Ok. I have a followup question for all of you, since some of you stated you started playing Zelda on the gameboy. Which is the first Zelda game you played? I am just curious if this has anything to do with what your favorite Zelda game is.

For me it was the original LoZ. I got it for a birthday present in 1990 (one of the two videogames my parents ever bought for me) The game had a bad battery in it, so the save game would not last for more than 12 hours with the NES turned off. This lead me to become very good at the game, since I had to start at the beginning almost every time I played.

Zelda 2, by far . Lots of focus on combat and platforming, the BEST leveling system EVER created in a video game(so well balanced), great boss fights, scary environments and enemies, awesome sense of growth... Countless things that this game simply nails with perfection. Its my favorite Zelda game of all time, the 3D ones included.

ps: OoT was the first Zelda game I finished.

Zelda I. The only game where you have a choice of picking up a sword or not.

You could also go back at anytime to pick it up.

On a side note. In Ico, I missed picking up the stick at the beginning and then was wondering about a third of the way into the game why I simply could not complete some puzzles because of the constant threat of baddies. I went to a wiki and learned that I had missed a key item and just haven't gone back to the game since.

A Link to the Past, for being the epitome of the genre. Also mah first.

Close second is The Minish Cap, for being a decently challenging and well-made handheld 2D Zelda (Link's Awakening was far too easy).

A Link to the Past, no questions about it. It's one of the best games ever made.

To answer the follow up question, my first Zelda game was Zelda II: The Adventures of Link

Link to the Past. But I really love the Minish Cap too, but it was not as epic as LttP - which was my first Zelda too - even though I was alive and well during the NES days.

But even though they're 10/10 games for me, they fade when compared to Ocarina of Time and to a lesser degree Phantom Hourglass.

ALTTP. But that also happens to be my fav game of all time.

First Zelda ever played was The Legend Of Zelda.

I enjoyed The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past thoroughly. Its dungeons, gameplay, storyline as well as its atmosphere is by far what captivated me most; not to denounce The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as it comes in close second, however.

Link's awakening, but thats probably because its the first zelda game I have ever played so I'm kinda biased towards it, have alot of nostalgia.