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The Legend of Zelda Games in 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.
The Legend of Zelda Games in Order: complete list
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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.
One more thing worth planning around: Nintendo is remaking Ocarina of Time for Switch 2 in 2026. When it lands, the timeline's pivot point becomes the most natural entry point for a new generation, so if you have been waiting for the right moment to start at the top of the chronology, that is it.
Timeline 1986-2026
Every entry by release year: rows that share a year are a cluster, and the long droughts are called out on the rail.
- 1986 The Legend of Zelda
- 1987 Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
- 4-year gap
- 1991 A Link to the Past
- 1993 Link's Awakening
- 5-year gap
- 1998 Ocarina of Time
- 2000 Majora's Mask
- 2001 Oracle of Ages / Oracle of Seasons
- 2002 The Wind Waker
- 2004 The Minish Cap
- 2006 Twilight Princess
- 2007 Phantom Hourglass
- 2009 Spirit Tracks
- 2011 Ocarina of Time 3DSkyward Sword
- 2013 A Link Between Worlds
- 4-year gap
- 2017 Breath of the Wild
- 6-year gap
- 2023 Tears of the Kingdom
- 2024 Echoes of Wisdom
- 2026 Ocarina of Time (Switch 2)
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.
Tap any game to jump to it in the list above.
Where to play it today
- Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack (NES, SNES, N64 and Game Boy classics including the originals, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask and A Link to the Past)
- Nintendo eShop (Switch remakes and modern entries: Link's Awakening remake, Skyward Sword HD, Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, Echoes of Wisdom)
- Switch retail cartridges and Nintendo Switch 2 for the latest mainline games
- Original hardware/cartridges for older entries via the secondhand market
Availability changes often and varies by region - links search each platform for The Legend of Zelda.
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.
Is Ocarina of Time coming to Nintendo Switch 2?
Yes. Nintendo announced a full remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time at the June 2026 Nintendo Direct, launching in 2026 exclusively on Switch 2. It is the second time the classic has been rebuilt, after Ocarina of Time 3D on the 3DS in 2011. Beyond the 2026 window, Nintendo has not shared an exact date or details yet; the N64 original also remains playable via Nintendo Switch Online.
Is there a Legend of Zelda movie?
Yes. A live-action The Legend of Zelda film directed by Wes Ball, produced by Nintendo with Sony Pictures, is dated for theaters on April 30, 2027. The date has moved twice (from March 2027, then May 2027), which Shigeru Miyamoto attributed to giving production more time.
Last verified · Sources: en.wikipedia.org, zelda.fandom.com, zeldadungeon.net, nintendo.fandom.com
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