Summary
There are many reasons as to whysomeone may want to pick a game in theLegend of Zeldafranchise: for its gripping narratives, its epic boss fights or its mind-breaking dungeons & puzzles. But there’s another prominent gameplay element that also attracts a fair share of players, and that is theexploration.
The kingdom of Hyrule and the various other regions around it are some of the most interesting locations in all gaming and, fortunately, gamers were able to travel through it on numerous occasions, which has gotten even better as technology evolved throughout the years. There are a lot of solidLegend of Zeldagames for fans of exploration to choose, but the following eight will definitely satisfy them the most.
The game that started it all,the originalLegend of Zeldafor the Nintendo Entertainment System, may seem unimpressive nowadays, but this was a truly ambitious and revolutionary title for its time. Before the NES, most home console video games were not able to offer true exploration that would make gamers feel adventurous, at least not in the scope of theLegend of Zelda.
From the moment Link meets the Old Man, who gives him his first sword (which the player can choose to ignore), this game felt like something truly special, and this sentiment echoes all over the adventure, like the treacherous journeys through a Hyrule infested with dangerous monsters or the deep dives into mysterious dungeons with epic bosses at the very end. Exploration is one of the key elements of theLegend of Zeldafranchise, and it has been evident ever since its first installment.
The most recent entry in the series,Echoes of Wisdom, may not be as ambitious or as open-ended asBreath of the WildorTears of the Kingdom, but it is still quite interesting to explore the 2.5D version of Hyrule within it. For starters, this game finally lets players play as Princess Zelda herself, and she interacts with the characters, enemies and environments in different ways from Link.
But the most creative and entertaining gameplay mechanic inEchoes of Wisdomare the titular Echoes, which allow Zelda to copy and create replicas of almost every single item and enemy she can find throughout Hyrule. This sole mechanic changes everything since it encourages players to explore every location they can reach to obtain new Echoes that will spice up their play style in fun and unique ways.
TheLegend of Zeldaseries was renowned for its wonderful sense of exploration during the NES, SNES and Game Boy eras, but it jumped into the next level after the arrival of 3D graphics changed the entire industry. In 1998,Nintendo releasedThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, an incredible video game that was immediately praised by fans and critics alike. And its ambitious new portrayal of Hyrule was one of the main reasons behind its success.
The semi-open world map ofOcarina of Timemay not seem all that massive today, but back in the late 90s, this was one of the biggest and most adventurous locations ever put in a video game. Hyrule is filled to the brim with interesting areas, quirky characters, fun side-quests and valuable bonus items. Some of the best parts of the game are completely optional and missable - like the famous Biggoron’s Sword quest - so players who explore everything are always rewarded for their efforts.
Majora’s Maskfeatures a semi-open world of similar scope to its predecessor,Ocarina of Time. However, it does have some key differences that completely switch up its gameplay and, as a result, it’s way a more rewarding experience for fans of exploration. One of the most interesting aspects aboutMajora’s Maskis that its NPCs have precise routines that are completely independent of the player’s actions, so it’s always interesting to find every single character and find out what they’re up to at different times.
Another part ofMajora’s Maskthat sets it apart from other installments in the series is its large number of side-quests. Since the gameplay is centered on Link’s masks, there naturally are a lot of optional side-quests that will reward him with new ones that would otherwise be easy to miss. This game encourages exploration so much that its final boss and ending change completely if the player is able to collect every single mask, which was a first for the series.
InThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the land Hyrule has been submerged underwaterand, thus, most of the world is made up of vast oceans that are populated with mysterious and intriguing islands. The large amounts of water may mean that different areas of the map are not as easy to access as the Hyrule inOcarina of Time, but it more than makes up for it because the exploration of this game is much more interesting and unique.
The ocean inThe Wind Wakeris filled to the brim with different islands that have many secrets in them, and the populated areas feature many memorable characters and fun side quests. Nevertheless, this is one of the fewLegend ofZeldagames in which the mere act of exploring is a magical experience in and of itself, regardless of any potential rewards, because just sailing away in Link’s boat will always fill the player with a wonderful sense of adventure.
EveryLegend of Zeldagamereleased beforeA Link Between Worldswas mostly linear: the player could deviate from the main path to find some optional items or side quests, but they didn’t offer full freedom of choice until the final boss was defeated, and the map fully opened up. This finally changed in 2013, when Nintendo released the spiritual successor toA Link to the Paston the Nintendo 3DS.
The main mechanic ofA Link Between Worldsis the possibility to rent key items, especially those that are needed to complete one of the main dungeons and to defeat their respective boss. Just this one feature made this game way more open-ended than any of its successors, and it gave players the freedom to complete each dungeon in whatever order they want. Granted, Link will lose all these temporary items when he dies, but he can rent them again from Rovio the moment he respawns. As a result of all this, exploring Hyrule inA Link Between Worldsis very fun and refreshing.
ButA Link Between Worldswas just the beginning of an entirely new era ofThe Legend of Zeldafranchise. Just a few years later,Nintendo released the excellentBreath of the Wild, the first fully 3D entry in the franchise that featured a massive open world the player can explore in whatever order they want.
The map of Hyrule inBreath of the Wildis absolutely massive, way bigger than anything before it, and it’s chock-full of things for the player to discover: shrines, side quests, armor sets, weapons, powerful monsters and more. This game is so open-ended that players can immediately go face the final boss a few minutes after starting a new game but, of course, those who explored most parts of Hyrule will be way stronger and more resilient.Breath of the Wild’s brilliant change in the formula was so revolutionary and so successful that it even inspired other games in other franchises, likeElden RingorSonic Frontiers.
It truly seemed likeBreath of the Wildwas the peak of theLegend of Zeldafranchise in terms of exploration,until Nintendo released its sequel in 2023:The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. This game already has all the same good qualities of its predecessors, like an expansive map of Hyrule with tons of shrines to complete, items to collect and enemies to defeat.
However, what makesTears of the Kingdomthe best game for players who want to spend countless hours exploring is the addition of two new maps that are almost as big as Hyrule: the Sky Islands and the Depths.Tears of the Kingdomliterally tripled its map size, offering fans a lot more avenues for exploration, with tons of treasure, shrines and creatures to find in either the sky or underground. And, of course, all of this can be done in whatever order the player wants.
But what makesTears of the Kingdomeven more distinctive is all of Link’s new abilities, especially the Ultrahand, which lets players build a large variety of vehicles, weapons, objects and more. This means that not only the rewards in this game are valuable, but traversing the world is a satisfying experience in and of itself. This is one of those video games that can be played for a very long time before reaching one of its main mandatory quests.
