Majora’s Mask. 10 best Legend of Zelda games

The existential dread and fear portrayed in Majora’s Mask is something that stays with you. Later games in the series tried to capture this maturity and darkness, but none of them has ever quite lived up to what was accomplished on Nintendo 64. The face on the moon alone probably still haunts some people.

The three-day cycle of Groundhog-Day-style time travel certainly became frustrating for some players, but the name of the game in this case was persistence. The video game industry has constantly fought back and forth about save points and forcing players to replay parts of the game after failing. Original arcade games simply had players start from the beginning, while more modern games introduced checkpoints or respawns to avoid a lot of that hustle. Both have advantages in the right situations, but Majora’s Mask made it into a mechanic.

Creativity and innovation are adjectives that go side by side with this franchise, and Majora’s Mask has that in spades. This game is no doubt an unforgettable, timeless classic. Whether it’s a fond memory or a nightmare of a moon crashing into the earth.

The bottom of the list really begins to edge into “masterpiece territory.” Without a doubt any of the games on this list are worth playing, as are many other Zelda games not listed here. But it is fair to argue that the last few games, as well as those coming up, might be interchangeable from person to person.

Ocarina of Time

For almost twenty years, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time held the highest spot among all the Legend of Zelda games, and for a good reason. This game is a crowning achievement in video game history.

The music is layered with memorable tracks that filled the first 3D Zelda world with the perfect atmosphere from the darkest dungeon to the brightest village. You could almost hear the sounds echoing across the virtual 3D world.

What Ocarina of Time really revolutionized was the ability to tell expansive stories through the medium of video games. From Link’s bright beginnings to his dark adulthood, this game is a coming of age story about how the world changes as you age, and not always for the better.

While there is no doubt this game had its flaws, the story, the exploration, the music, and the gameplay revolutionized what a video game could be, and paved the road ahead. Ocarina of Time is undoubtedly a masterpiece.