Release OrderRecommended
0 / 21 playedEvery mainline game in the order it was released.
- 1 The Legend of Zelda
- 2 Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
- 3 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- 4 The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
- 5 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- 6 The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
- 7 The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
- 8 The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
- 9 The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
- 10 The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
- 11 The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
- 12 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
- 13 The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
- 14 The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
- 15 The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
- 16 The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
- 17 The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
- 18 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- 19 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- 20 The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- 21 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Switch 2 remake) Scheduled for November 5, 2026.
Official Timeline Order
0 / 20 playedNintendo's own chronology, as laid out in Hyrule Historia. Ocarina of Time's ending splits into three parallel branches, so items sharing a branch happen in different possible futures rather than one after another. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom sit after all three branches converge.
Before the split
- 1 The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
- 2 The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
- 3 The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
- 4 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time The timeline splits into three branches depending on this game's outcome.
Branch: Child (hero returns as a child)
- 5 The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
- 6 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
- 7 The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures
Branch: Adult (hero remains an adult)
- 8 The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
- 9 The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
- 10 The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Branch: Downfall (hero is defeated)
- 11 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- 12 The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
- 13 The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
- 14 The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
- 15 The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
- 16 The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- 17 The Legend of Zelda
- 18 Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
After the branches converge
- 19 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- 20 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
About The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda does not tell one continuous story the way most play order guides assume. Most entries stand on their own, and Nintendo has only ever confirmed an official timeline once, in the 2011 art book Hyrule Historia, which splits into three parallel branches after Ocarina of Time depending on how that game's ending is interpreted.
Good to know
New to the series? Release order is the easier, and honestly more common, way in: most games barely reference each other, so you can start with a recent entry like Breath of the Wild or a classic like Ocarina of Time without missing context. The timeline order below is for players curious about the lore, not a requirement for enjoying any individual game. A Nintendo Switch 2 remake of Ocarina of Time is scheduled for November 5, 2026.
