Which Zelda Games Have You Played/completed, and What Order of Preference?

[Tetra's Wink]

Apologies if this has been asked before. I did a search and couldn't find anything, so here goes:

Which zelda games have you played and beat? And what order of preference would you place them in? (Only include the games you have played AND BEAT, otherwise it's not really a fair ranking).

I have played and beat, in order of completion, OOT, TP, TWW, MM, and ALTTP.

Here's my order of preference:

1st - Ocarina Of Time - Well, I don't think it can be topped. That however could be the nostalgia talking, as it was my first zelda game. But, this game was revolutionary (as it introduced us to 3d zelda). Also the game is a great length (has many dungeons) and has a great atmosphere. Ganondorf is a brilliant villain in this game. The dungeons were very unique and very creative. I also felt the game had a good difficulty, in that it wasn't too challenging, but not too easy at the same time either. Excellent music too.

2nd - The Windwaker - At first I was dubious about the cell-shaded graphics, but I soon got used to them, and I was very glad I gave this game a go. Even though I thought this was by far the easiest one I've done, I still really enjoyed this game and actually found it very relaxing! The sea overworld in particular was relaxing, and the cell-shaded graphics actually gave this game a great, unique feel. As I said, I found this game slightly easier than the other zelda games I've played, which kind of adds to the 'relaxing' feel of the game. The sailing was tedious though.... and gathering the triforce charts/shards, jesus, I hated that, it took forever..... constantly changing the wind was very tedious too.... but apart from those quibbles, this is a great, unique, fun, and relaxing zelda game! A very fine game, just love it!

3rd - Twilight Princess - I really enjoyed this game. From what I've read, it seems that this game is slightly underrated. I myself thought it was a sound entry to the zelda series. It had a great, dark atmosphere, and very creative dungeons (snowpeak ruins and city in the sky were brilliant). Great overworld, and again, a decent length (lots of dungeons to explore). Also the characters were great, particularly midna and the rebellion group, and the whole wolf concept was a great touch too. I did not enjoy the tears of light stuff, but most of this game really hit the nail for me. Also in places I found it challenging (in terms of the puzzles that is, NOT the combat, that was easy). Anyway, great game.

4th - Majora's Mask - Majora's Mask is a very decent game. The 3-day concept is excellent, and gives this game a unique feel like no other zelda game. Out of the 5 I've played, I found this game probably the hardest. The dungeons in particular I found more difficult (although collecting the stray fairies may have contributed to that). That boss in the great bay temple.... my god, that was THE hardest zelda boss I have ever encountered. In contrast, I found the final boss majora to be extremely easy - although very fun to fight! I did NOT like the saving system - it was a huge pain in the arse. And was also a pain to keep going back in time, and depositing your rupees before you go back... tedious and annoying. Also, howcome, when you go back in time, you lose all your rupees, arrows etc, but you do NOT lose songs, weapons, boss remains etc? HOW DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? But yes, the whole repeatedly going back in time stuff was confusing, and the inconvinient saving process was a pain, so that is probably why this game is 4th, as all that stuff gives it a tedious feel. Having said that though, this game is still excellent.

5th - A Link To The Past - I finished this 2 days ago. I thought it was great. Yes I've put it last, but it's hard to compare this to the other 4 zeldas I've played seeing as this is much older and in 2D... but for what it is, it was great. I thought it lacked story and character development though. But the gameplay was really cool. The only thing is, the flawed graphics (although probably good for it's time) made the whole gameplay more frustrating than usual, for example, I personally got hit a lot more often than other zelda games because of the angle I was stood at etc etc, and so I kept dying for silly reasons, which frustrated the hell out of me. Another criticism is that I felt you never started off with enough hearts. Man, I died a lot on this game. And also, fairies only filled up 7 hearts - I was expecting them to fill the whole lot! So yeah, one of the hardest zelda games I've done. Still though, great for it's time.

What's everyone elses order of the ones they have played/beaten? Also, does anybody have any suggestions on which zelda game I should play through next?

 

[Lukémon]

1st Twilight princess

the graphics on this game amazaed me by the first Deku baba I saw, the fact you had to swing the wii remote to attack with you're sword was, quite annoying but made it more fun and made it feel more realistic and challenging. Also the story was good too, and the fact Link could be a wolf helped too.

2nd Ocarina of time 3D,

a fun game with an engrossing story but all you really had to do to survive was press B whenever you were attacked.

3rd, Four swords

Rather annoying, short story, no Ganondorf ( I like Zelda games with himin ), the only good thing was multiplayer.

thats all i've played so far ( i suspect skyward sword will get 2nd or 1st place once I get it. )

 

[surferguy7]

1. Wind Waker

2. Twilight Princess

3. Spirit Tracks

4. Link's Awakening

5. Ocarina of Time

6. Majora's Mask

7. Phantom Hourglass

8. The Legend of Zelda

9. A Link to the Past

Currently in Progress: Adventure of Link, Four Swords

Never Played: Minish Cap, Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Seasons, Four Swords Adventures

 

[Forlong]

Completed: LoZ, LttP, OoT, MC, & WW
The only one I haven't played at all is FSA

In order of preference...LttP is my favorite, I'll just end it on that.

 

[Ronin]

1. Twilight Princess

2. Majora's Mask

3. Ocarina of Time

4. Wind Waker

5. Legend of Zelda

6. Adventure of Link

Still working toward playing the handhelds, A Link to the Past, and Skyward Sword soon.

 

[Deniro]

order of completion: Twilight Princess, Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, A link to the Past, The legend of Zelda, Majora's mask, Four Swords

order of preference

1: Twilight Princess
What happens when you take Ocarina of Time and improve it even further, the asnwer is twilight princess, just pure epicness from start to finish.
2. Majora's Mask
this game is so cool, the three day thing was awesome. I also love the weird atmosphere.
3. A link to the Past
I played this game quite alot during my childhood, but didn't beat it before looong after.
4. Legend of Zelda
Legend of Zelda give me an aweosme feeling, because you are all alone in the quest, no sidekick, no towns, no actually usefull help, it's just you vs. the world
5. Ocarina of Time
I know that this game is super important for the zelda series and video games in general but I feel that it just isn't as good as MM and TP, massive amount of glitches help on replayability though
6. Wind Waker
this game was like a rollercoster, when it was good, it was pretty damn good, but when it wasn't it was just plain boring, the earth temple, the artstyle and the forsaken fortress is awesome, the sailing and the triforce hunt is NOT
7. Four swords (might change when I get to try out the multiplayer)

 

[Ventus]

I've completed them all, as in beaten them, and my current order of preference is:

1) Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask
These two games go hand in hand for me; they use the same engine and have the same feel to them. They're complements to each other; where MM has better NPCs, OoT has better dungeons. Where OoT lacks in sidequests, MM more than makes up for it. The atmospheres in these two games are VERY different, however that doesn't stop me from keeping them both in the #1 spot. These two games cannot be beaten by any other Zelda game, not even Skyward Sword. SS will join OoT/MM to form the OoT/MM/SS triumvirate, though it will not beat these two amazing selects.

2) Oracle Series
The Oracle games (Ages and Seasons) are two games which, alike that of OoT/MM, share a spot. These two share a spot for a different reason; I don't count each game as a separate installment simply because they're so similar, you can hardly count the dissimilarities. If anything, these games are currently number two because I absolutely LOVE the password system, the items while not exactly innovative certainly were fun and USABLE, and the story wasn't too complicated to the point of theorizing being a given.

A Link to the Past
ALttP is the OoT of 2D games, that's how I see it. A great game all around, I'll let others fill in the reason of this spot

 

[Nicole]

Hmm, the games I've played and beaten are:

1. Twilight Princess - I absolutely love TP. I never understood why people disliked it. Everything they dislike I either do like, or I don't see it the way they do. Some people thought TP's graphics were too brown and muddy; I thought they were beautiful and the best yet. Some others thought that there were no memorable tracks on TP, and while that might be true, seeing as a lot were reused from past games (like Ocarina of Time), I still thought the sounds were very melodic and fit the game well. Some others still hated the plot, Midna, or Ganondorf. I loved the plot, all the way up to the end. Admittedly, if I had played and beaten OoT before TP, I probably would have been upset with how Zant got thrown away at the end of TP. But to me, this was the most epic thing ever (at the time). I also am a huge fan of Midna. I loved her character development. It's funny, because I've heard several people say they hate her for how she used Link and toyed with his emotions, but I remember my thoughts exactly when I found out she had been using him. Something like this went through my head... "d'awww that's okay, we forgive you!" I really did like Midna. xD

2. The Wind Waker - I love everything about TWW. The only reason TP beats it out is because it was my first and struck a lasting impression. (It was the first I beat; TWW or AoL was the first I played.) The first things I think about when I think of TWW are its music - and sailing, too. Not much needs to be said about its music; I felt all tracks fit the game perfectly and really set the scenes well. However, sailing... is one thing I never actually had a problem with. I never got frustrated at how "tedious" it was, in fact, I don't remember too many times I thought it was tedious at all. The few times I did came when the map was expanded a bit but before you received the ability to warp. I also love TWW's controls. They were incredibly fluid for to my fingers and easy to use. TP's were good as well, but when I think of controls, I think of TWW.

3. Ocarina of Time - I never saw what was so amazing about OoT. I think it's a great game, I loved it, and I'm glad to have played it, but nothing really stood out to me. This is most likely because I played TP first and seeing as the two were so similar, I never appreciated or noticed what was original in OoT. Compared to the two games I played before OoT, the controls were shoddy and awkward, though I know they were revolutionary at the time of its release. Pressing the L/Z button to center the camera instead of using the camera stick was annoying to me. Too often did I accidentally waste an arrow because I forgot you couldn't use the camera stick to actually move the camera. What really made OoT a good game for me was its story and its locations. I loved OoT's story. It wasn't incredibly deep, but with a good imagination, you could make it so. I also will forever love Gerudo Desert, it's one of my favorite locations in any game, not just OoT.

4. Spirit Tracks - Unlike many others, I actually enjoyed the train aspect in ST. I thought it was fun an creative. I see how people could have disliked it because it removed the distinct free-roaming-overworld element Zelda had become known for, but I thought it was a new, fresh idea. (I did play ST before PH, which is why I say "new.") I actually thought the sailing in PH was annoying, even though it was freer. The story wasn't great and neither were the baddies. Overall, it was a pretty cute game and fun to have on the go.

5. Oracle of Ages - OoA always has such a classic feel to me. It was one of my first ventures into the Zelda world. When I was younger, the difficulty was way too much for me, but I wasn't old enough to be frustrated by it (like when I played AoL at a young age). I enjoyed what OoA brought as a game: the items, dungeons, controls. I did like the overall story, which again, wasn't too deep. I also remember a few dungeon that had seriously rocking music!

6. Minish Cap and 7. Phantom Hourglass - The bottom of my list. I enjoyed MC, but there wasn't much that was unique to it, and what was unique frustrated me. Some areas were only accessible by being shrunken, and that was annoying to have to go back and find a stump. PH was okay, it didn't have a particularly outstanding story, but I did like how Tetra was incorporated. The game itself was pretty bland until the end. I enjoyed the final boss battle, and if I hadn't lost the game itself, I would still be replaying the boss battle periodically.

 

[KnowItAllBird]

In order of completion:
Oracle of Seasons, Ocarina of Time, Links Awakening, Spirit Tracks, Phantom Hourglass, Oracle of Ages, Minish Cap, Four Swords.


Now in order of preference:
First is probably going to have to be Ocarina of Time. It was the first 3d game I've played, and I've played at least little bits of all of them. But something about Kokiri Forest's mysterious ambience grabbed my attention right away. I absolutely love Oot and it hasn't been topped for me yet.
Next, I'll have to go with the Oracle games. Not only was oracle of seasons my first ever zeda game, but I believe there is something to be said about two great adventures coming out at the same time that were quite different. It wasnt like pokemon, where every color pretty much delivered the same game. These were totally different, and amazing games.
Third for me are the ds games. Moreso than most others I've played, PH and ST have made me want to come back and keep playing more and more; they truly addicted me. I also loved the touch screen control system.
Minish cap comes next. I love this game, I find it totally unique. I believe that the overall display in this game is the best of any handheld zelda. Its beautiful, colorful, and in my opinion it blends the feels of 2d and 3d zelda play thanks to OoT music and a beautiful graphical style.
Fifth is Link's Awakening. I loved this game, and the mysterious story is half the fun. I must admit, Eagles tower had me tripped for a while :/
Finally, Four swords. Though a great game, the lack of a good story and short experience hinders the title. Though, to be fair, I wouldnt have wanted them to do it any other way.

 

[Rafa1996]

I have beaten Twilight Princess, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, Ocarina Of Time 3D (100%, and MQ), Ocarina Of Time (VC), The Minish Cap, A Link To The Past (100%), and Four Swords.

 

[Fred Flintstone]

1. OoT(N64)- It was my first and it has the best credits of any game I have ever beaten.
2. ALttP- It has a solid story and its dungeons can be done in almost any order.
3. LA(DX)- A fun more goofy old game with a different story.
4. MM- I love it but it has only four dungeons and is mainly side quests.
5. OoS- I wish I had the OoA and I never linked up games. The rings made a fun addition.
6. TP(GCN)- Good story. Somewhat content lacking (Yes I expect a lot)
7. WW- Sailing took too much time. 100% is not worth pictographs of every character when you can take only three at a time. Having after completion changes is somthing they should do to all games.
8. MC- You see Links family. The kinstones and tingle = a no
9. 4SA- not realy a full game. seemed like a morph of MC and ALttP
10. PH- I like useing buttons and the people were more stupid than normal

That was (mostly) hard. I have not yet finished the first 2 games and my game cube memory card just corrupted so I likely won't for a while but LoZ would be +5 and II would be -5.

 

[ZombieCucco]

I'll probably get my order of completion wrong after #6, but here goes:
1. Link's Awakening DX
2. Ocarina of Time
3. Majora's Mask
4. Oracle of Ages
5. Oracle of Seasons
6. Wind Waker
7. A Link to the Past
8. Minish Cap
9. Twilight Princess
10. Spirit Tracks

Now, I'll try ordering them based on preference. I've never actually done this before. And actually, I'm going to try to factor out nostalgia (I usually have a huge amount of nostalgia for the first five above). The one problem is that I can no longer play Twilight Princess, and the last time I did play it, even though I beat it, it disappointed me. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt, though, since I still really enjoyed it. And one more thing: It's extremely difficult for me to compare 2D and 3D entries in the series. I generally do prefer 3D, though, which is the sole reason the 3D games and 2D games aren't mixed in the list.

1. Majora's Mask: I hope Skyward Sword beats this as my top game in the series. It's not saying anything good when an 11 year-old entry is superior to everything more recent, even when discounting nostalgia. This game had everything, and did everything perfectly or at least very well. I suppose the only bad element is how the time-induced pressure put off many players. Said pressure is also why, even though this is my favorite in the series, I don't play it that often. Playing other entries is more relaxing.

2. Twilight Princess: While I just absolutely ripped on this game in another thread, it had perhaps the best story, characters, and presentation of any game in the series, and had very fun and unique dungeons and bosses.

3. Ocarina of Time: Perfectly balanced in all aspects, everything about it is still a joy to experience, even if it's not my favorite.

4. Wind Waker: I initially didn't care much for this game, but it's grown on me over the years, and I now think that there is room for just about anything in the Zelda universe, whether it be alternative graphics styles or play mechanics. Still, it's probably my least favorite 3D console Zelda because of the travel time, the low difficulty, the side quests not making up for the reduced number of dungeons (Majora's Mask was successful in this), and the Triforce quest toward the end. However, it has the BEST final boss music in the series (sword battle, not puppet battle).

5. Minish Cap: When I played this at first, I had to compare it to the Oracles, which were, in my opinion, the pinnacle of 2D Zeldas up until that point. This game had fewer dungeons and was markedly easier, but I came to like it a lot more after I decided to take kinstone fusion seriously. It also has the best music of the 2D Zeldas.

6. A Link to the Past: While I don't think this is the best 2D Zelda, I find it to be the only one I can play through more than once in a brief amount of time without getting utterly burnt out. That's worth something in itself. It also has gameplay elements that never or rarely popped up in more recent 2D Zeldas, so I can appreciate it for those. Its difficulty is also something I embrace, since everything released after the Oracles has been too easy.

7. Oracle of Seasons: For quite a while, I preferred Ages to Seasons, but if you want a more relaxing experience, Seasons is better. Go to Ages for puzzles -- and it has some of the absolute best in the series. The dungeons and plots in these games are so good that I kind of regret putting them where they are in the list, but I put them way down here because of their graphics, mechanics, and whatever it is about the above games that I value more than superb dungeons and plots. Don't ask... I'm not sure I could give you a better answer. Maybe it's only because of the archaic-looking graphics and two-button mechanics. *shrugs*

8. Oracle of Ages: See #7.

9. Link's Awakening DX: My first Zelda game. It's nearly impossible to evaluate it without nostalgia interfering. This game is absolutely packed with charm, whether it be from Mario series cameos, the touching music, or the plot and story that tug at your heart strings. More memorable than the Oracles, but not as good. Flagship did a great job with the latter games.

10. Spirit Tracks: Just didn't feel sufficiently Zelda-like. The side quests were fetch quests. I don't really care for stylus controls. Playing the Spirit Flute was frustrating. The enemies were weird. There weren't enough locations. Train travel felt too limiting. However... Zelda was cute, and she had a great personality (I like anime, and Zelda's berserk moments really appealed to that part of me).

I guess the only real criterion I have for the ordering is what game I would rather play before the others at any given time (assuming, of course, I hadn't been playing it already and getting burnt out).

 

[Wisdom Triforce]

OoT, ALTTP, MC, MM, TWW, PH, TP

1. OoT- It's a legend do i really have to say more.
2. TP- love the graphics style and thought it was a great game in general.
3. TWW- didnt really like the graphics style at first but grew to love it i still hate giant octos though.
4. PH- i loved this game too it was fun custimizing your ship and sailing and was surprisingly expansive for there first DS zelda game.
5.ALTTP- was a very fun game although i got through it it sorta dragged for me so i put it on five.
6. MC- i liked this game and was pretty fun and honestly a really easy game so i got through it fast but it was still fun.
7. MM I dont know what it was about this game but to me it was pretty boring i feel like they could of made a better game and i didnt like it very much at all dont get me wrong ill still play it but i just think it didnt match up with other zelda games.

 

[RedDekuScrub]

Own all of the Main Zelda games
Played all of the Main Zelda games
The ones I haven't played are: The Tingle games, the CDI games, The BS games, and Link's Crossbow Training. (These are the ones that I don't refer to as "Main" Zelda games.)
beat all of them except Zelda II: Adventure of Link (the rest were 100%)