Zelda 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.

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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.