Author’s note: all screenshots are from my copy of the Zelda games, via Nintendo Switch Online, unless otherwise stated.
If the Mario franchise is the heart of Nintendo, the Zelda franchise is the soul of Nintendo. These epic, moving, beautiful adventures have left me enchanted for decades. My first true taste of the Zelda games was the Super Nintendo classic A Link to the Past, which I for one still regard as a definite statement on how to make a brilliant game. More recent entries, such as Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, have breathed new life into the franchise, bringing it bang up to date. I could wax lyrical about the Zelda games all day, and below, I will tell you about the games that I particularly adore.