@SupremeSarna I finally got a chance to sit down and read through this.
I'm a huge Zelda fan. I've been playing it since I was 3 years old, starting with the original. I fondly remember spending hours bombing every wall and burning every bush, looking for secrets. I played most of them as they came out (multiple times each), but got behind a bit around the GC era as there were a few years in a row when I really wasn't doing much gaming. I've also gone back and re-played the Zelda games a lot. My most re-played title is Link's Awakening. I've re-played it about once per year, on average, and even dabbled with speedrunning it a bit. Over the last several years, I've been trying to replay the entire series, in order. Once, I was going through them in order of release, but typically I go through all of the 2D Zelda games first, then 3D. As I play them, I've been documenting several things. My likes/dislikes, new things each game introduced to the franchise, things that returned from previous games (excluding the Zelda staples of course). However, there were multiple times when I would get through several games, just to get distracted by something else for a while. By the time I would finally return to the project, it had been so long that I would decide to start over, because I really wanted to play them all close together so that I could compare/rank them as accurately as possible. Anyway, I'm currently the closest to completing the project than I've ever been. I just have Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword left, and I'm trying to finish them before Tears of the Kingdom drops. Hopefully I can get that done.
My Zelda ranking has changed many times over the years. But here's what it looks like currently:
1) Link's Awakening
2) A Link to the Past
3) A Link Between Worlds
4) Ocarina of Time
5) Breath of the Wild
6) Oracle of Seasons
7) Oracle of Ages
8) The Minish Cap
9) The Legend of Zelda (original)
10) Twilight Princess
11) The Wind Waker
12) Phantom Hourglass
13) Spirit Tracks
14) Tri-Force Heroes
15) Majora's Mask
16) Skyward Sword
17) Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
18) Four Swords Adventures
19) Four Swords
Clearly, I prefer the 2D Zelda games over the 3D ones, overall.
> I started by playing older games: A Link to the Past, The Legend of Zelda,
> Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and Ocarina of Time 3D. I figured they’d
> be fun but have a few archaic elements that I’d need to adjust to. While that’s true,
> these games hold up surprisingly well considering their ages. They all contributed
> to the classic Zelda template we know and love, and one of them is said to be the
> greatest game ever made. Sadly, I wasn’t able to fully appreciate three of them due
> to real-life events going on for the first few months of 2022. A string of unfortunate
> events drained my patience for life in general, and that impatience didn’t mix well
> with puzzle-focused games that occasionally lack direction. I figured I was too dumb
> for Zelda at first, and I’d frequently rob myself of satisfaction by looking up the
> answer to any part that troubled me. My feeling of incompetence would subside as
> I gained more experience.
I've had that happen many times in the past. Sometimes it's just bad timing for a game, but then I replay it later and love it. One of the first times I tried replaying OoT in my project I mentioned, I just could not get into it for whatever reason. I ended up deciding it was just great for it's day but didn't hold up well anymore, and dropped it way down low in my ranking. But, I finally revisited it around the end of 2021 and loved it almost as much as when I was a kid.
> The exception to this was Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. I’d played it in November
> 2021 thanks to the Game & Watch, and it kicked my teeth in then. After beating Zelda
> 1 in a weekend, I tried my hand at the Switch Online SP version that maxed out your
> stats from the start. I then applied my knowledge from the 2021 playthrough and found
> it much more fun on a second quest. This opened my eyes to the game’s underappreciated
> quality, and I played it repeatedly to get better and better. As some users here
> have noticed, I’ve amassed a decent collection of Zelda II ports just for the heck
> of it, and I played every one to hone my skills (the Wii U one is the worst by far).
> I became enamored with this version of Hyrule, the combat, the enemies, the bosses,
> adorably plump NPC ladies, the backstory written in the manual, and the scene where
> teenage Link makes out with an ancient princess! Pogoing on enemies is always satisfying
> in platformers, and Zelda II is no exception. With all that practice, I went from
> 117 game overs to 2, and I’ll probably beat it with 0 someday. This black sheep rules!
I do like Zelda II and think it's a great game, but when it comes to Zelda games, I much prefer the style that most of the others share. Still, I wouldn't be opposed to Nintendo making a more modern 2D side-scrolling Zelda game. That could be a lot of fun. You should try out the 2nd Quest of the original Zelda game some day, that'll put some hair on your chest!
> In April, I chose to bounce back from a 3D game to a 2D one, specifically one with
> more modern conventions. I wanted to play A Link Between Worlds while my A Link
> to the Past adventure was still fresh in my mind. Long story short, I fell in love
> with this 3DS adventure--I couldn't put it down! With the weather getting nicer,
> life's struggles easing up considerably, and an easier game in my hands, I felt refreshed.
> I journeyed with the wall-merging mechanic, simped for the tsundere Irene, relaxed
> to Flute Boy's lovely melodies, scratched my head in confusion when Queen Oren inflated,
> and hunted down every Heart Piece and Maiamai in Hyrule/Lorule. This was a terrific
> shot in the arm that convinced me this challenge was worthwhile.
Yeah, ALBW is freaking fantastic. I clearly remember the first time I played through it, I was simply obsessed! I couldn't wait to get to it every evening, and would play it for hours. It's definitely one of my most nostalgic video games. It's funny, ALBW is one of my most nostalgic games from my adult years, and ALttP is one of my most nostalgic from my childhood.
> As the leaves fell from the branches outside, I played the most fitting game I had
> left: Oracle of Seasons for October, followed by Oracle of Ages for November
> and Link's Awakening (Switch) for December. I felt like I was returning to the
> beginning of the challenge, now experienced and ready to take on retro games. Full
> disclosure: As @Scott pointed out to me, the Oracle games work in such a way that
> the first game you play (whichever you pick) will be less complete, but using a password
> at the start of the second game automatically adds story nuance, character depth,
> and optional side quests to that one. So my perspective on Oracle of Seasons and
> Ages is colored in favor of the second game I played, that being Ages.
I definitely recommend playing them in the other order some day
> 12. Wind Waker HD - An overly ambitious concept for a console that couldn't handle
> it, which was then rushed out the door. Found much of it aggravating, padded, and
> overall wanting. The HD version improved a few things, but not enough.
I had only played this one once, a long time ago (the original), and didn't really have a high opinion of it. But about a year ago I finally played Wind Waker HD and enjoyed it way more than I expected. It was definitely tedious at times (especially since I was going for 100%) but there were so many things I enjoyed about the game. The dungeons in particular were top-notch. I also appreciated the remixed music from previous Zelda games. I didn't realize it when I played BotW, but a lot of the things that I thought were new in that game were actually introduced in WW (The Rito, Koroks, and paragliding).
> 11. The Legend of Zelda - Laid the groundwork for adventure games, but is too open-ended,
> a bit directionless, and full of poor translations. "10TH ENEMY HAS THE BOMB," anyone?
For the time it came out, it was amazing and revolutionary. But a first time play in 2022? Yeah, it's got some problems. Since I played it back when it was relatively new, I can overlook it's shortcomings. Between that, and knowing the game inside and out, I find this one to be one of the easiest to just pick up and replay. I really love how open-world it is, and would love to see a brand new 2D Zelda game like it, but much bigger/modern.
> 10. Tri Force Heroes - Liked the concept, execution, and sillier-than-usual personality.
> But a dwindling player base that can sometimes be incompetent will hurt its fun factor.
I had a blast with this game, but I had 2 friends to play it with. If I had to play it by myself, or with randoms online, I probably would have hated it. Me and my kids have slowly been working through it over the last few years. We have just a couple more stages to complete.
> 9. A Link to the Past - Created many famous hallmarks, but its design sometimes
> defies lessons it taught in the first place. Loved much of it, but hated almost as
> much, especially the convoluted way Magic Mirror warping works.
I remember disliking the way the Mirror worked when I was new to the game, but you get used to it over time. I'm curious what you mean by "its design sometimes defies lessons it taught in the first place" though.
> 8. Ocarina of Time 3D - Does a ton of things right in bringing Zelda to the third
> dimension and is brimming with memorable characters. The 3DS remake enhances all
> of it with nicer graphics! But it does have a number of dungeons in a row that wore
> out their welcome pretty quickly (Forest-Water Temple).
I absolutely love the dungeons in this game. There one of it's greatest strengths IMO.
> 7. Oracle of Seasons - From what I played, it's a consistently good Zelda game
> by Capcom and that's about it. Little stood out to me besides the dopey but lovable
> Great Moblin, flying the winged bear Moosh over long pits, and the final boss being
> a fight on a 2D plane.
How can you NOT love the season-changing mechanic though?? I thought that was so unique and fun. I love that it essentially gives you 4 different versions of each tile of the map.
> 6. Link's Awakening (Switch) - A faithful remake of an excellent Game Boy Color
> adventure with beautiful graphics. It sadly doesn't attempt to do much more than
> that, and they didn't fix one of my issues with the original: The fate of Koholint
> Island is in your hands, but 95% of its inhabitants are unremarkable.
LA actually has some of my favorite NPCs out of any Zelda game, so I'm surprised by that last criticism. I do wish they had done more with the Switch version and not just made a 1-for-1 remake.
> 2. A Link Between Worlds - An addicting romp through an endearing world, complete
> with modern mechanics and an improved take on ALttP. The wall-merging mechanic adds
> depth to puzzles, the story and characters are more memorable than ALttP, and it's
> more forgiving than the other games. This one oozes joy!
Already commented on this one above, but I'd like to add that I REALLY hope Nintendo gives us another 2D Zelda game soon. ALBW proved 2 things. 1) They can still make an amazing 2D Zelda game. 2) Players still want 2D Zelda games! I feel like the 3D Zelda games get most of the attention overall, but I greatly prefer the 2D ones.
Are you going to play the rest of the Zelda games?
the same as Four Swords that was playable on the LttP 
cart?
