With The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time‘s remake now available on Switch 2, there’s a good chance plenty of players have already finished it and are looking for another Zelda game to play. Fortunately, there are several games in the series that make for particularly good follow-ups to Ocarina of Time, especially for those who want to experience more of the Hero of Time’s story or enjoy the same traditional dungeon design that made the N64 classic so special in the first place.
Interestingly enough, Ocarina of Time is also where Nintendo’s official Zelda timeline splits into three different branches, meaning players can actually experience several different futures for Hyrule depending on which game they play next. With that in mind, these five Zelda games are ranked according to how well they build on Ocarina of Time‘s story, world, and gameplay, rather than simply how good they are on their own.
5
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD
See Where the Master Sword’s Story Began
- Where to play: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is available on Nintendo Switch and playable on Switch 2 through backward compatibility.
If you finish Ocarina of Time and find yourself wanting to know a bit more about the Master Sword, then The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is probably one of the best places to start. According to Nintendo’s official timeline, Skyward Sword is actually the earliest mainline game in the series chronologically, set long before Hyrule became the kingdom players know from Ocarina of Time. More importantly, it tells the story of how the Master Sword came to exist in the first place, with Link gradually forging the legendary weapon that would eventually become such a massive part of Hyrule’s history. There’s also quite a bit of important lore surrounding Zelda herself, making it a worthwhile adventure for anyone interested in learning where some of the series’ biggest traditions began.
But I think one of the best reasons to play Skyward Sword HD after Ocarina of Time is honestly its dungeon design, which is among the best the franchise has ever had to offer. The Ancient Cistern, in particular, is an incredible dungeon, but the Lanayru Mining Facility and Sandship are also great examples of traditional Zelda dungeons, with the latter two using Timeshift Stones to transform parts of their environments between the past and present. Of course, Skyward Sword is considerably more restrictive in its exploration than Ocarina of Time, and its directional sword combat can take some getting used to. Thankfully, the HD edition allows players to use button-only controls instead of motion controls, making it a bit more accessible for anyone coming straight from the remake.
4
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Discover What Happens If the Hero of Time Is Defeated
- Where to play: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is available on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 through the Super Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Classics library, included with a standard Nintendo Switch Online subscription.
What’s especially interesting about The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is that, despite releasing six years before Ocarina of Time, it actually takes place after the N64 game in Nintendo’s official chronology. However, it doesn’t follow the same version of Hyrule that players save at the end of Ocarina of Time, but rather an alternate timeline in which the Hero of Time is defeated and Ganon ultimately claims the Triforce. That leads to the events surrounding the Imprisoning War and the corruption of the Sacred Realm, which becomes the Dark World that plays such an important role in A Link to the Past. It’s a fascinating bit of Zelda history, because it gives players an idea of just how differently things could have turned out if Link had failed to stop Ganondorf.
It’s also worth mentioning that A Link to the Past helped establish much of what eventually made Ocarina of Time so successful, even if its top-down perspective didn’t carry over. The Master Sword, for example, made its first appearance in A Link to the Past, and its progression through increasingly challenging, item-based dungeons became something of a foundation for the series moving forward. There’s also the game’s Light World and Dark World mechanic, which I think shares a pretty interesting similarity with the way Ocarina of Time allows players to experience Hyrule as both young and adult Link. It obviously won’t feel quite like playing the Ocarina of Time remake, but for anyone who enjoys traditional Zelda dungeon design, A Link to the Past is still one of the best examples of it.
3
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Find Out What Became of Hyrule After the Hero of Time Disappeared
- Where to play: The original GameCube version of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is available on Nintendo Switch 2 through Nintendo GameCube – Nintendo Classics, requiring Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. The Wind Waker HD is also playable on Wii U.
At first glance, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker might seem like an odd recommendation for anyone who has just finished Ocarina of Time, especially considering how drastically different the two games look and how distinctive their mechanics are. However, The Wind Waker is actually one of the most important games to play if you’re interested in seeing what happened to Hyrule after the Hero of Time defeated Ganondorf. According to Nintendo’s timeline, it takes place in the Adult Timeline, where Link defeated Ganondorf before Princess Zelda sent him back to his childhood, leaving Hyrule without its hero when evil eventually threatened the kingdom again. With no Hero of Time around to save it, Hyrule was ultimately flooded, leaving the once-familiar kingdom buried beneath the Great Sea. And despite how different The Wind Waker might look, there are some pretty fascinating connections to Ocarina of Time scattered throughout its story.
As far as gameplay goes, The Wind Waker is still very much a traditional 3D Zelda game, with sword combat, item-based dungeons, and plenty of puzzles that require Link to use whatever tools he’s acquired along the way. Where it differs most from Ocarina of Time, though, is in its exploration, as players spend much of their adventure sailing across the Great Sea in search of islands, treasures, and secrets. I think its colorful, cel-shaded visuals are also one of its greatest strengths, especially considering how expressive its characters are, and the game has aged remarkably well because of them. One thing worth knowing, however, is that the version available through Nintendo GameCube – Nintendo Classics on Switch 2 is the original release, not the Wii U’s HD remaster, which added the Swift Sail and made some of the game’s more tedious activities considerably less time-consuming.
2
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Closest Zelda Has Ever Come to Another Ocarina of Time
- Where to play: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD is available on Wii U, while the original can be played on GameCube or Wii. There is currently no official Nintendo Switch or Switch 2 version.
If there’s one game in the series that I think comes closest to feeling like a proper evolution of Ocarina of Time, it’s The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. In fact, much of what made Ocarina of Time such a remarkable game in 1998 was expanded upon in Twilight Princess, from its enormous Hyrule Field and horseback travel to its traditional dungeon progression and much darker atmosphere. It also features some of the best dungeons in the entire franchise, including Arbiter’s Grounds, Snowpeak Ruins, and the Temple of Time, all of which offer unique puzzles and memorable environments. And while Twilight Princess introduces plenty of mechanics of its own, particularly Link’s ability to transform into a wolf, it never really abandons the traditional Zelda formula that made Ocarina of Time so successful in the first place.
But beyond its gameplay, Twilight Princess also has a rather significant connection to Ocarina of Time that makes it an even better follow-up than it might initially seem. It takes place in the Child Timeline, long after the Hero of Time returned to his childhood, with familiar locations like the Temple of Time, Kakariko Village, and Lake Hylia appearing in very different forms. More importantly, the mysterious Hero’s Shade who teaches Link advanced sword techniques throughout the game is actually the Hero of Time himself, as confirmed in Hyrule Historia. That means players who have just finished the Ocarina of Time remake can actually encounter its protagonist again, albeit in a form they probably wouldn’t expect. The only real downside here is that Twilight Princess still isn’t available on Switch or Switch 2, which is unfortunate considering how naturally it follows the N64 classic.
1
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Continue the Hero of Time’s Story in Ocarina of Time’s Direct Sequel
- Where to play: The original Nintendo 64 version of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is available on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 through Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. Majora’s Mask 3D is also available on Nintendo 3DS.
There really couldn’t be another game at the top of this list, because The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is the direct sequel to Ocarina of Time, following the exact same Link after Princess Zelda sends him back to his childhood. This time, however, instead of saving Hyrule from Ganondorf, Link ends up in a strange land called Termina while searching for his lost fairy companion, Navi, only to discover that a terrifying moon is about to crash into the land and destroy everything in three days. It’s a considerably darker adventure than Ocarina of Time, despite sharing many of its mechanics and even reusing a significant number of its character models, but that’s part of what makes it so special. Rather than simply giving players more of the same, Majora’s Mask takes the Hero of Time and places him in a situation unlike anything he experienced during his original adventure.
The biggest difference, of course, is Majora’s Mask‘s three-day cycle, which requires players to repeatedly turn back time using the Song of Time in order to prevent the moon from destroying Termina. There’s also the mask system, which allows Link to transform into a Deku Scrub, Goron, or Zora, with each form offering different abilities that play an important role in exploration and solving puzzles. But what I think makes Majora’s Mask such a fantastic follow-up is how much emphasis it places on the people living in its world, many of whom have their own routines, problems, and personal stories that players can influence throughout the three-day cycle. It’s a very different kind of Zelda game, and its time limit might initially frustrate anyone coming straight from Ocarina of Time, but there’s nothing else in the series quite like it. More importantly, it’s the only game on this list that actually lets players continue the Hero of Time’s adventure right where Ocarina of Time left off.
