Daily Debate: What is the Best First Zelda Game for a Kid?

If you ask Zelda fans what their favorite game in the series is, you’ll find that many pick the first Zelda game that they completed. My first Zelda game was Breath of the Wild in 2017, despite me being in my early 30s at the time and a gamer since childhood. Though I never experienced Zelda as a kid, I have a son who is eight years old and a big Zelda fan. He loves reading the Hyrule Historia trilogy and various game guides, even though he has never sat down to complete a full game from start to finish.

The first game he spent any time in was Link’s Awakening, where he loved mischievously sneaking into people’s houses and smashing pots. He has started other games, working through introductory areas or dungeons (sometimes with the help of a walkthrough guide), without being phased by older art styles or gimmicky control schemes like the stylus or motion controls. For other games, he has utilized my save file once I have beaten a game and have achieved full Heart Containers and a vast inventory, which makes things less risky for him to roam wherever he has liked. With Breath of the Wild, I have witnessed his sheer joy in crossing vast expanses of Hyrule on the Master Cycle Zero, and heard his infectious excitement while he fearlessly infiltrates enemy strongholds. For other games, like with Tears of the Kingdom, he has gladly been my co-pilot, watching me tackle boss battles, providing suggestions (which surprisingly have been helpful hints that I never thought of), and reading tips from walkthrough guides when I’ve been stumped or stuck.

I have never pushed my son to dedicate himself to a single game, but I wonder what the first one will be that he sees all the way through himself from the very beginning. Which game has the best mix of easy-to-grasp gameplay, an appropriate level of difficulty, an engaging storyline and characters, a captivating art style, and intuitive controls that would make it ideal as a first Zelda game for a kid? What would you recommend to a son or daughter in elementary school as a first Zelda game to stick with to the end? What would you recommend to a younger brother or sister, or niece or nephew, as their first full adventure with Link?

Below are the ones that come to mind for me and are corroborated by my son through his experience.

Games Available for Purchase on Switch

• Link’s Awakening, specifically the 2019 remake on Switch, seems like a great candidate with its cute diorama art style. The music is enchanting, with staples like the “Ballad of the Wind Fish” sung by your companion Marin. Combat isn’t overwhelmingly complex or difficult. The game guides you to slowly learn the basics, as more weapons and abilities are added to your inventory and the map slowly unfolds. There are in-game hints at the Telephone Booths, where you can make a phone call for help when you’re stuck on the next mainline objective. The quality-of-life upgrades from the original Game Boy and DX Game Boy Color versions are extremely helpful as well, such as in the case of item-swapping. The game’s length isn’t overwhelming either.

• Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom both play very similarly, so I’ve grouped them together. They can admittedly be challenging to a new player at the very beginning, when you have little in terms of Heart Containers, armor, and weapons. And the vast world can be easy to get lost in for a new player, with little guideposts showing you where to go next. Breath of the Wild can already feel overwhelming, and its successor only builds on that with the addition of the Sky Islands and the Depths. But to their credit, the two games are extremely intuitive in terms of gameplay; and for the young player who is willing to endure many early deaths in the game in order to become stronger and explore without much instruction, it is a wonderful feeling to let your intuition guide you. For the creative and imaginative player, Tears of the Kingdom captures the freedom that other crafting games provide. It allows the player to come up with solutions well outside of what the original developers intended, while leaving the door open for even more creativity by allowing you to invent new contraptions/weapons however you want with the Ultra Hand and Fuse abilities and allowing you to travel in your constructed roving and flying vehicles.

Games Available on Nintendo Switch Online (NSO)

• A Link to the Past is a timeless game that holds up extremely well three decades plus after its release. The top-down, 2D pixel-art graphics still look phenomenal, and its mechanics are intuitive and easy to grasp. The game served as a template for so many more Zelda games after it with its lore, successive dungeons, items, and progressive unraveling of the map. My son has played the initial introduction by rescuing princess Zelda from the castle dungeon before being let out in the open into Hyrule, and he was able to do so easily (with the occasional hint from me) without much difficulty. The Rewind feature on NSO makes for a great way to experience this game for younger players who have lost multiple Heart Containers quickly and would like a second try at an enemy-filled room.

• Ocarina of Time is quintessential Zelda in its lore, gameplay mechanics, characters, and world. For a new player, it can be an ideal introduction in many ways, though it can become more challenging, complex, and lengthy as compared to some 2D titles. For an older kid who is up to the task, it is sure to be highly rewarding and a memorable experience with its coming-of-age story about accepting responsibility. However, for those that didn’t grow up with the Nintendo 64, the jagged polygons and awkward three-prong controller can be an acquired taste.

• The Minish Cap is another 2D adventure of relatively lower difficulty with pixel art that holds up well and is adorable to behold. Link’s adventure with the Picori is cute and attractive for younger players to experience, and the shrinking mechanic makes for interesting and engaging puzzles. It is also of relatively shorter length compared to most other games.

• Link’s Awakening DX, if you don’t own a copy of the Switch version and have an NSO membership, can be a solid introduction to Zelda for kids. Though the Nintendo Switch version is far superior, the Game Boy Color version is still a great way to experience the game and approachable for kids. My son played the introduction by restoring Tarin back to his human form, and he was undeterred by the Game Boy graphics from my childhood.

Games Available on Previous Consoles

• The Wind Waker (released on GameCube and Wii U), from the very beginning with its initial title screen, invites you on an exciting adventure through its art style and music. Link’s facial expressions, with the over-exaggeration of his eyes and floating eyebrows, provide for moments of humor and whimsy. Link in his cartoon form is also approachable and unassuming. You start off as just a lazy kid enjoying a tranquil life on a small island. Your initial quest is to save your kid sister in the company of helpful pirates without any knowledge yet of the bigger forces at play that will reveal themselves as the game progresses. What is there not to like? The Wind Waker is a longer game though, so a kid would have to be dedicated to see it through. Plus, the world is a big ocean that, as critics have pointed out, can just be a whole lot of nothing; that can be tough for a player, unless you thrive on exploration that includes uneventful travel. If you have access to a Wii U, the HD version is superior, but the original on GameCube (or a GameCube-compatible Wii) is still a great way to experience the game. However, finding a used copy of either version at a reasonable price is hard these days.

• A Link Between Worlds (released on 3DS) has a similar charm to the Link’s Awakening remake with its whimsical and cozy art style. Though many younger players won’t catch all of the similarities and callbacks to A Link to the Past, the slightly modified light and dark worlds from its predecessor both hold up extremely well. The game’s main advantage for modern players is its divergence from its predecessor, with the ability to (mostly) wander wherever you like in the world and complete the dungeons in whatever order you like. As a result, combat is relatively simple and easy, and dungeons don’t become overwhelmingly complex as the possession of previous dungeon items isn’t assumed (though needed for full dungeon exploration and finding collectibles). It also is of reasonable length compared to the 3D titles, without a lull in the story progression. Used copies of the game are relatively easy to find at a reasonable price too.

• Ocarina of Time 3D (released on 3DS) is vastly more approachable for new players than the original, through improved graphics, inclusion of gyro aiming controls, Sheikah Stones for in-game hints, and quality-of-life UI improvements for weapon/item management. Used copies are also easy to find at reasonable prices.

Which one of these games would you recommend to a kid in your life as their first Zelda game? Did the reasons above resonate with you? Was there a game not listed that you think would be even better? What would your adult self recommend to your kid self, if the whole Zelda library were available to you? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Jared Eubanks

Jared Eubanks is a staff writer at Zelda Dungeon, and he is also a husband, father, and engineer. He is originally from the Atlanta, GA area and still lives there. He graduated from Georgia Tech and is a proud Yellow Jacket. He loves to play boardgames, build Lego, and read books with his family. He’s been gaming since childhood with the original NES and GameBoy, and he enjoys retro gaming, collecting, and modding consoles and handhelds. His favorite Zelda game is Breath of the Wild but is also fond of the older classic titles.