Last year marked the 35th anniversary of Super Mario. To celebrate, Nintendo brought some of their superstar's best adventures to the Switch, along with new games as well. Now that it's 2021, it is time for The Legend of Zelda fans to celebrate 35 years of this amazing franchise, and they can't wait to see what Nintendo has in store.
So far, Nintendo has not revealed much, with the exception of Skyward Sword coming to the Switch. But there are a lot of other installments in the series that deserve to be on this system just as much. Here are ten of them.
10 Majora's Mask
Majora's Mask originally released on the Nintendo 64 in 2000. After an encounter with Skull Kid, Link ends up in a mysterious land called Termina. Being corrupted by the mask that the game is named after, Skull Kid becomes a big threat and Link needs to stop him in three days. Luckily, he can go back in time by using his ocarina, allowing players to progress throughout the game even after they run out of time. This is considered by many gamers to be one of the best installments in the franchise and has released on the GameCube, Wii, Wii U, and 3DS. It should be the Switch's turn next.
9 A Link Between Worlds
Nintendo Switch Online allows gamers to play retro games, one of which being A Link to the Past. However, its sequel, A Link Between Worlds probably won't ever come to the subscription service as it was only released back in 2013 for the 3DS. Yuga, a sorcerer who can turn people into paintings, uses his powers on Link. However, since Link had a bracelet that protected him, this allowed him to go inside of walls and move around them. With its unique gameplay, A Link Between Worlds was one of the best games on the 3DS and could do even better on the Switch.
8 Tri Force Heroes
Another game that released on the 3DS is Tri Force Heroes, which came out in 2015. This is one of the few games in the series that not only has multiplayer, but is also more fun when teaming up with friends as there are three characters to play as.
Despite having a different art style that is similar to games where players control Toon Link, one of the heroes in this game is actually the same as the one from A Link Between Worlds so it would be great if these two titles released together.
7 Four Swords Adventures
Speaking of teaming up with other players, there are four Links to control in Four Swords Adventures. It was released in 2004 on the GameCube. After Link encounters an evil version of himself, Shadow Link, he picks up the Four Sword and splits into four people. However, the Four Sword was keeping Vaati, a much greater enemy of Hyrule, away. Players must use the four Links to defeat Vaati and keep Hyrule safe. Outside of Hyrulean Adventure, the story mode of the game, players can also fight each other in Shadow Battle to determine who is the better Link.
6 Oracle Of Seasons/Oracle Of Ages
Though Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages are two separate games, it's hard to think of one without the other as they were both released on the Game Boy Color in 2001. In Oracle of Seasons, Link finds himself in a mysterious land called Holodrum and fights against the General of Darkness, Onox, to save the Oracle of Seasons, Din. In Oracle of Ages, he goes back in time to Labrynna, where he fights Veran to save the Oracle of Ages, Nayru.
5 The Wind Waker
The Wind Waker is one of the best Zelda games out there. It released on the GameCube in 2003 and was remastered on the Wii U ten years later. This is one of the few Zelda games in which Link has a family. He lives with his grandmother and sister, with the latter being captured by a bird. When Link sets off to save her, he begins his adventures across the sea with the King of Red Lions, a ship that can talk, which players use to travel in.
4 Phantom Hourglass
Phantom Hourglass is a sequel to The Wind Waker. It was released in 2007 on the DS and was also available on the Wii U. Though it has a similar art style and tells another adventure of Link travelling the sea, this installment is very different than The Wind Waker when it comes to gameplay.
It is a 2D game in which players use the DS' stylus. Though the Switch doesn't have a stylus, players can touch the screen to do the same things they would with the DS. And, similar to Skyward Sword, Nintendo could design the game to be played with other controls to make it even better.
3 The Minish Cap
The Minish Cap released in 2005 on the Game Boy Advance and later came to the Wii U. In the chronology of the series, this is the second installment, taking place after Skyward Sword. After Vaati sends monsters to Hyrule, Link goes on a journey to stop him. He meets Ezlo, a talking hat that helps him on his quest and allows him to shrink to the size of a Minish, small creatures that live in Hyrule. With this ability, players can see Hyrule from a completely different view than other games.
2 Twilight Princess
Twilight Princess released on the GameCube and Wii in 2006, and the Wii U ten years later. This is one of the darkest installments in the series and, compared to other games, looks the most realistic, making it a very unique title. After parts of Hyrule were taken by Twilight, Link turns into a wolf and meets a Twili named Midna who teams up with him to bring Hyrule back to normal. This was one of the franchise's most successful games, being the second best selling title that is not available on the Switch.
1 Ocarina Of Time
The only installment in the franchise that has sold more copies than Twilight Princess and isn't available on the Switch is, of course, Ocarina of Time. This classic masterpiece was the first 3D Zelda title, which released in 1998 on the Nintendo 64, and would later come out on the GameCube, Wii, Wii U, and 3DS. It would be shocking if it didn't also come to the Switch as it would probably sell more copies than it did on any other system.