The Legend of Zeldaseries has been going for almost 40 years, and it now consists of more than 20 mainline titles. While, in general, those titles can be played in any order without creating major issues, players who are interested in playing through the series in its entirety may wonder if there is a specific order that they should follow. While this is a somewhat complicated topic, there are definitely several orders that players should consider when making a deep dive intoThe Legend of Zeldagames.
Arguments can be made for pursuing orders beyond the three that are detailed here. That said, all the following approaches are perfectly reasonable and will lead to an excellent experience with theZeldaseries.
In What Order Should You Play the Zelda Games?
Release Order
The most obvious way to approach theZeldagames is to play them in the order of their release, starting withThe Legend of Zeldafrom 1986 and ending with 2024’sEchoes of Wisdom. One of the primary benefits of this approach is that it allows the player to directly experience the evolution that the series has undergone over its near-40-year history, which can certainly be quite illuminating.
That said, the first twoZeldagames can prove to be quite inscrutable, particularly if the player does not have much experience with NES-era titles, and players may be loath to continue with the series if they have a frustrating introductory experience. Additionally, while the NES games do contain some of the series' foundational elements, including Ganon and theTriforce, they are relatively light on lore. This means that it will take players who go in release order quite a while to get a proper introduction to theZeldaworld that so many fans love.
In summary, if a player’s primary interest is to have firsthand experience of how the series has changed, and they are unbothered by the challenges that come with starting with theNES games, then they should follow the release order of theZeldatitles, which is as follows:
Modified Order
While there is definitely an argument to be made for playing the games in release order, players can get a better introductory experience, and a more-straightforward presentation ofZelda’s lore, by playing a selection of titles first. Specifically, it is recommended that players playOcarina of Time,Majora’s Mask,The Wind Waker,A Link to the Past, andLink’s Awakeningfirst, as those titles are accessible and lay the foundation upon which the series' world is built.
Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, andThe Wind Wakerhave a narrative through line, as doA Link to the PastandLink’s Awakening. That is part of the reason that players are advised to group all these titles, rather than just playing two or three of them.
With respect to the order in which players should play those five games, there are two options that are recommended. Here are those options, and players who want to start withZeldagames that are in 3D and feel more “modern” are advised to go with the first, while players who are interested in2DZeldashould go with the second:
3D Zelda First
2D Zelda First
After completing those five games, it is recommended that players return to the originalThe Legend of Zeldaand play through the remaining titles in release order. Indeed, the series' earliest entries should now be more palatable, and, for the sake of full clarity, here is the order of the remaining games:
“Chronological” Order
TheZeldatimelineis a frequent topic of conversation among the community, and some players might argue that the series should be played in “chronological” order. This approach has the benefit of allowing some of the stories that are told across multiple games to be presented in an uninterrupted fashion, but there are two things of which players should be aware before they pursue this option:
If a player is unbothered by those aspects of the timeline, here is how they should go aboutplaying theZeldaseries in chronological order:
The Legend of the Goddess and the Hero (Play First)
Not Classified (Play Last)
Players Should Not Be Afraid to Skip Zelda Games
Regardless of the order that a player opts to pursue, they should keep one important fact in mind: it is absolutely fine to skip aZeldaentry if it is proving to be too difficult or simply not fun. Indeed, while there is value to playing through every game, players should prioritize their continued enjoyment of the series over all else. Fans should also feel free to skip entries that may prove prohibitively difficult to access, such as theGameCube-exclusiveFour Swords Adventures, as those titles can definitely make it hard to complete a full playthrough of the series.
