Patient Gamers

Officially it was ALttP (#4, GB[C?]); technically it's the same game as #3 but with slight changes. But in my heart I'll always feel the most fondness for OoT (#5,N64).

Other notes:

• I hated #6; the 'gimmick' is still "time" and it's implemented in a much more unforgiving way. This is a complete shame; as I think this game could've told a much better story without the 'gimmick' being so tough.
• #8 is half identical to #3 & #4; and half identical to #10
• I don't care for #12 or #13 either; I really hated the direction(s) the stories went in both cases and the gameplay 'gimmicks' once again interfered with the nature of the game mechanics that I do enjoy.
• Several Major Zelda games are completely missing from this list; including the titles featured on the Nintendo DS family of system(s) (NDS/DSi/3DS)

Those missing titles are:

• Spirit Tracks [NDS/DSi]
• A Link Between Worlds [3DS]
• Phantom Hourglass [NDS/DSi]
• Oracle of Ages [GBA] (This is the other half of the Oracle set)
• Wind Waker HD [WiiU]

#5, I was a wee lad and I was in the n64 isle at walmart looking for a game to buy with dad. Bought it on a whim because the box art looked interesting. Now Zelda is one of my favourite series and I've played most of them. Thanks Dad :)

4, since Gameboy was the first system we were allowed to play in our home. Stole my sister's copy to play it and got in to a fight when I stole from the store under her save file.

I also remember burning through an insane number of AA batteries when I was attempting a less-than-smart solution to one of the room puzzles in Eagle's Tower.

Number 1, but it was really Ocarina of Time that defined my childhood

Very much a #1. Gold cartridge and all.

I loved #10. With a full crew of four with GBA SP's and cables that game was a rocking time for you and your buddies. The ability for that game to cause swearing, shoulder punching, and evil strategic voting at the end of each level was absolutely wonderful.

Unrelated, but what Zelda should i play, I've retired on link to the past, and minish cap

Number 1. The original. I was so happy when BOTW gave the the open exploration based feel from that very first game again. The other 3d games we just so linear and hand holding in comparison.

#1. Had to go to a distant friend's house to play it because no one else had a Nintendo yet.

God I'm old...

#1 for me. That gold cartridge really stood out amidst my collection of other NES games, for more reasons than one. Naturally, I needed a guide to get through my first playthrough, but I kept coming back to it and eventually had the whole game damn near memorized.

I'm OG; I can still remember coming home and tearing it out of the box and throwing it on without having read the pamphlet (which they actually included then) and wandering around for hours having no clue what I was supposed to be doing. It was great!

Link's Awakening DX was the first game I picked up on my Gameboy color. Didn't know anything about it, it just looked cool. Didn't learn it was part of a series until I saw advertisements for OoT.

I had never played a Zelda game (or even any nintendo game except wii sports and mario kart wii) 3 years ago. Decided to try ocarina of time 3d on an emulator and got hooked. I still need to play majora's mask and skyward sword of the 3D games and I have a few 2d Zeldas left but overall it has been a great experience and awesome journey, and I have also branched out and played all metroid and 3d Mario games and consider myself a Nintendo fan now.

Edit: this post has actually inspired me to boot up a link to the past and give it another chance and I realised part of why I didn't get into it originally was the input lag that can rather easily be mitigated in retroarch. Having a great time

Cadence of Hyrule

It's not on this list, as it's a spinoff/crossover (Zelda + Crypt of the Necrodancer). Haven't played another Zelda-related game.

None, link between worlds Havent finished it 7 years later

Gotta be 9 yall

#3. A class mate of my sister lent it to us and we didn't put it down for at least 1-2 months.

Although I can say my favorite game is Oracle of Seasons.

12 on the wii with my cousin Later owned botw for wii u

Mine's not on here! My first Zelda was Spirit Tracks, and from there, Zelda 2

2. It was a weird learning experience for a kid that couldn't read English and had never played anything with rpg'ish elements.

I think i just wanted to play the first one because of the theme song. Somehow expected that the second one would have it too.

Phantom Hourglass. I was maybe 7 years old, and an extended family member got me a limited edition Nintendo DS with the triforce on it and a golden color to it.

I don't have the original any more, but I now have the same model DS and play it from time to time. The music from PH is instant nostalgia for me.

#10 and actually with the GBA cables and friends to do multiplayer. (#11) Minish Cap as well, but my first owned Zelda was Four Swords Adventure.

Link to the Past, which is also my favorite besides the Oracle games.

#1! I used to play it with my mom, way back before I was old enough to actually make any progress. Mom made giant, beautiful hand-drawn maps of the overworld and all of the dungeons for both quests on large sheets of graph paper, and one of my biggest regrets from childhood is not keeping those maps safe.

The original LoZ is still one of my favorite games of all time, and I still spend a few hours every year or so playing through it again.

5, and it was one of my older sibling's friends that just let us have a bunch of their games that they were done with. It quickly became my favourite game on the N64, along with Smash Bros later on.

14

7, then 9 and 12. My parents bought me ages and my sister seasons. I remember waiting on her to finish her playthrough so I could swap over to seasons. After twilight princess I made the switch over to PC and caught up on missed games with emulators starting with the original. Played everything including TOTK

Link to the Past, for GB Advanced. I could never finish it.

Where is Phantom Hourglass? I loved that game!

Wind Waker will always have a special place in my heart. It was the first game to open a whole world of exploration for me.

OoT for me. My wild nostalgia still makes me rank it as the best Zelda game.

Cut my teeth on 1, spent so many hours playing it and trying to find new secrets. Then absolutely feel in love with 3. I've played almost all of the others, but 3 will forever be my pick, especially with randomizer.

ocarina of time

#7 for me. Kind of surprised that answer isn't more common here. Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages occupied so much of me and my friends time back when they came out.

#1 was my first, #5 and #6 were my 2nd and 3rd. I wish they'd port 4 swords to the switch and give it online co-op, I'd love to play through it with other people

I played some of the original game as a kid and then much later played some of Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker, but the first game I actually finished was Breath of the Wild. To be fair though, I never had any of the Nintendo consoles between the SNES and the Wii U.

5 & 6 Were my favorites, before breath of the wild and tears of the kigdom came along.

#4, Link's Awakening.

The 3DS port of Ocarina of Time. Was pretty magical at the time having a handheld that could do 3D graphics as well as it could. Paired with being an excellent game with lots of charm and atmosphere already made it a great experience. Pretty cool with the 3D screen too, made it feel that much more immersive.

5 for me. I remember being a young kid and not really understanding much about the game worked, and spending hours just wandering around Kokiri Forest and Hyrule.