Thanks to the YouTuber PeanutButterGamer, November is sometimes referred to as ‘Zelda Month’ and it just so happens that I’ve been particularly enthusiastic about Zelda recently, so I thought I’d make a post about the series in honour of Zelda Month. So today I’m going to talk about my five favourite games in the series.
5. Link’s Awakening
This is probably one of the most unique games in the series. Instead of being an epic story to save a kingdom, it has Link trying to figure out what’s going on on the mysterious Koholint Island. Many of the characters are quite strange and there are even lots of Nintendo cameos. As a child, I explored every inch of that island and I love its atmosphere. It’s soundtrack in particular is pretty great, even though it’s just a Game Boy game. I can’t wait to play its remake in the near future.
4. A Link Between Worlds
When I first heard about this game, I was dubious – I thought Nintendo was just cashing in on nostalgia and that this game wouldn’t be very original. As it turns out, I was wrong and I loved it. I’d say that with this game, the gameplay of 2D Zelda was refined to reach its highest point. The game has an item rental system, which really opens up the way that you play by giving you access to all the items from the start. The story was great too – I was particularly fond of the character Ravio and his backstory.
3. Ocarina of Time
This is the game that most people would describe as the best in the series – and I can see why. This one really is an epic tale about saving a kingdom, but it also has elements of time travel. You get to play as Link as both a child and an adult and the story introduces many beloved characters (e.g. Malon and Darunia). It defined the series in a lot of ways and I will always feel nostalgic about the many locales in this version of Hyrule.
2. Majora’s Mask
To be honest, this is probably about equal to Ocarina of Time, but if I really, really needed to choose one over the other, it would be this one. Again, it’s a game with a very different story to the others – the world is ending in three days and you relive those three days over and over as you try to resolve it. You also get to play as a Goron, a Deku and a Zora with the help of magic masks. It’s a dark and creepy game and one which really drew me in.
1. Breath of the Wild
This might be surprising to some and to be honest, I was surprised too. With video games, you expect the old ones to be your favourites forever, but Breath of the Wild showed me that that is not always going to be the case. It enhanced and expanded the series in many ways – it had the most open world and the most comprehensive physics system to let you do what you wanted in that world I was really pleased with this game and I really can’t wait to see what the future holds for the series.
