The Five Greatest Zelda Stories Ever Told

Each Zelda tale is rich in puzzles, enemies, and overall solid gameplay. However, I have recently realized that my favorite Zelda games tell (what I perceive to be) the best stories in the lore. Maybe the writer in me makes me bias to liking one Zelda game over another based purely on this factor. It’s tough to justify this; video games should be enjoyable based mostly on how much fun you have actually playing the game. Stories are important, for sure, but I would argue that the most important aspect of any game is an enjoyable gameplay experience, story coming second or third. Some of my all-time favorite video games tell barely any story at all: TMNT: Turtles in Time, Super Mario Bros. 3, Donkey Kong Country, etc. But Zelda is different. I’ve always enjoyed writing and found storytelling fascinating; Examining everyday people handling larger-than-life problems. The Zelda series has, time and time again, excellently recycled the story of an average boy stepping up, embracing a daunting destiny, and saving the world. Hit the jump to see which Zelda games I feel have best told the tales of our favorite hero (in order of release).

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A Link to the Past

The story: The legend of the Triforce and the power it grants to those who wield it has tempted several of Hyrule’s inhabitants to search for the Golden Land in which it rested. One day, a band of thieves led by Ganondorf Dragmire managed to open a path to the Golden Land, and suddenly they all greedily turned against each other to claim the Triforce as their own. Ganondorf triumphed, and held the Triforce in his blood-soaked hands, wishing for more power. The Golden Land was transformed into the Dark World, where evil beings were drawn to join Ganon’s army. As the dark swarm invaded Hyrule and stormed the castle, brave Hylian soldiers gave their lives to buy the sages of Hyrule enough time to conjure a seal that trapped Ganon and his followers in their Dark World. The link between worlds was severed and the kingdom healed in time.

Centuries later, as peace flourished and tales of the Imprisoning War seemed of no relevance, the kingdom suddenly began to suffer droughts and famine. This unexpected turn of events led the king to desperate measures. He granted the position of chief advisor and successor of the seven sages to the wizard, Agahnim, who used mysterious magic to heal the land once again. With his new found power, the wizard usurped the king and cast a spell on the Hylian soldiers. His plan to open the seal of the Dark World thus began. He successfully sent the descendants of the sages (including Princess Zelda) to the Dark World, therefore breaking the seal. After the chosen hero, Link, traveled to the Dark World, rescued the descendants, and defeated the wizard (whose alter-ego was none other than Ganon himself), he was able to reclaim the Triforce and wished for the undoing of all the chaos and destruction that Ganon had caused. Peace returns to Hyrule once again, and thus ends an epic game with a rich story.

Why it’s so great: This was the first Zelda game to go the extra mile and tell a truly in-depth story. The two previous entries in the series were likely limited by technology at the time to simultaneously tell a story and provide solid gameplay (though, to give fair credit, their respective instruction booklets provided some story details). But A Link to the Past told a story as you progressed, and pulled it off perfectly. Too much story can bog down the fun factor, especially when all you want to do is just play the game. With the exception of a somewhat-lengthy beginning, A Link to the Past‘s storytelling moments can be read at your own pace, or sped through by continuously tapping the button until the dialogue box disappears. For a long time, I really had no idea what was going on story-wise, I just liked playing the game. And for a seven-year-old to be able to withstand “the boring talking scenes” and complete the entire game, I think it speaks volumes of the game creators’ talents; to tell a fascinating story so minimally that a child’s interest can be kept the entire way.

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Ocarina of Time

The story: A climate of evil is approaching the land of Hyrule. Sensing this, the Great Deku Tree of the Kokiri Forest summons one of his children, Link, and sets the boy on his destined journey. After breaking a curse on the Deku Tree, Link is rewarded with the Spiritual Stone of the Forest, and is told to keep it safe from Ganondorf, an evil man from the desert. Link is guided by his fairy companion, Navi, to Hyrule Castle, where he meets Princess Zelda. Like the Great Deku Tree, Zelda can sense Ganondorf’s malicious intentions. She tells him to collect the other two Spiritual Stones, because without them, Ganondorf will not be able to open the door to the Sacred Realm and obtain the Triforce. However, the plan backfires when Link uses the Spiritual Stones and the Ocarina of Time to open the Door of Time, and Ganondorf follows him. Link’s spirit is sealed for seven years, as he was too young to be the Hero of Time. Now a young adult, Link is told by the Sage of Light, Rauru, that within seven years, Ganondorf has turned the kingdom of Hyrule into a monster-infested land of darkness and despair. The sages are the key to sealing Ganondorf away and returning peace to Hyrule. It is up to Link to enter the sages’ temples and awaken them. After doing so, he challenges Ganondorf to a final showdown, and with the help of Princess Zelda and the sages, successfully seals him away. Peace returns to Hyrule, but Zelda has one more task to face…

Feeling that her younger self’s actions were responsible for all that has happened, Zelda apologizes to Link for taking away his childhood and forcing him into the role of Hero of Time. To set things right, she uses the Ocarina of Time to send Link back to his childhood, so that he can live his life. Young Link is sent back to his original time, with the memory of all that has transpired. He goes to Hyrule Castle to warn young Zelda not to pursue her plan, and thusly the kingdom is spared of Ganondorf’s uprising.

Why it’s so great: This game is responsible for one of the most heated debates among Zelda fans; is the Zelda series now split up into two different timelines, or has the adult Link era simply been erased from history? For years, it was all up for specualtion, and no one knew for sure. Now it has been revealed that there are actually three timelines, and every Zelda game after it has been affected by it. In the Zelda timeline, Ocarina of Time is the only game that causes a split. At least for now.

The game also deserves applause for the thought-provoking plot; that the entire disastrous future in which Ganondorf rules could have simply been avoided. If not for actions of the younger Link and Zelda, nothing would’ve happened. In the four previous Zelda games, Link had always been the perfect example of a knight in (not so) shining armor. His flaws were simply nonexistent. In Ocarina of Time, he is flawed. He is human. He makes a disastrous mistake, and must set things right. It makes for a much more interesting protagonist, which certainly made for a superb game, commonly considered to be not only the best Zelda game, but the best video game, period.

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Majora’s Mask

The story: A direct sequel to the child timeline of Ocarina of Time, Link leaves Hyrule in search of a beloved friend. In the midst of his travels, he is attacked by the mischievous Skull Kid and his fairy friends, Tael and Tatl. Link’s horse, Epona, and the Ocarina of Time are both taken from him. To make matters worse, the mask-wearing Skull Kid transforms Link into a Deku. As Link attempts to take chase of the fleeing imp, Tatl pushes him down, and she is left behind. To be reunited with her brother, she now has no choice but to team up with Link, and help him reclaim his form and stolen possessions. As Link stumbles into the Clock Town of Termina, he meets the Happy Mask Salesman, who was also attacked and robbed by the Skull Kid. He promises to return Link to his human form if he can reclaim his ocarina, and in exchange, he wants the unstable Majora’s Mask back. Link successfully retrieves his ocarina and thusly reclaims his human form, but retrieving Majora’s Mask will be a far more difficult task; a task which will set Link on his most personal journey yet.

The land of Termina is a seemingly peaceful place, where the inhabitants remind Link of people from his home. This makes helping each of them seem all the more necessary. But no matter what personal dilemmas the citizens find themselves in, the ultimate problem that should be concerning all of them is the low hanging moon hovering over their heads, threatening to crush the land in three days. A task that cannot possibly be completed in such a time constraint, Link must repeatedly travel back in time to replay the same three days over and over again, gaining new items and abilities along the way. Eventually, he discovers that the moon’s descent can be prevented by the four guardian giants of each compass direction. After awakening them all, Link is able to prevent the moon’s collapse, until Majora’s Mask reveals itself to be a living entity that was merely using Skull Kid to fulfill his plan. Majora’s Mask possesses the moon, and attempts to destroy the land below. Link follows the demon to the moon, wherein he and Majora duel to the death. Link emerges triumphant, and the moon disappears. Termina is safe at last, and a humble Link departs, much like a cowboy riding into the sunset at the end of a western. A perfect end to a perfect game.

Why it’s so great: At the time, the Zelda series had only once before set Link on an adventure outside of Hyrule. And seeing as how this was a direct follow-up to such a highly praised game, doing so again was a risk. And it paid off. Despite the games’ differences, many fans considered Majora’s Mask superior to its predecessor, as it told a more personal and in-depth story of our favorite green-clad hero. Though the game has little impact in Zelda lore as a whole, it stands as a testament to what it really means to be a hero. Link helped people on a more personal level, in a series of what seemed to be trivial tasks. Very trivial, in fact, seeing as how his good deeds to these people would ultimately be undone once he returned to the dawn of the first day. Link does good because it’s the right thing to do. Plain and simple.

This brings us to one of the most unique and beloved villains of the franchise: Majora’s Mask. Its intentions seem to be nothing more than raining down destruction (no pun intended). What will the mask personally achieve by doing this? Probably very little, if anything at all. That’s what makes Majora a perfect villain for this kind of game. It is simply an evil being with nothing to gain. Translation: It does bad just for the sake of it, in the same game which best showcases Link’s willingness to do good simply because he can. They are perfect opposites to pit against each other, and the game shines (partially) because of it.

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The Wind Waker

The story: Ages have passed since Ocarina of Time‘s adult timeline began. On a tiny island called Outset, a young boy named Link is ready to celebrate his birthday. He had reached the age of the legendary hero, and as such, was to wear a green tunic to symbolize his manhood. (This should totally become a tradition at Bar Mitzvahs, by the way). By pure coincidence (or was it fate?), this was also the day a gang of pirates chased a giant, girl-snatching bird to the island.

Through a series of events, Link meets the abducted pirate leader, Tetra, and witnesses his little sister being taken away by the giant bird. Link immediately joins the pirates and embarks on a quest to save her, but finds that he is destined for so much more. After an unsuccessful rescue attempted, the bird throws Link into the ocean to die. He is saved by the King of Red Lions, a boat possessing the ability of speech. The boat guides Link on a journey that ultimately finds him in the underwater kingdom of Hyrule, where he learns that the ancient land was washed away by the Gods to protect it from Ganondorf’s continuous ambitions. Link retrieves the legendary Master Sword and confronts Ganondorf to end his pursuit. However, the sword has lost its power, and Link must travel to two ancient temples and reawaken its potential. This allows him to level the playing field, and face Ganondorf once again.

In the scuffle, the King of Red Lions, who turned out to be the King of Hyrule, touches the Triforce and wishes for the kingdom to drown, effectively ending Ganondorf’s ambitions. As the kingdom drowns, Link drives the Master Sword into Ganondorf’s skull, turning him to stone and apparently killing him once and for all. Link and Tetra/Zelda find themselves back at the ocean’s surface, where the pirates await them, and they begin their search for a new world.

Why it’s so great: Major conventions of Zelda seem to permanently come to an end in this game. Ganondorf is finally destroyed, and Hyrule is gone forever. Don’t let the cutesy, cartoony art style of the game fool you; story-wise, this is one of the most deep and serious Zelda games to date. It’s a bold move to destroy the setting of such a successful franchise, but the game creators pulled it off without a hitch. Although, it should be noted that the time-jumping franchise can create a new game at any place in the timeline, so it’s not like we’ll never see Hyrule again (After all, we do have Twilight Princess, right?). Nevertheless, Hyrule can really only be permanently destroyed once, and The Wind Waker managed to do so in an epic, emotional fashion. The Ganondorf showdown remains my personal favorite final boss battle, and the most epic. The setting, the stakes… just being in that moment is, in my opinion, one of the most absolutely memorable moments in Zelda history.

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Skyward Sword

The story: A small society makes its home on a floating rock in the sky. This island, known as Skyloft, is the only world of which the people know. It is rumored that below the cloud barrier, a vast surface world exists. No one living knows for sure if this is true, but a young Knight-in-training known as Link is about to find out…

After a bird-riding contest and subsequent ceremony, Link’s long-time friend Zelda is swept up in a tornado that sends her below the clouds. Link realizes his fate to go after her that night, as the spirit known as Fi appears before him and introduces him to the Goddess Sword, later revealed to be the Master Sword. He draws the sword and accepts his destiny. But it goes far deeper than he previously imagined.

After traveling to the surface and going through many dangerous trials, Link is finally reunited with Zelda in the distant past, and discovers that she is actually a goddess in mortal form, and the duo must work together to destroy a demon lord known as Demise, who almost conquered the surface. In the present, Link and Fi reveal the location of the Triforce, retrieve it, and wish for the destruction of Demise. They are successful and, for a brief moment, it seems that all disaster has been averted. However, Demise’s sword, Ghirahim, abducts Zelda and plans to sacrifice her in the past to revive Demise. He is partially successful, as Zelda’s spirit can be saved if Link defeats Demise in a duel. Of course, Link triumphs, and Demise is eradicated. However, he warns Link that a reincarnation of his hatred will forever torment Link’s and Zelda’s descendants. Peace finally achieved, Link and Zelda decide to stay on the surface and create a new world, which will come to be known as Hyrule.

Why it’s so great: Regardless of whether or not you like the game (many fans were unimpressed by it), you have to give credit where it’s due. Skyward Sword has, in my opinion, the most in-depth and fascinating story in the franchise. The Zelda series has repeatedly utilized what I find to be a peculiar story-telling direction. Instead of taking the common route by telling the next chapter in the series, they instead tell the previous one. The Zelda series has, on multiple occasions, gone further into the lore of old Zelda games by not so much providing backstory in the games themselves, but rather, by creating whole new games altogether to do so. Ironically, the first two games of the franchise are the last two games in one of the series’ timelines. If you ask me, telling the audience how events of an already released game came to be is just as interesting as telling us to what end those established events took the world and its characters. Essentially, a prequel is just as interesting as a sequel, if not more so, given the story is interesting and told in a fascinating way. Skyward Sword, like Ocarina of Time before it, does so perfectly.

Skyward Sword easily beats other games in the series on one particular topic; our protagonist actually has a relationship with the title character. In most games, Zelda is a royal family member who, more or less, Link has the “privilege” of meeting. Here, they’re lifelong friends, and there’s a strong love implication between the two. As the events of the game unravel, you seem to actually care about saving her this time. She’s not just some person you have to rescue to save Hyrule, she’s your friend. This makes beating the final boss, and therefore the game, all the more rewarding.

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Though I haven’t taken the time to really think of a ranking order of my favorite Zelda games, I’m certain all of these games would come in the top six or seven, if not five. However, please keep in mind that this discussion is about our favorite Zelda stories, not games.

What do you guys think? Do you agree or disagree with the list? Which Zelda stories would be in your top five? Comment below, and let’s talk about it.