We’ve gotten to spend quite a bit of time with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomnow that it’s been around for a week. Granted, given it is a game that could take dozens or hundreds of hours to really master, we might not be sure how we feel about it. Not to mention so many other past installments have offered us all sorts of adventures over the year. So this week, we decided it might be a good idea for us all to share what we like best about some of our favorite The Legend of Zelda games.
One of the greatest things about the The Legend of Zelda series is that there is a game for everyone in it. For me, it also happens to be the first one I ever played as a kid. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is a fantastic game, whether you play the original Game Boy version, the Game Boy Color port, or the 2019 Switch remake. There is no wrong way of experiencing one of Link’s most interesting adventures. To top it all of, the soundtrack of Link’s Awakening is one of the most beautiful ones I’ve ever heard in a video game. — Daniel
I’d say The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap is probably the game I liked best. There are so many silly elements, and it all feels so lighthearted. There can be a lot of darkness in Hyrule, but tempering that with a cap that lets me turn super teeny and see the world from a whole new perspective is pretty great. — Jenni
I always enjoy The Legend of Zelda games, but there’s only one that has truly stuck with me on a deeper level. The series rarely does much for me narrative-wise, but Majora’s Mask is a huge exception to this. It’s basically a horror game in disguise, with its Groundhog Day premise and angry moon hanging in the sky. The stories of everyone in Clock Town and the surrounding areas of Termina are so simple yet so heart-wrenching. There’s something deeply troubled about that world that makes me desperately want to be its hero. Plus the Song of Healing is one of the best music pieces in the entire series. – Leigh
Before, I would have said one of the Oracle games. Oracle of Ages was the first The Legend of Zelda game I ever played and completed! And I loved it to death. But after the years, there’s one game that has grown on me in ways I almost didn’t expect, and that’s The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. With an incredible cast of characters and a gorgeous score, this more low fantasy version of Hyrule embodies the dusk the game itself references within its very title. It’s moody, dark, but not without a glimmer of hope lingering on the horizon. Even to this day I’d love for Nintendo make something of a sequel for it, just to see Midna one more time. (Also the Ganondorf design and fight in Twilight Princess is unparalleled.) — Kazuma
While I have yet to meet a The Legend of Zelda game I don’t like, the one I always go back to is Majora’s Mask. The darker, more somber tone to quite literally every aspect is both a nice change of pace and incredibly well done. It puts an emphasis on exploring the world and completing side quests that’s great for making you want to play more as well as for replay value. And frankly, I’m a big fan of the three-day cycle. It gives the game a sense of urgency while adding to the darker themes. Plus the Fierce Deity is unbelievably cool and I will probably cry like a baby if it’s ever brought back. — Adam
