Every generation seems to inherit a version of the same quest, and this guide is a modest map for finding where Link's long road still runs. Its authors trace fifteen mainline adventures across consoles that have come and gone, and find that most of them now gather on a single Switch, though the older storefronts that once carried them are quietly closing. The arrangement is provisional, as it always is with digital shelves, and the list will keep changing as promised games arrive and old doors shut.
Where to Play Every Legend of Zelda Game in 2023, From the NES to Tears of the Kingdom
Ten of fifteen mainline Zelda games are, or soon will be, on Switch
Mark
Ten of fifteen on one console sounds generous. Is that the real story?
Mimi
It's the headline, but the story is how it's spread out. Most of those ten come through a subscription, not a purchase.
Luke
Worth flagging that the ten includes games not yet available. The Oracle titles are only announced, not released.
Mark
So the count is partly a promise.
Mimi
Yes, the guide says "can or will soon be able to," and that wording matters.
Mark
What about the closures?
Mimi
As of March 27, 2023, the Wii U and 3DS stores and their Virtual Consoles stopped working. If you didn't download a game before then, physical copies are the route.
Luke
The guide also says Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks no longer seem to appear on the store. That's hedged language, so I'd treat it as an observation, not a confirmed delisting.
Mark
And the Amazon copies?
Mimi
They're pointed to as sources, but the guide doesn't give prices or say how long they'll stay available.
Luke
Right, and the guide itself is rated as analysis. Availability can change, so it's a snapshot, not a guarantee.
O Pulso
- Ten of fifteen mainline Zelda games now sit on the Switch, through Nintendo Switch Online or remasters.
- The Wii U and 3DS eShops and Virtual Consoles stopped working on March 27, 2023, leaving only previously downloaded games playable.
- Players are scrambling to find physical cartridges, older consoles, and Expansion Pack access before some titles slip out of reach.
- The Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages are still waiting on the Game Boy app, so the map is still being redrawn.
Every generation seems to inherit a version of the same quest, and this guide is a modest map for finding where Link's long road still runs. Its authors trace fifteen mainline adventures across consoles that have come and gone, and find that most of them now gather on a single Switch, though the older storefronts that once carried them are quietly closing. The arrangement is provisional, as it always is with digital shelves, and the list will keep changing as promised games arrive and old doors shut.
If you own a Switch, you can already play ten of the fifteen mainline Legend of Zelda games, and soon you may be able to play more. Polygon built this guide as part of a year-long Zeldathon, tracing Link's journey from the 1986 original through Tears of the Kingdom. The series has spread across nearly every Nintendo console over almost forty years, which makes it surprisingly hard to know where to start. The guide keeps to the fifteen main games with Link as protagonist, leaving out spin-offs like the Four Swords titles and stranger curiosities.
The Switch carries most of the load. The NES and SNES games, Ocarina of Time, and Majora's Mask all arrive through Nintendo Switch Online, with the Expansion Pack tier needed for the Nintendo 64 titles. Link's Awakening and Skyward Sword HD have their own Switch versions. At a February 2023 Nintendo Direct, Nintendo announced Game Boy and Game Boy Advance libraries are coming, starting with Link's Awakening DX and The Minish Cap, while the Oracle games are promised later.
The older hardware still matters. Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD live on the Wii U, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks on the DS, and A Link Between Worlds on the 3DS, often through physical copies. The biggest caveat is the closing of the Wii U and 3DS stores and Virtual Consoles as of March 27, 2023. Only games downloaded before that date remain playable, along with physical copies. Polygon presents the list as accurate for now, knowing that the picture is still shifting.
Start with the number Polygon puts up front: if you own a Switch, you can already play, or soon will be able to play, 10 of the 15 mainline Legend of Zelda games. That count comes from a guide the site published as part of a year-long Zeldathon, a trek through the series from the 1986 original to Tears of the Kingdom and beyond.
The guide exists because replaying Link's history is harder than it sounds. The series has appeared on every official Nintendo console over almost 40 years, has been rereleased on Virtual Consoles, and has seen a few remakes and remasters. Polygon limits itself to the 15 main games in which Link is the protagonist and which more or less belong to the official timeline. It skips Four Swords, Four Swords Adventures, Tri-Force Heroes, Link's Crossbow Training and Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, along with oddities on the Philips CD-i and the Barcode Battler II.
The guide also narrows the hardware. It covers the Wii U, 3DS and Switch, plus the Nintendo Switch Online service, which costs $19.99 a year, or $49.99 a year for the Expansion Pack tier. It also counts the NES and SNES Classic Edition consoles, which Nintendo no longer lists in its store but which turn up at third-party retailers for around $200, and the standalone Game and Watch: Legend of Zelda device. Dusting off old consoles and physical cartridges would work too, but Polygon notes that it involves things like an HDMI converter, and leaves it there.
The Switch carries most of the load. The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (1988) are on the NES app in Nintendo Switch Online. A Link to the Past (1992) is on the SNES app. Ocarina of Time (1998) and Majora's Mask (2000) are on the Nintendo 64 app, which requires the Expansion Pack tier. Link's Awakening was remade for the Switch in 2019, and Skyward Sword HD arrived on the Switch in 2021.
At a Nintendo Direct on February 8, 2023, Nintendo announced that Game Boy and Game Boy Advance libraries were coming to Switch Online, the former on the standard tier and the latter on the Expansion Pack tier. They launch with Link's Awakening DX and The Minish Cap. Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, both from 2001, are promised for the Game Boy app at a later date.
Other games live on older hardware. The Wind Waker HD came to the Wii U in 2013 and Twilight Princess HD in 2016. Phantom Hourglass (2007) and Spirit Tracks (2009) were DS games that no longer seem to appear on the My Nintendo Store, though the 3DS is backward-compatible, so physical copies run. Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask can also be had on 3DS as physical copies from Amazon, as can A Link Between Worlds (2013). Breath of the Wild and its two DLC packs, The Master Trials and The Champions' Ballad, round out the list, followed by Tears of the Kingdom.
The biggest caveat is the shrinking of Nintendo's older storefronts. An editor's note says the Wii U and 3DS stores were discontinued and no longer supported as of March 27, 2023, and that the Virtual Consoles on both machines have also stopped working. The Virtual Consoles were the digital library apps on those systems, similar to the NES, SNES and N64 apps on Switch Online. Now only games you bought and downloaded through the eShop before that date remain playable, along with physical copies.
That leaves the picture unsettled. The Oracle games are still waiting to arrive on Switch Online, and Polygon frames the list as accurate for now, so where each game can be played may keep shifting.
Citações Notáveis
The surest way to play every Zelda game is to own physical copies and the original consoles.— Polygon guide (paraphrased)
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