The Legend of Zelda cover art

Game entry

The Legend of Zelda

1986 · Action-adventure · NES, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U · Nintendo

GameForever voters place The Legend of Zelda no. 294 in the world ranking, with 1,756 ELO points and 66% of wins across 283 duels settled. Portal 2 is the rival it has faced most: 3 duels, 3 wins and 0 losses. Its best standing outside the world ranking: no. 1 out of 19 (1986).

World rank

no. 294

ELO score

1,756

Wins

66%

Duels played

283

Join the debate · 26

About The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda is the first title in the Zelda series, it has marked the history of video games particularly for it's game mechanics and universe. The player controls Link and must make his way through the forests, graveyards, plains and deserts of the Otherworld to find the secret entrances to the eight dungeons and try to restore the broken Triforce. Among the game's mechanics, it was the first time we saw a continuous world that could be freely explored, power-ups that permanently enhanced the main character's abilities and a battery save feature that allowed players to keep their progress instead of having to start over. The gameplay balanced action sequences with discovery, secrets and exploration.

The community says

Even back then I remember thinking the maze forest and the silence made it feel more mysterious than fun, if that makes sense. I was maybe eight, at a cousin's…

ELO progression

Score moved from 1,500 to 1,756 ELO points over the last 170 days.

Head-to-head

Direct record on the most played match-ups.

In the same genre

All Action-adventure games →
  1. 2 Red Dead Redemption 22018 · Action-adventure 1,961
  2. 3 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild2017 · Action-adventure 1,942
  3. 13 Outer Wilds2019 · Action-adventure 1,917
  4. 17 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past1991 · Action-adventure 1,907
  5. 20 Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain2015 · Action-adventure 1,900

Keep exploring

Ranking of action-adventure games All-time best Nintendo games Ranking of NES games All-time best Wii games Ranking of Nintendo 3DS games Best games on Wii U Best games of the 1980s Ranking of 1986 games Every The Legend of Zelda game, ranked

Around this spot

The games The Legend of Zelda sits between in the world ranking.

  1. 291 Deus Ex: Human Revolution 1,756
  2. 292 Gris 1,756
  3. 293 Super Mario Sunshine 1,756
  4. 294 The Legend of Zelda 1,756
  5. 295 Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis 1,756
  6. 296 Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest 1,756
  7. 297 Baldur's Gate 1,756

More games from Nintendo

Released in 1986

The standing

Where The Legend of Zelda ranks

The world rank mixes every family of games. Here is where The Legend of Zelda stands in each of the ones it belongs to. Its best standing, all families considered: 1 out of 19 (1986).

Where The Legend of Zelda ranks
Ranking Position Games competing
World ranking 294 5,035
Action-adventure 47 329
1980s 4 155
1986 1 19

The community

The debate

26 comments

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  1. UlicesByte

    Even back then I remember thinking the maze forest and the silence made it feel more mysterious than fun, if that makes sense. I was maybe eight, at a cousin's place, and I still think it gets ranked higher out of memory more than anything else.

  2. roob_joe

    Compared to Dark Souls III it feels ancient in every way, but the exploration loop it invented is still the blueprint everyone copies.

    FrameKid2

    Entiendo lo del molde, aunque más que blueprint yo diría que es el punto de partida. ¿Vos lo jugarías hoy sin guía?

  3. Aaron_85

    Me parece que está un poco alto en el ranking (aunque quizás sea porque no lo viví en su momento).

    Moral2003

    Yo también anotaba todo en cuadernos, como tantos en esa época. Comparado con lo de ahora parece de otro planeta, y sin embargo ahí sigue.

    ArcadeKnight

    Yo lo jugué poco, o más bien a ratos, y algo tiene igual.

  4. RetroSniper19

    Lo jugaba en casa de un vecino que tenía la consola, y como no era mío tenía que anotar todo en un cuaderno porque no había forma de guardar bien, o eso creíamos, y pasábamos tardes enteras dibujando mapas a mano, una locura pensándolo ahora.

    Leo_91

    Esa sensación de perderse sin ayuda es justo lo que Portal 2 o The Witcher 3 te ahorran con sus mapas y marcadores, y a veces se extraña ese vacío...

  5. BossWolf

    Il a posé les bases, personne dit le contraire, mais le comparer aux jeux d'aujourd'hui dans un même classement ça n'a pas beaucoup de sens pour moi. Sa place devrait refléter son influence, pas sa jouabilité brute.

    Élodie_44

    Faut le juger avec son époque en tête, sinon aucun classique tient debt. Tu le remettrais où toi alors?

    EmileWarden

    Influence isn't gameplay. I respect it, I really do, but respect doesn't make it fun to play in 2024.

    NovaRex2

    pourquoi comparer influence et jouabilité comme si c'était incompatible, un jeu peut peser dans les deux sens non

    ArcadeLegend3

    Replying to NovaRex2

    Well the "peser dans les deux sens" thing is real, my cousin and I would replay it for fun and still get lost like the first time.

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