EVERY Nintendo Console Ranked By Their Zelda Games

#12: Nintendo DS

The Nintendo DS got two dedicated “Zelda” games: “Phantom Hourglass” in 2007, and “Spirit Tracks” in 2009. These tend to be less liked by a lot of fans due to their more gimmicky touchscreen controls. And while it’s nice to see the story of Toon Link continue, and how it leads to a New Hyrule, scaling down from “Wind Waker” to these two obviously comes with certain restrictions. “Phantom Hourglass” gets a lot of flack for its repetitive pacing, particularly with the Temple of the Ocean King. And “Spirit Tracks” is much more restrictive on exploration with its overworld, while featuring an awkward microphone gimmick for Link’s panflute. There’s still great stuff here; some pretty fun dungeons, and some strong side characters with Linebeck and Zelda. But they aren’t as fun to play, or as impactful, as other games in the series.

#11: Nintendo Entertainment System

As wrong as it feels to rank something as important as the NES so low on a list, the two “Zelda” games it received, groundbreaking as they are, have suffered from the age of time. At the time of release, “The Legend of Zelda” was obviously unlike much of anything else. It was a grand adventure, with deadly dungeons to overcome and plenty of secrets to uncover. “Zelda II: The Adventure of Link,” was completely different, with a sidescrolling view, RPG mechanics, and high difficulty, all of which have made it the definitive black sheep of the series in retrospect. The history of video games owes a great debt to the NES “Zelda” games, but later games would build off them in so many better ways that it’s hard to place the NES any higher.

#10: Game Boy

The original Game Boy was a marvel of technology, and the fact that Nintendo could fit an entire “Zelda” experience in the palms of your hands was incredibly impressive at the time. “Link’s Awakening” remains a fan favorite to this day. Washed ashore on the strange Koholint Island, Link had to unravel a mystery at its center. Although smaller than “A Link to the Past,” the game had surprisingly deep and fun characters, and introduced many firsts in the series, like the first new setting, a trading quest, and fishing. With only one “Zelda” game though (Game Boy Color coming later), the Game Boy can’t place higher. But if you’re a fan of “Link’s Awakening,” you know this won’t be the last time it shows up.

#9: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

Like the Game Boy, the Super Nintendo only has one “Zelda” game we can really talk about, which keeps it low on the list. But what a game it is. Even today, “A Link to the Past” holds up incredibly well, as many games on the system still do. Nintendo took the foundation laid out by the NES original and expanded on it in remarkable ways, some of which are still felt in the series to this day. Players were treated to not one, but two worlds full of dungeons, secrets, and treasures. Much of what the series is known for began here, from weapons like the Master Sword and Hookshot, to iconic pieces of music like “Zelda’s Lullaby.” And once again, don’t worry: it’ll show up again in a bit.

#8: Game Boy Color

With a smaller, more powerful handheld, Nintendo released a new version of “Link’s Awakening,” which, in addition to now being in color, came with an extra dungeon and a new photo mode that worked with the Game Boy Printer. Those changes are big enough for us to not consider “DX” as a standard port. Even still, the GBC also has the benefit of the “Oracle” duology, which can’t be played on the original Game Boy. “Oracle of Ages” and “Oracle of Seasons” were released alongside one another, yet are set in different lands with different stories. Developed in partnership with Capcom, they’re two of the harder games in the series, specifically “Ages,” but it’s undeniably cool how each focuses on entirely different mechanics and characters, yet connect for an overall plot.

#7: Game Boy Advance

The Capcom partnership reached its peak on the Game Boy Advance, which got a new version of “A Link to the Past,” with refreshed visuals, a new side quest, and a new dungeon. What made it even more unique was the bundled-in “Four Swords,” which introduced a new villain and multiplayer to the series. As great as that was, we also got an entirely new game, and one of the more underrated entries, “The Minish Cap.” It gave Link a fantastic ability to shrink down to explore new areas and solve puzzles, and expanded greatly on Vaati, making him one of franchise’s best villains. That’s on top of some fantastic visuals, and fan favorite companion Ezlo, Link’s grouchy talking hat.

#6: Nintendo Wii

Now we’re starting to get to the heavy hitters. The Wii received two “Zelda” games, both of which are considered strong points when it comes to storytelling. A swan song for the GameCube but a launch title for the Wii, “Twilight Princess” introduced us to Midna, still the best companion in the series, brought new hooks to gameplay like Wolf Link, and featured small, but nice motion touches to certain mechanics. “Skyward Sword,” being designed solely for the platform, leaned much more heavily into motion controls…somewhat to its detriment. In addition to its controls, its overworld was also a step down from “Twilight Princess,” as was its companion. Still, there were highs like its fantastic music, some strong dungeon stand-outs, new, highly important lore, and one of the best incarnations of Zelda across the franchise.

#5: Nintendo 64

In terms of importance, there’s not much about the “Zelda” games on the Nintendo 64 that hasn’t already been said. “Ocarina of Time” was and still is seen as one of the greatest games of all time, and a foundational building block of the action adventure genre. “Majora’s Mask” takes what “Ocarina of Time” built, and mixes in deep, sometimes heartbreaking character writing, and interesting new mechanics for Link through masks. From the iconic music that tugs on your nostalgia, to the truly great dungeons that we delighted in puzzling through, this duology marks a special point in the franchise. The only reason the N64 doesn’t place higher is because others have both quality and quantity.

#4: GameCube

The GameCube may not have been a commercial high point for Nintendo, but it was for “Zelda.” Although the art style was divisive, “The Wind Waker” was nothing short of an extraordinary game, with an interesting spin on the world and lore of “Zelda,” and wonderful characters and music. The GameCube also got its own version of “Ocarina of Time” in “Master Quest,” with far more challenging dungeons. The multiplayer angle got to continue in “Four Swords Adventures,” which was an improvement on visuals and gameplay. And finally, the GameCube also gets points for “Twilight Princess,” which, with a more standard control scheme, is the slightly better version over the Wii. And as we’ve already said, that game is fantastic.

#3: Nintendo 3DS

“Ocarina of Time” gets to help out a third system in Nintendo’s line up. The 3DS version, which also includes “Master Quest,” featured nice quality of life improvements, making it the best way to play one of the best games of all time…for now. “Majora’s Mask” was a bit more mixed; it also received quality of life improvements, but gave bosses obvious weak spots and made Zora Link’s swimming worse. Still, two of the best games in the series. On top of that, the 3DS got one of the best top-down “Zelda” games in “A Link Between Worlds.” It was an interesting evolution of classic “Zelda,” with Link’s new painting mechanic tying into puzzle solving and traversal in really fun ways. Funnily enough, its sequel, the multiplayer “Tri Force Heroes,” is far from anyone’s favorite, yet gets to rank high this time around.

#2: Wii U

This is probably the only time the Wii U will rank this high on…well, any list. But the fact remains: it was a great system for “Zelda.” “The Wind Waker” and “Twilight Princess” are still considered two of the franchise’s highest points. The HD versions of each game made strong improvements not only to their visuals, but also their gameplay. “Wind Waker HD,” completely stunning as it is to look at, also introduced faster sailing and shortened the infamous Triforce Quest. “Twilight Princess HD” came with a new combat challenge dungeon, but was also a step up in controls. And both of these are still frequently requested to be ported to Switch. Beyond this, the Wii U also got “Breath of the Wild” as a last hurrah, similar to “Twilight Princess” on the GameCube. Did many people play it this way? Of course not, but it still matters here, and it’s still one of the best open world games ever made.

#1: Nintendo Switch

Even without the benefit of its online collection, it’s hard to top the Switch. Because let’s face it, “Zelda” fans, Nintendo’s modern era has been very good to us. “Breath of the Wild” helped propel Nintendo’s hybrid to ridiculous popularity, with its scope, scale, and possibilities unmatched in the open world genre. It was followed up with “Tears of the Kingdom,” giving players a whole new bag of exciting tricks to work with and puzzles to solve. However, Nintendo didn’t forget to water the franchise’s roots. On top of a visual improvement, “Skyward Sword HD” adapted its motion controls to a more standard control scheme, and scaled back Fi’s frequent interruptions. The Switch also got a wonderful remake of “Link’s Awakening,” with a delightful diorama art style, which would be reused for a brand new game in “Echoes of Wisdom.” Following Princess Zelda, it focused on summoning copies of objects and creatures to solve puzzles and fight enemies while expanding on lore in interesting ways. With the Switch, there’s not only high quality, but high variety.

What Nintendo system do you think has the best group of “Zelda” games? Share your thoughts in the comments, and we’ll see you next time!