Zelda II: The Adventure of Link NES

Release Date: 1987 1988 1988

The second installment of Zelda a direct sequel without a doubt, despite its visuals, is the Adventure of Link. This was also released on the NES only a year after the original. The storyline continued from the original with the minions of the underworld trying to resurrect the evil Gannon with the Hero Link's blood.

This game caused controversy as the gameplay had changed very dramatically to side scrolling action-adventure with RGP elements mixed in such as earning points to gain an extra level of health. This game was linear which took away the fact that you could complete any dungeon in any random order you had to obtain certain items to aid you and also the enemies confronted in later stages are far too powerful.

Quite possibly this without too much debate would be classified as one of the hardest Zelda adventures in the whole series and if you haven't ever played this I would recommend you spend a countless amount of hours on a classic game.

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The Legend of Zelda - A Link To The Past SNES

Release Date: 1991 1992 1992

It took four years before the next Zelda game surfaced which remained quite faithful to the original Zelda with the gameplay returning back to a look down perspective on Link. A Link To The Past was released in the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and again re-released on the Gameboy Advance in 2002.

A Link To The Past is regarding in some people's eyes as the best Zelda in the series and has many fans since its release. There are many similarities to the original Zelda such as despite gathering the 3 medals to lift the Mastersword the dungeons are non-linear and can be completed in the dark world in no particular order until the last battle against Gannon.

This was the first game to distinguish those translation errors possibly that were brought from the original Zelda and claimed the currency in Hyrule as the Rupee.

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The Legend of Zelda - Link's Awakening Gameboy

Release Date: 1993 1993 1993

Links first adventure for the handheld console Nintendo's Gameboy proved to be an instant classic still very much playable today. It was re-released for the Gameboy Color as Links Awakening DX which featured colour to the sprites, a new dungeon and photo shop that linked up with the camera and printer peripherals released for the Gameboy around that time. Links Awakening doesn't take place in the fantasy world of Hyrule instead Link gets shipwrecked and washed up upon an island known as Koholint.

The gameplay and look down view is similar to that of a Link to the past however there are new features and items that allow Link to jump with the Roc's Cape and introduces a musical instrument that would be the initial basis for the ideas of games like The Ocarina of Time learning new songs and using them in certain situations. The game has sold 6 million worldwide combining the two sales of the original with the DX version.

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The Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time N64

Release Date: 1998 1998 1998

The Ocarina of Time was the first Zelda Game to be featured in 3-D and was released on a 256 megabit cartridge which was the largest on any game at the moment in time. It is the fifth Zelda game and takes place in Hyrule playing as Link preventing Gannondorf from acquiring The Triforce to rule the land with his evil. The Ocarina of Time has won many awards since its original release in 1998 and even is a very playble game in today standards.

The UK release of The Wind Waker featured a bonus disk that contained A port of the N64 classic along with the unreleased on these shores The Master Quest. A lot of people debate the question what is The Master Quest and the differences well I can assure you as I have played the game the only difference is the dungeons have been changed around with the layout and the puzzles which means also the Golden Skulltullas are in different locations within not thorughout the overworld of Hyrule.

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The Legend of Zelda - Majora's Mask N64

Release Date: 2000 2000 2000

Majora's Mask is the 6th instalment of the Zelda series and the 2nd 3-D action adventure which follows on directly from The Ocarina of Time. The game was well received by fans and critics for the more deep and involving story line when in comparison to The Ocarina of Time. It required the expansion pack to be used for extra space allowing more detailed graphics and more characters on screen all at once.

Link has 3 days to save the moon from crashing into Termina. The Skull Kid stole the Majora's Mask which possesses him with evil powers. With the power of The Ocarina of Time link must return to day one each time the end is nigh but he loses all recollection of conversations with town folk, all of his items although money can be deposited into the local bank.

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The Legend Of Zelda - The Oracle Of Seasons/Ages Gameboy Color

Release Date: 2001 2001 2001

These games were intentionally to be linked together so that once you had completed one a password system entitled you to start the new quest with some of the information being carried over and also once both games were complete Link must destroy Twinrova with their evil plot to resurrect the evil Gannon.

The game originally was scheduled for a trilogy with relation to The Triforce but due to hardware difficulties it proved too much and was designed on two separate cartridges for the Gameboy Color. However these games were released towards the end cycle of the Gameboy Color and the introduction of the Gameboy Advance. When The Oracle of Seasons/Time was used on a Gameboy Advance you could enter a secret shop and the colours were slightly brighter.

The Oracle of Seasons/Ages was well recieved by fans of Zelda and game critics it sold about 4 million copies each and is in the charts for Greatest Nintendo Games of all time the top list. The Official Nintendo Magazine voted both games joint in at 57th of a top 100 greatest list.

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The Legend of Zelda - A Link To The Past/The Four Swords Gameboy Advance

Release Date: 2003 2002 2003

A Link To The Past is a direct port from the SNES classic although additional new sound effects that were used from The Ocarina of Time.

The main game features the conventional gameplay to the traditional Legend of Zelda series with a look and feel similar to A Link to The Past however in this action/adventure you can team up with 3 other people to co-operate solving puzzles and gather the force gems to obtain the Four Sword. This made the game a lot different from any other Zelda game produced. Flagship designed the game under licence by Nintendo, the same people responsible for The Oracle of Seasons/Ages.

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The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker Gamecube

Release Date: 2002 2003 2003

The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker is the 10th game in the series released for the Nintendo Gamecube in Japan on December 13th 2002, North America on March 24th 2003 and last but not least the European market on May 3rd 2003. The most significant characteristic this game portraits a young Link that shows more emotion because of the choice of cel-shdaed graphics.

After seeing Early footage of Link duelling Gannondorf with high res detailed graphics in a short movie shown at Spaceworld 2001 fans were stunned to discover the new way forward for Links latest quest at the time when news surfaced that the graphics would be cel-shaded and with a rather cartoon appearance.

The Wind Waker was issued with a bonus disk in the UK which featured a direct port of The Ocarina of Time and also the unreleased in Europe The Ocarina of Time: The Master Quest, which is the same game but with re-arranged dungeons which was originally intended for the N64 Disk Drive add on which flopped.

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The Legend of Zelda - Four Swords Adventure Gamecube

Release Date: 2004 2004 2005

The Four Swords was delayed in the UK until early 2005 possible reasons for this were because there was no competition with the sales of The Minish Cap which was released in the UK around Christmas 2004. The Gameboy Advance can be used as a controller in conjunction with this game in use with a cable that links both components together.

Nintendo Power selected The Four Swords as the 48th best game to ever be made on a Nintendo system. The game can be played from one to four players which features 8 worlds with 3 stages following on to a boss battle. The game adapts a look from A Link to The Past with the overdown look view but also includes some WInd Waker elements.

Some critics stated that the graphics were a rehash of 2D sprites with Gamecube particle effects looking like a GBA game but slightly fancier. Despite the bad remarks The Four Swords Adventures was the third best selling game of June in 2004 in North America.

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The Legend of Zelda - The Minish Cap Gameboy Advance

Release Date: 2004 2005 2004

Capcom and Flagship had completed work on The Oracle of Seasons/Ages and began working on a new game. In February 2003 Nintendo announced that a game called The Minish Cap was well underway and into development. In September 2004 The Minish Cap website was launched which showcased Link allowing interactive features making Link shrink much smaller in size.

The Legend Of Zelda - The Minish Cap is the third Zelda game to feature the Four Sword instead of the legendary Mastersword. The game was developed by Flagship which was released for the Gameboy Advance in 2004 for Japan and 2005 for Europe and North America. The fascinating main feature in The Minish Cap is that Link can shrink to the size of the Picori race, a small thumb sized race.

The Game was a fan favourite also amongst the critics being named 20th best Gameboy Advance game, as featured by IGN along with an award from Gamespot for Gameboy Advance Game of the Year.

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The Legend of Zelda - The Twilight Princess Gamecube/Wii

Release Date: 2006 2006 2006

The Legend Of Zelda - The Twilight Princess is the 13th instalment in the series. The game was originally planned for release in November 2005 but a decision was made to delay the game in order to add more content. This is the first Zelda game ever to be released as a launch title for the brand New Nintendo System, The Wii, as also it was released on the Gamecube as one of Nintendo's productive last games. The Wii version was released on November 19th 2006 in North America and December 2006 for the rest of the world.

Nintendo's Official Magazine rated The Twilight Princess 16th in The Greatest Nintendo Games of All Time. For the Gamecube version IGN gave awards for the Best Artistic Design, Best Original Score and Best Use of Sound to The Twilight Princess. Both games are identically similar despite the game had to be mirrored for the Wii version because most users are right handed whereas Link is well known for his left handed blade skills so the controls catered for the most common of players.

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The Legend of Zelda - The Phantom Hourglass Nintendo DS

Release Date: 2007 2007 2007

The Phantom Hourglass was released in Japan in June of 2007, whilst North America and Europe had to wait until October 2007 for a copy. The game uses the features of the DS by touching the screen with the stylus you can control Link and other interactive features such as the microphone to blow out flames or shout into.

The Phantom Hourglass is a direct sequel to The Wind Waker which depicts certain similarities initially immediately upon starting the quest, the graphics are cel-shaded and some of the characters have returned. The controls make use of the stylus in preference to the D pad a decision that is generally well received amongst fans and critics however some people complain that the option of being able to use the D pad should have been opted for.

Gamespy and IGN named The Phantom Hourglass as the 2007 DS Game of the Year along with receiving numerous awards such as the Best Handheld Game at the 2008 Golden Joystick award. The Nintendo Official Magazine placed the game 38th in its top 100 Greatest Nintendo Games of All Time.

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The Legend of Zelda - Spirit Tracks Nintendo DS

Release Date: TBA TBA TBA

The Legend Of Zelda - Spirit Tracks has just been announced as the next game in development for the Nintendo DS. Check out the trailer over at Youtube if you haven't already, the graphical style takes off from the same as The Phantom Hourglass and Link takes on a role as a Train Driver guiding a train amongst the tracks on open land unknown of so far. More information will come on this game as it is revealed.

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