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Ocarina of Time (N64). Not only do I have fond memories with playing the game while snacking on bugles but the nostalgia is great too. The game was fairly open world and some of the cringe aspects are really amusing to me as well. By far not a perfect game, but perfect for me.

Honestly, I feel like Ocarina of Time revolutionized the gaming industry at the time. So many games have followed the formula since then and we have gotten some really awesome games.
Such a magnificent game. I get goosebumps whenever I boot it up and just hear the music on the title screen.

Reaching Hyrule Field for the first time and getting the overworld music? What a vibe!

And who can forget that lovely conversation with Kaepora Gaebora right when you're entering Hyrule Field?!

Credit: "TheTitan99" on DeviantArt

I'm 46. From the moment I played the original back in the day, I've been a huge fan of the entire series. My all time favorite (so far) is Wind Waker. I played that for the first time a few years ago and spent so much time goofing around. Before I played that, I was a huge fan of Ocarina, having bought it when it first came out on the N64. Every Zelda game I've played has been a huge step up from the previous.

Another favorite of mine is Link to the Past. That one kept me involved for a few years. I kept going back through it because I really enjoyed the story and gameplay. Link Between Worlds was a fantastic sequel.

I've thoroughly enjoyed all the remasters on the switch too. 100%'d Link's Awakening and finally got the play through Skyward Sword. I'm sincerely hoping for a reissue/remaster of Twilight Princess because I didn't get to play that much on the Wii. My kids hogged that system so I rarely got to play anything beyond Wii Sports.

I recently started Breath of the Wild and after initially being stuck and giving up trying to get into the first divine beast, I'm now ready to infiltrate Hyrule Castle a couple years later. I only picked BotW back up because of all the TotK hype. I can't wait to play it!

I love Windwaker. I know it got a lot of flack for the design style, but it is honestly one of my favorite games of all time.

If you are enjoying BoTW, you are going to love Tears of the Kingdom. It builds on and expands BoTW in every way.
- I absolutely loved the design of Windwaker when I first saw screenshots. Cell shading was brand new and it looked incredible to me. I never played it when it was new (I didn't really play any GameCube games), or when it was remastered for WiiU. I finally played it and was hooked.
  
  My son has been playing through TotK and I've caught glimpses of it here and there. The sheer size of the map is mind boggling in comparison to BotW. So excited to get to it... after BotW, of course!

I think my favourite is either Ocarina of Time or Wind Waker just because they're both core memories of my childhood. Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild are close behind for sure!

Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask are the two Zelda games I spent the most time on as a kid.

Majora's Mask in particular, because I fondly remember spending ages exploring every single aspect of that game, and trying to get all the masks without using the internet.

I remember finally Beating Majora/Skull Kid, and collecting all the masks, on a jerry-rigged 5" travel CRT setup while on a road trip to... somewhere...

Can't remember anything about the trip or where we went, but I'll always remember beating MM in the backseat of the family car, on some pitch black rural highway.

Link to the Past for me, but it's 100% nostalgia goggles.

The game that got me into video games. I recently played it this year (after this game turned 30) and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's amazing that I still had the game almost committed to 100% memory. I only had to look up a few things that I had forgotten and didn't want to spend the time getting lost in the game to figure it out for myself (I'm old now and can't be bothered. :D )

Meanwhile, I played A Link Between Worlds when it came out on 3DS, and that game hit so many nostalgic notes. The gameplay mechanic and 3D effect was so well done.

Love these two games tremendously, but they're not my favorite Zelda. That crown goes to the wind waker.

i'm gonna chime in with wind waker. i haven't played a good bit of the zelda games, especially the modern entries, but wind waker is still easily one of my favorite games of all time. absolutely amazing aesthetic, fun characters and story, with one of my favorite worlds to explore and navigate in any game. mileage may vary depending on how cool you think sailing is ⛵️. still has one of my favorite final boss encounters and endings in any game i've played.

I loved sailing on the GameCube version, and never actually got to experience the remake with the Swift Sail. Personally it felt like a grand adventure, with a beautiful musical score. I never found sailing to be tedious. It was cemented for me when you have to get back to Outset Island in order to beat the pirates there first. The raging storm while sailing and the tone was so well done. Love this game so much.
- totally agree. i also haven't played with swift sail. i feel like the pace of sailing and the music that accompanies was perfect. the game really felt vast, like you were exploring a giant ocean. playing the game when i was younger i think it was the first time a game felt like i was in a truly open world. i still haven't really played a game that felt the same to traverse, alongside the already enjoyable formula of zelda games it just isn't beat by a lot of single player experiences even today.

ToTK of course. For all intents and purposes it's BoTW with added mechanics. And of course I love the additions to the map, the new sky and depths areas are dope.

If we're talking more traditional Zelda I'd say Twilight Princess. That game has so much personality and atmosphere and it's got my favorite iterations of the series' characters... and Midna is bae of course.

Yeah, I was honestly amazed at how much they managed to include in this game. Like, we all expected a lot, especially with the delay, but just the massive size of everything is breathtaking. I love the depths.
- I agree, though with the next one I do hope they look to making it feel more distinct from BoTW and ToTK, I can only handle so much haha
While I'm not yet done with Tears of the Kingdom, they're both magnificent games. I agree Tears overall is better than Breath. However, I prefer the linear traditional Zelda games more.

Twilight Princess is a strong game, and so well done. I have to go back and replay that. I won't say spoilers for those who haven't played, but the scene when we first see Ganondorf is climactic, Midna's lament is touching, and that one dude that teaches Link his combat skills has a fascinating back story.

I'm gonna go all nostalgic for a bit and say that before Twilight Princess had a title, I got so hyped when I saw the Spaceworld Demo of this game. Watching the audience's reaction to the reveal was incredible, and something I love to revisit on YouTube (read: Invidious) from time to time.

I have two favorites

Majora's Mask - I've always considered this to be the best Zelda game. The various side quests in the game worked perfectly with the 3 day time loop. They managed to make the world feel like there were real consequences to the actions Link took. The side quests made it feel almost like Link was a detective, sorting out clues and figuring out who was going to be where so that on the next loop, you would be able to progress further down a questline.

Wind Waker - Despite the fact that I consider Majora's Mask to be the better game, I find that Wind Waker was more fun to play. The graphics style, the soundtrack, and the sailing mechanic all made for enjoyable and relaxing gameplay. I usually get impatient when having to travel around but hopping on the boat and sailing from island to island was itself enjoyable and not just a means of getting from Point A to Point B. Also, the graphics style helped the game hold up even as time passed. When I would go back to play Ocarina of Tiime or Majora's Mask, it would feel like the sharp polygons were stabbing my eyes, but I can boot up my gamecube and play Wind Waker with no problems.

Ah! I miss Majora's Mask. That truly was a masterpiece. I have a theory that the second Zelda on each console is a more experimental game where the designers can focus more on story and risky mechanics because they can reuse a large portion of the game engine, and thus the costs are a fraction. So Majora's Mask was always my go-to example of that theory. Now with TotK, I can kind of confirm that. They doubled-down on the sandbox design and even reused the overworld.

It's a real shame that WW never got it's engine reused for a second gamecube Zelda.
- Great point. Totally makes sense as we have the testimony - generally the second game on the console reutilizing the same assets is objectively better.

Totk was the best,

That moment you fall from the starting area island is incredible and only surpassed by two other moments in the same game that I'm not gonna spoil

Minish cap, probably the first one I actually beat. I still go back and play it from time to time.

Awesome sauce, off to send spouse here!

They will be so stoked, thank you for adding this. We’ve both gone off Reddit, know they miss it some.

Rereading this I think my medicinal brownie has thrown me back to 90’s talk like when I was a teen. reaches for second

For a long time it probably would have been Legend of Zelda but the creation of the Link to the Past randomizer put it on top. That game was just so good for a randomizer and even though there is a randomizer for the original it just doesn't compare.

The original NES Legend of Zelda was my first Zelda game I ever played and I was hooked from there. Just such a fun top down game experience at the time. I have only missed a couple of zelda games since then. They always tap into that nostalgia, and I just can't get enough.

Twilight princess. Art direction was top tier. Great linear story. Tons of memorable characters. 10/10 would play again

I would say Majora's Mask. I loved how weird it was and the time reset.