Daily Debate: What “Zelda-Like” Games Do You Want To Replay Or Revisit The Most?
Posted on September 18 2023 by Sean Gadus
The Zelda series is one of the most influential series in video game history. Whether it is the open exploration of the original Zelda game in the 1980s, the impressive Z-targeting mechanic in Ocarina of Time, or innovations to open world design philosophy in Breath of the Wild, many designers and developers in the video game industry are influenced by the Zelda series. Many developers throughout history have taken ideas from franchise, and applied these ideas or iterated on some of these ideas in their own games. On Zelda Dungeon, we often affectionately call the games influenced by the series “Zelda-likes.”
There are a variety of different Zelda-likes that have been published throughout the history of the video games. With Tears of the Kingdom wrapping up, many players are potentially moving on to new games or going to replay old games. With this in mind, what Zelda-like titles do you want to replay or revisit the most?
Overall, I am fascinated to hear the community answer this question because different Zelda-likes games drawn from different elements of the Zelda series for inspiration. For example, Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King is a Zelda-like title that drawn inspiration from 2D Zelda games like A Link To The Past. One Zelda-inspired game that want to revisit is Death’s Door from Acid Nerve. Death’s Door draws influence from the world design and puzzle solving of 2D and early 3D Zelda games, and it includes a more aggressive combat that is reminiscent of games like Dark Souls. Another Zelda-like game that I would like to replay is Ōkami, which was released all the way back in 2006 (though a version of the game is available on Nintendo Switch). Ōkami is clearly influenced by the design and structure of 3D Zelda games like Ocarina of Time. The game’s beautiful art style is inspired by Japanese Watercolor paintings, and the story based around Japanese mythology.
What do you think? What Zelda-like games do you want replay or revisit the most? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Sean Gadus is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon. His first Zelda game was Ocarina of Time, and he loves all of the 3D Zelda games from 1998-2011. The final battle of Tears of the Kingdom is one of his favorite final battles in the entire series. He wants to help build a kinder, more compassionate world. You can check out his other written work at The-Artifice.com.
