Zelda Games

Zelda games ranked

A single “best to worst” list pretends that a score, a sales total, and a personal favorite are the same kind of fact. They are not. This page sorts by the published score, and it leaves sales in their own column with their own date.

Last checked:

Photograph of a Tears of the Kingdom advertisement on a Prague tram
Prague tram advertisement photographed by Czech Tea, CC BY 4.0; resized and converted to WebP. Photo source License

Score order

Among figures I am willing to print: Ocarina of Time 99, Breath of the Wild 97, The Wind Waker 96, Tears of the Kingdom 96, Twilight Princess 96 on GameCube and 95 on Wii, the 2026 Ocarina of Time 96 from 92 reviews on Metacritic (Wikipedia still says 87), A Link to the Past 95 on the Game Boy Advance version, Majora’s Mask 95, Ocarina of Time 3D 94, Skyward Sword 93, A Link Between Worlds 91, Phantom Hourglass 90. The GBA scores for A Link to the Past, The Legend of Zelda (84), and Zelda II (73) belong to those reissues. The 1993 Link’s Awakening has no score printed here: the 87 on the linked Metacritic page belongs to the 2019 remake. I label it that way in the notes on that game’s page.

Tier list

The bands below are a reading of those scores, not a community vote. S is 95 or higher, A is 90 to 94, B is 80 to 89, C is below 80; missing scores go in Unscored. Move a game if you disagree. The page remembers your moves in the address bar. With scripts off, you still see the score table underneath.

Choosing beyond scores

Length and difficulty are not given numerical ratings here. Choose a format and platform that suit you, then use the score and dated sales figures as separate points of comparison. Worst-game lists also mix the CD-i games, which were not produced by Nintendo, with mainline games people personally dislike. Those are different complaints. The CD-i page is the place for the Philips games.

S

  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
  • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
  • The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
  • The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
  • The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
  • The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
  • The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords

A

  • The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
  • The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

B

  • The Legend of Zelda
  • The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
  • The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
  • The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
  • The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

C

  • Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
  • The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes

Unscored

  • The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
  • The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
  • The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
YearTitleTypePlatformScoreSales / reported periodPlay today
1998The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of TimemainlineNintendo 64997.6M (N64)
2004		NSO N64 (Expansion Pack); 2026 Switch 2 remake
2017The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WildmainlineWii U, Nintendo Switch9734.28M (Switch, Sep 2026) + 1.70M (Wii U, Dec 2020)
2026-09-30 (Switch) / 2020-12 (Wii U)		Switch / Switch 2; Switch 2 Edition (June 5, 2025)
2025The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch 2 EditionremakeNintendo Switch 297 (base game)—Switch 2 (standalone or upgrade pack)
2002The Legend of Zelda: The Wind WakermainlineGameCube964.6M (GC) + 2.37M (HD)
2023 (HD)		Switch 2 GameCube Classics (Expansion Pack); Wii U HD (physical only)
2023The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdommainlineNintendo Switch9622.90M (Switch, Sep 2026)
2026-09-30		Switch / Switch 2; Switch 2 Edition (June 5, 2025)
2025The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 EditionremakeNintendo Switch 296 (base game)—Switch 2 (standalone or upgrade pack)
2026The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (2026)remakeNintendo Switch 296 (Metacritic: 92 reviews; Wikipedia: 87 reviews)—Switch 2 eShop/retail (exclusive)
2000The Legend of Zelda: Majora's MaskmainlineNintendo 64953.36M (N64)
lifetime		NSO N64 (Expansion Pack); 3DS remake (physical only)
2006The Legend of Zelda: Twilight PrincessmainlineGameCube, Wii95 (Wii) / 96 (GameCube)8.85M (Wii + GC) + 1.17M (HD)
2015 / 2022		GameCube/Wii disc; Wii U HD (physical only); no Switch port
2003The Legend of Zelda: Four SwordsmainlineGame Boy Advance95 (bundled with ALttP)bundled with ALttP GBA
NSO GBA (Expansion Pack) via A Link to the Past & Four Swords
2011The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3DremakeNintendo 3DS946.44M
2022-12		3DS card only (eShop closed March 2023)
2011The Legend of Zelda: Skyward SwordmainlineWii933.67M (Wii) + 4.15M (HD)
2022		Switch Skyward Sword HD; Wii disc
2007The Legend of Zelda: Phantom HourglassmainlineNintendo DS904.13M
2008		DS card; Wii U Virtual Console (purchased before 2023 closure)
2004The Legend of Zelda: The Minish CapmainlineGame Boy Advance891.76M
lifetime		NSO GBA (Expansion Pack); original GBA cartridge
2009The Legend of Zelda: Spirit TracksmainlineNintendo DS872.61M
2010		DS card; Wii U Virtual Console (purchased before 2023 closure)
2004The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords AdventuresmainlineGameCube86—GameCube disc only (second-hand); not on NSO
2016The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HDremakeWii U861.17M
2022-12		Wii U disc only (eShop closed March 2023)
2024The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of WisdommainlineNintendo Switch854.09M
2025-03		Switch / Switch 2
2019Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer featuring The Legend of ZeldaspinoffNintendo Switch85—Switch / Switch 2
1986The Legend of ZeldamainlineFamicom Disk System, NES84 (GBA reissue)6.51M
lifetime (Wikipedia/CESA)		NSO NES (base tier); GameCube Collector's Edition (second-hand)
2020Hyrule Warriors: Age of CalamityspinoffNintendo Switch784M
2022-01		Switch; Switch 2 Definitive Edition (Feb 25, 2027)
2014Hyrule WarriorsspinoffWii U76—Switch Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition; Wii U/3DS originals second-hand
2015The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force HeroesmainlineNintendo 3DS731.36M
2020		3DS card only (eShop closed March 2023)
2001The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of SeasonsmainlineGame Boy Color—3.99M combined with Ages
lifetime		NSO Game Boy (base tier)
2001The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of AgesmainlineGame Boy Color—3.99M combined with Seasons
lifetime		NSO Game Boy (base tier)
2002The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master QuestremakeGameCube—bundled with OoT GameCube disc
GameCube disc only (second-hand); not in the 2026 remake
2011The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary EditionremakeDSiWare——DSiWare (no longer purchasable); not on NSO
2013The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HDremakeWii U—2.37M
2023-09		Wii U disc only (eShop closed March 2023)
2015The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3DremakeNintendo 3DS—3.44M
2022-12		3DS card only (eShop closed March 2023)
2021The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HDremakeNintendo Switch—4.15M
2022-12		Switch / Switch 2
2016Hyrule Warriors LegendsspinoffNintendo 3DS——3DS card only
2018Hyrule Warriors: Definitive EditionspinoffNintendo Switch——Switch / Switch 2
2025Hyrule Warriors: Age of ImprisonmentspinoffNintendo Switch 2——Switch 2
1995BS Zelda no DensetsuspinoffSatellaview——Not officially available (Satellaview broadcast only)
1997BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no SekibanspinoffSatellaview——Not officially available (Satellaview broadcast only)
2006Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy RupeelandspinoffNintendo DS——DS card (Japan/PAL)
2007Tingle's Balloon Fight DSspinoffNintendo DS——DS card (Japan, Club Nintendo reward)
2016My Nintendo Picross: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight PrincessspinoffNintendo 3DS——3DS download (My Nintendo reward, delisted)
1993Zelda: The Wand of GameloncdiPhilips CD-i——Original CD-i disc only; no official re-release
1994Zelda's AdventurecdiPhilips CD-i——Original CD-i disc only; no official re-release

FAQ

What is the highest-rated Zelda game?

Ocarina of Time’s 99 is the highest Metacritic figure in this set. Breath of the Wild’s 97 is next among the mainline games I checked.

Is the best-selling game the same as the highest-rated?

No. Breath of the Wild’s Switch total is 34.28 million units as of 30 September 2026. That is a sales fact. The 99 is a score fact.

Where is a tier list I can edit?

It is the band board on this page. A separate maker URL is not part of this site.

Related

Sales figuresWhat to play firstFull list

Sources

ClaimStatusCross-check
Historical dates, platforms and background1 source: WikipediaRead the linked game or series entry; multiple Wikipedia pages count as one publisher.
Mainline release sequence and original consoles2 sourcesNintendo game history compared with Wikipedia. Remakes and spin-offs use the linked individual entries.
Remake review countSources differMetacritic: 96 from 92 reviews; Wikipedia snapshot: 96 from 87. Counts are kept separate, checked 10 November 2026.
Breath of the Wild 34.28m / Tears of the Kingdom 22.90m1 primary source: Nintendo IRRead the dated Nintendo Switch investor table. Other reports copying that table are not independent measurements.
Critic scores1 source: MetacriticRead each linked game’s score and edition. GBA reissue scores are labelled; the 2019 Link’s Awakening score is excluded from the 1993 row.

Page updated 2026-11-10. Site check date 2026-11-10.