It's the Press X to Podcast edition of the total Zelda rankings! From the NES to the Nintendo Switch, here's where we placed every game in the Legend of Zelda franchise!
VGChartz's Mark Nielsen: "The Nintendo Switch has been one Nintendo’s most successful systems ever, both measured by the number of units sold and the quality of its titles, but if there’s one thing this generation has been missing it would have to be the Nintendo Selects line, bringing existing titles that had paid their dues back at bargain prices. With the Switch now entering its twilight years, and there being few new titles in store for the foreseeable future, what better time could there be to bring back this tried-and-true tradition? While the actual realization of it may be doubtful given how rigid both hardware and software prices have become in recent years, that only gives us all the more reason to dream up a hypothetical lineup of our own.
For this article the specific focus will not be on those massive multi-million evergreens that the lineup would no doubt contain a few of to cement its value, but instead on games that for one reason or another fell short of their full potential the first time around and deserve a second chance to reach more players at an affordable price. Let’s get started."
I really want Xenoblade Chronicles X on the Switch, can't believe that hasen't been ported. I'm playing Skyward Sword at the moment and I'm almost finished, but it's so long and the controls are so bad, even without motion. Astral Chain is fantastic though, they should make a sequel.
Screen Rant, "The return of one controversial character could have an incredible effect on The Legend of Zelda, prompting the introduction of new features."
Honestly I really changed my mind on Fi with the remaster because they didn't make her interrupt your gameplay every 5 seconds, that drastically changed my views on her
Technically she's in ToTK but obviously can't take any other form than the sword she was made into. Also the companion feature has been done plenty of times in Zelda, I don't think it'll add anything new. If anything should be brought back it should be the Minish.
Matt from We Game Daily writes "The Legend of Zelda series has gone in a different direction. One which, try as I have, I just can’t get on board with. Here is why I think Zelda should return to its 3D roots."
Amen! A good, tight, Zelda game with a focus on dungeons and puzzles. Let people have the new style Zelda if you gotta, but let us have the OoT style games too. That's not without precedent either, the handheld 2D Zelda's in the style of A Link to the Past etc have coexisted alongside the 3D Zelda's before
As much as I like BoTW, TotK, I need my traditional Zelda games as well, I could not endlessly play the open world Zelda games, plus it's harder to keep those fresher than the traditional games.
BotW was just as fresh to the franchise as OoT was. TokT was great but the next LoZ would have to move from that formula to be fresh again. There's only so much they can do with the hardware. I think they focused too much on making the world big instead impactful. I felt the world was sort of empty and repetitive in TotK, sure there was a lot to do but no more difference a Ubisoft game..
Wind Waker had a perfect balance of open world and a cool, well hand-crafted design. Maybe try to keep the open world but put in effort to make more memorable story driven quests and locations.
I cannot understand why BOTW is in the top 5 of any Zelda list. It's not a good "Zelda" game and would never even be on anyone's radar if it wasn't for the name (it would have gotten Immortals Pheonix Rising scores).
For me;
worst: all are good.(even zelda II)
best: Majoras Mask
Botw is a decent starting point for a more free-form zelda. It's far from top 5. I would appreciate it a lot more if there was at least some of the classic zelda tropes. Special items would be great. Even just empty bottles. Something. There is very little connecting it to the series besides the name and some imagery. I would say I like botw, but it is really more of a proof of concept, IMO.
The Oracle games are quite underrated, but I loved them when I played them on the 3DS (RIP VC). OoT is still my favourite though. Maybe it's a case of the first cut being the deepest, but it's the Zelda game I've come back to a few times. That said, there aren't any games in the series I'd consider bad, at least among those I've played (I'll be the first to admit, I haven't played every single one, though I'd love to one day). Heck, I actually enjoyed Phantom Hourglass.
When Majora's Mask isn't in the top 5 but Breath of the Wild is you know it's a s**t article.