Zelda fan website, Zelda Informer, recently conducted a survey to its readers which resulted in 9,461 people taking part and answering questions on all things Zelda.
The survey was made up of questions such as – What is the first Zelda game you played? The results revealed that the The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was the most common answer with 39%:
Another question asked Zelda Informer readers which title was their favourite. The result ended up with Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time coming very close in the ranks, however Twilight Princess won by 1%:
The survey also has many more questions and insights, including readers scoring their experience with each title out of ten, and also predictions on when they think Zelda Wii U will be released. You can check it out in full here.
My first was A Link to the Past, and my favorites are Link’s Awakening, the original and A Link Between Worlds. I like 3D Zeldas, but I prefer the replayability and charm of the 2D entries.
No surprise seeing Ocarina of Time as the top vote.
My personal favorite is either Wind Waker, Skyward Sword, OOT, or A Link Between Worlds. It’s a hard choice. Most Zelda games are amazing.
Woah, A Link to the Past is much lower on the favourites than I expected.
Well, it certainly is my personal favourite, followed (in no particular order) by Windwaker, Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess.
I only managed to like Wind Waker when I double-dipped it on the Wii U. I remember playing the original on the GCN… It didn’t catch my attention at that day and age.
I didn’t like it when it first came out but I got it anyway, mainly because of the bonus game of Ocarina of Time & Ocarina of Time Master Quest. I immediately fell in love with Wind Waker but I hated the Triforce Fetch Quest. A damn shame it’s two direct sequels have that shitty gameplay mechanic of using the god damn stylus with no option to play the game traditionally.
Yeaa, the Triforce quest was really tedious, hah. But as opposed to many others apparently, I actually enjoyed the long boat trips, they felt, I don’t know, peaceful? Relaxing? lol. I enjoyed the view, the music, and I’d get excited when finding new islands or other stuff. Good times. :)
Oh, those endless boat rides… XD
Those beautiful boat rides that got disrupted by those damn sharks XD
R U NUTS? It was FUN trying to find the pieces of the Triforce. I loved every minute of it.
I didn’t. It was not fun having to go back & forth between Tingle’s island & my island to scrounge up over 149 fucking rupees to pay that greedy little bastard. I see why Tingle wears green & it’s not to emulate Link! The original WW ruined Tingle for me because now I hate the little bastard.
But with WWHD, I now like the Triforce Fetch Quest.
Funny, for me it was kinda the opposite. :)
Fell in love with it when I first played it on the Gamecube, but never bought it on the WiiU, for some reason. It was already out when I got my WiiU, so I don’t know, really.
I like the Wii U version better. It’s 16:9, HD, has better lighting and the camera was greatly improved. Let’s say, this is the Wind Waker definitive rendition.
Of course, this won’t make you like better the game once you already like the original. But still, I think it deserves a try! :)
Yea, I really like the visuals, cel shading looks really nice in HD. :)
I should totally give it a try the next time I get the urge to replay it once again. A friend of mine actually has it, so I’ll just ask him when it’s time, hah.
And the best thing about WWHD is the Triforce Fetch Quest isn’t as time consuming or game flow breaking. You only have to deal with Tingle for 2-3 of the Triforce pieces.
Favorite 2D Zelda: Adventure of Link
Favorite 3D Zelda: Skyward Sword
Favorite overall: Adventure of Link
Top 5 overall: Adventure of Link, Legend of Zelda (NES), Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time, Oracle of Seasons
I’m really surprised by TP being so popular. I usually see some badmouthing towards it on the forums all over the internet.
It is a great game, indeed. I enjoyed it a lot, but a Link to The Past is the Zelda masterpiece ever, in my opinion.
It’s the vocal minority that bad mouths Twilight Princess. Anytime something is real popular, you always have the people who will hate it just simply for the fact of it being popular.
Fact is, Twilight Princess does everything Ocarina of Time does, except better. Better dungeons, better overworld, better items, better graphics, (although dated now, looked amazing in 2005.), and honestly IMO better story.
Twilight Princess is my favorite Zelda, without a doubt…
… sorry, what?
Better dungeons is arguable – there’s good design in both, though I’d say the quality of puzzles is more consistent in OoT. However, better overworld? Um, nope. TP has the worst overworld of any of the 3D games. It is utterly barren, using large empty spaces to give an illusion of open-worldness, and its actual high degree of linearity is only compounded by some of the worst item locking in any Zelda game. When you do get to explore, the ONLY collectables to find are heart pieces and bugs. There is so very little dynamic to the overworld exploration that it becomes an utter chore to find the final heart pieces by the end of the game. Contrast with WW, in which exploration is an absolute joy.
Better items? Again, you could not be more wrong. The item implementation from WW went backwards, to be pretty much as mediocre as it was in OoT, yet at least that game had some variety in that you had the child items and adult items, which came into play at points throughout the game (e.g. the Spirit Temple). Things like the Dominion Rod and the Spinner in TP however were utterly superfluous – the first being simply a means to overcome ann item locked region using arguably the worst carried over mechanic from WW, and the second being a bizarrely ineffective weapon/vehicle that had little use outside its own dungeon besides getting a single heart piece. Going from the Wind Waker as a central game mechanic that effected the game environment to… wolf whistling as just another form of item locking was, well, painful.
And yes, you’d hope it’d have better graphics, given it came out almost a decade later. However, TP’s graphics really haven’t stood the test of time, and the HD remake is going to have a difficult job of being anywhere near as aesthetically pleasing as WWHD. OoT and MM 3D, on the other hand, look fantastic, mostly because they’re not all grey and blurry like TP.
Sure, I’ll give you story, but seriously, if you’re playing Zelda for the story then you’re missing the point (as clearly most of the people that answered this pole are). Having said all this, TP is a decent game. It is just far from being the best of the series.
I agree with everything except that last paragraph regarding story. I love Zelda for it’s gameplay, music, AND it’s story. Like the Triforce, if these three things aren’t in balance, they won’t be getting any “That was a great Zelda game! I can’t wait to play it again in the very near future!” from me. Phantom Hourglass & Spirit Tracks come to mind where the music & story is great but the gameplay was crap.
Completely agree. If you play throught a Zelda game ignoring the story your missing out on a third of the game. Without a doubt…
Everything you said is fine, but it’s also just your opinion. I find Twilight Princess to be the best Zelda, and the only Zelda game I revisit every year. I could argue all your points, but again it would just be my opinion. Obviously the majority of Zelda fans agree with me, but hey, to each their own. You can’t go wrong with OoT, WW, or MM… Not to mention ALTTP, the second best Zelda game…
And what are you talking about not playing Zelda for its story? Are you kidding me? The story in OoT was amazing. The story in TP was even better, with amazing characters and character progression. If your not playing Zelda for its story then maybe that’s why your opinion is so skewed…
PFFFF Twilight Princess better then Ocarina? No fucking way. Twilight Princess LOOKED cool, but it was a big bland world with not alot of shit to do in it. Midna making you her bitch was annoying as fuck. Midna in her TRUE form was much better though.
I do give Midna credit for becoming better after Zelda sacrificed herself to save her. She definitely became less of a selfish bitch.
Disagree on bosses and overworld (by 6th gen standards). Ocarina also beats Twilight in difficulty and pacing, which is why it’s so hard to go back to it.
Favorite 2D: Spirit Tracks
Favorite 3D: Twilight Princess
Favorite overall: Twilight Princess
Best in general: Twilight Princess (and hopefully, Zelda U will be the new and definitive best Zelda overall).
Maybe the reason why Nintendo hasn’t said anything about Zelda U is that they don’t want to overhype the game like with SS.
The most loved game poll was moronic Ocarina of time votes are seperate from ocarina of timd 3d … thats why TP wins .. they shouldnt have seperated the two entity .. Anyways my first was Ocarina .. i learned about from a random video game magazine giving it a freaking 10/10 … and after few days my 10 year older than me cousin endorsed the game saying its the best game that will release in N64 .. so my hype was enormous and bought the game day 1 .. and damn it was the game of the decade for sure … and in regard the most loved zelda game i have to side with majora mask .. because it was unique as f*** and back in the day it was a horror game that i enjoyed from A to Z
My favorite 2d Zelda: Link between worlds.
My favorite 3D Zelda: WWHD (and the original as well.)
OoT was my first game, and it got me into the series. Then I got WW and was just hooked, got twilight princess and beat it twice, though it didn’t beat the way I LOVED WW. Can’t wait till march for my copy of the Twilight Princess HD Ammibo bundle to come out.
More like Overated of time am I right…
Nope.
*Favorite 2D Zelda: Oracle of Ages & Seasons.
*Favorite 3D Zelda: it’s a tie between Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, & Skyward Sword.
*Favorite Zelda Overall: Oracle of Ages/Seasons, Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, & Skyward Sword. I can’t decide because 99% of Zelda games are great; except Phantom Hourglass & Spirit Tracks which are simply just good because the gameplay mechanic of using the stylus for everything & no option to play the game with traditional controls ruined the games for me. I’m sure some feel that way about Skyward Sword.
FUCK YEAH!! I love the Oracle games as well. I was sad when i found out that the 3rd title got dropped but im glad that we got 2 at least. Amazing games, I should replay them again.
Minish Cap and Twilight Princess reign supreme for me.
I am surprised there is no Zelda CD-I titles here (actually I am not), even if they weren’t made by Nintendo, they still are Zelda games no matter what. I grew up with all of the Zelda CD-I games (yes my childhood was pathetic), and they blew my mind, I especially loved the music and graphics. I think they should of gave the option of putting any of the Zelda CD-I games as your favorite Zelda game.
Anyways my favorite Zelda game was: Zelda’s Adventure
My favorite Zelda game now is: The Twilight Princess
A Link Between Worlds is fantastic and will only grow in stature with time.
Wind Waker (HD) and Twilight Princess are tied as my 2 favorite 3D Zelda games and maybe overall. WW was the very first one I ever played and loved it. I have been replaying it ever since. I love everything about it, the story, the characters, the graphics, the sailing, the music. Really loved exploring the islands. It’s my most favorite GCN game. Love the HD remake just the same. As for Twilight Princess, I’ve never been so hyped for a Zelda game, or any game in general. It has its problems, but love it as much as WW, really excited to revisit it in HD.
Minish Cap and A Link Between Worlds might be my 2 favorite 2D Zelda games.
Loved SS when I first played it, but not so much the second time I did. At least I got that gold wiimote out of it, so it served a purpose somehow.
My favorite LoZ is Majora’s Mask, Minish Cap, and Wind Waker. MM was my first LoZ, so it’ll always be memorable. Minish Cap was just intriguing to me because of the Minish and fun enviorments. And Wind Waker is an all time favorite, because there was so much to do and there are so many unique characters and dungeons.
Ocarina and Link to the Past are tied for my favorite, then Legend of Zelda. Of the handhelds, I have only played Link’s Awakening and Link between Worlds. I would put Majora’s Mask and Twilight Princess in my top five probably. Wind Waker is my least favorite. Good game, but for a Zelda game, eh. Controls felt like Ocarina with almost no improvements. Never was a fan of the cel-shading for Zelda. So because of the few improvements and my personal opinion of the art, it is my least favorite. Skyward Sword I felt had one of, if not the best story for a Zelda game. Groot was great. Oh wait. That’s the guy from Guardians of the Galaxy. And now I can’t think of the actual guy’s name. Oh well. Too lazy to delete. Anyway, I unfortunately was one of the unlucky people who’s censor didn’t work properly for the game no matter where I put it or how many times I recalibrated it. So I hated the fights, ESPECIALLY against Ghirahim. If I had proper censor, I would have enjoyed the game play so much more. But even if the controls worked properly for me, I still would have been annoyed because for most of the bad guys you had to strike a certain way, as well as wait until they opened up their guard. So I couldn’t just wail on MFers like I always wanted to in a Zelda game.
Groose! That’s what his name was.
I liked having to attack them in a certain way because it made the fights feel like puzzles in their own right. But like Other M overusing finishers, they should really relegate it to mini bosses & bosses only if they intend to use it for future titles.
Exactly. Mini bosses and bosses, cool. But even some of the weak bad guys did it. I don’t like having a Moblin dictating to me how to fight him haha.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if Nintendo took the battle system to a new level by allowing Link to leap over the enemy & land behind them for a back attack.
That would be awesome.
Clearly most people played Zelda for the first time when they got a Wii bundled with TP, as most of these categories are disproportionately bent towards it despite it being mediocre in most regard. I mean, best plot, sure, I get that (though I prefer SS) and maybe I can understand characters, but world, items, controls, and freaking best “first hour”!? Seriously people: the world is large, very empty, and all exploration gets you is heart pieces; the item implementation is horrible, the worst example in all of the 3D games; the controls are the epitome of waggle, which is supposedly why many hated the Wii; and you spend the first hour rounding up sheep and chasing a fucking monkey through fog!? Just goes to show that, even when it comes to Zelda games, the tastes of the majority are very, very questionable.
The opinions of the Zelda fanbase are definitely all over the place, that’s for sure.
I don’t care what anybody says, Ocarina Of Time is THE best game ever made and will likely never EVER be topped.
>>>Obviously Metroid is to me but OoT would be the best Zelda to me if the bosses weren’t such a joke>>>
Fave 2D: Link to the Past
Fave 3D: Twilight Princess
my first Zelda is the legend of zelda (nes), then I kind of don’t have one favourite but let’s say that like a lot of people my favourite zelda are (in not particular preference order): Link to the past, ocarina of time, oracle of time and season, twilight princess and skysword. I haven’t play zelda track spirit and wind walker (I just borrow the game from my sister).
Ugh… I don’t know where to begin…actually, I do. Zelda, the first Zelda was my first. Me and my friends spend a small fraction of our lives sleeping over at each others houses, beating Rampage into the Wee hours of the next day, and mapping Zelda 1&2 out…so much fun playing the originals.
Nostalgia aside, I’ve loved almost every installment. I never owned a Gameboy because it was to expensive for my family at the time, (I had a kick-ass childhood playing outside tho) – so I missed the gameboy versions until way down the line.
Twilight Princess was amazing because I LOVE wolves. I claim to be one in spirit, so obviously TP was like my own custom Zelda. That said, it’s impossible to shake off the feeling of playing Oot for the first time, or play the dark worlk of MM, and I saw Windwaker as practically open world and would sail just for fun, and the final Lord of the Rings -type battle at the end of Skyward Sword was epic, and and AND…
I just love the whole damn franchise, including the DS games. I mean, I spend several bucks on the badge factory to get Zelda badges. x.x
God damn Zelda badges. It’s what got me to sink 3 bucks into it. I really, really wanted that Triforce badge from the Link Between Worlds machine. Pisses me off that I failed to get the old lady sage & the sage girl at the beginning of the game with the blue cap on her head.
We need a fucking trade feature for that god damn thing, seriously!
Oh, you know what, I really, really enjoyed Link Between Worlds also. It wasn’t the most challenging Zelda, but it was very fun, I liked the story, and it had some original-zelda charm. Glad to see a few people mention it.
I feel old. So many people on this post started way after me. x.x Oh well. Lol
Link’s Awakening was the first one I played, Zelda 1 was the first one I owned!
Majora’s Mask is my current favorite!
OMG YES, OOT did not win the #1 favorite for once!
What are you talking about? Ocarina Of Time got the highest percentage on this survey. Which it deserves.
The low percentages for some of these GREAT Zelda games is disturbing. Like Skyward Sword. Only 1%? Seriously? I LOVE Skyward Sword. And Wind Waker deserves WAY more than just 7%. That’s one of the greatest Zelda games. Which spawned a series all of it’s own. But I do agree that Ocarina Of Time is the best! I still wish Nintendo would make an HD remastered version for Wii U. I’m surprised they chose Twilight Princess instead of Ocarina Of Time as the next HD Zelda game. It seems they keep choosing the Zelda games that already looked good, rather than Ocarina Of Time, which could REALLY use the HD treatment.
Well, we DID just get OoT 3D not even 5 years ago, which itself came 13 years after the original. Making an HD remake this soon after a 3D port might be too soon. I don’t want OoT, as good as it is, to be the next Rayman 2 in how much it gets ported, you get me?
All these kids just don’t know any better.