Zelda

[SGR]

As a Playstation owner who doesn't play on Windows (I only own Macs), gotta say, I'm kinda pissed that Microsoft acquired Bethesda. I love Fallout and Elder Scrolls. Oh well. 

[Guybrush]

As a Playstation owner who doesn't play on Windows (I only own Macs), gotta say, I'm kinda pissed that Microsoft acquired Bethesda. I love Fallout and Elder Scrolls. Oh well. 

Microsoft does release games for Playstation, though, so you might still get them.

Sony's much worse with the exclusives than Microsoft is. That's my impression at least.

[DJChameleon]

So I guess Rolling Stone decided to rank all Zelda games.

Do ya'll agree? I'm gonna go look for the specific article and post later I got this list off X.

Rolling Stone Ranked The Zelda Series:

1. Tears of the Kingdom
2. Breath of the Wild
3. The Wind Waker
4. A Link to the Past
5. Ocarina of Time
6. Link's Awakening
7. Majora's Mask
8. The Legend of Zelda
9. Echoes of Wisdom
10. Twilight Princess
11. Oracle of Ages / Oracle of Seasons
12. A Link Between Worlds
13. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
14. The Minish Cap
15. Skyward Sword
16. Phantom Hourglass
17. Spirit Tracks
18. Four Swords Adventures
19. Tri Force Heroes

[SGR]

So I guess Rolling Stone decided to rank all Zelda games.

Do ya'll agree? I'm gonna go look for the specific article and post later I got this list off X.

Rolling Stone Ranked The Zelda Series:

1. Tears of the Kingdom
2. Breath of the Wild
3. The Wind Waker
4. A Link to the Past
5. Ocarina of Time
6. Link's Awakening
7. Majora's Mask
8. The Legend of Zelda
9. Echoes of Wisdom
10. Twilight Princess
11. Oracle of Ages / Oracle of Seasons
12. A Link Between Worlds
13. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
14. The Minish Cap
15. Skyward Sword
16. Phantom Hourglass
17. Spirit Tracks
18. Four Swords Adventures
19. Tri Force Heroes

So Rolling Stone is just as awful at ranking video games as they are albums, huh?

I haven't played every Zelda game, but the list looks completely silly to me, specifically that their top 3 are vastly overranked in the list. Wind Waker over Ocarina of Time? Echoes of Wisdom which has been out for a couple weeks over Twilight Princess? ZELDA II OVER SKYWARD SWORD?! Really?! When it comes to just the 3D Zelda games (which I'm much more familiar with) for me:

Ocarina of Time > Majora's Mask > Twilight Princess > Skyward Sword > Wind Waker > Breath of the Wild > Tears of the Kingdom

[Guybrush]

I would place Wind Waker over Ocarina of Time. OoT came out the same year as Half-Life and at a time when gaming was advancing so rapidly. To me it looked dated already by the time it came out and I do feel like it sits in that uncomfortable time period when games had peaked in 2D, but 3D was generally poor and often had worse gameplay feel. OoT didn't inspire me nearly as much as A Link to the Past or Link's Awakening, but Wind Waker actually looked good and the world worked with its water, islands and sailing. It had an ambitious, designed style that looked good. Playing these games again with my kids, I would expect them to prefer Wind Waker over Ocarina.

[DJChameleon]

Wind Waker would go to the bottom of the list for me.

OoT and Majora's Mask will always be near the top for me. Along with Breath of the wild for the open world and crafting.

I have yet to play Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword so currently they would be near the bottom and the 2D ones I would rank higher than both.

Echoes Wisdom gives off major Link to the past vibes so it's position is warranted imo. I have it just need to play it more. I got it on release day.

[Lexi Darling]

My list, in order of personal preference only, and not counting anything I haven't played or haven't played enough, would be:

1. Majora's Mask
2. Link's Awakening
3. Wind Waker
4. A Link to the Past
5. Ocarina of Time
6. The Legend of Zelda
7. Oracle of Seasons
8. Adventure of Link

I could not get far enough into BOTW because I kept running into obnoxiously strong enemies that depleted my items and broke my weapons super early in the game and I just wasn't patient enough to really learn the grind. I personally didnt enjoy my experience with that game but I recognize that it wouldn't be fair to say I think that's any comment on its quality.

[SGR]

I know I've bitched about this before but I'll do it again. I love the graphics of Wind Waker - and the seafaring vibes are great too. But my issue with it really is that the sea exploration, after the initial novelty wears off, is really quite boring and tedious. And the triforce shard hunt right before the end of the game really pisses me off. Fuck that MacGuffin collection bullshit. To your point @Guybrush, I can't speak to how kids would view Wind Waker compared with Ocarina/Majora's Mask nowadays, but I didn't play Ocarina back in the N64 days (I simply didn't have the game, and no one I knew did). So I didn't play it until the Zelda Collection included with certain versions of the Gamecube console later - this was around 2002 or 2003. So while it was the first 3D Zelda game I played, I did play Wind Waker shortly after, and Ocarina was still the one that stuck with me more. As a kid, I took a long hiatus from Wind Waker once I hit the triforce shard hunt - and there's nothing like that in Ocarina. Granted, I am a millennial who grew up with the SNES/N64 and was completely hyped for the release of the Gamecube, so my opinion is obviously biased. Also, I still absolutely love the graphics, style and art direction of Ocarina of Time/Majora's Mask. I don't think the games have aged nearly as poorly as even Mario 64 has (a game I will defend regardless til the day I die).