I prefer link's awakening by a lot actually. I dont think just pointing individual preferences completely justifies a choice, but my most likely changes from alttp were: how the characters have much more personality, how the bosses were way more creative and how the simple plot justifies itself with the general athmosphere and progression of the game.

I think zelda is a cool series because of the relationship you build with the world, and how meeting new people and helping them makes you stronger and able to continue. And to me, games like majora's mask and Link's awakening embody that more. Alttp and ocarina are the epic hero's journey, and its completely understandable to me why people would prefer them, but i have my egg in another basket.

Why would I want to help people if I don't get a harem along the way though? 

LTTP. Nostalgia aside, I still think its one of my top 10 games of all time. The exploration, change of map, the epic quest sensation, blowing halls in walls and floors, dungeon design and puzzles, the list just goes on.

I'm in the newbie side and as newbie I think it's much easier to like A Link to the Past

Both LA and ALTTP are contemporary, I don't think it's a matter for having experienced them in very different timespans creating some kind of nostalgia bias here. Taste is subjective, for many ALTTP isn't just as memorable/funny as LA

I prefer the darker meaning behind Link's Awakening, but as a game A Link To the Past remains one of the beat Zeldas of all time. Way better than Ocarina IMO.

I played LttP in its prime and only played Link's Awakening on 3DS (decades later) and the remake on Switch.

I'm going with LttP because, while LA is a great game, it's a scaled down Zelda. It's a simplified Zelda for the Gameboy and even the Switch game is just an upscaled Gameboy game. Maybe the most ambitious GB game of all time but it's still no LttP.

Link's Awakening will always hold a special place in my heart.. I never owned it as a kid, but my cousin did. Every summer we would go to my grandparents place. They owned a camp near Lake of the Woods. Beautiful place... Anyways... I just remember playing through that game on the campgrounds every summer when I had some down time. I associate some of the soundtrack with my second home. I just love it.

That being said, I prefer A Link to the Past a million times more as a full game. Its soundtrack, dungeons, items, etc. But it is nowhere near as special for me because I do not have such fond memories to associate it with. 

And with that being said, A Link Between Worlds is the top down Zelda champ! Perfect game IMO.

This is a tough one for me.

Never played either as a kid, due to not owning a Gameboy and ALttP simply not being one of the games my parents bought me on SNES.

Played ALttP many years later once I'd grown up, and only just experiencing LA for the first time now via the Switch remake.

One big advantage LA has is the ability to attack diagonally, as one of my pet peeves with LttP was not being able to do so despite enemies often coming at me from an angle. The modern QoL improvements are also a plus. That said, LttP is no slouch and definitely as a more epic vibe.

Ocacle of Time is the true champ.

Link to the Past, though Link's Awakening is stellar!