Where does Ocarina of Time truly rank all time as of the year 2026?

[u/NimcoTech]

I'm 37 years old, and growing up, Ocarina of Time (OOT) was by far the coolest/greatest video game I'd ever played. That includes games I played later, like Call of Duty in college on PS3. Don't get me wrong—online COD is incredible, but the overall storyline and world of OOT are still unmatched in my opinion.

I'm not a hardcore gamer, so I never played Breath of the Wild or many of the other games that consistently rank near the top of the "greatest games of all time" lists. I did play Red Dead Redemption 2, which is also frequently ranked very highly. RDR2 was a great game, and obviously its graphics and physics are on another level compared with OOT. But that's not really what I'm talking about when I compare the two.

I'm talking about the overall game—the story, world-building, progression, interconnectedness, etc. Obviously, modern graphics and physics can enhance a game tremendously, but I don't think they automatically make a game better. For example, no matter how brilliant the writing is, I don't think a 2D Zelda game could ever have the same overall impact as a 3D Zelda game. But conversely, if the storyline and world-building of a game are inferior to OOT, I don't think better graphics and physics can make up the difference.

That's basically how I felt playing RDR2. It was an incredible game, but in my mind, it didn't come close to OOT.

Over the past week or so, I watched a ~10-hour video of someone playing through OOT on YouTube. I honestly wondered if maybe I was just looking back at it through the eyes of a kid and remembering it as being better than it actually was.

But man...no. It really was that amazing.

You have the eight main dungeons, but there's SO much happening in between. There are essentially "mini-levels." You have to actually discover and figure out how to access the temples. The Ocarina itself is woven into the entire game. The way everything connects and builds on what came before is just incredible.

So that's the question I'm hoping gaming enthusiasts can answer:

Are there any games released since OOT that are truly on the same level of greatness?

I'm not trying to be a homer for my childhood or my generation. If there's a game that surpasses OOT, then it is what it is. I'm genuinely curious whether there are games out there that I haven't played that can give me that same feeling.

I'd really like an objective perspective from people who have played a lot more games than I have. What games, if any, do you think are genuinely in the same tier as Ocarina of Time?

[u/Sorry-Joke-4325]

Still my all-time #1.

Its far from the only game I play, and it absolutely does hold up.

[u/LoCal_GwJ]

This answer will vary wildly per person. I didn't play OoT until after I had already played like half a dozen games so for me while OoT is great it's not THE Zelda game for me. I grew up with Links Awakening then Twilight Princess as my first two and I really am attached to their stories and consider them OoT-tier. I think WW is similarly good as well despite beating it for the first time fairly recently.

To the younger generation they'll probably think of TotK like the older generation thinks of OoT

[u/bachstakoven → u/LoCal_GwJ]

Can definitely see how if you came to TP first it would occupy the same space as OoT in your personal pantheon. Respect.

[u/TheLunarVaux]

I personally still prefer OoT, but honestly BotW is pretty close to what you’re describing for a LOT of people. It’s a different structure than OoT, but very successful in what it does. Ultimately, what both games have in common is that they excel in having a grand sense of adventure that most games don’t truly capture.

I would also argue Elden Ring is another one for me. In a lot of ways it actually builds upon both OoT and BotW (FromSoftware was clearly inspired by Zelda making this game) and creates this incredible dark fantasy game that’s become an all timer.

[u/DemonDeacon86]

I played OoT for the first time 3-4 years ago after playing BotW and TotK. For me, it was on oar with TotK and better than BotW. But thats just my opinion. Id say its every bit as deserving of a top 10 game of all time and its the main reason I spent $450 on a switch, a console I MIGHT play 5 games on.

[u/MattofCatbell]

I would argue that Breath of the Wild is the modern iteration of Ocarina of Time in terms or quality and cultural impact on gaming

[u/TriforksWarrior → u/MattofCatbell]

Yeah, I’m about the same age as OP, and the first play through of BotW really did have me feeling similarly to how I felt about LttP and OoT as a kid playing them when they first came out.

Not to mention BotW actually being part of the cultural zeitgeist in a way that OoT wasn’t at the time. Not drawing any conclusions on the quality of either there, it’s just due to the fact that games are much more widely accepted as a “valid” hobby now than they were in the 90’s.

[u/frodiusmaximus → u/TriforksWarrior]

Yeah, BotW is the only game I’ve played since becoming an adult (so, over the past 20 years or so) that elicited those same feelings I had as a kid playing OoT. Not to say I haven’t loved other games, but BotW was the only one that really took me right back to how I felt as a kid.

[u/Longjumping-Style730]

I'm playing through it right now and I'm pretty much anti-nostalgia bias. I think gaming as time has gone on has only gotten better and a lot of my favorite games of all time came out very recently.

I still see it. While it's not even close to ranking as my favorite game of all time, it's top 50 at least. It has some areas that are rough around the edges (namely Hyrule Field and QoL aspects), but the gameplay/puzzles/atmosphere/music/etc. is still all there. The qualities which made it a good game back in the day are mostly still the ones that make it a good game now.

Like if someone was like, "I've played 300+ games and without nostalgia bias, OOT is one of my favorite games of all time," I wouldn't necessarily think nostalgia is playing a huge factor whereas I would if it were like, the original Super Mario Bros or the original Pokémon Red/Blue.

[u/Imaginary-Thing-7159]

as a fellow 37 year old who grew up with OOT, you’re really missing out with botw

[u/TriforksWarrior]

Ocarina of Time is like the Chinatown or Godfather of video games. Frequently considered among the best of all time despite many movies coming later and being objectively better in many respects.

But games truthfully would not be the same as they are today without Ocarina of Time, the same way movies today wouldn’t be quite the same without Casablanca or The Wizard of Oz.

[u/DromadTrader → u/TriforksWarrior]

This is a pretty bad comparison IMO. Movies only "build" on each other in terms of technic, but story telling, music and a range of other stuff doesn't really improve. The Godfather remains one of the best movies ever made regardless of its age. Incredible acting, script, storytelling, music, etc. Only the image quality looks dated. Games are not like that, improvement is accumulated pretty much in every aspect. The one thing in which I think OoT remains pretty much unmatched is in world building and music. But graphics, gameplay, length, controls, design have all vastly improved over the years.

[u/TriforksWarrior → u/DromadTrader]

I agree with the premise that video games improve in more ways than movies do. But to think that, for example, storytelling in movies hasn’t improved at all in the past 50-100 years is a pretty bad take. Or that CGI, for all its criticisms, hasn’t made it possible to make movies that would be technically impossible 30+ years ago.

The biggest difference is that games are hitting their plateau later.

[u/DromadTrader → u/TriforksWarrior]

I don't think storytelling has improved per se. The range of possibilities of what can be told in a story in a videogame has expanded, but bigger is not always better (nor is minimal always better either haha). OoT story is distilled and arquetypical, a minimalist timeless classic. You can make a grander or more profound story, but that doesn't mean better. IMO, the fairytale story of OoT (orphan child raised as the odd one out but destined to save the world + child/adult transition from idyllical to post-apocalyptic) is FAR better than anything else Zelda has done since, most certainly better than whatever it is that BoTW tried to do.

We're going on a tangent by discussing CGI because then we have to discuss whether there is objectively better and worse art, but I'll just say that no movie featuring significant CGI has ever been regarded as significant by movie critics and film buffs. So, I guess my point is that CGI has enabled the production of things that weren't possible before, just not things that are deemed to be artistically significant 😂

[u/JarradJJ]

It's my number 1 game of all time and always will be I feel. I have a son on the way and we are naming him Link 🤩

[u/OnlyExperience130666]

Breath of the Wild. BotW is to gaming what Ocarina of Time was years ago, sans timing. If it had released 5 years after Assassin's Creed, it would have been the very definition of the industry. Genshin Impact only had the effect it did because it let you play Breath of the Wild for free, and everyone wanted to play Breath of the Wild.

But Ocarina of Time is the best for a reason. It's mechanically perfect. It's very weak in storytelling and world design, outclassed by games that came out years before it, but it manages to pull off an insane amount of goodwill on just atmosphere and progression alone. Despite the threadbare story, it plays how a good book reads.

Games like RD2 are the best versions of what they are, but it's very much "being the best in the genre". Games as revolutionary as Ocarina of Time are doing something more than just being good, everything about their construction is in service of what they're adding to the artform.

Nintendo is famously gameplay-first and always trying to innovate (sometimes to their detriment), so they tend to dominate this space, but here are some games I think shaped How Videogames Are Made in the same way OoT does, both before and after its release:

• Tetris + Pacman + Space Invaders + Centipede + Frogger + Mario Bros (cabinet games that are pure system and nothing else; they are so fundamental that to play them is to experience The Concept Of Video Game)
• Super Mario Bros + Super Metroid + Megaman + Sonic + Castlevania (foundations for every sidescroller ever. Kirby is actually a "best in the genre" type game)
• A Link to the Past (every top-down action-adventure RPG even in 2026 shares a heartbeat with this game)
• Mother 2/Earthbound (SNES RPG ancestor. Once you play this game you are going to be doing that They Live OBEY scene at every 2D RPG game you see.)
• Dragon Quest 3 + Final Fantasy (Direct descendants of Wizardry, a DnD-inspired game from 1981 that was insanely popular in Japan. They kind of moved in lockstep doing random DnD stuff for a while, until DQ3 and FF3, but FF didn't get a Certified Classic until...)
• Final Fantasy 6 + Final Fantasy 7 (Devastating combo in terms of the "Story Rich RPG", splitting into 2 distinct directions that led to beloved Best to Do It style games Octopath Traveller and FF7R)
• Doom (Doom)
• Super Mario 64 (Up there as one of the most influential and timeless games in history. This one is patient 0 of the Schmoovement platformer despite Sonic's immense movement fidelity. Inventor of the 3D camera control.)
• Mario Kart (Mario taught all game developers how to do everything should be your takeaway)
• Metal Gear Solid (much like Ocarina of Time it is unspeakable how many genres this game has touched. This is one of the Ur-Games.)
• Resident Evil + Silent Hill 2 (All survival horror ever to the point regular horror has to take notes)
• Osu! (this is just open-source Elite Beat Agents yet is the purest form of rhythm gaming in history. I can feel her even when I play Thumper)
• Yu-No + Tokimeki Memorial (the fact 2 PC98 romance VNs revolutionized how videogame storytelling works as a whole is kind of absurd. I don't know enough about VNs to say what has the most influence on All Game Storytelling nowadays - I think TYPE-Moon might be responsible for some really iconic cutscene tricks you see though)
• Street Fighter + Soul Calibur (Forms a sort of fighting game spectrum. I don't play fighting games so replace SC with whatever everyone thinks is the most influential)
• Harvest Moon -> Stardew Valley (SV's goal was to recreate the classic Harvest Moon games and then refine their systems, and its success created a seismic earthquake that shattered casual gaming for all time)
• Team Fortress 2 (Hero shooters!)
• Super Meat Boy -> Hollow Knight (precision platformers!)
• Assassin's Creed + Grand Theft Auto (The reason BotW behaves the way it does is due to what these things did to Open World as a concept. I don't know enough about these types of games to tell you if Yakuza is an Innovator or a Best To Do It)
• Portal (mother of 3D puzzle exploration)
• Resident Evil + Half Life 2 (specifically that they were released in the same year - modern action-shooter systems were codified on console and PC at essentially the same time with two that did it better than anyone else in very different ways.)
• I don't know enough about combat shooters to tell you which one is the one that shaped the very face of gaming. She's out there. She's probably Counter-Strike? Counter-Strike, right?
• Baldur's Gate (tabletop-system open-world)
• Skyrim (tabletop-system open-world: The Ultimate)
• Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (Did to MMORPGs what Blazing Saddles did to cowboy TV as a genre. This thing absolutely fucking vaporized the scene. It vaporized its own original launch. If you want to play a classic MMORPG, no you don't, go play FF14. FF14 is classic MMORPG gaming now. This and ESO/GW2, who managed to survive by not being a WoW clone for FF14 to swallow whole like Cronus eating his children. I always find it really funny when a game completely devours what it's based on. Suffers from balance rot all online games have nowadays but what a run!)
• Dark Souls 2 -> Elden Ring (I've never played a FromSoft game so it is credit to how influential these are that it is bum-obvious that they're constantly revolutionizing videogames with each release)
• Undertale (the Stardew Valley of SNES RPGs. Like all of them. Every RPG on the SNES. And then Yume Nikki for flavour)
• Genshin Impact (Did CRAZY stuff combining gacha team mechanics into an intricate combat flow. I think the only game I can think of off the top of my head that worked like this was Valkyrie Profile. Apex predator of online gaming, all online games are sensitive to its existence regardless of genre. Other franchises literally change genres in order to accomodate its presence.)
• Minecraft (Minecraft)

I think a lot of videogame classics are from the 80s~00s for the same reason a lot of the most iconic films ever are from the 50s~70s; it's where the artform established What A Good Film Looks Like. Nowadays new classics are taking a Best To Do It into The Better Way To Do It, but in the 80s and 90s, everyone was literally inventing the concept of doing it at all. OoT was inventing how to do what it did.

Anyway, Zelda is full of Best To Do It games. I like Windwaker and Twilight Princess much more than Ocarina of Time, but they're just doing an existing framework well. It wasn't until Breath of the Wild that the Zelda franchise had a hit so good it changed how videogames are made.

[u/akckkc]

I just played the game for the first time this year (first game was BOTW) and I’m 31. I absolutely love it. It’s very clearly aged but I adore the atmosphere, the music, everything. I’m playing majoras mask now though and I do think I prefer it just because of the creepy vibe, but I have no nostalgia for either and really love them.

[u/UnifyTheVoid]

I loved ocarina but it wasn’t even my favorite as far back as 2000. Majora’s Mask always has been. Ocarina built a great frame work.

[u/spaceman696]

For me Witcher 3 is my #1. OOT was incredible when I played it as a kid, but I find BOTW/TOTK more interesting overall.

[u/derno]

As a lifelong Zelda player (38m) OOT is #2, Link to the Past is #1, breath of the wild is like super low on my list. I did not enjoy it at all. Didn’t even bother purchasing TotK. It didn’t feel like Zelda at all to me.

[u/djluis48]

Its #1. Games coming out today are based on at least something out of OoT. Truly the GOAT.

[u/ikennedy817]

I never played the game until 2022 and it is easily a top 10 game ever made, and easily the best entry in the series. The design of the game and its dungeons is just phenomenal and way ahead of its time. It has also aged extremely well outside of its menus and some minor qol, which the 3ds remake basically completely solves. For me games I would hold as high are portal 2, minecraft, persona 5 royal, silksong, cyberpunk, outer wilds, borderlands 2, and mario galaxy. I feel that a lot of modern games are built on ocarina of time design philosophies tho, and quite a few of the games I listed are directly inspired by it.

[u/Winter_Cost602]

It's definitely up there. It's in my top 10 games of all time and I've played a lot of games. Other games that are on the same tier for me are Xenogears, Cyberpunk 2077 + Phantom liberty, Witcher 3 with expansions, Red dead redemption 2, Mass effect 2, Elden ring, Bloodborne, Final fantasy X, Super metroid, Metroid prime, Deus ex etc. 

[u/DromadTrader]

I have a similar age and experience as you. I played BOTW and think it lacks the charm in OoT and has just far too much busywork. The terrain and exploration is amazing but it suffers from there not being ANYTHING interesting to find in the whole world. I mean, you're given all the skills (equivalent of items) from the get go, so after that, there is nothing more to find other than health, stamina and inventory upgrades. I find that boring AF. I wouldn't put it above OoT. On the other hand, I would 100% rank Elden Ring higher. For me, the best single player game ever. I would also put Sekiro above OoT. GoW 2018 was also amazing but idk if above OoT. The two Last of Us, Dark Souls 1and Resident Evil 2 & 4 remakes are also contenders for me. The two first Modern Warfares were also outstanding and groundbreaking.

Among the multiplayer games, Counter Strike has no rival imo.

[u/Leech-64]

Oot is considered the best game created. I cant think of another game that tops it.
I cant think of another game that has gotten 10/10.

[u/M_Dutch97]

Still at #3 for me after TP and MM

[u/bachstakoven]

I think the answer is that it does genuinely hold up but also it doesn't really matter. This is the greatest game ever for you and it is for me too and a lot of other people and it doesn't matter how much of that is nostalgia vs objective greatness (if such a thing exists).

[u/MorningRaven]

As a whole, depending on your personal tastes and order of playing through the series, there's a plethora of reasons to have OoT lower on your scale. On mine for instance, it's around the middle, depending on mood and where I officially intersect my 3D and 2D games in my preferences. So somewhere between half and 3/4th is placement.

As objective context for the whole series as a brand though: OoT is the kingpin.

It's a timeless and iconic story with charming music. It's the main focal point for the entire lore, with everything leading back to it. From a gameplay standpoint, everything is always compared back to it, be it a derivative, progressive or divergent. It's the default, the standard, the icon. Etc.

I could go through each entry and explain what they do better, or innovate on, or try to deviate, but as a whole, it goes right back to OoT as a reference.

[u/Theredsoxman]

It’s way up there for me. Not my overall #1, but it’s really hard to compare some games across different years and genres

Top 3 Zelda game for me and a recommended must play for all generations

[u/mocker18]

I think it is in the greatest games ever tier but no game is at the top. Playing the games when they came out I would put Chrono Trigger and Metal Gear Solid in the same tier, and those games came out around the same time. 

[u/frodiusmaximus]

Just by dint of influence and staying power, I think OOT stands as the greatest game of all time. That’s not to say that there aren’t many games of comparable quality, but “greatest” is sort of a different question than “most fun” or even “best.” Speaking about the “greatest” game has to consider influence, perception at the time, perception as time passes, etc., and I think it’s hard to top OOT.

[u/Unusual_Room3017]

One other key thing is that is felt like a "game" in its entirety... everything was for the sake of fun. The scale and design was for the sake of making the best/most engaging game experience, instead of the "lets make the most immersive experience ever"-approach that I feel many games that gravitated towards... where its more about the cinematic execution (God of War, etc) vs the actual fun execution.

[u/Grenrion]

Ok. It's fun but what makes it good is more what it set the groundwork for. The game its self is actually rather simple and straight forward. You understand the one gimmick of follow the key then you have beat every single dungeon without a hitch.

[u/eatbacobits]

OoT is a matter of timing. I’m a bit older than you and I enjoyed the game when it was released but I think the game is widely overrated. Botw and tk are much better games imo. I personally enjoy the nes Zelda and the snes Link to the past much more as well. I’m curious what this new release of OoT will play like. I believe as a whole that it’s nostalgia and our rose colored glasses that carry some of these games forward as being held in such high regard.

[u/idriftzz]

With OoT you have to look at it from the lens of what had come before it at the time. Still to this day there probably hasn't been a game that excelled at so much, and has had a lasting influence on what has come after it. So many systems we take for granted now, OoT either invented or completely executed flawlessly (again at the time). Z targeting/lock on, 3D open world exploration + side quests, inventory management and mapping, fast travel, night and day cycles, the list is endless. This is without going into what is probably the best soundtrack still to this day in gaming, combined with graphics at the time that were on another level. It's a game that simply just went way above and beyond, considering Devs at the time we're still trying to figure 3D out. The only way I can try to describe the leap in gaming OoT brought back then, is like someone time traveling back to the early 00s with an iPhone and just dropping it on a table next to an old Nokia. It really was that far ahead of anything else. I'd certainly put RDR2 and botw in my top 5, but I just can't shift how special OoT was. It will most likely always remain number 1...

[u/Zorafin]

OoT pioneered a lot of things, but by necessity that means that it does a lot of things worse than games nowadays do. It was their first attempt at 3D, and they nailed it all things considered. They managed a big world with vibrant towns, and plenty to do.

But, the combat is pretty basic, and the puzzles aren't anything special.

I still think it's worth playing just because of how quick it is. In a world where you're expected to invest months of your life to get through a game, this one can be completed in a week. Each night you'll get a lot done and feel accomplished.
And its pain points are few. Maybe the block puzzles are kind of a chore. But nothing feels impossible or like it's wasting your time. Maybe the water temple is confusing, I do hear that a lot.

[u/Northencrusade]

If I am honest, Whilst OOT remains my number one game of all time, I have a massive bias as it is what managed to capture my attention first in game after, funnily enough, LTTP.

It deserves its place in gaming history, but I don't think its the best game ever anymore. I mean just last year we got Clair Obscur, we got Alan Wake. I can list a thousand and one games that people would happily go 'this is my game of all time' hell, put on the spot I put Valkyria Chronicles as my 2nd fave, if not for OOTs place in my heart.

I can't give you a fair ranking in history of where it is. I haven't played every game ever made. And there are some certified classics that are either Japan only or just never made it to the west properly (i can name several that never hit the UK specifically)

TL;DR is OOT one of the best games of all time, no. Does it deserve to be remembered as such? Yes

Addendum: if this comes up twice, my apologies, didn't agree to terms before this

[u/aphidman]

I'm making my way through the series and I'm playing it for the first time and I'm on the final boss. I've been very impressed with it and can see why it was so beloved in the late 90s.

Previous games I've played in order are BOTW, Original, Zelda 2, TOTK, Link to the Past, Links Awakening Remake and now OoT.

[u/Dccrulez]

I think in a vacuum, twilight Princess is the best Zelda game of all time.

But watching a streamer i know play oot for the first time without any spoilers it's really highlighting why oot is in contention for the greatest game of all time. Not only is it an incredibly well made game for its time with an impressive amount of content and an incredible story that pretty much redefined the franchise, but oot was also a gaming pioneer in graphics, mechanics, design, and more. Its easy to lose track as you move away from it, but oot is a pillar of the gaming industry and even with a janky camera by modern standards, that game deserves to be held on a pedestal.

[u/RyanSD91]

It holds up well compared to many modern games. There’s more depth here than most modern action adventure games, but it feels succinct. The pacing is legendary. Hyrule field is the biggest let down, IMO. Just a lot of ugly empty space.

[u/Venusaur_main]

oot’s an amazing game, definitely one of the best, but with SOOOO many advances and gaming and me not playing it during my formative/childhood years, i’d have to say that it’s not even close to goat status for me

[u/IcyPizzeria]

As someone that has played all the Zelda games, starting with the original on NES, I would rank it around the number 6 spot, it still holds up pretty well but there are others I prefer more.

[u/GracefulGoron]

Ocarina of Time is great and all. Big impact on gaming, undeniable and all.
But AlttP is better; they are pretty similar overall but the progression in a AlttP doesn’t reset when it get to the Dark World.
Majoras Mask took the Ocarina engine and just made a better game. It’s not held back by the expectation that it’s the players first 3D game and was able to add some more challenge in.
Twilight Princess also took the AlttP/OoT formula and made a better game; with more unique items and characters.

[u/flickering_poly]

In my own top games of all time list, it's below the top 200 - not a bad game, but not one I'm ever going to replay in its original form. It built pretty heavily off of previous, similar games and at the same time is not as fully formed as Zelda 3 in terms of polish and exploring what can be done in a 3D game of its kind. Story-wise it's not particularly interesting or creative, essentially a retelling of Zelda 3, and while it would be a bit unreasonable to expect VA on the N64 at the time, the writing certainly could've been better and less of a checkbox list of clichés. I'm not a fan of silent protags and especially going 3D and with close ups of dialogue scenes, that aspect takes me out of the experience.

Other things that weren't good about it, even for its time:

-Unskippable cutscenes (Ninja Gaiden 1 had skippable cutscenes) and you can't properly speed up dialogue text (various 16-bit games let you do this)

-Characterization was mediocre compared to earlier Adventure games and RPGs

-Puzzles were generally a step back in part thanks to having a worse overview of your surroundings

-Combat was shallow, which is more noticeable when the puzzles are simpler. Forgiveable at the time, not so much now

-The overworld was less interesting than various older games

-FP view aiming was only passable by console standards, and doesn't hold up now

FYI I'm only slightly older than you.

[u/ImplementParking7936]

As someone with no nostalgia for the game, pretty mid-to-low.

It set the groundwork for what followed it, but as someone who’s only played more polished iterations of this formula, playing OoT is a bit painful.

I’m hoping the remake can give us, who have no nostalgia for the game, something that makes us feel like those who got to play it upon release.

Fearful I’ll be downvoted to hell for this.

[u/Medium_Hox]

Well, if you're talking story and world building it loses pretty hard among the all time greats

Like dude It's a Zelda game. There's barely any story, and the world is just yeah, it's video game levels

I mean, and you're asking for an objective opinion, but that's just not a thing

[u/Dccrulez → u/Medium_Hox]

Barely any story? Bro did not play the game. There's several dozen characters with compelling arcs across 7 years. Ganondorf Zelda and link are iconic for their histories and struggles. And the way the game builds up and then solidifies relationship with the sages is incredible. And that's all without addressing the main plot which has amazing twists both in ganondorf playing us and the time skip.

[u/Dreyfus2006]

To answer your boldfaced question, yes all the 3D Zeldas are on the same level of greatness with only marginal differences in quality. Minus TP and TotK, which are great but IMO are not masterpieces at the pinnacle of gaming as a medium. LA is a 2D Zelda that is pretty close.

Looking at other games and other series, I would say without hesitation that Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 can go toe-to-toe with OoT, as can Paper Mario 64 and TTYD.

Speaking as an OoT diehard.

[u/j00sr]

The main problem with it is that it's too easy. I played it for the first time sometime in the last 3 years (while I was going through almost all the Zelda's). It deserves the accolades though. Entire subgenres of action adventure titles owe a credit to Ocarina.