Zelda games in order: By release date and timeline
1Zelda games in order: By release date and timeline
THE Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 is a hot topic after gamers were given a sneak preview of what is to come in 2023.
But if you can't wait until then to play Zelda, you can take a trip down memory lane, where you will find a lost list of Zelda history - and we have everything you need to know.
Zelda games release order
As many gamers will know, with most long-running franchises the order to play the series of a game can become jumbled and complicated - but the easiest way to play Zelda is in order of release.
And here's how you play the Nintendo favourite.
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 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: Breath of the Wild 2 (TBC in 2023)
It is also worth noting that a number of titles such as Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (2019) and Cadence of Hyrule (2019) are considered as spinoffs and not part of the core release order.
However, not everyone will agree on a definitive order that you can play Zelda in - and that's because of the different timelines that exist throughout the games.
Zelda timeline order
There are a number of timelines that gamers need to know about if they want to play Zelda with a consistent narrative.
A lot of the games jump around across time, so we've included only the games that will keep the timeline flowing - from beginning to end or from child timeline to fallen hero timeline.
Skyward Sword (2011)
The Minish Cap (2004)
Four Swords (2002)
Orcarina (1998)
Majora's Mask (2000)
Twilight Princess (2006)
Four Swords Adventures (2004)
The Wind Waker (2002)
Phantom Hourglass (2007)
Spirit Tracks (2009)
A Link to the Past (1991)
Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages (2001)
Link's Awakening (1993 - remade in 2019)
A Link Between Worlds (2013)
Tri Force Heroes (2015)
The Legend of Zelda (1986)
Zelda II: The Adventure of Line (1987)
Breath of the Wild (2016)
This brings us to the next game in the series - the much anticipated release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2.
Despite the release date being pushed to 2023 - fans of Zelda are eager to see the destruction of Hyrule again and Link take to the skies.