Well maybe I disagree a bit because I think Twilight Princess was a much superior Ocarina of Time (barring a slow but forgivable beginning sequence) and better than Wind Waker. It's tough to put it head to head with Majora's Mask for me, but it certainly does a lot of things right that Majora's Mask didn't. It may be my favorite 3D Zelda game.

Still, I'm already feeling a bit constrained in Skyward Sword and what I've heard doesn't make it sound like it ever truly opens up. It almost reminds me of Spirit Tracks combined with Prime 3, which is to say amazing dungeons (and in the case of Skyward Sword areas leading up to dungeons) and puzzles but kind of weak/non-existent overworld exploration (Spirit Tracks), combined with chunking up what used to be a bigger, more interconnected world into smaller and more linear parts (Prime 3.) And although I am a huge fan of both of those games, I don't want their weaknesses bleeding into console Zelda games.

@TheBigG753

I think this may be my exact order too ;)

But as I said, the positioning of SS has yet to be finalised for me though.

@TriforceBun
They're all good-great games. I never really said any was truly bad. But within those good games are less good games. Especially MM and less so WW are lower than SS, TP and OOT I think.

@GelatinousEncore
I agree that they shoulda pushed it more. Game looks the most stunning to me when it looks the most painterly.

I think it'll be interesting to see how SS holds up against the rest of the series over the next few years.

@carlosrox

Right, I'm just kind of on a Zelda high at the moment. I really should get around to finishing Spirit Tracks sometime.

@TriforceBun

I had to pull the same move myself. I beat Spirit Tracks the day after I had Skyward Sword. Didn't like it sitting there mocking me.

Finally beat Skyward Sword. What an amazing game! Definitely my new fave in the series. I took a little over 50hrs and didn't even get all the items/heart pieces or complete al the side quests.

@ShadowlinkIt may move up to third for me, all really depends on how this second playthrough goes and what I end up thinking about it after 100%'ing it. 3rd is as high as it's going, though.

With TP, overall I think I preferred the main adventure to SS. SS does have the better and more satisfying story, which holds a lot of weight with me. Better bosses as well, but TP's dungeons are far and away my favorite set of dungeons in the series.

I'm trekking on through the desert right now, trying to figure out how to open the Temple of Time. One of the lil robots upgraded my beetle, so now I'm bombing some birds like a champ!

Skyward Sword was a fantastic experience, and probably the best game on Wii. In my mind its only competition is the Galaxy games. But while they're both excellent, they're very different experiences and it's tough for me to say which I prefer.

After finishing it, here's my personal ranking for the 3D Zelda games:

Wind Waker > Majora's Mask > Skyward Sword > Ocarina of Time > Twilight Princess

Wind Waker had a better feel of exploration and discovery, and the graphics and music are just sublime (I absolutely love Wind Waker's soundtrack -- perhaps my favorite gaming soundtrack ever). TWW's Ganondorf is the best developed villain in the series. It's also got the most interesting plot, though SS is right behind it in that regard.

It's interesting how people value different things in the series, and the way people's rankings can vary so much. A lot of people call Ocarina of Time the best game ever, and yet I rank it pretty low in the grand scheme of things. Conversely, a lot of people loathe Wind Waker, and it's my personal favorite in the series. Diff'rent strokes, I guess.

How to avoid the game-ending glitch (minor spoilers)

@rebonack

Haha, yeah. My opinion of Zelda games is almost completely opposite. It really is a strange series in that sense.

What about the 2D games? Where would you rank titles like A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening?

@Hinph It's tougher for me to rank the 2D games because I have so much nostalgia for all of them. I'm a huge fan of Zelda 1 and II, although I recognize that they're definitely not the best in the series. A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening would rank very highly on my list though, for what it's worth. I like Minish Cap alright (probably somewhere in the middle), and I'm not a huge fan of the Oracles. And I like Phantom Hourglass more than Spirit Tracks, but neither would probably rank very high.

Looking at my statements, it looks like the entire Zelda timeline is less convoluted than my ranking. :-P

EDIT: A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening, not Link's Awakening and Link's Awakening.

Hah. For as opposite as our 3D tastes are, it looks like we think alike about the 2D games.


Most fans at least seem to agree that Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass are disappointing as hell. At least they tried something different and all, but that was THE time to bring back a great overworld design... stupid train. Hopefully the 3DS Zelda will take a different path.

I rather enjoyed Spirit Tracks. The dungeons were so good I could look past the train segments.

Earendil said:

I rather enjoyed Spirit Tracks. The dungeons were so good I could look past the train segments.

I'll go one step further. I enjoyed the train segments. Toot-tooting my horn to that awesome music and shooting bunnies. Good stuff.

Why didn't anyone ever tell me you shoot bunnies in Spirit Tracks? Totally unsealing that bitch now.

@Earendil@anon_mastermind

I couldn't get over the fact that this Zelda game was LITERALLY on rails.

Seriously though, that overworld was horribly designed. Warp points that didn't have any kind of labelled destination unless you did it and completely masturbatory sidequests. Eck.

@VofEscaflowne

Not as fun as it sounds

@Hinph

Those fans are wrong (half wrong anyway). Phantom Hourglass kicked ass. Sprit Tracks was...eh.

@Shadowlink

Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Track's biggest problem was taking the worst part of Wind Waker and cranking that shit to 11. The dungeons and on ground stuff was fine. They were surrounded by the least Zelda overworlds ever conceived.

And O SWEET IRONY, a Zelda game featuring trains derailing a thread. I lol'd.

@Kal-El814

I don't think the overworld in PH was *too* bad. (Although it could have been better). It was definetly better than Wind Waker's. There were plenty of secrets to be found and the islands were of a good size for exploration.

And haters of the Temple of the Ocean King were doing it wrong. That thing was awesome.