Every 2D Zelda game, ranked from worst to best

The Legend of Zelda series may be blowing minds with games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, but its humble beginnings as a top-down 2D action adventure RPG are still widely beloved to this day. Many fans even enjoy 2D Zelda games more than their 3D counterparts, and can you blame them? They’re great!

Nintendo is still making 2D Zelda games to this day, thankfully, and with The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom on the way, we thought we’d go through all the 2D Zelda games and rank them from worst to best. We’re only counting single-player games, here, and only games in which Nintendo had a hand — that means no Wand of Gamelon, sorry folks.

Zelda II

Look, I’m not saying that Zelda II is bad, exactly, but if you were to play it today you’d probably not think too highly of it. It’s difficult, frustrating, and poorly translated, and it’s largely unlike any other game in the series, being a 2D sidescroller instead of a top-down adventure game. The general concept was done better by one of the best SNES games ever made, Super Adventure Island II, so you’re better off playing that instead.

The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda was obviously instrumental, and it’s a pretty good game overall, but it definitely shows its age in 2024. It’s a classic top-down Zelda game that built the foundation for every game that followed, but it’s a little bit directionless and you’re better off playing just about anything else.

Spirit Tracks

It was incredibly tough to choose between Spirit Tracks and its predecessor, but Spirit Tracks falls behind just barely because of its pacing issues and because it doesn’t do enough to stand out from Phantom Hourglass. It’s still a fun game, though, and if you liked the game before it then you’ll probably enjoy this, too.

Phantom Hourglass

Phantom Hourglass isn’t perfect, either, with some pacing issues of its own and a control scheme that wasn’t quite nailed down yet. That said, the story is a lot of fun, the sailing and mapping mechanic is really interesting, and there are some really great puzzles. It’s a much more even experience than Spirit Tracks, but the two games really are best played together.

A Link to the Past

A Link to the Past is an absolute classic, and for good reason — it’s brilliant. It’s the template for modern Zelda games, and none of the games that followed would have been possible without it. It’s got an incredible story, top-notch gameplay, and gorgeous pixel art — there’s really nothing to complain about, here.

Link’s Awakening

Link’s Awakening probably would have been below ALTTP if not for the incredible Switch remake. It’s easily the best-looking game in the series, the dungeons are definitely among the best we’ve ever seen, and the story is quite sweet. Every version of the game is great, but on Switch it’s just perfect, especially with the changes to items, which were a little bit frustrating to switch between on Game Boy.

Oracle of Ages/Seasons

Oracle of Ages and Seasons are a pair of games that really could be considered their own games, if not for their shared DNA. Nintendo took the Pokémon approach here, with two games that can connect with each other to create a bigger experience than one game alone. What’s neat about these games, though, is that once you’ve finished one game, you can use a code system to turn the other game into somewhat of a sequel to the first one you played, with new story elements and returning characters. It’s a genius idea, and one we wish Pokémon would take note of.

The Minish Cap

The Minish Cap was a huge high point for the Zelda series, following up the Oracle games and proving that it’s not just Nintendo that’s capable of making a fantastic Zelda game. The Oracle games and Minish Cap were all made by Capcom, and the latter in particular is absolutely packed with charm, rock-solid gameplay mechanics, and some utterly gorgeous artwork. The Kinstone system is really the only drawback here, effectively requiring a lot of backtracking and fetch quests, but other than that there’s basically nothing to complain about.

Cadence of Hyrule

Speaking of Zelda games made by external developers, Cadence of Hyrule is easily the most unique entry in this list. It’s essentially indie rhythm darling Crypt of the Necrodancer but with a Zelda twist, taking inspiration from ALTTP mostly and transplanting it onto Crypt of the Necrodancer’s gameplay. It’s brilliant, the music is incredible, and it’s a nice change to the classic formula. It even has some roguelite elements, with randomized areas and map layouts that make it almost endlessly replayable. Brace Yourself Games really cooked with this one, so make sure you grab it on Switch ASAP.

Echoes of Wisdom

Finally, a mainline game where you get to play as Zelda. This phenomenal twist on the classic 2D Zelda formula brought Breath of the Wild’s “see everything, do anything” design philosophy to the 2D realm, with a huge focus on environmental puzzle-solving that naturally fits within Zelda’s skill set. It was built on the Link’s Awakening remake engine, which means it has some very slight performance issues here and there, but that’s not a problem when the rest of the game is so good.

A Link Between Worlds

A Link to the Past was a fantastic game, but nobody ever thought it would get a sequel, let alone one that was even better. Somehow, A Link Between Worlds delivered on both fronts, with an incredible sequel that had a new, non-linear approach to progression, some neat multiplayer features, and 3D dungeons that really leveraged the 3DS’ primary gimmick. I can’t really name a single flaw — A Link Between Worlds is easily the best 2D Zelda game ever made.