About a month ago, I decided that we at VGChartz should vote on our favorite Zelda games. But a basic vote would be too easy, so I chose something more... interesting. Basically, people voted for their top three games in the series in a number of categories, and I tallied up votes based on how well these different games did in different categories.

Said categories were as follows:

• Story/Plot (Pretty Basic)
• Main Characters (aka which Zelda had the best Link, Zelda, and main antangonist)
• Minor Charaters (which had the best one-shot characters, like Linebeck, the Old Man, TIngle, the Great Deku tree, Ravio, etc.)
• Writing (Which story was told the most elegantly? AKA the award Zelda 2 likely won't win.)
• Overworld (Which was the best designed, had the most stuff to do, was the most fun to travel around, etc.)
• Side Quests (Which games had the best non-story content)
• Collecting (Which games had the best "collect every heart piece/upgraded item/little octopus things" factor?)
• Gimmicks/Innovations (Which game introduced the most great ideas, be it parallel worlds, Z-targetting, motion controls, etc.)
• Dungeons (Which game had the best collection of these? Overall consistency beats one-hit wonders here.)
• Controls (Do you prefer the conventional D-Pad and buttons of old, Wind Waker's dual analogs, Skyward's motion controls, etc.)
• Combat (In which game was it the funnest to fight enemies other than bosses?)
• Exploration (Which game made it the most fun to become intimate with every square inch of the game's world?)
• Puzzles (Which game had the most ingeniously designed and clever Puzzles?)
• Items (Which game has the best collection of these and uses them the most effectively?)
• Bosses (Which are the most epic, best-designed, and are simply the most genious?)
• Graphics (Which game is the best-looking Zelda from a more technical standpoint? Try also focusing on things like distinct sprites that stand out from the background, the little death effects of enemies, etc., rather than just resolution, polygon count, and textures.)
• Art Style (Do you prefer Wind Waker's Cartoon vibe, Twilight Princesss darker shades, Skyward Sword's mix of color and realism, etc.)
• Music (aka Soundtrack)
• Tone (Which game most effectively sets the tone it tries to make for itself? Examples may include the desolation of the original game, the silly humor of Link's Awakening, the impending doom of Majora's Mask, etc.)
• Best Zelda Ever (Duh!)

P.S. If your favorite game didn't make the cut... you should have voted then, shouldn't you?

Best Story

Skyward Sword

Skyward Sword may have been controversial amongst many Zelda fans, but here on VGChartz, it's actually quite popular for a variety of reasons. One of these is the game's narrative. Skyward Sword takes place early on in the series mythos, helping tell how the entire conflict of the series began. It did so through some of the series's most cinematic scenes ever, and had an interesting yarn to tell. It should be no surprise then that it wins this category.

Runner-Ups: Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask

Best Major Characters

Ocarina of Time

Ocarina of Time is arguably the most iconic Zelda game, and one of the many reasons for this is the main cast of characters. Possibly more than any other entry in the series, this game focuses on the conflict centering around the three Triforce Holders, and has possibly the most memorable interpretations of these characters. Link is portrayed as the outsider hero set on a grand quest, Zelda as a fair princess who must adapt to a dark world, and Ganondorf as a schemer who siezes power.

Runner-Ups: Skyward Sword, Wind Waker

Best Minor Characters

Majora's Mask

Whereas other Zelda games tend to focus on the main story, Majora's Mask soujght to create a larger world, most of which was composed of optional content. Among other things, this created a huge cast of memorable minor characters. And I'm not just talking about Tingle! You have the loving yet troubled couple of Anju and Kafei, the various residents of Clock Town who react in all sorts of ways to impending doom, the Bombers, that guy on the toilet... the list goes on and on. Say what you will about this strange game, you can't deny that the ensemble cast is remarkable.

Runner-Ups: Wind Waker

Best Writing

Skyward Sword

Some Zelda games simply don't have great writing. It may be because early iterations in the series weren't always the best translated, or didn't have a major focus on story to begin with. However, Skyward Sword is not an example of this. The game is chock full of dialogue, descriptions, and a generally large script. This script is well translated and crafted, conveying the story quite effectively. Furthermore, the player's ability to make dialogue choices, though minor, further opened up possibilities.

Runner-Up: Ocarina of Time

Best General Storytelling

Skyward Sword

Based on the above four categories, it appears that the favorite story-telling in a Zelda game on VGChartz is that of Skyward Sword. As the entry in the series that devotes possibly the most into its tale, this is a worthy candidate. Sure, the game was a bit lacking in terms of the minor characters, but everything else about the game's tale stands out. I've heard lots of people argue about Skyward Sword's devotion to its story in context to how Zelda should develop. I've never heard anyone say the story itself is bad.

Runner-Up: Ocarina of Time

Best Overworld

Ocarina of Time

Everybody has a different opinion on what the Zelda Overworlds should be like. Should they be big and vast like those of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess? Or smaller and denser like the 2D entries and Majora's Mask? According to VGChartz, the answer may lie somewhere in the middle. The Overworld of Ocarina of Time, most notably containing the famous Hyrule field, was vast for its time, but easily traversible and explored. It had stuff to do in it, a day/night system that kept things dynamic, and even the ability to ride on horseback. This was not as clear-cut as some other categories, but Ocarina of Time seems to have gotten it best.

Runner-Up: A Link Between Worlds

Best Sidequests

Majora's Mask

How much of a Zelda game should be devoted to optional and non-main-story content? Majora's Mask's answer to that question was "As much as we can possibly get away with!" No other Zelda game apparently comes anywhere near the number and quality of sidequests of Majora's Mask. Many of these quests were fairly meaty, taking hours to complete. They were also rewarding, with the results of many quests being shown in the game's credits. It may have come at the cost of having many dungeons, but this was a fairly small price to pay considering what we got.

Runner-Up: N/A

Best Collecting

Majora's Mask

Did you know that Majora's Mask has the largest number of Heart Pieces of any Zelda game? In total, the game has over 50 pieces of heart, not counting the three containers you start with and the four you get for beating dungeons. In contrast, Skyward Sword, the most recent console Zelda, only had 24 pieces. This is just one piece (sorry) of the sheer quantity of stuff you got to find in Majora's Mask. Even more notable were the game's masks, which each gave Link special attributes or abilities.

Runner-Up: A Link Between Worlds

Best Innovations

Ocarina of Time

Many Zelda entries brought new ideas to the table, both for the series and gaming in general. And according to VGChartz, the most innovative of the lot was Ocarina of Time. This game radically changed how games were played, even more than many modern players recognize. From solving puzzles in 3D environments to lockling on to enemies and from context-sensitive buttons to the use of music as a gameplay element, this game brought a huge amount to the table, almost all of it wildly successful.

Runner-Up: Skyward Sword

Best Dungeons

Skyward Sword

Dungeons are arguably the real star of Zelda games, being culminations of the games' various elements. In this respect, Skyward Sword soared. The game's dungeons did not always follow the standard formula, and ended up better for it. For example, that ship up there? That's a dungeon. Manned by pirates. And of course, these dungeons worked very well with Skyward Sword's unique gameplay. These dungeons often contained elements that would be difficult to replicate on a system other than the Wii.

Runner-Ups: Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess

Overall Best Design

Ocarina of Time

Based on the above five categories, it is clear that VGChartz seems to consider Ocarina of Time to have the best Overall Design in series history. The Overworld and Innovations were amazing, and the sidequests and dungeons, though not as outstanding, were also above average. Even in terms of Collecting, OoT's weakest area in this category, the game did fairly well.

Runner-Up: Skyward Sword

Best Controls

Skyward Sword

Skyward Sword has possibly the most controversial control scheme in Zelda history, requiring precise motion controls. Apparently, this paid off. Skyward Sword's controls are arguably the game's best feature, breathing new life into the Zelda formula by changing how everything is done without necessarily reinventing the wheel. As the culmination of half a decade of Nintendo's focus on motion controls, the game was arguably the first title to really show what motion control is capable of.

Runner-Up: Wind Waker

Best Combat

Skyward Sword

Skyward Sword's controls also strongly influenced how combat was affected. Built upon the formula created by Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword added enemies that require not only the right strategy but also the skill to defeat. Even common enemies could require thought to defeat, as they would deflect your blows with blades and shields. And of course, special items were also tied into combat, such as the whip and bow.

Runner-Up: Wind Waker

Best Exploration

Ocarina of Time

This was actually a pretty close category, but the winner was Ocarina of Time. The way the game easily transitioned between overworld, towns, and dungeons, while still making the distinctions clear, made exploring exciting and simple. Seeing the world across two time periods lent a feeling of seeing familiar things in an all-new light. And of course, the game just felt like a full world, worthy of exploration.

Runner-Ups: The Legend of Zelda NES, A Link Between Worlds

Best Puzzles

Skyward Sword

This is another instance where Skyward Sword's unique controls lent to its success. No other game in the series could do what this entry did with its puzzles. For a simple example, look up at that image. That would literally be impoosible to accurately recreate on, say, the GameCube. And that was one of the things that made Skyward Sword's puzzles so good. They showed both innovation from the new control scheme and the years of experience the developers had making these games.

Runner-Ups: Twilight Princess, A Link Between Worlds

Best Items

Ocarina of Time

When you get down to it, Ocarina of Time had all of the items you really need in a Zelda game. You had your bombs, boomerang, bow and four flavors of arrows, a hookshot, a hammer, etc. You alsoi got weird items like bombchus and the Lens of Truth that made the game more interesting to play. And of course, you also have the famous Ocarina of Time itself, and everything it has to offer. Honestly, I can't think of any item that would have made the game any better. That's a good sign right there.

Runner-Ups: Syward Sword, Twilight Princess

Best Bosses

Twilight Princess

In retrospect, Twilight Princess might have been a wee bit overrated back in 2006. Don't get me wrong, it's by no means a bad game! But look how few categories it's won! Well, this is not those other categories. Twilight Princess had EPC BOSS FIGHTS. With the possible exception of one of the Final Boss phases, I don't think there's a disappointing member of this pantheon of pain. I mean, look at that thing! I just randomly picked one Twilight Princess boss out of a hat, and got one of the most revered encounters in series history!

Runner-Up: Ocarina of Time

Best Overall Gameplay

Skyward Sword

Based on the above four categories, the VGChartz community seems to think that Skyward Sword has the best gameplay in the series. The cControls and Combat are the stars of the show, but virtually every aspect of the gameplay (save for Exploration) is respected. Skyward Sword sought to reinvent how Zelda was played. I think this counts as a success.

Runner-Up: Ocarina of Time

Best Graphics

Wind Waker

This category was exactly one point away from being a tie between the two main GameCube entries in the series. ultimately, Wind Waker came ahead though, and with good reason. Wind Waker was ingeniously made with Cel-Shaded graphics, which have barely aged since 2002. Remember about a year ago when Wind Waker HD was announced and some people wondered how exactly Nintendo could improve the graphics other than upping the resolution? That's the kind of quality graphics we're talking about here. Seriously, look at them graphics. Wowzers.

Runner-Up: Twilight Princess

Best Art Style

Twilight Princess

Twilight Princess is what many "hardcore" Zelda players always wanted. A gritty Zelda game that snubs as many bright colors as possible in favor of duller ones! In all seriousness though, Twilight Princess's art style is remarkable. It both adheres to what people expect from a Zelda game and makes its own distinct vision of the series style. Wind Waker may have been more distinct, and Ocarina of Time more iconic, but neither could reach the balance that Twilight Princess did.

Runner-Ups: Wind Waker, Ocarina of Time

Best Soundtrack

Ocarina of Time

It's fitting that the first Zelda game named for a musical instrument have the best soundtrack in series history. I'm not going to explain why this soundtrack is so good. You've probably already heard this topic exhausted multiple times. So just take a listen to the Song of Storms.

Runner-Up: N/A

Best Tone

Majora's Mask

Majora's Mask was not the prettiest Zelda game. Most of its assets were recycled from Ocarina of Time. But in terms of using these assets well, none can top it. The impending doom of the world is hinted at throughout the game, and saturates the entire experience. Other Zelda games were funny or optimistic or even dark, but even Twilight Princess, despite its best efforts, could not capture the same powerful spirit as Majora's Mask.

Runner-Up: Twilight Princess

Best Overall Presentation

Ocarina of Time

This was a close match against Twilight Princess, but ultimately Ocarina of Time's soundtrack is so revered, it makes up for the unimpressive graphics and merely satisfactory Tone. Seriously, that Soundtrack alone earned more points than both Oracle games' every category combined! And now that I look at them, the scores Ocarina of Time got for other Presentation cateogries were far from bad. It's just that in the entire series, OoT's soundtrack has had the best reception of any aspect of any Zelda game's presentation.

Runner-Up: Twilight Princess

Time for a confession: I lied to the voters. I said I was going to list the best Zelda games of all time based on just their votes for that one small category. However, my plan all along was to list the games based off of their combined point total in every other category. Before you get upset, I checked the results of a plain "Best Zelda Ever" vote, and they were fairly similar to the following Top 10. This just removes the troublesome ties and the like from the equation. So, without further ado, the Top 10 Zelda games of All Time, as chosen by VGChartz!

10. Oracle of Ages

Strengths: Puzzles and Sidequests

Weaknesses: Presentation in General

9. Link's Awakening

Strengths: Minor Characters, Tone

Weaknesses: Non-Puzzle Gameplay

8. The Legend of Zelda

Strengths: Exploration, Innovation

Weaknesses: Story, Presentation

7. A Link to the Past

Strengths: Overworld and Items

Weaknesses: Story and Visual Presentation

6. A Link Between Worlds

Strengths: Overworld and Exploration

Weaknesses: Tone

5. Majora's Mask

Strengths: Sidequests, Tone, Minor Characters

Weaknesses: Controls, Overworld, Exploration

4. Wind Waker

Strengths: Graphics, Controls, Major Characters

Weaknesses: Innovation, Dungeons

3. Twilight Princess

Strengths: Graphics, Tone, Dungeons

Weaknesses: Exploration, innovation

2. Skyward Sword

Strengths: General Storytelling, Controls, Combat

Weaknesses: Tone, Exploration, Overworld

1. Ocarina of Time

Strengths: Innovation, Soundtrack, Story/Plot

Weaknesses: Controls

Final Notes

• VGChartz seems to be a fan of 3D Console Zelda games in particular. All five of them were in the Top 5, beating out even the revered Link to the Past. That said, those five games are in little particular order, other than Ocarina of Time being #1 as usual.
• Skyward Sword was actually pretty close to winning the whole thing. It was the #1 game in terms of story and gameplay, and got about 93% as many points as Ocarina of Time. What ultimately defeated Skyward Sword seems to have been its weaknesses, as opposed to Ocarina of Time's strengths. Skyward Sword's tight focus was accomplished at the sacrifice of factors such as Overworld, Exploration, etc. Ignoring just those two categories would have put Skyward Sword in the lead.
• A Link Between Worlds was surprisingly sucessful, being the best-received handheld and/or 2D entry in the series, narrowly beating out its SNES predecessor. 
• The losers were, in chronological order, Zelda 2, Oracle of Seasons, Four Swords Advenures, Minish Cap, and the DS duo. Note that all but one of these games were in some way handheld games at first. The biggest loser was Four Swords Adventures, which only scored 3 points total.

Tagging for later when I get home!

This thread took many hours of my life to make, so enjoy!

Post away!

Majoras Mask wins in everything. The only good zelda games are Majoras Mask, Oot and Twilight Princess. the rest are average-below average