The Legend of Zelda is one of the longest-running video game franchises. It is the rare video game franchise that has spanned from the earliest days of consoles to the present. The beginning of this series hardly resembles what the current line of games looks like, an impressive testament to The Legend of Zelda’s history.
Counting all Zelda games, there are 29 total titles. Most of these are playable now through Nintendo Switch Online, rereleases, remakes, and other methods. It’s a rare franchise that is so old and still so accessible. It has a dense history with rich lore, making it one of the most popular gaming lines ever. Here’s the complete history of all The Legend of Zelda games!
All The Legend of Zelda Games
There have so far been 29 The Legend of Zelda games. They span many different styles of play and many years, ranging from 1987 to 2023. There are 3D and 2D games and they take place in all sorts of fictional lands and with fictional characters. Here’s what you need to know about the franchise, including where it might go after these 29 games.
The Legend of Zelda
The original that started it all, The Legend of Zelda. This title sparked one of the most epic franchises in gaming, but you might not be able to tell by playing it. Even for its day, it was a complex adventure game that spoke to some impressive development in 1986. Even today, it’s heralded as a classic and is one of the most accessible titles in the franchise.
In the original Zelda title, players must explore their world and find dungeons. The staple of nearly every game in this franchise began here. The world is pretty vast for an NES title, and there are a lot of challenging dungeons. It was not for gamers looking for a simple, easy time. That didn’t end up being as disastrous of a decision as it could have been for the longevity of this franchise.
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
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A direct sequel to the first game, Zelda II did something almost all Zelda games have done: reinvent the genre. The first title was a top-down adventure game. In just one year of development, they transformed it into a side-scroller much like the classic Mario games. It remains one of the most unique games in The Legend of Zelda history, partly because of the backlash it received.
This time, Zelda has fallen asleep like Sleeping Beauty in the forest. She was cursed by a wizard who was looking for the Tri-Force. Link must again go save her from evil, but this time, he’s moving side to side instead of with a top-down camera view. Link must unite the three sections of the Tri-Force to bring her back to life. Link must also use Seals to open the Great Palace, another staple of all Zelda games.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
A Link to the Past is the third game in this epic franchise. Many games in this series have parallel worlds or alternate realms. That is a concept that was first introduced in this game. It was originally released in 1991 and was re-released later for the GameBoy Advance with a rare option. Four Swords was a multiplayer option that went along with the GBA port.
In this game, Link must visit the past to save the ancestors of the seven Sages. These Sages have been major characters in many different and future entries into this franchise. It also introduced the Dark World, a concept explored in a lot of Zelda games.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Link’s Awakening has been given the rerelease treatment twice. It is one of the Zelda games that has been available multiple times throughout The Legend of Zelda history. The most recent was the Switch remake, which redesigned the art style into something reminiscent of Animal Crossing. It also did the typical remake things like adding warp points and other quality-of-life improvements.
This game has one of the most unique stories in all of Zelda. In it, Link crash lands on a dream island and is forced to explore the dreams of the Wind Fish and defeat its nightmares in order to free it and the inhabitants of Koholint Island. It also features one of the biggest plot twists in any Zelda game by revealing that it was all a dream Link was experiencing after his crash.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Ocarina of Time completely changed the Zelda franchise forever in 1998. While it didn’t mark the end of the 2D games, it was the first 3D title in the franchise. Even today, many consider it the best of all Zelda games and one of the greatest games regardless of series. It was the first game to get a perfect score from Famitsu magazine.
In Ocarina of Time, Link must save Hyrule from Ganondorf who has enslaved the region over a seven-year period following Link’s opening of the Sacred Realm. Once he frees the sages in various locations, Link is strong enough to go fight Ganondorf and allow everyone to return to normal once more.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Majora’s Mask is perhaps the most unique game in the entire Zelda history. Of all The Legend of Zelda games, it’s the only one with a countdown timer. Players have exactly three days to beat the game, or they have to travel back through time and start over with what they’ve accomplished and learned. It is a direct sequel to Ocarina of Time and uses items that don’t show up in any other games in the series.
Majora’s Mask follows Ocarina in that it directly follows the events. Link is a child again, and he has just lost his fairy Navi to a mischievous enemy named the Skull Kid. The Skull Kid curses him to be a Deku Scrub. He eventually turns that into a shape-shifting mask and collects other masks to use different abilities in freeing Termina from Majora and the Skull Kid’s three-day curse.
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons
The Zelda franchise once again did something rather unprecedented in 2001. They followed the Pokémon model in releasing two games that were independent of one another but could work in conjunction. With Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, however, they upped the ante. These games were markedly different, with Ages focusing on puzzles and Seasons leaning into the action.
Link begins Seasons by riding up to a castle. Upon entering, he is sent to a ravaged land by the Tri-Force. A traveling dancer there is revealed to be the Oracle and is kidnapped. After that, the Temple of Seasons falls, and Link must save Din and restore order to the land.
In Ages, a bewitched Impa tricked Link into opening the barrier to the Oracle of Ages. The sorceress possessed Impa and Nayru and began to control time with her newfound power. Link takes the Harp of Ages to travel through time himself, save the Oracle, and restore time.
These games are independent of one another, but they do link to each other and provide an alternate ending for those who played through both titles.
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
Wind Waker sought to reach a much broader audience (on the GameCube and then the Wii U), so it redesigned Zelda games as something fun and whimsical. The cartoonish art style made the game seem a little less dark and tragic. Some of the earlier games, namely Majora’s Mask, were particularly dark, and Nintendo wanted to go for a lighter tone that was brighter and more exciting, so Wind Waker was born. It eventually got re-released in HD for the Wii U, and there were rumors that it would eventually get a port on the Nintendo Switch.
In this game, Link inhabits a world that has been covered by water. There are just 49 scattered islands across a vast ocean where the Hyrule of Ocarina of Time once stood. Ganondorf had lied in wait for another chance at victory, and he tried to claim the Tri-Force again. Link’s sister is kidnapped by Ganondorf, who is searching all young girls to find Zelda, so Link must go rescue her and take on Ganondorf.
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
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After the success of the A Link to the Past GBA port with Four Swords as a multiplayer option, Nintendo decided to make it its own game: Four Swords Adventures. It carried over a lot of stylistic elements from Wind Waker and was the first multiplayer standalone game in the franchise. It was initially released on the GameCube, which had tons of entries into The Legend of Zelda history.
In this multiplayer game, Zelda grows concerned over Vaati escaping the confines of the Four Swords he is imprisoned in. A Dark Link infiltrates their private chamber and seals away six maidens and Zelda. Dark Link taunts Link into pulling the Four Swords, which splits the protagonist into four people. The Links must then work together to stop Vaati and Dark Link and save Zelda and the maidens.
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
The Minish Cap was introduced to the world on the GameBoy Advance in 2004. It introduced a shrinking gameplay mechanic and added a lot of lore to the franchise. Link generally wears a green hat, and this game is the origin of that. It was developed by Capcom, making it one of the very rare instances of a Zelda game that didn’t get made solely by Nintendo.
The game follows Link and his hat, which is actually a cursed Minish named Ezlo. Players are tasked with exploring their wide world and the tinier world of the Minish to repair and enhance the sword. Once you have the fully restored Picori Blade, you can take on Vaati and free Zelda from his clutches.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Twilight Princess was the Zelda team’s response to the backlash over the recent slate of games. They were pretty cartoonish, especially Wind Waker, and a little sillier in nature. So, Nintendo developed Twilight Princess and made it as “adult” as any other game in the series, adding darker overtones to the story and the world. It is the first one in the franchise to receive a T rating.
In Twilight Princess, the Twilight dimension, which holds Ganondorf, threatens to overwhelm the land of Hyrule. Ganondorf convinces Zant to free him, and he returns to Hyrule. Link, who can now transform into a wolf, must work with Midna and Zelda to stop Ganondorf.
Phantom Hourglass
The return to seriousness lasted exactly one game because Phantom Hourglass for the Nintendo DS was a cartoon game made in the vein of Wind Waker. It also features a haunted train, which is decidedly less somber than a lot of the other games. It was the first DS game and, thus, the first one with dual-screen controls and features.
In this game, Link attempts to follow Tetra into a ghost ship. Link passes out when he gets inside and awakes with a fairy named Ciela and an old man named Oshus. Both of them have missing memories, which is a staple of Zelda games. Link must make use of the Phantom Hourglass to drive evil out of the temple.
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Spirit Tracks followed in the same vein as Phantom Hourglass. It was another title for the DS, so it a sequel to Phantom Hourglass. However, it takes place 100 years after those events. Time jumps are nothing new to the Zelda games. It is only the second game developed for the DS, which makes it unique but also difficult to port to other consoles.
100 years later, a new kingdom of Hyrule has developed. Suspicion arises over one of Zelda’s top advisors, and Link tries to escape the kingdom on a train. That train is cursed by the advisor, whose name is Chancellor Cole, and it disrupts the spirit tracks. Cole also steals Zelda’s body and takes it away. Link must then find out where the tracks went and what happened to Zelda.
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was Nintendo’s attempt to reset the timeline. There was no clarity on where anything began or ended. So Nintendo stated that this was the beginning of everything. The Link and Zelda in this game are the very first iteration. The villain is the first of a seemingly never-ending line of evil entities that plague Hyrule.
In this game, Link must develop the Master Sword and explore the ground of Hyrule, which was deemed uninhabitable at first. The characters live and fly around Skyloft, but Zelda’s kidnapping forces Link and others to go down to the ground. There, they have to fight an unimaginable evil which curses everyone to repeat the process all the time, thus starting the confusing timeline.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
One of the only titles developed for the 3DS, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is one of the most interesting games in the franchise. It blends top-down and sidescrolling gameplay for a zany adventure. There are also a few different animation styles, and this game is considered a spiritual sequel to A Link to the Past. Again, the development of a unique game console makes it difficult to port to other ones, though it’s unclear if Nintendo plans to do that.
Once again, this game includes a parallel universe. Players, such as Link, are tasked to restore peace to the kingdom of Hyrule. An evil sorcerer named Yuga captured Princess Zelda and left through a rift into the parallel world of Lorule, which is a play on the Hyrule name. It is effectively a corrupted version of the hero’s homeland.
The Legend of Zelda: Tri-Force Heroes
The Legend of Zelda: Tri-Force Heroes is one of those rare multiplayer games in this franchise. Debuting in 2015, it’s just the second game for the 3DS. It takes place in a fashionable world called Hytopia, which is similar to Hyrule. As you might expect, fashion is a big part of this game, which didn’t sit well with every single player.
It features multiple Links who are trying to help Princess Styla, who is cursed by an evil witch, to wear an irremovable ugly jumpsuit. Based on the legend, there are three heroes who can save the world, and they are all different Links that players can play as. There is a green, blue, and red Link in this game and they all look slightly different.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
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Once again, the team developing The Legend of Zelda redefined the entire genre. For the first time, Link found himself in a massive, open world in Breath of the Wild. Everything players needed to do was right in front of them. There were no limits. You could go straight to Hyrule Castle and fight Calamity Ganon if you pleased.
The story for this was completely nonlinear. Link awakes after a 100-year slumber to find Hyrule in complete disarray. It’s his job to free the four Divine Beasts and help Princess Zelda seal away the calamity once more. In the process, he must regain the memories of what happened to lead to the downfall of Hyrule in the first place.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The direct sequel to Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom took six years to come out for good reason. It completely redefined the mechanics of the initial title and pushed the limits of what the Nintendo Switch, which is not known for console power, could do and handle.
The story picks up immediately after sealing away the calamity. Link and Zelda explore the castle to uncover Ganondorf, who has been dormant for a long time. Ganondorf takes Link’s arm and destroys the Master Sword. Link must awake with a new arm, find Zelda, and free Hyrule once more from Ganondorf’s clutches.
Several of these games have been nominated for and won awards. For example, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom won for Best Action/Adventure Game in 2023. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild won Game of the Year in 2017. Ocarina of Time won six awards at the Interactive Achievement Awards: “Game of the Year”, “Console Game of the Year”, “Console Adventure Game of the Year,” “Console Role-Playing Game of the Year”, “Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Design,” and “Outstanding Achievement in Software Engineering”. It is a highly decorated franchise that has something for everyone.
What Comes Next for The Legend of Zelda History?
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That is as far as the chronology and the release schedule go. There were some off-shoot games, like Hyrule Warriors or Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the Necromancer. Those are not in the mainline releases, though. There have been 29 games, and that includes remakes and rereleases. More are planned, but there’s no telling when.
This is one of the most popular video game franchises of all time, so the Zelda team is moving onward and upward. The next game will probably come out for the Nintendo Switch 2, which is slated to be announced within a year, and it will continue an epic run of wildly successful and beloved games. We will update this list when that game comes out to reflect the full line of The Legend of Zelda games.
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