Game · in order

The Legend of Zelda Games in Order

By the Bingerun team · How we choose the order →

The mainline Legend of Zelda series from the 1986 NES original through 2024's Echoes of Wisdom, ordered two ways: by release date and by Nintendo's official Hyrule Historia chronology, which famously forks into three branches after Ocarina of Time.

Why this order?

For almost everyone, release order is the right way in. The games were designed to be played as they came out, each one assuming you've absorbed the conventions the last one established — so starting with the 1986 NES original (or, more realistically, with Ocarina of Time or A Link to the Past) and moving forward never asks you to hold a confusing chronology in your head. Crucially, the Zelda games are near-standalone: each is a fresh Link, a fresh Zelda, and a fresh telling of the same legend, so you lose almost nothing by skipping around. That's why release order is the newcomer-safe default.

The "story" order is genuinely complicated, and that's not your imagination. Nintendo's official timeline, published in the 2011 art book Hyrule Historia, runs in a single line through Skyward Sword, The Minish Cap, the Four Swords games and Ocarina of Time — and then splits into three parallel branches depending on what happens at the climax of Ocarina of Time. The Child branch follows Link sent back to his childhood (Majora's Mask, Twilight Princess); the Adult branch assumes the adult hero stays gone and Hyrule is later flooded (The Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks); and the Fallen Hero branch imagines the hero losing to Ganon entirely, leading to A Link to the Past, the original NES games and beyond.

That three-way fork is unique in gaming and the single biggest reason a clean "play in story order" list doesn't really exist. Any chronological reading forces you to pick one branch, finish it, then jump back to the split and walk down another — which is why we present the timeline as one labeled linear sequence rather than pretending it's a straight line. Treat the branch labels as the important part, not the exact row order across branches.

And then there's the far end. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom sit thousands of years after everything else, so distant that Nintendo has deliberately left which branch they descend from open to interpretation — a soft reset of the whole legend. Echoes of Wisdom, the 2024 entry that finally makes Zelda herself the playable hero, is the newest mainline game and the natural place a release-order run ends today.

Timeline 1986–2024

Every release plotted by year — taller stacks mean more that year. Hover a marker for the title.

The The Legend of Zelda timeline

Nintendo's official Hyrule Historia chronology runs as a single line — right up until the climax of Ocarina of Time, where it forks into three parallel timelines based on how that game ends. This is the split a flat list can't show you.

↓ splits into three timelines

Child Era Link is sent back to his childhood to warn Hyrule of Ganon.

Adult Era The hero never returns; ages later, Hyrule is flooded.

Fallen Hero Link falls to Ganon — the darkest branch, and where the original games sit.

The Distant Future So far ahead that Nintendo deliberately leaves which branch it descends from unknown — a soft reset of the whole legend.

Tap any game to jump to it in the list above.

Where to play it today

Affiliate links (Bookshop.org for books, store links for games/films) slot in here.

Frequently asked questions

How many Legend of Zelda games are there?

There are 17 mainline canonical entries from 1986 to 2024 in this list (counting the paired Oracle games as one). Counting every remake, multiplayer spin-off (Four Swords, Tri Force Heroes), CD-i title and remaster, the total climbs well past 20, but the core single-player series most people mean is around 17-19 games.

What order should I play the Zelda games in?

For newcomers, release order is the safest choice because each game stands almost entirely on its own and the series was designed to be experienced as it came out. Many people start with Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past, or Breath of the Wild rather than the 1986 original.

Why does the Zelda timeline split into three?

Nintendo's official Hyrule Historia chronology forks after Ocarina of Time based on its climax: the Child branch (hero sent back in time), the Adult branch (hero stays gone, Hyrule is later flooded), and the Fallen Hero branch (the hero loses to Ganon). It's the only major game series with an officially branching canon.

Where do Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom fall in the timeline?

Both sit at the very far end, thousands of years after the rest of the series. Nintendo has deliberately left which of the three branches they descend from open to player interpretation, effectively soft-rebooting the legend.

Is Echoes of Wisdom a mainline Zelda game?

Yes. Released in 2024, Echoes of Wisdom is the newest mainline entry and the first in which Princess Zelda, not Link, is the main playable character.

Last verified 2026-06-15 · Sources: en.wikipedia.org, zelda.fandom.com, zeldadungeon.net, nintendo.fandom.com

← Browse all orders

The Legend of Zelda Games in Order