The Legend of Zelda series has had a very long history, with each game with its own unique aspects. The variable that has arguably changed the most over time is the difficulty level of each respective game.
Beginning on the NES, games were often more difficult to cover for the fact that they were fairly short due to technological limitations. As consoles have grown more advanced, the way that difficulty is implemented into games has changed drastically. Which Zelda games stick out for testing you as a true hero?
Updated By Cameron Miller On June 21st, 2023: With how strong The Legend Of Zelda is as a series, it probably won’t ever be more than a few years before new entries in the series. While this list already covers many of the popular mainline games, there are a few oddballs that can be included for those who can’t get enough of the series. We've added even more games to rank them all based on difficulty. So read on to see which Legend of Zelda game is the hardest.
25 A Link Between Worlds
The sequel to A Link to the Past we never knew we needed feels like a bit of a breeze at times, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The game has some really unique dungeons and clever puzzles with the new wall-merging mechanic, but enemies are on the weaker side.
The game loads you with plenty of new upgrades and hearts as it goes on, too. This gives you some great freedom to play around but means you're very rarely mortally challenged.
24 Minish Cap
Traveling between bite-sized and life-sized worlds makes adventuring with our cute hero and trusty cap a blast. Minish Cap has a super limited amount of dungeons, and each one only feels a little harder than the last.
While some of the puzzles require a bit of critical thinking, most are a breeze. Minish Cap does have some stellar sidequests, though, and plenty of them to boot. And now it's easier to access than ever with Nintendo Switch Online.
23 Wind Waker
Zelda fans have definitely grown on this beloved classic, and it now stands as one of the most popular games in the series. Criticism often arose around its 'childish' art style, and worry surrounding the game's difficulty wasn't uncommon.
While not a cakewalk by any stretch, the linear combat and more simplistic dungeons might never let you see the game over screen, especially without Wind Waker HD's Hero Mode.
22 Link’s Crossbow Training
This fun little side game came bundled with the Wii Zapper, a sort of classic Nintendo gun accessory that works great for FPS games. It seems that the intent was to make a game in which Link runs around shooting things with a crossbow easier, but that might have backfired.
While most people wouldn’t call this game difficult by any means, some have been frustrated by the controls. A Zelda game about shooting targets and enemies is an interesting idea, but not one that stuck around, and for good reason, its overly simplistic gameplay might be a reason for that.
21 Phantom Hourglass
Acting as a direct sequel to Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass was released as a DS game in 2007 with the same gorgeous art style. In it, you control a steamboat, the S.S. Linebeck, and plot journeys across the world using the touchscreen.
Being a handheld entry, the game is a bit on the easier side, with relatively harmless enemies but decently challenging dungeons. The hardest aspect of the game is likely adjusting to touch-based controls over the more traditional variety.
20 Spirit Tracks
Where Phantom Hourglass was a sequel to Wind Waker, Spirit Tracks is a sequel to the former. The game plays very similarly to Phantom Hourglass, albeit with a train this time aboard land.
As such, its difficulty is fairly on par with its predecessor as well. This time around you might at least be more used to touch controls, but it also adds some new challenges by way of passengers and goods Link needs to transport.
19 Hyrule Warriors
As a solid addition to the Nintendo Warriors variety of games, Hyrule Warriors is a thrilling game but not really all that difficult. There are a few tricky challenges in both the Adventure and Challenge modes, but even a majority of those are easy if you know what you’re doing.
The game's main campaign tells a unique story for the Zelda series, so it’s worth experiencing, even if you likely won’t have a tough time with it. You can play on the hardest difficulty for a real challenge, but people who are used to these games will likely have little trouble.
18 Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity
After opening its series up to more developers, Nintendo has found great success. The most successful of these have ended up being Warriors games, one of the most acclaimed being Age of Calamity, a prequel to Breath of the Wild.
The difficulty of the game is a bit mixed. For players of the genre, it'll be a breeze and not too demanding. However, it is nothing like your stand Zelda game and may take some adjusting to understand.
17 Breath Of The Wild
The Switch's first Zelda game was 'wildly' different than any other game we've seen thus far and had some interesting levels of challenge. By taking the series in a completely different direction, some of the conventions of the series suffer.
Breath of the Wild's combat is more varied and complex than any other game, but enemy AI leaves a lot to be desired. Being able to replenish health with a nice home-cooked meal in the middle of combat also takes out some of the stakes of engaging a group of angry Bokoblins.
16 Tears Of The Kingdom
Exactly how difficult Tears Of The Kingdom is will come down to a variety of things. With a massive world, thousands of things to collect, and a thrilling story to uncover, you might feel overwhelmed right from the start.
Surprisingly, a number of enemies will one-shot you early on, which does add a bit to the overall difficulty. Once you’ve really dug into the world, the game does become much easier, but it is safe to say it has a bit of a steeper difficulty curve than Breath Of The Wild, especially with all that building.
15 Cadence Of Hyrule
Many people will have heard of the game Crypt of the Necrodancer. It's a beloved indie hit about moving to the beat to defeat your enemies. Meanwhile, Zelda games are beloved for their music. The two mixed together get you the perfect combo: Cadence of Hyrule.
Cadence of Hyrule is not an easy game, per se. To jump right into it is hard, as you have to pay close attention to everything. Rather helpfully, though, being a big fan of Zelda music will probably make it quite a bit easier to follow along with the music without as much need for the on-screen guides.
14 Twilight Princess
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The second GameCube title boasts a bit more challenge than the first, but our hero is particularly buff this time around with a plethora of Hidden Skills in his arsenal. Twilight Princess has some fantastic dungeons with some fairly challenging puzzles.
The game has a similar predicament with its enemies as Wind Waker, as enemies are a bit aloof and are taken out quite easily by our favorite ranch hand and his muscles.
13 Skyward Sword
Skyward Sword is one of the most divisive games in the entire series, often criticized for its motion controls and overworld. That said, it also finally gave a full chronology to the world and had some of the best dungeons in the series.
One area that Skyward Sword does particularly well in is its dungeons, where it has some of the most challenging ones the series has to offer. Enemies are still no match for our Skyward Hero, but they at least have the ability to block and counter to put up a fight.
12 Four Swords Adventures
Originally released in a bundle with the Game Boy Advance version of A Link To The Past, Four Swords was the Zelda series' first foray into multiplayer. It was a neat little game and was followed up with the sequel and successor, Four Swords Adventure.
The game is by all means built for multiplayer, so much of your success would rely on having good teammates, though it'll be relatively easy with good ones. Single-player is a different story, with maps being slightly adjusted to adapt to just one player, making the difficulty fall squarely on your own ability.
11 Tri Force Heroes
The next dedicated multiplayer Zelda entry came in 2015 for the 3DS with Tri Force Heroes. Here, each player controls a dedicated Link and help each other to defeat enemies and complete puzzles.
Like Four Swords Adventure before it, much of this difficulty is eased with helpful companions. The single-player, however is functionally the same as multiplayer, with you having to control all three Links to play, which is a massive jump in terms of difficulty.
10 Ocarina Of Time
Being the first 3D Zelda game, and an extremely early one at that, Ocarina of Time did an astounding job of creating a beloved experience that is still praised to this day.
The controls are slightly primitive compared to later titles, but Ocarina of Time may have the best balance of difficulty in the series, with a great gradual increase in the dungeon and boss difficulty.
9 Majora's Mask
Using the same engine as Ocarina of Time, it's quite understandable for Majora's Mask to feel similar in terms of difficulty. There are significantly fewer dungeons this time around, but each one feels like a significantly bigger challenge that can take a while to complete.
The game is also playing out across three days, and working around the apocalyptic clock also adds an extra layer of needing to complete your tasks before the world resets.
8 Link's Awakening
We're now at three versions of this GameBoy classic, and each one provides a significant challenge and a wonderful new art style to boot. The dungeons are lengthy with complex puzzles, and it's difficult to defeat Anti-Kirby without feeling bad. 2D Zelda's are traditionally a bit harder than 3D titles, and Link's Awakening is a great introduction to the classic Zelda challenge.
7 A Link To The Past
The third installment in the series still remains one of the most beloved, as it was a massive step up from the previous titles in terms of gameplay, graphical capabilities, and story.
Without straying away from capturing the amount of skill needed to traverse a massive world with your own two feet, A Link to the Past is everything fans loved about the original and more.
6 Oracle Of Seasons & Ages
Premiering on the Game Boy Color in a sort of Pokemon fashion, these two games were extremely similar but with enough differences to feel like separate experiences. For Zelda titles, these are tough.
Oracle of Ages, in particular, has some of the most brutal dungeons in the entire series, being time-consuming with some of the most complex puzzles Zelda has to offer.