Every Game, Ranked By How Long They Take To Beat

Highlights

• The Legend of Zelda series offers something for everyone, whether you’re a puzzle solver or combat enthusiast.
• Each game in the series varies in length, with some completing the main story in as little as 2 hours.
• The original Legend of Zelda game set the bar for the franchise and is widely considered one of the best games ever created.

The beauty of gaming is that there’s something for everyone. And there’s something for everyone in The Legend of Zelda series. Whether players are avid puzzle solvers, combat cravers, or just interested in stories, there’s so much to do, even when finishing the main story.

For those interested in completing their first 100% playthrough, or those that just want to pick up a Zelda game to finish the main story without committing hours of their life, here’s how long each game will take, according to HowLongToBeat. The games will be ranked by their Main Story time.

Updated on December 7, 2023 by Ritwik Mitra: The Legend of Zelda is a series that needs no introduction. Along with Mario, Link is one of Nintendo’s most recognizable characters, starring in a bevy of iconic adventures that are a blast to play through. With the evolution brought about in the series courtesy of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, it’s easy to see why the popularity of this series is higher than ever before. Fans of fun action-adventure games owe it to themselves to give the series a show, with both new and old games being wildly playable in their own ways.

All Zelda Game Lengths, At A Glance

23 Link’s Crossbow Training

Main Story: 2 Hours | Completionist: 6 Hours

Link’s Crossbow Training was released in 2007 and came bundled with the Wii Zapper, a gun shell peripheral that, together with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, formed the shape of a gun.

Link’s Crossbow Training was the first game to be designed specifically for the Zapper. Although the game certainly isn’t Ocarina of Time or Breath of the Wild, it’s an enjoyable little game that serves its purpose of highlighting the Wii Zapper’s strengths.

22 Zelda: The Wand Of Gamelon

Main Story: 2 Hours | Completionist: 6 Hours

For those planning on starting their Legend of Zelda adventure, this 1993 action-adventure game is the quickest to complete. Which, given its poor reviews, might be a blessing in disguise. Nintendo has even abandoned it and its ‘sequel’ Link: The Faces of Evil, refusing to recognize them as canon to The Legend of Zelda series. HowLongToBeat doesn’t even have data for The Faces of Evil, which speaks volumes.

Players can expect a side-scrolling adventure where they actually control Princess Zelda instead of Link. There are the usual mechanics, such as basic sword thrusts and shield usage, along with a player’s life being represented by hearts. However, there are new items to use, like oil and ropes, which players will need if they wish to traverse certain areas of the map.

21 The Legend Of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

Main Story: 4 Hours | Completionist: 16 Hours

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures was the first multiplayer Zelda game. Between one and four players can galavant around Hyrule on a quest involving similar gameplay to many of the older LoZ games.

The perspective is top-down, which not only gives the game a classic feel but also allows up to four players to fit on a screen comfortably without things getting obscure and difficult to see.

20 Cadence Of Hyrule: Crypt Of The NecroDancer Featuring The Legend Of Zelda

Main Story: 6 Hours | Completionist: 11 Hours

Crypt of the NecroDancer was one of the freshest indie games that fans absolutely loved. A charming combination of a dungeon crawler and a rhythm game, the title was a smash hit and compelled Nintendo to sign on the developers to create a spinoff with The Legend of Zelda characters.

The end result is Cadence of Hyrule, a fun rhythm-action game featuring memorable tunes and characters from the Zelda series. It’s a great title for fans to sink their teeth into if they want to have some fun with beloved characters in a title that is loaded with clever fan service.

19 The Legend Of Zelda

Main Story: 8.5 Hours | Completionist: 10.5 Hours

The first game in The Legend of Zelda franchise is the shortest official main series entrance. It may not be long, but this game was revolutionary. Released in 1986, it was the first home console game to include an internal battery for saving data and is widely considered one of the best games ever created.

As Link’s first adventure, this game set the bar for all following titles. Players take control of the Hyrule warrior from a top-down perspective, giving them a view of an entire screen, allowing gamers to plan their attacks and clear out or avoid enemies. With plenty of weapons and items, there are untold ways to play this incredible game, as well as tons of secrets to find and foes to slay. Although the original is only available on consoles that are no longer sold, there have been many re-releases (in mostly digital-only formats) for this legendary title, so gamers from all generations can enjoy it.

18 Zelda 2: The Adventure Of Link

Main Story: 11 Hours | Completionist: 12 Hours

This action RPG is the second installment in The Legend of Zelda series. It was released in 1987, less than a year after the original game in Japan. The main story is 4 hours longer than its predecessor, so if players enjoyed the first Zelda game, this is a must-try.

Many gamers gripe about the change of perspective, as this is a 2D side-scroller. However, this is a baseless complaint; at the time, nothing held the series to the top-down perspective of the first game. There were no rules for the franchise to follow, thereby making the different viewpoints a valid design choice. However, a genuine issue stemmed from the game’s difficulty. There are plenty of pitfalls and overly tough foes that can bar one’s path, and since the only way to progress is to the right, many have given up trying to finish this particular adventure in favor of less brutal LoZ games.

17 Hyrule Warriors

Main Story: 13 Hours | Completionist: 215 Hours

Completionists can’t complain about not getting their money’s worth with Hyrule Legends. The game features a whopping completionist time of 215 hours, according to HowLongToBeat.

Hyrule Legends was released in 2014, turning heads with its hack-and-slash combat that was based on the Dynasty Warriors series. The Legend of Zelda franchise doesn’t release many spin-offs, especially for a series of its size, so many were eager to see what the game would be like. Hyrule Warriors isn’t a classic, but it’s an enjoyable hack-and-slash game that is easy to recommend to fans of both the genre and The Legend of Zelda series.

16 The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past

Main Story: 15 Hours | Completionist: 17.5 Hours

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was the first game to include the popular Dark and Light worlds, which inspired the alternate time periods in the fan-favorite Ocarina of Time. Coming in at 17.5 hours to 100%, it’s interesting to play this game and revisit the building blocks of the Zelda franchise.

This is the first title in the franchise that gave players enhanced mobility, allowing Link to move diagonally, run with the aid of the Pegasus Boots, and even utilize the now-famous tool known as the Hookshot. These traits were so satisfying and increased immersion so much that they appeared in many future games.

15 The Legend Of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (1993)

Main Story: 15 Hours | Completionist: 19 Hours

This 1993 classic is the breath of fresh Koholint air that the series needed. Reviewers were disappointed in the lack of color in previous games, which was quickly becoming the standard for gaming. This all changed in Link’s Awakening DX, which allowed players to appreciate the beauty of Koholint Island in its chromatic glory. Link’s Awakening DX will take 14 hours for the main story, and a completionist run will take 16.5 hours.

This game was such a hit that a remake was announced for the Nintendo Switch. Packed with charm, color, and all the difficulty of the original, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (2019) will take players 14 hours to complete the main story and 21 hours to 100%.

14 The Legend Of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes

Main Story: 15 Hours | Completionist: 54.5 Hours

Released in 2015, this game takes the cooperative gameplay of Four Swords to a whole new level. Three players control different-colored Links and work together to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. Unlike Four Swords, Tri Force Heroes supports online play, so there’s no excuse not to try it out.

Players can collect resources to create new equipment that gives a member of their party different abilities, essentially allowing gamers to create pseudo-classes for Link. In this manner, gamers and their friends can take out enemies utilizing raid tactics usually only found in MMO games, with each Link taking up a different role, whether it be warrior, archer, or mage.

13 The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Main Story: 15.5 Hours | Completionist: 27.5 Hours

This cutesy GBA title follows the legend of the Four Swords. Ezlo, a magical talking hat, shrinks Link to the size of the Minish, tiny creatures that live in Hyrule. This never-seen-before mechanic appealed to fans everywhere, who loved the creativity.

Players have to use this pint-sized new form to solve puzzles and travel through portals that only Minish-scaled individuals can traverse. Otherwise, much of the gameplay elements are similar to previous titles, such as utilizing a sword and other weapons as well as classic items in the series to delve into dungeons and defeat bosses.

12 The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Main Story: 16 Hours | Completionist: 23 Hours

A Link Between Worlds lets players solve dungeons in any order they like, which was a welcomed first for the series. Fans were impressed by the brain-busting puzzles and the open structure of the game, which doesn’t sound like a bad way to spend 23 hours.

The perspective is mostly top-down, though there are a few situations where Link can transform into a flat, painting-like form and traverse parts of the terrain in a side-scrolling format, offering a visually interesting way to break up the gameplay. This feature is also a way for the developers to play around with the kind of perspective changes they enjoy experimenting with to give players new and interesting mechanics.

11 The Legend Of Zelda: Oracle Of Seasons/Ages

Main Story: 15.5 Hours (Seasons), 16.5 Hours (Ages) | Completionist: 22 Hours (Seasons), 24 (Ages)

Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages are two separate games that can be played in any order, but players can unlock a secret linked ending if they play one game as a sequel to the other by using a password.

In both games, players can alter time, which does various things to the environment. Seasons provides players with the Rod of Seasons that can be equipped like a weapon and must be swung when atop a stump to change the time of year to spring, summer, fall, or winter. Why one would need to do that depends on the situation, as various terrain obstacles can only be crossed in certain seasons. Ages has a similar mechanic, though Link instead has a musical instrument that he uses to go either backward or forward in time over a span of years to accomplish similar goals as changing the seasons does in Oracle of Seasons.

10 The Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Main Story: 16.5 Hours | Completionist: 30.5 Hours

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is a direct sequel to The Wind Waker and the prequel to Spirit Tracks. Once players finish Phantom Hourglass, they’ll almost certainly want to finish off the trilogy.

Like the previous game in the franchise, there is quite a lot of sailing involved as young Link must travel from island to island in his quest. There is also a ton of treasure hunting, which gives this game many more hours to enjoy. Using the dual screens of the Nintendo DS, players can keep an eye on their map and the action simultaneously.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is available on:

9 The Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

Main Story: 19 Hours | Completionist: 31 Hours

For players who loved the cel-shaded art style of The Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks is worth checking out. It’s the first Zelda game that has multiple endings, so if players want to 100% this game, they’ll need to select all three options when Zelda asks them to make a choice between: “engineer” “warrior,” and “dunno.”

Much like its predecessor, Spirit Tracks utilizes dual screens that allow players to see and control a map, as well as view the action happening in real-time. The boats are replaced with trains and the sea with wide, open fields. It offers similar gameplay when it comes to traveling due to the similar navigational mechanics involving the stylus while also being remarkably different thanks to the change of setting and mode of transport.

8 Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity

Main Story: 24 Hours | Completionist: 75.5 Hours

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is a hack-and-slash spin-off and the sequel to 2014’s Hyrule Warriors. Following the success of Breath of the Wild, Nintendo decided to take its next Hyrule Warrior, the Age of Calamity timeline. The intrigue of furthering the Breath of the Wild story was enough to make numerous people buy the hack-and-slash game.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t as much story insight as players had hoped for. However, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is still a thoroughly enjoyable hack-and-slash game.

7 The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time

Main Story: 26.5 Hours | Completionist: 39 Hours

This was the first Zelda game to make the jump to 3D, and it still holds up today despite being released in 1998. The revolutionary target-lock system and context-sensitive buttons changed the face of gaming forever. Players don’t need to worry if they don’t have a Nintendo 64, as this classic game has a Nintendo DS remake, which will take players 25 hours to complete the main story and 37 hours to 100%.

Players can expect a ton of interesting mechanics that are a breath of fresh air in the gaming industry. Of all the well-known franchises to make the leap from 2D to 3D, Ocarina of Time for the Legend of Zelda series was the smoothest for many. There were a few bugs and glitches that impaired gameplay, with many of its quirks actually being either amusing or helpful.

6 The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Main Story: 29 Hours | Completionist: 63.5 Hours

The Wind Waker sees Link travel across a group of islands in a vast sea. Fans love the art style of Toon Link to this day. The game is so beloved it has two sequels and an HD remaster, the latter of which will take players 25.5 hours to complete the main story and 41 hours to fully complete.

Toon Link’s appearance was so popular that it became a staple in the franchise, appearing in more games as an alternative to adult Link. Though, don’t be fooled by the charming aesthetics of Wind Waker. There are plenty of challenges as Link sails around the world completing quests, tracking down treasure, and generally saving the world.

5 The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Main Story: 30.5 Hours | Completionist: 31 Hours

Majora’s Mask has a huge cult following and is praised for its darker tone. The creeping sense of desolation, the panic surrounding time limits, and the horrifying concept of failure mean that if players are looking for a more ‘serious’ tone, this game is ideal. In the 2015 DS remake, the main story takes 25 hours to finish and 37 hours to fully complete.

As one of the first LoZ games to be in a 3D setting, players were thrilled to explore another dimension in Hyrule. This opened up huge potential for combat, puzzles, and much more. The story involves Link having to find a way to stop the moon from crashing down upon the land, devastating all life. The stakes are high, so every step in this journey feels all the more intense.

4 The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Main Story: 37.5 Hours | Completionist: 55.5 Hours

Before Breath of the Wild, Twilight Princess was the third-bestselling Zelda game of all time. The realistic art style and a return to the more mature themes like in Majora’s Mask make this game an instant classic.

In terms of gameplay, Twilight Princess functions a lot like other 3D LoZ titles. Link can lock onto foes for more refined combat. The game also includes a situation-specific action button for multi-use navigation convenience. The gimmick mechanic of this title is that Link can transform into a wolf, which holds its own unique challenges that players have found to be both fun and novel.