There are many, many Legend of Zelda games,
and a lot of them are very different from one another. You have huge open adventures like Breath
of the Wild, versus games that are much, much more linear like Skyward Sword. But, which of the 19 main series Legend of
Zelda games are the most popular with fans? To find out, I created a survey which has
now been filled out by over seven and a half thousand people! Let us find out which Zelda games are the
most and least popular. Part 1: Making the survey
So, the first thing I had to do was create a survey where people could rate each of the
main Zelda games. But to do that, I had to decide what counts
as a main series Zelda game. You have the obvious ones - Zelda 1, Zelda
2, A Link to the Past et cetera. But what about spin off games, like Hyrule
Warriors, or Link’s Crossbow Training, even?! Well, I ummed and uhhred about whether to
include these titles, but eventually I decided, NO. I want to pit the big main Zelda adventures
against each other, and including spinoff games would just get in the way. That still left a few games where it wasn’t
clear whether they WERE spinoffs, like Tri Force Heroes, or Four Swords Adventures. Eventually, I just left it to Wikipedia. Wikipedia includes those games in their list
of main series Zelda titles, and I trust Wikipedia. Lastly, I decided to group remakes and remasters
alongside their original games so as not to bulk up the list any further. And I split Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of
Ages into separate entries on the list. I wasn’t sure whether I should at first,
but the two games have entirely different puzzles, dungeons and stories, so by all accounts,
they’re unique games. Right, that was it! With my decisions made, I now had a final
list of 19 Zelda games. I quickly tweeted it out to make sure I hadn’t
left anything off, and sure enough Twitter was happy with my work. For the most part.. Next, I opened Google Forms and started putting
my survey together. Last time I made a survey like this, I asked
people to answer “I liked this” or “I didn’t like this” for each entry, but
people told me they wanted more freedom. So, this time you’re getting a 5 point scale! Each game you have to rate from 1 to 5. I also added a note telling people not to
rate the games they haven’t played! Whether everyone will listen is hard to say,
but I’m hoping this will make the survey a little more robust. And then, and this bit was a bit of a pain,
I created 19 individual text boxes where people could leave up to 3 words about each game
if they wanted to. That way, we can hopefully delve a little
deeper into WHY people gave the games the ratings they did. And that’s it! The survey was now complete. All that was left was for me to send out the
link via Twitter and YouTube. And done, it was time for the responses to
start rolling in. Part 2: A week later
So, I was pretty amazed by the number of responses I got to my survey. We passed 1000 responses in just a few hours,
and by the time a week had passed, the number of responses was over 7000. Which is pretty incredible! Thank you very much to every single person
who took part in the survey. So, I have now downloaded the data that Google
Forms spat out, and I've fiddled around with it to get a ranked list of every single main
series Zelda game. There’s also an average score from 1 to
5 for each game, which I will reveal as we go down the list. I’m gonna start at the very bottom, so that
we can end on a nice positive note. So, let’s go through which games people
ranked as their most and least favourite Zelda entries. Number 19
At the very bottom of the list, is sadly, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. This is the second game in the Zelda series,
and when it was released it drew huge crowds lining up outside shops around the world. But uh, clearly its status has changed over
time. With an average score of 2.22, Zelda 2 falls
beneath the critical two and a half line which marks the boundary between a positive and
negative response. In other words, less people like the game
than dislike it. Ouch! Some of people’s responses include, “Too
hard”, “Cryptic, difficult, grating”, “Bad, different, weird”, “Not even a
Zelda game”, and “Baaa, black sheep”. And yes, Zelda 2 is the black sheep of the
series - even the game’s own developers have acknowledged that fact. Shigeru Miyamoto once said, “I wouldn't
say that I've ever made a bad game, per se, but a game I think we could have done more
with was Zelda II: The Adventure of Link”. And when the game’s director was told that
Zelda 2 has some fans out there, he replied, “Those kind of people exist!?” Oh dear. Sorry Zelda 2, perhaps you were never meant
to be. Number 18
In second to last place is Tri Force Heroes. This easily forgotten multiplayer Zelda game
for the 3DS was heavily themed around fashion. It was certainly unique, but did that win
it any favours? Uh, evidently not, as it received an average
rating of 2.67, barely over the halfway mark. And the responses people wrote reflect this
mix of opinions, “Interesting, poor execution”, “Awful single player”, “Fun with friends”,
“Convoluted and clumsy” and I think the most apt, “You NEED friends”. Because that, I think, is Tri Force Heroes’
biggest weakness - the game needs 3 players to play as intended. So, if you can round up 2 other 3DS owners
to play along with you, you’ll probably have a pretty good time. Otherwise, chances are, you’re not gonna
have much fun. Number 17
Next on the list is Four Swords for the Game Boy Advance. Now this is more spin-off-y than some of the
other games on the list, so perhaps it’s not a huge surprise that it only scored 2.81. A lot of the responses just say, “Never
played”, “I didn’t play it” and “Nobody played this.” Well, that last one isn’t quite true, some
people did play the game, leaving comments like, “underrated hectic short”, “Fun,
but weird”, and again, “You need friends”. In other words, Four Swords likely ran into
a similar problem to Tri Force Heroes. It’s a great multiplayer experience, but
try playing it without any other players and you’re gonna struggle. Number 16
In a shock upset, in 16th place is the original Legend of Zelda, the game that started it
all! It received an average rating of 2.99, just
below the 3 mark. Honestly, I expected this game to be quite
a lot higher up on the list, but I am not the one in charge here. If you look through people’s responses,
you can see why the game ended up so low down on the list: “Need a map”, “Didn’t
age well”, “Cryptic, boring, difficult”. …Ouch! Of course, there are plenty of more positive
responses too, like “Expect the unexpected”, “Fun hard”, “Adventurous, open, mysterious”. And I think those comments really do sum up
the appeal, and lack of appeal, of the original Legend of Zelda. It’s hard - really hard - and it doesn’t
help you out at all if you’re struggling. But if you push through that difficulty, there
IS a really exciting adventure to be had. That being said, uh it’s too hard for me,
so I’ve never gotten very far through. Number 15
Next is a game I’m not going to dwell on for too long, and that is Four Swords Adventures
for the GameCube. This is a beefed up sequel to the original
Four Swords multiplayer game, and it received a rating of 3.00, just edging out the original
Zelda by one decimal place. This game really inherits a lot of the strengths
and weaknesses of its predecessor: “underrated fun party”, “Best GameCube co-op”, and
also “You need friends” and my favourite response, “Punched my brother”. Number 14
Next on the list is Phantom Hourglass for the DS, with a score of 3.07. This was the first Zelda game with 3D graphics
released on a handheld device, but because that handheld device was the DS, the game
also made use of some pretty clunky touch controls. And a lot of the criticism directed towards
the game revolved around that control scheme: “Weird to control” says one person, “Great
but stylus” says another. And the game had one other divisive aspect:
a dungeon called The Temple of the Ocean King that you had to return to again and again
and again. “Ruined by oceanking” says one person
- I like how they cleverly managed to fit that into 3 words - OCEANKING. But that was far from the only response that
mentioned the Ocean King. This temple is very unpopular. Not unlike the game itself... Number 13
Interestingly, next on the list is Spirit Tracks, the direct sequel to Phantom Hourglass. The whole game is themed around riding trains
across the land of Hyrule, and I really like this game, I have to admit. It’s another very original and perhaps divisive
Zelda adventure, but I personally think that that originality paid off. With a score of 3.09, however, players seem
to be more divided. “Great but stylus again”, says one response,
while some of the others say “Cruelly underrated”, “I like trains”, “Stupid train shit”. Ouch! So whether you enjoy this game really comes
down to whether you’re willing to accept the idea of a railway based Zelda game. And I know that I am! Choo choo! ...oh ok... Number 12 and 11
Next on the list, in 12th and 11th place, is a pair of Zelda games for the Game Boy,
neither of which were developed by Nintendo - Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages. The games were actually developed by Capcom,
and much like the Pokémon series, both Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages were released
at the same time. Unlike Pokémon though, the stories, characters
and puzzles from the two games are original - these are definitely two distinct Zelda
games. Of the two, Seasons comes out slightly ahead
with a score of 3.17, beating out Ages’ score of 3.15. Unfortunately though, most of the responses
to both of the games just say, “never played it”. Number 10
Next on the list is another handheld game, The Minish Cap. Much like the Oracle games, Minish Cap was
developed by Capcom, not Nintendo. And with an average rating of 3.68, people
seem to enjoy Capcom’s take on the world of Zelda. I mean, hands down this is my favourite pixel
art from the entire Zelda series. “Best 2D Zelda”, says one response, “Cute
and charming” says another. Overall, The Minish Cap marks a fun and cute
entry in the Zelda canon. Number 9
Finally, we’re down to the top 9. And in 9th place is 2011’s Skyward Sword. This game is known for its extremely linear
structure. Unlike some of the more open Zelda games,
in Skyward Sword you have to exactly what the game wants you to do when it wants you
to do it. And perhaps as a result of this, the game
scored 3.70 in the survey. That’s not a bad score, and Skyward Sword’s
not a bad game: “Underrated masterpiece” says one person while another writes, “hate
undeserved”. But with its inflexible structure alongside
some pretty irritating motion controls, here’s the response I think best sums up the game:
“Flawed But Fun”. Number 8
In 8th place is my personal favourite Zelda game, Link’s Awakening. This was the first big Zelda adventure released
on handheld devices, and it’s really weird. Famously, all kinds of Mario characters appear,
like Chain Chomps, Goombas, and even Yoshi. This is one of the most creative Zelda titles,
and it earned a respectable score of 3.87. Taking a look at the responses, people described
the game as “Great, great, great”, “Character-driven” mm, “Impressive given limitations” and
even “phenomenal”. Because, Link’s Awakening is definitely
not perfect - for instance, because the Game Boy only had two buttons, you were constantly
having to swap out items from your inventory. Plus, the game is super linear, which isn’t
always a bad thing, but Zelda’s about exploring off on your own, and you don't do a lot of
that in this game. But no, the thing I think that makes Link’s
Awakening my personal favourite Zelda game is its charm. It’s just so full of tiny little touches
that make the world feel alive. Not bad for a Game Boy game. Number 7
Now, in 7th place is a bit of a shock. Classic Zelda fans cover your ears, because
with a score of 3.88, next on the list is A Link to the Past. Ahh! This is one of the most important Zelda games
ever - more than that - one of the most important video games ever! I definitely expected to see A Link to the
Past higher up on the list, and to be honest, people’s three word responses don’t really
shed any more light on this great upset. “Aged like wine”, “Still holds up”,
“Greatest 2D Zelda”, “Peak 2D Zelda”. And yet, according to people’s responses,
there are 6 better games still to come. I’m very curious to see what beat out this
legendary game. Number 6
Next is a close relative of the previous entry, A Link Between Worlds. Now, A Link Between Worlds is set in the same
version of Hyrule as A Link to the Past - you can lay the two games’ world maps over each
other and they line up perfectly. But with a score of 3.96, people filling out
the survey actually slightly preferred A Link Between Worlds over A Link to the Past, describing
the game as a “Masterpiece”, “Really unique puzzles”, “Return to form” AND
even “Better than original”. Number 5
We’re now down to the top 5. And in 5th place is Twilight Princess. At the time of its release, Twilight Princes
was viewed by many Zelda fans as a return to form for the Zelda series, telling a more
serious story of Link becoming a wolf. With a score of 4.09, most fans remain fond
of Twilight Princess, describing it as having an “Amazing story”, “great adventure”
says somebody else, and I think the most apt - “Edgy but cool”. This game is pretty edgy, which perhaps turned
off some fans. “Too edgy” is a response I saw multiple
times. But on the whole, most fans agree that Twilight
Princess is a fun relic of an era where edge was at the top of players’ wish lists. And Twilight Princess certainly delivered
on that! Number 4
Next on the list is Majora’s Mask, with an average score of 4.18. And if Link’s Awakening is the strangest
Zelda game, then Majora’s Mask is perhaps the darkest. While Twilight Princess tried very hard to
look and feel like a big grownup adventure, Majora’s Mask actually handles darker and
more interesting themes, and is dripping with unsettling atmosphere in every location you
visit. And with a deliberately claustrophobic 3 day
repeating time loop, Majora’s Mask is the most unique Zelda game that Nintendo has ever
released. And I’m not alone in that opinion - just
looking at the very first 4 responses, we have “Best game ever”, “Best game”,
“The best one” and “Best Zelda Game”. Obviously not everyone agrees with that as
Majora’s Mask sits in 4th place, but to say this is one of the most acclaimed Zelda
games is an understatement. Number 3
In 3rd place is The Wind Waker, with a score of 4.21. And that’s super interesting to see! When The Wind Waker was first revealed to
the public, the reaction to it was extremely negative, especially in the United States. After Majora’s Mask, fans were expecting
another dark and gritty entry in the Zelda series. It was, therefore, a bit of a shock when THIS
is what was revealed to them. A vibrant, cartoon-like take on Zelda. At the time, that was considered a bad thing,
but as the years have passed, The Wind Waker’s unique art style has actually become its greatest
asset. “Timeless art style” says one respondent,
“Fun graphics” says somebody else. But it's not just pretty shading that’s
made Wind Waker so popular - here’s my favourite response that I saw: “sense of adventure”. I think that is Wind Waker’s greatest strength. Number 2
In 2nd place, with a score of 4.23, is a game that has been described by many as the greatest
game of all time. It is, of course, Ocarina of Time, perhaps
the most influential video game of the 1990s. Honestly, I’m not sure what to say about
Ocarina of Time that hasn’t been said better before. The game is practically flawless, with an
ambitious and perfectly executed story that takes place through time. Its dungeons are creepy and atmospheric, its
action is so good you would never know that Ocarina of Time was the game that laid the
blueprints for hundreds of action games that followed. It is practically impossible to believe that
Nintendo managed to get so much right when this was their first attempt at bringing Zelda
into the third dimension. This game is an incredible achievement. I can’t say that enough. And yet, there was one game that knocked Ocarina
of Time of its pedestal... Number 1
Over the last 10 minutes, we’ve now talked about 18 of the 19 Zelda games on the list
I made. It should be pretty obvious now what the number
1 Zelda game is, and to be honest, this is the result I expected before I even started
putting this survey together. With an incredibly high score of 4.55 - which
means that more people gave this game a 5 than any other score - in first place, is
Breath of the Wild. If Ocarina of Time is hard to talk about,
then I don’t know what on earth to say about Breath of the Wild. I really do believe that Breath of the Wild
is the greatest video game of all time right now. No other game captures that sheer sense of
adventure like it. Nothing else comes close. The feeling of hang gliding away from the
Great Plateau for the first time and realising just how vast the land of Hyrule is - and,
that you really can just walk to any part of it whenever you want - I don’t think
any other video game has ever captured a feeling quite like it. And scrolling through people’s responses,
I’m bombarded with the words “best” and “greatest” again and again. “Genre defining masterpiece”, “Amazing
open world”, “Breathtaking”, “perfect”, “Revolutionary”, “Greatest game ever”. And I think they’re right. Breath of the Wild might not be perfect, but
I can’t think of any game that gets closer to perfect than Breath of the Wild does. Phew, that is the entire survey finally gone
through! Here’s all the games and the scores they
received, feel free to pause and take a look through if you’re curious. And I’ll also link the survey data in the
description in case anyone wants to examine it in more detail. Thank you again to every single person who
filled out this survey - I’ve had a really fun time going through all the responses. And if you disagree with the rankings, let
me know what you think should’ve been number 1, BUT you have to give a 3 word justification
of it, because they’re fun to read through. Thank you also to my kind patrons who help
support my work financially - YouTube is not super stable, and your extremely generous
contributions really help with that. Okay, I think that is everything. Be sure to subscribe to the channel if you’re
not already, because I make videos like this pretty much every week. And on that note, I shall see you next time
- bye!
