It’s easy to assume that every The Legend of Zelda game is as long as Breath of the Wild when it isn’t. In fact, the others don’t even play like Breath of the Wild. Each game is a unique experience that aims to deliver one of three things—story, gameplay, and exploration—to the franchise. Thus, they all come in varying gameplay lengths, depending on their content.
Every Zelda game from shortest to longest
Before we start, we’d like to tell you that Zelda games are as long as you’re willing to play them. Some Zelda games are quite linear with limited areas to roam around it, while some have vast islands that take months to explore. There are also games like Hyrule Warriors that have little to no story content, but bundles of side stories that will take you weeks to go through.
All that said, here’s your list of every Zelda game from the ones you can put down the soonest to those you’ll be playing for months.
Related: Zelda Tier List – Best Legend of Zelda Games, Ranked
Mainline The Legend of Zelda games
The Legend of Zelda has an overarching plot that starts with Skyward Sword. If you’re only interested in the main games, these are the ones you have to play. While most of them are old, Nintendo is putting in a lot of effort to make them available for streaming on Nintendo Switch Online.
| Game | Platform/s | Average Playtime | Completionist |
| The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures | GameCube | 3 hours | |
| The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords | GameCube | 3 hours | 15 hours |
| The Legend of Zelda | NES, Switch Online | 9 hours | 11+ hours |
| Zelda II: The Adventure of Link | NES, Switch Online | 10 hours | 12+ hours |
| The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening | Gameboy, 3DS, Switch Online | 14.5 hours | 20 hours |
| The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past | SNES, 3DS, Switch Online | 15 hours | 20 hours |
| The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds | 3DS | 15 hours | 25 hours |
| The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap | Gameboy, Wii U, 3DS, Switch Online | 15 hours | ~30 hours |
| The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes | 3DS | 15 hours | 55 hours |
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| The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons | Gameboy, Switch Online (soon) | 16 hours | ~24 hours |
| The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages | Gameboy, Switch Online (soon) | 16 hours | ~24 hours |
| The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass | DS, Wii U | 16-20 hours | 30 hours |
| The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks | DS, Wii U | 16-20 hours | 30 hours |
| The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask | N64, 3DS, Switch Online | 23 hours | ~35 hours |
| The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time | N64, 3DS, Switch Online | 28 hours | 40+ hours |
| The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker | GameCube, Wii U | 30 hours | 60+ hours |
| The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess | GameCube, Wii, Wii U | 38 hours | ~60 hours |
| The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword | Wii, Wii U, Switch | 39 hours | 60 hours |
| The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes | 3DS | 15 hours | 55 hours |
| The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild | Switch | 55 hours | 200+ hours |
| The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | Switch | 70-75 hours | 200+ hours |
Related: Longest Video Games of all time
Spin-off The Legend of Zelda games
Many of these Zelda games aren’t published by Nintendo and have a plot that isn’t considered canon to the franchise. Still, we’re including them in the list too. After all, we did mention we’re covering “every” Zelda game!
| Game | Platform/s | Average Playtime | Completionist |
| Link's Crossbow Training | Wii | 1.5 hours | 6 hours |
| Tingle's Balloon Fight | DS | 2 hours | |
| Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon | CD-i | 3 hours | 5 hours |
| Link: The Faces of Evil | CD-i | 3 hours | 5 hours |
| Cadence of Hyrule | Switch | 5 hours | 10 hours |
| Zelda's Adventure | CD-i | 6 hours | 7.5 hours |
| Hyrule Warriors | Wii U, 3DS, Switch | 12 hours (Main Story) | 200+ |
| Ripened Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love | DS | 20 hours | 23+ hours |
| Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity | Switch | 23 hours | 70 hours |
| Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland | DS | 30 hours | 32 hours |
For more The Legend of Zelda posts, check out Who’s the cutest Zelda character? and All Legend of Zelda games in order – release date, chronological, timeline here at Pro Game Guides.
Published: May 19, 2023 12:21 am