There has not been a better handheld Zelda game then Links Awakening. That game is still one of the best games ever made for any handheld or console and absolutely pushed the limits of the Gameboy. The game looked almost as good as a SNES game on a snot color screen. Phantom hourglass looks great but it doesn't push the DS the same way that Links Awakening did.

Links Awakening is easily in my top 20 games of all time.

Since I've played all of the hand held Zeldas (I exclude LTTP based on it's port from the SNES status) here is a list of how all the games rank and score I'd give them.

1. Links Awakening 10, this game deserves it's perfect status

2. Minish Cap 9.7, if the game had been a bit longer it would have scored higher.  I also deducted marks for it not having a very even dificulty.  Most of the game is pretty easy until you get to the very end where they beat you with an ugly stick of hardness.

3. Phantom Hourglass 9.4, I'd score this game higher if they hadn't reused the same level over and over (worst idea ever for a zelda game).  It really ruins the replayability of the game and makes the game harder due to frustration with the level design.

4. Oracle of Seasons 9.1, The game was a lot of fun but it felt too much like a me too rather then something completely new.  They reused Links Awakenings graphicsbut forgot the heart and love that L.A. has.  Still great and a must play though.

5. Oracle of Ages  9.0, Want one of the hardest Zelda's ever made?  These puzzle's drove me nuts, sometimes in a good way and sometimes not so great.  I suck at rythem games so I had a hard time with one of the early puzzles ;) still a great game though.

Its an impossible decision for me.

Awakening was a really awesome game, and a true Zelda adventure. Best "GameBoy" Zelda.

MinishCap showed a level of polish and detail that was unparalleled. I only played it recently, and I truly loved it. It was so far beyond most GBA titles, that it felt like a completely new hardware system.

And Phantom Hourglass... is definitely in the running for my favourite Zelda ever. The controls made me reevaluate everything I know about the series - and I would hate to go back to playing Zelda with a dpad (ever again).

But the game had some depth flaws - I would have extended a few sections of the game, added some more RPG - it could have been so much more (with so little extra effort). A little too "casualised" for my liking.

...

I would love to see Links Awakening remade as a WiiWare title - same 2D gameplay, but full 3D models/gfx for everything.

YES!!! My friend jus let me borrow his DS and Zelda PH and this game is kick a$$!!! I think I'll be busy with this until Christmas. Then I'll have COD4, Uncharted, Galexy, and Disgaea 2 hopefully for a while.

Link's Awakening all the way! :) My favorite 2D Zelda-game, too. :p The other ones have got nothing on it, in my opinion. The music. The graphics. And I mean the graphics from an artistic and creative point of view. It's incredible what they managed to pull off on the 8-bit gray-and-green GameBoy. Same goes for the sound. Just wow. And the DX version is even better. :)

Minish cap ::D great game

Link's Awakening was just legendary. I loved to steal stuff from the guy at the shop :)

alot of people seem to be saying links awakening i might need to try that game

Link's Awakening & ALttP are equally good. Phantom Hourglass comes next, and the Capcom parts I found pretty disappointing.

I still remember the day I got my Gameboy with Links Awakening... man I played that thing for weeks on end. And then I recall when the Super Gameboy came out.. I spent at least 2 hours just picking color template for Links Awakening and beat it for like the 50th time then lol. That game wins on pure nostalgia factor but Minish Cap comes in close.

YES!! my thread convinced people to buy other Zelda games YAY! Who knows, maybe we'll see Minish Cap on the top 50 charts this week. lol :P