The Legend of Zelda series is famous for experimenting with it’s art style, but which one is the best. Today I’m going to go through the art styles for the entire series, plus I’ve asked you which one you think is best. You have voted to find out the objective best art style in the Zelda franchise, so let’s find out what it is.

To help find out which Zelda game has the best art style, I enlisted The Triforce Times community and we’ve all been voting on the best artstyle. I took the games, grouped by art styles, and randomly created a knockout bracket. Then each one faced off against each other, with the community voting for their favourite.

Before we get to that, first of all let’s go through each of the art styles as a little reminder.

The Legend of Zelda

The original Zelda game was top down, released on the Nintendo Entertainment System, and therefore has limited graphical capabilities. Compared to the standards of today The Legend of Zelda isn’t great to look at, but this was a revelation at the time with it’s top-down design, monsters, environments and bosses. This would also set the template for years to come regarding gameplay and what a Zelda game is… but purely on the graphics this is about as simple as we’ve seen in the series.

Zelda II The Adventure of Link

Zelda II was a dramatic departure for the Legend of Zelda, going more side-scrolling than top down. Nintendo did retain top down elements for exploring Hyrule but the majority of the game was played from the side view, similar to Super Mario Bros at the time. For a game on the Nintendo Entertainment System I think it looks pretty good.

A Link To The Past

This is my personal favourite when it comes to Legend of Zelda graphics. I remember the step up from Zelda II to A Link To The Past. It’s got gorgeous pixel art, Hyrule is vibrant, the Dark World is grim and evil. Nintendo really nailed it regarding the presentation here, and it still holds up today. This feels like the pinnacle of top-down Zelda design to me.

Link’s Awakening (Game Boy)

This originally started as a Game Boy port of A Link To The Past. This comes through in the art style, with very similar graphics, albeit the colours being limited to the originally Game Boy. It’s a near miracle the Nintendo Developers got this running on a Game Boy giving the size and complexity of the game at the time. I think Link’s Awakening on th Game Boy still holds up well today with beautiful pixel art, even if it’s not quite up to the high standards set by A Link To The Past.

Oracle of Ages / Seasons

These games are very similar to Link’s Awakening, with the addition of colour and also slightly redesigned sprites. The environments are also incrementally better, given the power of the Gameboy Advance.

Ocarina Of Time / Majora’s Mask

Ocarina Of Time and Majora’s Mask were ground breaking for their time. Ocarina was the first 3D Zelda, and Nintendo built on the success of Super Mario 64, taking Link and Hyrule into the 3D space. Majora’s Mask looked even better than Ocarina, adding more detail to Ocarina’s blocky N64 graphics. You can go back and play both of these games today on Nintendo Switch Online, but personally I don’t think Ocarina of Time’s graphics have aged well, even though the game still has it’s charms.

Four Swords Adventures

For Swords Adventures attempted to blend the original Game Boy style with more of a cartoony style. It’s a tall order given how well A Link To The Past and Link’s Awakening on the Game Boy have aged. Nintendo attempted a 2.5D on their handheld, and while it’s good for the time, I don’t think it’s aged that well when looking at the series as a whole.

Wind Waker

Wind Waker’s unique cel-shaded graphics has divided fans every since the game released. This followed on from Majora’s Mask, and was a huge departure with Link’s first outing on the more powerful Gamecube. Some fans went mad claiming the style was too childish for the Legend of Zelda series, and you can see why since the recent games before it were Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask. The world is bright and vibrant, and also pretty timeless. Wind Waker still looks as great today as it did back then, plus it’s one of the best aged Zelda games in terms of graphics and design.

The Minish Cap

The Minish Cap has a unique art style, this is a cartoon style top-down Zelda, but not one that’s trying to copy Wind Waker or recreate it. Originally released on the Game Boy Advance, one of the main mechanics here is shrinking Link down to a Minish size. The design here stands the test of time, and is still one of the better looking games in the series.

Twilight Princess

Twilight Princess tried to give Zelda fans the gritty, realistic Zelda they had wanted since Ocarina of Time. In part this was the antidote to Wind Waker, which went in the opposite direction, offering a bespoke, unqiue, cartoony art style. Twilight Princess is dark in design and theme, plus in the story too. It’s a divisive Legend of Zelda game, but it’s also one that fans went crazy for when it was first released.

Phantom Hourglass / Spirit Tracks

Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks were based on Wind Waker, although unfortunately they didn’t look as good as the Gamecube title. Link’s character model looked pretty good and similar to Wind Waker, but Hyrule didn’t come out looking very good at all. The Nintendo DS did it’s best to create a decent art style, but I don’t think these games come close to other Zelda titles.

Skyward Sword

Skyward Sword built on the more realistic looking Twilight Princess, albeit a little more colourful. While Twilight Princess went down well with some fans, it’s dark colour pallette was off-putting for some fans. Skyward Sword has a painterly look about it. I’m not a huge fan of the UI in Skyward Sword, for example the menu icons. When it comes to Skyloft and the lands below the clouds, I think Skyward Sword does a pretty good job, and is one of the better looking games in the Zelda series.

A Link Between Worlds

A Link Between Worlds is a sequel to A Link To The Past, however, you couldn’t really tell by looking at the game. A Link Between Worlds does some great things with it’s graphics style, and is one of the best handheld Zelda games. In particular with Link’s ability jumping into the walls, that is a very cool effect. Link’s character model once again looks the best, when the overworld, NPCs and enemies could have done with some extra love.

Tri Force Heroes

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes follows on from Four Swords Adventures, albeit this time with only three players as opposed to four and a stronger emphasis on cooperation rather than competition. Originally this had the same art style as A Link Between Worlds, but was then replaced with Toon Link because it was easier to see him on the smaller 3DS screen.

Link’s Awakening / Echoes of Wisdom

Link’s Awakening was the debut of this recent art style on Nintendo Switch. Here Link and Zelda look like little plastic toys in a diarama. While these are top down games, they are 3D and blend the design and gameplay really well. Even the sidescrolling sections saw a revamp over the original Link’s Awakening Game Boy game. These games both have a tactile nature to them, and they are a couple of the best looking games in the Zelda franchise.

Breath Of The Wild / Tears Of The Kingdom

Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom feels like the best graphics and design we’ve seen in the Zelda series. It’s realistic, but not to the extent of Twilight Princess. Sometimes you can be walking around Hryule in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, and you’ll see a sunset in the distance and it’s one of the most beautiful games released on Nintendo Switch. These games managing to blend fantasy and sci-fi with the Shiekah elements, helping them feel timeless in design. Some may not enjoy the gameplay, but it’s hard to argue with the graphics and design.

Deciding the best Zelda art style

That’s a quick reminder of the art styles, but to find out the best art style I set up a knockout bracket placing games in random match ups to truly find the best art style in Zelda games. Then I asked you to vote on the matches one by one via YouTube posts. We had 2775 votes, which is a pretty good turnout.

First round

Legend of Zelda vs Link’s Awakening (Switch) / Echoes of Wisdom = Link’s Awakening (Switch) wins with 85%

Four Swords Adventures vs The Minish Cap = Minish Cap wins with 87%

Link’s Awakening (Game Boy) vs Tri Force Heroes = Link’s Awakening wins 73%

Ocarina of Time / Majora’s Mask vs A Link Between Worlds = Ocarina / Majora’s win with 64%

Zelda II The Adventure of Link vs Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom = Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom win with 100%

Wind Waker vs Twilight Princess = Wind Waker wins with 61%

A Link to the Past vs Skyward Sword = Skyward Sword 65%

Oracle of Ages / Seasons vs Phantom Hourglass / Spirit Tracks = Oracle of Ages / Seasons wins with 56%

Quarter Final

Link’s Awakening (Switch) / Echoes of Wisdom vs The Minish Cap = Link’s Awakening (Switch) / Echoes of Wisdom 61%

Link’s Awakening (Game Boy) vs Ocarina of Time / Majora’s Mask = Ocarina of Time / Majora’s Mask wins with 85%

Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom vs Wind Waker = Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom 75%

Skyward Sword vs Oracle of Ages/Seasons = Skyward Sword 76%

Semi Final

Links Awakening / EOW (Switch) vs Ocarina of Time / Majora’s Mask = Link’s Awakening (Switch) 53%

Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom vs Skyward Sword

Final

Links Awakening / EOW (Switch) vs Breath of the Wild / TOTK = Breath of the Wild / TOTK with 79%

So there you have it. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom has won the knockout tournament, and objectively has the best artstyle in the entire Zelda series.

We had some interesting matches there with Wind Waker vs Twilight Princess in the very first round. Link’s Awakening on Switch did very well, getting all the way to the final only to beaten in the final by Breath of the Wild. Three out of the four semi finalists were modern games from the last 15 years, and the best performing ‘classic’ games were Minish Cap and the Oracle games, which you would expect because they look gorgeous. I’m sad A Link To The Past didn’t get past the first round, for me, that is the best looking Zelda game, but I get why Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild did so well.

While it’s fun to debate the best Zelda art style, ultimately the best art style is the one you like the most. For me, that’s A Link To The Past because when I look back that probably had the most impact on me when I was growing up. So whether it’s your first Zelda or your most recent Zelda, pick the art style you like, and don’t worry what others say.

Thanks everyone for taking part, it’s been a lot of fun involving the community through the voting, let me know if this is something you like and want to see more of in the future. Let me know what you think in the comments. Which Zelda is your favourite art style?