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.