Throughout 37 years Link has been constantly running over the fields and ruins of the kingdom of Hyrule to save Princess Zelda. His gaming journey has taken him over many a console and once again he changed the franchise for good.
Now, its sequel Tears of the Kingdom – has gone straight to the top of our list with The Legend of Zelda. To align with the new release in Nintendo’s popular franchise we felt that it is important to revisit and rank the best Zelda game titles to date.
Hopefully, we’ll be able to run through the land of Hyrule over and over again, these are some of the best Zelda games that we have had the fortunate to play.
Dark and Mature Tone
The critic’s opinions can be summed up with the fact that: Twilight Princess is one of the darker and more adult stories in the series.
Interestingly, this tone of the show is very liked by the viewers, who grew up with the characters and personalities of the cartoon, and who find in them more philosophical and emotional experiences.
Beautiful and Expansive World
It seems that the huge and multifaceted world of Hyrule in Twilight Princess is real and believable. As well as with the sounds, the environments also add to the game’s details of setting up a sense of exploration and curiosity starting from the vast space of the Hyrule Field right down to the malicious Twilight Realm.
Wolf Link Mechanic
This new stylization of course means that we have Wolf Link as an entirely new style of character. Additionally, the change between human and wolf grants a variety of ways to fight, solve puzzles, and investigate the surroundings which is interesting for the player.
Memorable Dungeon Design
The most satisfying dungeons of the series are laid out in the Twilight Princess. Every dungeon tests the players and offers memorable experiences; starting from Snowpeak Ruins, to the famous Arbiter’s Grounds.
Midna’s Character Development
Midna is well considered one of the best companions of the Zelda franchise that has ever been created. Such a character development to become a mischievous and secretive girl to become selfless and loyal endows the game with an emotional appeal that players accept.
Cinematic Presentation
Adding up cinematic cutscenes and orchestral score the game skyrockets to a new level of storytelling. Those details serve the goal of establishing a large epicness feel, which will assist in making players experience the great massive events occurring.
Refined Combat System
Among core elements, it is possible to highlight a well-developed combat system, good control with the pointer, smooth and rather effective sword strikes, and differentiated enemies.
Such features as Horseback combat and the employment of weapons like the Double Clawshot add to the game; replay value.
Complex Villain in Zant
Zant as the game’s central antagonist is one of the most memorable characters in the franchise. He was a complex character in this game due to his unpredictability and has a sad history, besides, his decision to betray Ganonr adds another flash to the history of the game.
Post-Game Content
Upon completion of the main storyline, Twilight Princess provides several more than generous extras, such as collecting hearts, side quests, and mini-games.
This factor gives replay value and makes sure players keep on enjoying the game even after they are done with the game’s credits.
Masterful Blend of Old and New
Surprisingly, Twilight Princess manages to combine the best aspects of games previous to it with some new solutions, familiar to every Zelda fan as well as to newcomers to the series.
It feels like it has the best of the old and new, but at the same time, it can be incredibly frustrating.
The Legacy of Twilight Princess in the Zelda Series
To this day, “Twilight Princess” introduced into the Zelda series changes which subsequent games would reflect and the fan base would expect.
Because of these features, the later games tried to move to a more serious tone, and the heroes and places from this masterpiece are still popular with fans.