years later, I got the chance to play the full game via the Wii’s Virtual Console. I thought it was a really great game! The world was so huge, the 3D graphics still looked good and the gameplay was solid. I bought Ocarina of Time for the 3DS and I liked it too. The graphical upgrade was pretty great. Ocarina of Time is a classic game no matter what system you play it on though. Without this game, there would be no modern day 3D Zelda franchise.

4. Wind Waker

When I first saw the graphics for Wind Waker, I wasn’t sure if I liked it. A cartoony Zelda game? Hmmm. But I love the Zelda franchise and so I bought Wind Waker for the Gamecube. As soon as I started playing the game, I was blown away by Wind Waker’s graphics. The cartoon style was so beautiful and full of life. The gameplay was fun too! I loved sailing the ocean and visiting different islands. What a game. And Wind Waker HD on the Wii U is even better. The graphical update to the game makes it look even better than it did and I love how the game takes advantage of the gamepad! Wind Waker is a classic and if you love Zelda and haven’t played this one, you are missing out.

3. A Link Between Worlds

I was a big fan of A Link to the Past on the Super Nintendo. So when Nintendo announced and showed off a 3DS Zelda game in the style of A Link to the Past, with some twists, I was so excited. And the game lived up to my hopes. A Link Between Worlds is an even better verison of A Link to the Past. All the classic Zelda gameplay is in the game, plus we got a new 2D wall transformation and the game gave us more freedom to explore Hyrule. I loved being able to pick which dungeons I wanted to visit. The tool shop was awesome! A Link Between Worlds is one of the best Zelda games without a doubt.

2. Twilight Princess

I bought Twilight Princess for the Wii. I never did play the game on the Gamecube nor have I bought the HD remake yet (I really need to get it!). Twilight Princess on the Wii was so great though. Zelda players finally got a realistic looking adult Link! We also got an awesome transformation for Link: Wolf Link! Everything about Twilight Princess is amazing: from the graphics to the story to the motion controls, I enjoyed this game a lot.

1. Skyward Sword

Lately, I keep hearing people knock this game and I have no idea why. Skyward Sword has beautiful graphics (part realistic/part cel-shaded), a fun story, and amazing motion controls. Skyward Sword is absolutely my favorite Zelda game at the moment. There’s just so much to love about the game. I especially must mention the bird Link flies around on and how much fun the flying mechanics are. Classic 2D Zelda is great. So is early 3D Zelda. But to me, modern Zelda is the best. This franchise just gets better and better.

And those are my top 5 Zelda games!

I know that its very likely that Breath of the Wild will take Skyward Sword’s #1 slot away. I am so very excited for the next Zelda game!

What are your Top 5 Zelda games? Please share them in the comments!

Next week: Super Mario Maker! I talk about the game, why I love it, and share a couple of my level codes!

More Thoughts From Me is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed here are mine and mine alone. Least favorite Zelda game: Majora’s Mask!