The Legend Of Zeldais one of themost iconic and ever-changing Nintendo seriesaround. There’s no getting enough of the adventures of Link as he does what he can to save the world from the evil forces of Ganon. While each game gets plenty of love, the excellent starting areas of many of the games don’t.
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A solid starting areaacts as the perfect tutorial for a game, letting you come to grips with the game’s controls and mechanics. Every Zelda game tackles starting areas in different ways, but a few manage to stand out on your quest to keep the coveted Triforce out of the hands of evil.
19The Legend Of Zelda
The opening area of the firstNESZelda is a bit bland by today’s standards. It’s a simple forest area with a single cave for you to explore. It does deserve some recognition as it did set the standard for open-world adventure.
A player could completely miss getting the sword if they decide they don’t want to first explore that dark cave. The lack of much to do on the first two screens leaves this game at the bottom even if it did set a new standard.
18The Four Swords
You have a number of stages to choose from for this game, but most people would consider the Chambers Of Insight as the true first stop. Unfortunately, the simple cave isn’t anything that special.
It’s a simple tutorial for the game’s mechanics and one that is much-needed, but it likely could have been implemented in a more creative way to keep things interesting.
17The Four Swords Adventure
The opening area of this game could be considered to either be Lake Hylia or the Four Sword Sanctuary, but neither is overly amazing. In the sanctuary, you don’t really get control over the scene, but it does have an eerie atmosphere.
Lake Hylia serves as a familiar forest area from the start, something you’d probably already be used to. It does feel a bit uninspired, but this is a Zelda game with a stage selection screen.
16Oracle Of Ages
Oracle Of Ages doesn’t have an amazing starting area, as this game actually focuses more on the circumstance of the opening rather than the area itself. The opening area is the usual forest area that any Zelda fan should be used to.
The interesting aspect is saving a mysterious elder before attending a small performance by Nayru. From there, the true plot of the game kicks off, but outside of the story, the area really isn’t anything interesting.
15Oracle Of Seasons
While most people might think that the twin game to Ages, Oracle Of Seasons, would be mostly similar, the opening is actually a bit better. The difference mostly lies in the NPCs that dot the area and the caravan that adds personality.
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Hanging out with the small caravan and dancing with Din does make this a memorable opening, but once again, when looking at the area purely by design and sound, it is limited by theGame Boy, which leaves it a bit simplistic.
14The Minish Cap
Much like many other Zelda games, this one begins with Link in bed. This time, he’s living with Master Smith and is tasked with delivering a sword to Hyrule Castle alongside Princess Zelda.
The home itself is simple, but it is one of the few times where it feels like Link actually has a family dynamic and past relationships with the people around him. The area is still a bit limited since it’s just a house, but including the actual festival in the town does give it a few bonus points.
13Tri Force Heroes
Hytopia is a fairly large area for you to explore, but it’s not particularly interesting. Considering even many major fans of the series missed out on this game, it’s probably safe to say most people don’t remember this opening area too well.
It does exactly what it needs to do, and serves as a simple sandbox for players to learn the basic controls before being tossed into the actual first level of the game. The area is vibrant but mostly unremarkable.
12A Link Between Worlds
While A Link To The Past uses the same world to perfection, A Link Between Worlds’ opening is a lot less interesting. It feels much longer before anything of note happens, and while you do wake up in bed, the home is mostly uninteresting as well.
Going back to the land of Hyrule from A Link To The Past was a treat, and the game is wonderful, but the opening was a bit of a stumble for a lot of people - an opinion that you might even share.
11Spirit Tracks
Aboda Village is a fun little location to kick off your adventure in Spirit Tracks. There isn’t a ton to do here, like in many other handheld game starting areas, but there is enough to do to learn the basic controls.
There isn’t much besides setting out to learn to use the train mechanics, making it a perfectly fine starting area, although one that isn’t particularly memorable.
10The Adventure Of Link
The Adventure Of Link came at a time when the Zelda series wasn’t sure what it was. It introduced additional RPG elements to the game, along with a side-scrolling aspect. The opening area of this game is a simple one, but excellent.
You see the sleeping princess atop a shrine, and you can test the game’s controls. You have your goal, and you learn how to play on the first screen, something that acts as a fantastic starting location.
