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00:00 [MUSIC]
00:07 Welcome to Mojo Plays.
00:09 Today we're ranking every 3D Zelda game from worst to best.
00:13 If you're looking for any of Link's top-down adventures,
00:15 be on the lookout for another list ranking those.
00:18 [MUSIC]
00:25 Before we get into it, we publish new content all week long.
00:27 So be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:31 [MUSIC]
00:36 Number 7, The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword.
00:39 [MUSIC]
00:44 There are a few black sheep entries in the series that have received a lot of criticism over the years.
00:49 Skyward Sword being one of the biggest.
00:51 Much of it is understandable.
00:53 The sky as an overworld feels empty compared to other fantasy action adventure games,
00:57 even past Zelda's.
00:58 The companion, Fi, holds the player's hand a bit too much,
01:01 and the surface areas get some dull backtracking later in the game.
01:05 The motion controls were also a bit gimmicky for many players
01:07 who would have preferred a traditional control scheme.
01:10 [MUSIC]
01:13 All that being said, there's still a lot to love here.
01:15 Skyward Sword has some of the franchise's strongest dungeons,
01:19 and the full live orchestra, a first in the series,
01:21 makes the soundtrack all the more impactful and impressive.
01:24 [MUSIC]
01:32 The story and characterization are also great,
01:35 particularly in this version of Zelda.
01:37 Even if its control scheme is still a little awkward,
01:40 the HD remaster on Switch is clearly the best way to play,
01:43 as it made some nice quality of life changes.
01:45 Even though it sits at the bottom,
01:47 Skyward Sword is still a worthy adventure to embark on.
01:51 [MUSIC]
01:57 Number 6, The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess.
02:01 [MUSIC]
02:11 In response to some fans being upset about Wind Waker's cartoon vibes,
02:15 Nintendo made the next 3D installment much more mature,
02:18 both visually and thematically.
02:20 The plot concerns a mysterious tribe that invades Hyrule,
02:23 spreading darkness and kidnapping children in the process.
02:26 Since Twilight Princess launched on GameCube and Wii,
02:29 the motion controls in the latter version weren't as big a focus as they were in Skyward Sword.
02:33 Along for Link's fight is Midna,
02:35 arguably the best companion in the series,
02:38 who delights with her macabre sense of humor in every scene.
02:41 [MUSIC]
02:47 Another addition is Wolf Link,
02:49 which, while an interesting change of pace,
02:51 isn't quite as fun to control as his human form.
02:54 [MUSIC]
02:57 And other than Wolf Link and the darker tone,
03:00 the game is still structurally very similar to past games.
03:03 That's not necessarily a negative,
03:05 as the game still featured fantastic dungeons,
03:08 but the formula was starting to show its age here.
03:10 That dark tone that initially set it apart now feels like a product of the era,
03:14 with much less of the franchise's whimsy that's found in other games.
03:18 Again, the HD remaster is the best version,
03:20 though it made minimal changes.
03:22 [MUSIC]
03:33 Number 5, The Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker.
03:36 [MUSIC]
03:41 We know there are still some fans who hate Toon Link's design,
03:44 and see Twilight Princess as a major fix in that regard.
03:48 Could not be us, though.
03:49 Wind Waker continues to age gracefully more than two decades later,
03:53 and that's thanks to Nintendo's decision to go the cel-shaded route.
03:57 Not only is the game still gorgeous, regardless of the HD remaster,
04:01 but this Link design is also much more expressive than any other.
04:04 [MUSIC]
04:15 Beyond the art style, though, Wind Waker takes the traditional formula and makes it its own.
04:19 Sailing to each island on the Great Sea and delving in to uncover their secrets
04:24 added a nice layer of discovery,
04:25 and we love the way that it plays with the history set up by Ocarina of Time.
04:30 It's another banger of a soundtrack, too,
04:32 from the lonesome grandma's theme to the spirited, now iconic, Dragon Roost Island.
04:37 [MUSIC]
04:45 Of course, it also has its shortcomings.
04:47 There are fewer dungeons, and while they are good,
04:50 we wouldn't put most of them among the best.
04:52 Sailing can be a bit slow if you need to backtrack past islands you've already been to,
04:57 especially during the late-game Triforce quest.
05:00 Thankfully, the HD remaster helped to fix those last two grievances.
05:04 [MUSIC]
05:27 Honestly, ranking Tears of the Kingdom is a little tricky.
05:30 We believe it is objectively more fun to play than its predecessor,
05:34 but it is far less impactful.
05:36 Picking up a few years after Breath of the Wild,
05:38 it sees Zelda and Link confront the powerful demon king Ganondorf
05:42 just in vastly different time periods.
05:44 [MUSIC]
05:59 It's hard not to miss incredible mechanics like Revali's Gale or unlimited remote bombs.
06:05 On the other hand, the amount of tools you're given to build different vehicles and weapons is astounding.
06:10 There's so much possibility for your imagination to run wild
06:13 that players have bent and broken Hyrule to their will.
06:16 That's not to mention the powers of recall and ascend,
06:19 each of which also made interacting with the world more engaging.
06:23 [MUSIC]
06:31 Then there are the dungeons, which were a significant improvement over the Divine Beasts.
06:36 Unfortunately, the story and characters aren't as strong.
06:39 While Ganondorf made for a better villain,
06:41 the memories of the champions and Hyrule's fall are more interesting and personal than the kingdom's founding,
06:47 which also muddled the franchise's lore.
06:49 The Sky Islands and The Depths were solid expansions,
06:52 but rewards and enemies in both got repetitive unless you were a diehard resource collector.
06:57 Still, an undeniably fantastic game.
07:00 [MUSIC]
07:09 Number 3, The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask.
07:13 [MUSIC]
07:20 It hurts my heart not having my favorite at the top,
07:23 but we're trying to be objective and there's a lot about Majora's Mask that takes some getting used to.
07:27 The Ocarina sequel takes Link to a strange new land
07:30 that will be destroyed by a strange new villain in three days.
07:33 The time loop and the fact that Link is turned into a Deku scrub immediately
07:38 were early hurdles that could test your patience.
07:40 There are also only four main dungeons and a ton of reused character models,
07:45 courtesy of the game's short development period.
07:47 [MUSIC]
07:51 But if you can get past those negatives,
07:53 you'll find one of the most fulfilling journeys Link has ever gone on.
07:57 There may only be four dungeons,
07:59 but the other half of the game is filled with rewarding side quests and deeply rich NPCs.
08:04 Those dungeons are also unique in that they play off the abilities of Link's different transformations.
08:09 Speaking of which, the Deku, Goron, and Zora forms
08:12 all find ways to make traversal, puzzles, and combat fresh.
08:16 [MUSIC]
08:21 Like Twilight Princess, it features much darker emotional themes than many other entries.
08:27 But while that game is mostly serious,
08:29 Majora's Mask is unapologetically weird and all the better for it.
08:33 [MUSIC]
08:39 Number 2, The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild.
08:42 [MUSIC]
08:53 I will never forget taking off from work on March 3rd, 2017,
08:57 picking up the Switch, and spending the next 12 hours in a completely reimagined Hyrule.
09:03 And if the love behind Breath of the Wild is any indicator,
09:06 it's a fond memory a lot of us share.
09:08 [MUSIC]
09:20 Zelda had often been at the forefront for defining the action-adventure experience.
09:24 After the criticism of Skyward Sword, Nintendo set about redefining what that meant.
09:28 It was hard to remember a time where we felt this free in a video game.
09:32 To go in any direction, to uncover the immense possibilities of its playground,
09:36 to stumble upon something that felt like you were the first to see.
09:40 [MUSIC]
09:49 It's no wonder that it instantly began influencing how developers built open worlds.
09:53 We've already mentioned the Divine Beasts weren't the best,
09:56 but that honestly mattered little when we had more than 100 bite-sized shrines to track down.
10:02 Even its biggest contention among fans, weapon durability,
10:05 quickly became a non-issue for us since there are so many weapons in the game to begin with.
10:10 And it keeps you on your toes, not relying on the same strategy.
10:14 Plus, from its art style to its score, it's absolutely gorgeous.
10:18 [MUSIC]
10:28 Number 1, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time.
10:31 [MUSIC]
10:39 Yeah, big shocker.
10:40 But there's a good reason why Ocarina of Time always tops these lists.
10:44 Actually, there's quite a few, though we doubt we'll be saying anything you haven't heard before.
10:48 [MUSIC]
10:57 It set the standard not just for a 3D Zelda being the first,
11:01 but for all 3D action-adventure games in general.
11:04 The lock-on system, the puzzles, the boss fights, the music.
11:08 There wasn't a single thing it did that isn't considered groundbreaking today.
11:12 That being said, it has more than just historical significance going for it.
11:16 Despite being released more than 25 years ago,
11:19 it has aged surprisingly well from a gameplay standpoint,
11:22 even if some of its mechanics are naturally simplistic.
11:25 [MUSIC]
11:32 Its themes of destiny and lost childhood are timeless and capture the heart of any player.
11:38 Whether it be your first or your 100th playthrough,
11:40 whether you're playing on original hardware or the stellar 3DS remake,
11:44 even aspects of the game that are seen as negatives,
11:47 like Navi the Fairy or the Water Temple,
11:50 do nothing to detract from the overall experience.
11:52 Ocarina of Time is a once-in-a-lifetime type of game,
11:56 an important piece of gaming history,
11:57 and a phenomenally fun adventure to get lost in.
12:01 [MUSIC]
12:11 What's your favorite 3D entry in the series?
12:13 Let us know in the comments,
12:15 and be sure to subscribe to Mojo Plays for more great gaming videos every day.
12:19 [MUSIC]