A Link to the Past is better.  Gameplay is closer to Zelda 1 which is the definitive 2D Zelda.

ALTTP because it is.

A Link to the Past is one of the worst Zelda games to me, so... Link's Awakening. Although in the "classic Zelda" realm, Minish Cap and A Link Between Worlds are far superior to both.

Link's Awakening is ok, but A Link to the Past is the best Zelda game ever.

Links Awakening.
Thought the OG Gameboy release was amazing, got the Gameboy Colour variant later in life and loved it... And absolutely loved the Switch remake.

It's got a tight world, solid mechanics and a pretty unique story.

What kind of question is that?? Seriously, LA is just a mediocre game. ALttP is an epic adventure, it’s a 16 bit take (not as good though) on the Original LoZ.

Btw LA remake was a waste of resources. Nintendo should have remade the original LoZ.

What kind of question is that?? Seriously, LA is just a mediocre game. ALttP is an epic adventure, it’s a 16 bit take (not as good though) on the Original LoZ.

Btw LA remake was a waste of resources. Nintendo should have remade the original LoZ.

Wow, a substantial number of people are actually saying Link's Awakening? Am I the only one who feels like I'm in "bizarro" world? =P

Now I know how the "What? Didn't Nelson Mandela die in the 1990s" people felt, except - you know - this is based in reality.

While Link to the Past was considered one of the better games from the early period of Gameboy, Link to the Past was very often considered the greatest game of all time. It topped MANY best game ever polls and lists until about the era of Goldeneye 007, Final Fantasy 007, Ocarina of Time, Resident Evil 2, and Metal Gear Solid. Personally speaking, I'm an RPG fan and almost all my favourite SNES games are RPGs, I basically spent every bit of money I could get, and every Christmas and Birthday gift wish toward getting every RPG I could find, even if it meant importing from other continents (My parents spent an ABSURD amount to import Final Fantasy 4/II for me, like almost as much as the SNES itself, might even equate to over 200 USD today, that's how bratty I was about RPGs). But I very clearly recall Link to the Past being the most renounced 16-bit game throughout the generation; my favourites, which also included Earthbound, Fire Emblem 4, Chrono Trigger, Soul Blazer, Illusion of Time, Terranigma, Final Fantasy 6 (III), Dragon Quest 5, etc... weren't shit in popularity compared to Link to the Past... but I was far from a mainstream gamer. (Off Topic: Jesus, why do I keep writing these rants? It's as though I'm trying to get Google SEO!!!).

But enough about my opinions on RPGs, this is LTTP vs Awakening. If you go to most any top 100 videogames list, you can be fairly confident that Link to the Past scores in the top 10, and it won't be surprising if it's in the top 3 (at least up to about 2010, I haven't really looked at any lists since). The same cannot be said about Link's Awakening which often doesn't make it onto the top 100 list even when other gameboy games (like Pokemon Red and Blue) do.

Link to the Past does so much right, aside from being mechanically sound, it had great, enjoyable, and satisfying gameplay that was as close to perfectly paced as a Zelda game has ever been. The music is iconic, the graphics are timeless, and many of the moments are unforgettable.

Objectively speaking, I can't think of anything Link's Awakening does anywhere near as good as Link to the Past.

Artistically speaking, the game has some great moments.

This is still one of the most iconic expositions in gaming history:

And who can forget the atmosphere of the rain over Hyrule in the opening stage of the game?

Probably the most iconic scene from the entire history of the 16-bit era was pulling the master sword.

There's only two possibilities here, either the lunatic fringe has grown substantially with all this "Link to the Past is actually even worse than Link's Awakening" movement, or we have FAR too many newbies to Nintendo that haven't experienced one of the pivotal moments in gaming history, and probably the zenith of Nintendo's first major run.

I replayed A Link to the Past a few months ago and I'm currently replaying Link's Awakening. For me, and with apologies to the folks who love Link's Awakening, this isn't remotely close. Link's Awakening is a solid game with a lot of fun quirks, but A Link to the Past is a masterpiece.

I think a more even contest would be A Link to the Past versus A Link Between Worlds.

Or, some people just prefer one because preferences exist. I've played games for over 3 decades so I'm not new to either game or the company that made them. Played LTTP first btw. People can have a preference and like one thing more even if it's not the more popular choice.