The Legend of Zelda games in chronological and release order

When you think about the most popular video game franchises, names like Call of Duty, Super Mario, Pac-Man, Grand Theft Auto, and The Legend of Zelda probably come to mind. A conversation about the greatest video game franchises of all time cannot be had without The Legend of Zelda franchise included. The Legend of Zelda is one of the greatest video game franchises of all time because of the great story it has told dating all the way back to 1986.

The newest adventure that Link will be embarking on in the iconic franchise is coming with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Tears of the Kingdom will be a sequel to 2017’s smash hit Breath of the Wild, and it will be released on May 12, 2023. In order to get ready for the newest installment, it is sometimes best to look back at the games in the franchise that has gotten us to this point 37 years later.

The Legend of Zelda Games in Release Date Order

• The Legend of Zelda (1986)
• Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1987)
• The Legend of Zelda: A link to the past (1991)
• The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (1993)
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
• The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (2000)
• The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages (2001)
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002)
• The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords (2002)
• The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (2004)
• The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (2004)
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006)
• The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (2007)
• The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (2009)
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011)
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (2013)
• The Legend of Zelda: Trinity Force Heroes (2015)
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)

If you have been playing The Legend of Zelda games since the first release in 1986, then you have been playing them in the release date order. Most gamers tend to play video games in the order that they were released, especially if they were big fans of the franchise because you would buy them on the first day of the release. Nintendo released them in this order for a reason, so playing them in release date order is probably not a bad idea.

However, the release order is not necessarily reflective of the chronological order in which each game is set. Chronological order is the order that the story goes in the timeline. If you want to witness Link and Zelda’s early days all the way to what is currently happening in their universe, then this would be the way you want to play the games.

The Legend of Zelda Games in Chronological Order

• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
• The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
• The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
• The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
• The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
• The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
• The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
• The Legend of Zelda: A link to the past
• The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
• The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
• The Legend of Zelda: Trinity Force Heroes
• The Legend of Zelda
• Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong ways to play The Legend of Zelda games. You can play them in whatever order you wish. No matter which games you decide to play, there are some true gems on this list and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is hopefully going to prove that it is a gem as well.