Every Zelda Game, Ranked By Difficulty - The first knowledge sharing application in Vietnam

The Legend of Zelda series has had a very long history, with each game with their own unique aspects. The variable that has arguably changed the most over time is the difficulty level of each respective game.

RELATED: The Best Nintendo Exclusives of The Last Decade, Ranked (According To Metacritic)

Beginning on the NES, games were often more difficult to cover for the fact that they were fairly short due to technological limitations. As consoles have grown more advanced, the way that difficulty is implemented into games has changed drastically. Which Zelda games stick out for testing you as a true hero?

Updated February 15, 2023 by Hilton Webster: The Legend of Zelda series is one of the oldest in gaming, and has never really waned in success. The games are known and loved for their iconic music, challenging dungeons, and incredible enemies, though each game is definitely very different in terms of difficulty.

THEGAMER VIDEO OF THE DAY

A Link Between Worlds

The sequel to A Link to the Past we never knew we needed feels like a bit of a breeze at times, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The game has some really unique dungeons and clever puzzles with the new wall-merging mechanic, but enemies are on the weaker side.

The game loads you with plenty of new upgrades and hearts as the game goes on, too. This gives you some great freedom to play around, but means you’re very rarely mortally challenged.

Minish Cap

Traveling between bite-sized and life-sized worlds make adventuring with our cute hero and trusty cap a blast. Minish Cap has a super limited amount of dungeons, and each one only feels a little harder than the last.

While some of the puzzles require a bit of critical thinking, most are a breeze. Minish Capdoes have some stellar sidequests, though, and plenty of them to boot. And now it’s easier to access than ever with Nintendo Switch Online.

Wind Waker

Zelda fans have definitely grown on this beloved classic, and it now stands as one of the most popular games in the series. Criticism often arose around its ‘childish’ art style, and worry surrounding the game’s difficulty wasn’t uncommon.

RELATED:Best Wii U Games Ever (According to Metacritic)

While not a cakewalk by any stretch, the linear combat and more simplistic dungeons might never let you see the game over screen, especially without Wind Waker HD’s Hero Mode.

Phantom Hourglass

Acting as a direct sequel to Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass was released as a DS game in 2007 with the same gorgeous artstyle. In it, you control a steamboat, the S.S. Linebeck, and plot journeys across the world using the touchscreen.

Being a handheld entry, the game is a bit on the easier side, with relatively harmless enemies but decently challenging dungeons. The hardest aspect of the game is likely adjusting to touch-based controls over the more traditional variety.

Spirit Tracks

Where Phantom Hourglass was a sequel to Wind Waker, Spirit Tracks is a sequel to the former. The game plays very similarly to Phantom Hourglass, albeit with a train this time aboard land.

As such, its difficulty is fairly on par with its predecessor as well. This time around you might at least be more used to touch controls, but it also adds some new challenges by way of passengers and goods Link needs to transport.

Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity

After opening its series up to more developers, Nintendo has found great success. The most successful of these have ended up being Warriors games, one of the most acclaimed being Age of Calamity, a prequel to Breath of the Wild.

RELATED: The Best Musou Games

The difficulty of the game is a bit mixed. For players of the genre, it’ll be a breeze and not too demanding. However, it is nothing like your stand Zelda game, and may take some adjusting to understand.

Breath of the Wild

The Switch’s first Zelda game was ‘wildly’ different than any other game we’ve seen thus far, and has some interesting levels of challenge. By taking the series in a completely different direction, some of the conventions of the series suffer.

Breath of the Wild’s combat is more varied and complex than any other game, but enemy AI leaves a lot to be desired. Being able to replenish health with a nice home-cooked meal in the middle of combat also takes out some of the stakes of engaging a group of angry Bokoblins.

Cadence Of Hyrule

Many people will have heard of the game Crypt of the Necrodancer. It’s a beloved indie hit about moving to the beat to defeat your enemies. Meanwhile, Zelda games are beloved for their music. The two mixed together gets you the perfect combo: Cadence of Hyrule.

Cadence of Hyrule is not an easy game, per se. To jump right into it is hard, as you have to pay close attention to everything. Rather helpfully though, being a big fan of Zelda music will probably make it quite a bit easier to follow along with the music without as much need for the on-screen guides.

Twilight Princess

The second GameCube title boasts a bit more challenge than the first, but our hero is particularly buff this time around with a plethora of Hidden Skills in his arsenal. Twilight Princess has some fantastic dungeons with some fairly challenging puzzles.

RELATED: The Legend of Zelda: Every Major Home Console Release, Ranked

The game has a similar predicament with its enemies as Wind Waker, as enemies are a bit aloof and are taken out quite easily by our favorite ranch hand and his muscles.

Skyward Sword

Skyward Sword is one of the most divisive games in the entire series, often criticized for its motion controls and overworld. That said, it also finally gave a full chronology to the world, and has some of the best dungeons in the series.

One area that Skyward Sworddoes particularly well in is its dungeons, where it has some of the most challenging ones the series has to offer. Enemies are still no match for our Skyward Hero, but they at least have the ability to block and counter to put up a fight.

Four Swords Adventures

Originally released in a bundle with the Game Boy Advance version of A Link To The Past, Four Swords was the Zelda series’ first foray into multiplayer. It was a neat little game, and was followed up with the sequel and successor, Four Swords Adventure.

The game is by all means built for multiplayer, so much of your success would rely on having good teammates, though it’ll be relatively easy with good ones. Single-player is a different story, with maps being slightly adjusted to adapt to just one player, making the difficulty fall squarely on your own ability.

Tri Force Heroes

The next dedicated multiplayer Zelda entry came in 2015 for the 3DS with Tri Force Heroes. Here, each player controls a dedicated Link and help each other to defeat enemies and complete puzzles.

Like Four Swords Adventure before it, much of this difficulty is eased with helpful companions. The single-player however is functionally the same as multiplayer, with you having to control all three Links to play, which is a massive jump in terms of difficulty.

Ocarina of Time

Being the first 3D Zelda game, and an extremely early one at that, Ocarina of Time did an astounding job at creating a beloved experience that is still praised to this day.

RELATED: Most Iconic Video Game Musical Instruments

The controls are slightly primitive compared to later titles, but Ocarina of Timemay have the best balance of difficulty in the series, with a great gradual increase in dungeon and boss difficulty.

Majora’s Mask

Using the same engine as Ocarina of Time, it’s quite understandable for Majora’s Mask to feel similar in terms of difficulty. There are significantly fewer dungeons this time around, but each one feels like a significantly bigger challenge that can take a while to complete.

The game is also playing out across three days, and working around the apocalyptic clock also adds an extra layer of needing to complete your tasks before the world resets.

Link’s Awakening

We’re now at three versions of this GameBoy classic, and each one provides a significant challenge and a wonderful new artstyle to boot.

RELATED: The Legend Of Zelda: Ways Link Changes Across The Series

The dungeons are lengthy with complex puzzles, and it’s difficult to defeat Anti-Kirby without feeling bad. 2D Zelda’s are traditionally a bit harder than 3D titles, and Link’s Awakening is a great introduction to classic Zelda challenge.

A Link to the Past

The third installment in the series still remains one of the most beloved, as it was a massive step up from the previous titles in terms of gameplay, graphical capabilities, and story.

Without straying away from capturing the amount of skill needed to traverse a massive world with your own two feet, A Link to the Past is everything fans loved about the original and more.

Oracle of Seasons & Ages

Premiering on the Game Boy Color in a sort of Pokemon fashion, these two games were extremely similar, but with enough differences to feel like separate experiences. For Zelda titles, these are tough.

RELATED: The Best Zelda Games

Oracle of Ages, in particular, has some of the most brutal dungeons in the entire series, being time-consuming with some of the most complex puzzles Zeldahas to offer.

The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda was, and will forever be, a revolutionary title in gaming history. Back in the ancient times of the NES, games were intentionally very difficult, and Zelda is no exception. From the get-go, you’re abruptly thrown into the world with no directions.

Once you do happen to find a dungeon to explore, you’ll find that it’ll take you at least a few tries to get through it, as the older controls and combat, paired with the unforgiving enemies, don’t do you any favors. Once you reach Ganon, you’ll feel like a hardened adventurer.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Transitioning from the original Zelda to its sequel, The Adventure of Link quickly became the black sheep of the franchise as a completely unfair adventure platformer. This game is straight-up more a gruelling slog than a fair challenge at times by throwing tons of enemies at the already weaker Link, who has abysmal range and damage compared to the first.

The map and dungeons are extremely confusing as well, so completing this game is reserved for the most dedicated of fans.

NEXT: Amazing Facts You Didn’t Know About The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild