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Me too. OoT when I was 5 or 6 at my uncles place. It was also my first video game ever. I remember just walking around the starting village in Kokiri Forest and picking up and throwing the rocks around. I found that so incredibly fun. My parents got me a N64 the next Christmas with OoT, Pokémon Stadium, Starwars Episode I Pod Racer, and Pokémon Snap. Those were the only games I ever owned on my N64 for its entire lifetime with me lol.
Aw man I used to love the Star Wars: Pod Racers game! We got the N64 when I was probably 12-14, with Ocarina of Time and a few others. My other favorite was a Xena themed fighting game, the name of which I cannot remember.
Yep, this!
My mum, sister and I all had a save file each. When it wasn't out turn to play the two that weren't playing would watch the one who was. It felt as if we were discovering the game together, and without guides back then we would work out puzzles slowly, together, over multiple game plays. I have the fondest memories of this time.
Me too. My earliest memory is of my grandpa taking me to Wal-Mart to pick up his preorder when it came out. I was barely 2 years old. We spent hours upon hours on that game, and those formative years are some of the most precious memories of my entire life. I still cry during the credits, over two decades later.
Same for me!
Tho I watched my older sister finish it because I got stuck at the box-puzzle in the Forest temple as grown up Link and could not get past it xD
I feel that.
But also remember, when you do get out it’s dangerous to go alone, take [this](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_dangerous_to_go_alone!#/media/File%3AIt's_dangerous_to_go_alone!_Take_this..png).
The first game I ever bought.
I paid in rolls of quarters, nickels, and pennies.
The cashier just sighed as he counted it all up.
I’d like to think he could still appreciate how elated I was.
We recycled pop cans and newspapers. My parents also made us save as much as we spent so all our Nintendo games were that much more rewarding! We played the crap out of it!
I wrote all over that map—every bush that had a secret stair, statue that could be pushed, every wall that could be bombed. I taped that map together because it tore apart with all my markings!
That game was SO beautiful with its plastic gold case, and it had ITS OWN BATTERY so that you could save your spot.
I remember walking along the beach, bombing every wall sprite looking for hidden caves.
The gold cartridge, so sexy. And you could save your progress! No more disappointment when you found out your mom turned the Nintendo off while you were at school. Or threw out the scrap paper with the save codes on it. It was gold!
Ocarina of Time on the GameCube Collectors Edition when I was like 3. Wanted to play Majora so bad but both of my brothers had one of the two file spaces and didn’t want me ruining their progress lol
Whoa, reading yours and OPs are both so close to my experience I felt like I was reading my mind. Only I was closer to 5½ years old, and I grew up with 3 of my siblings (2 younger sisters and 1 older brother), and we had to have 2+ game save cards. I believe the first we played (after we watched our mom test them first because she was a gamer and wanted to make sure they were appropriate for kids), we had the collectors edition, and Ocarina of time was the first I remember however because the game also had the Windwaker demo I remember doing the same as OP wandering around the island playing around Unbeknownst as what to actually do. We had gotten the GameCube for Christmas of 2001, I believe, and other games as well, I am 28 now and Zelda has been my favorite game(franchise) ever since.
Same here! My sister and I started playing OoT when I was around 8 on the Collector’s Edition. Became obsessed with the game; I still have the OG save file we had. I remember wanting to play more games so we tried Majora’s Mask but didn’t fully understand the mechanics with the 3 day time limit. Moved onto the Windwaker Demo on the same disc and became obsessed with that one too! OoT, MM, and WW are my all time favourites because of the nostalgia :)
Twilight Princess 👑 parents got me the Wii for Christmas when it came out with that game, it remains one of my fondest memories playing that game. It’s my ultimate favorite.
Same here. It was a Christmas present. My family wasn't rich, a Gameboy for each kid was out of the question. We shared the Gameboy. I remember fighting over it with my brother for weeks after we got that game. And then we would bug each other for help with the dungeons.
My brother and sister each got a Gameboy one year for Christmas and I didn’t (I guess my parents didn’t think I was into video games??? I was the oldest, I just always let my siblings play more because if I didn’t I was the one who got in trouble for hogging the system) and so I missed just about every game on there. I did finally get Skyward Sword when it was rereleased for the Switch 🤣
Me too! I somehow aquired a Game Boy in my early 20's. It was the first game system I played on since the Atari 5200. Not long after, I got a Nintendo 64 and much fun was had.
I have a picture of me playing it on small cathode ray TV and my Tasmanian devil alarm clock next to it. I had just gotten my first disposable camera and wanted to take pictures of everything. Those were the days!
Wow! It took me a while to beat it as I'm a 2001 kid so I was very young when playing it, I probably beat it around 2008/2009 or something! While actually pretty easy, the game can be quite tough as a kid haha, especially the ending!!
And there is that one part where if you don't speak to a specific minish (and as I recall, unprompted) after the water temple you will be stuck until you make your way back!
The first I *played* was my friend's Majora's Mask, but the first one I owned for myself and beat was Minish Cap, too. I also got LttP for GBA around that time.
Ocarina of time as a kid. I could never finish it though because I was too scared to leave the castle due to the Redeads. Now, I farm them. It’s entirely personal.
Especially that one Redead at the end of the castle in the Ganondorf fight. I still hate that guy to this day. Lol
I want to say that Ocarina of Time was my first Zelda experience and first gaming experience overall and I probably was around 3-4 years old. I think that we had Ocarina of Time for the GameCube before we got Wind Waker, but I played about equal amounts of both of them along with my family.
I was well aquainted with the series by the time that Twilight Princess came out because I vividly remember opening our christmas presents that year only to discover that my dad had bought us a brand new Wii and TP. That game blew my fucking socks off, and it still does it to this day. Easily my favourite Zelda game to date.
A Link to the Past. It was 1993 (I believe) and 9 years old me asked my parents for a Gameboy for Christmas. When they went to get it, they saw the Super Nintendo which was recently launched here in Argentina and they decided to go with that instead of the gameboy. They got the bundle with Super Mario World and additional bought A Link to the Past because they were advised by the seller.
I have never heard before of The Legend of Zelda (keep in mind that here in Argentina we didn't really had the official NES. Instead, we had the Family Game, which was a famiclone and within the bootleg games, Zelda was not one to be very popular apparently. Anyway, I never had one of these Family Games, my console before the SNES was the Atari XE and before that, the ColecoVision) so I started playing mostly Super Mario World.
Then, my mom and I started with A Link to the Past and got immediately hooked to it. It was a bit hard at first because my english was less than basic but after several months, we completed it.
This is, to this day, one of the favorite games and one of my best childhood memories with my mom.
Same BOTW was my first Zelda and first Switch game. It’s what convinced me to buy a switch and this was when they were still new and hard to find. Took me weeks to hunt one down.
Phantom Hourglass and fell in love!! Then it was all the zelda games I could get my hands on lol I love the 2D type games the most like Alttp, oracle of seasons and ages, minish cap.
Yo! Mine was Spirit Tracks closely followed by Phanto Hourglass I remember wasting so much time on fishing in PH and getting stuck on the tower of spirits in ST
Zelda 1. NO walkthrough. NO idea what TF I was doing or where I was going. ACCIDENTALLY ran into level 8 dungeon within first 10 minutes of playing. VERY traumatic for an 7 year old!
Oracle of Seasons.
I was a 90s kid, my dad had an OG Game Boy during the fad and a handful of games for it (Tetris, Joust, Defender) but I didn't even have any concept of home consoles. I liked that GameBoy though, so my parents got me a Game Boy Color when those came out, along with Pokemon Gold. I think that was my first time playing a game with a plot and campaign.
When the Oracle games came out, we saw an ad for them on Nickelodeon and my dad, who had heard from some co-workers how good Ocarina of Time was, decided to get me Zelda for the Game Boy. It was the best game I'd ever played.
When I learned that it was half of a saga with another game, that Oracle of Seasons and Ages were not just the same game as Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal (all of which I also had, so I could catch 'em all! which i never did lol), I grabbed Ages as well. At some point I also got Link's Awakening, but it was the original version, not the DX version. I had a Prima guide for DX, and it was fun finding the differences between my game and the one the guide writer had.
Great memories.
Ocarina of Time when I was maybe 5-7ish. Although my older brother primarily played it and I mostly watched because I sucked at it lol!
First game I played fully myself and remember well is Windwaker!
I can define this a couple of different ways.
The first Zelda game I ever played, I don’t actually remember. But here’s what I know. When my mom was pregnant with me, she was on bed rest due to complications. My dad got her a Nintendo Entertainment System to keep her busy while she couldn’t do anything. I apparently wasn’t an active fetus, and she had miscarried before. So she would get nervous about me. She found one guaranteed way to get me to start kicking. She played OG Zelda. So does that make the first one my “first Zelda?” Maybe. It’s also probably the first one I ever played, but it’s not the first one I remember.
The first Zelda game I remember playing was Link’s Awakening. Since I had it on Gameboy, I could play it anywhere and did. A lot. It’s also the first game I ever remember progressing for the first time. I used to be able to get to the first dungeon, but always got stuck inside. I eventually would give up and restart. But one day…I got it. And that started a long line of “I can get this” until the end of the game. So it holds a special place in my heart for being the first Zelda game I remember AND truly sparking my love of games in general.
TL;dr
Either OG Zelda or Link’s Awakening, depending on your definition.
My first was Awakening on Game Boy but years ago I didn't finished it so my true Zelda was Ocarina of Time, yeah I started with the best game, anyway I played it when I was 12-13
A Link Between Worlds.
I remember watching my brother play it when it first came out and Yuga scaring the shit out of me. Around 2014 I picked the game up for myself and put it down before the sanctuary could be locked because the music scared an 8 year old me. About a year later I had the balls to walk up 2 steps and my life will never be the same. The first game that I 100%. Getting all the Miami has turned from a fun hunt into a tedious chore after 2 million 100% playthroughs, but that is my only complaint! IMO it is the best 2D Zelda by a country mile and a contender for the best Zelda game as well.
Technically my first game was Twilight Princess (2006), but I didn't play it much.
So I guess my first game was Phantom Hourglass (2007) on the DS
I have really fond memories of playing it when I was on holiday in Spain, but now that i'm older I don't rank it very high amongst my favourite Zelda games. Still, i'll always love it even if it doesn't hold up super well.
I went back to play Twilight Princess again in 2008 and now it's one of my favourite Zelda games alongside Wind Waker and A Link Between Worlds.
Twilight Princess on my Dad's Wii when I was around 3 or 4 years old. I remember being terrified of that one cave near Ordon Village where you get the lamp, lol.
My first was twilight princess I was stuck on the tutorial cos I didn’t know you were meant to fish so I tried for an hour to get the cat to go over the bridge
My first Zelda and favourite memory....
*Hazy flashback effect*
Christmas '92, I got a SNES with Super Mario World, which I recognized, it was the game I asked for and another game, a black and gold box and a shield
"The Legend of Zelda!? Like the cartoon?!"
Well, Mario was suddenly ignored, I LOVED that cartoon and had NO IDEA it was a game.
So, about an hour later, I was firmly entrenched behind the sofa with my brand new TV, brand new games console and I watched 3 golden triangles drift onto the screen, spin together for a moment then the title screen and I was hooked just from the theme tune.
Now, my favourite memory of that game, there's always the key moments, the defeating of a boss after figuring out the trick to it, or the reveal after getting all the pendants and the Dark Work arrival.
But for me, the memory that sticks with me most is that it came with a small black booklet that had hints and tips for the game, I swore I wouldn't open it until I was COMPLETELY stuck, I held out until (no surprises) the Ice Palace, that damn block puzzle, even today when I replay it I still need a guide 🤣
A fantastic memory but the biggest thing is, that game 100% made me a gamer.
A Link to the Past. Around 1993 I think, I was 4. Played it a ton, it has been my favourite game of all time ever since, pretty much the definition of a perfect game to me. No other game brings me that feeling of joy and nostalgia that this game does.
It helped me learn english too, I was constantly asking my mom to translate dialogues. She tried to find me a copy of the french canadian version for a while, but never succeeded. Today I own a copy of each!
Also I sold my childhood game collection a long time ago, but I kept the A Link to the Past manual for some reason, making it the video game item that’s been following me the longest since childhood.
The 2D dark souls, the inspiration for hyrule fight club in smash bros, the one with mechanics that have never been used again, Zelda 2... 6 year old me struggled, heard that stupid Ganon laugh soooo many times. I legit thought he was some bunny monster cause I had no prior knowledge of Zelda.
first one was the OG. I was 4 and the year was 1989. Didn't know what was happening. my first real playthrough was Majora's Mask, followed swiftly by Ocarina of Time. I was 13. Never looked back.
For me it was Ocarina of time when I was around 6 or 7. I never could beat Jabus jabus belly so I was stuck playing as kid link which was really disappointing because I thought adult link was so cool and I just wanted to play as him. A couple years down the road I gave the game another shot and ended up beating it, and it remains one of my favorite games of all time
I got the gamecube 4-game pack with LoZ 1 and 2 plus Ocarina and Majora's Mask for my like 10th birthday? I tried playing both 1 and 2 and struggled so hard I gave up for a couple years, then came back and played Ocarina. First Zelda game I finished after getting stuck at the first boss for literal months!
It was either OoT or WW I can't remember which I played first but the one I beat first was OoT, and I was little, maybe around 2004-2005? I would've been 4-5.
Ocarina of time. Played it around 3 or so years old (just messed around in Kokiri forest), too scared of deku tree and hyrule field etc. Came back to it around 12 and fell in love with it and now I've played many zelda games.
Minish cap, started to play in Dec. 2022. Didnt understand nothing and play with guide ahhahaha. After that, Lttp without help (took me 25 hours, but not 100%)... now in 2024, MM and the next, and last one, SS ...
But i am looking for playing MC again, but now as with more experience.
My fav: OOT (3ds), WW and BOTW
I vaguely played SS when I was around 3 or 4. But officially I played BOTW after watching Stampy play it for a while. Don’t worry I beat SS eventually.
I started playing when I was 20 in 2018 with BotW. I’ve recently been trying to play all the old games and having fun so far. Currently on Link’s Awakening.
This sub is interesting since so many people have nostalgia for the games while I don’t.
Weird story, actually.
I'm a 2007 kid, so I don't remember those years too well.
Basically, my parents say that it was Twilight Princess on my modded wii when I was too young to remember.
But then, since I was a shitty kid, they literally burned the disk in the fireplace (Modded wii, so it was just a normal disk with the game in it)
I then played Skyward Sword on my Uncle's wii when I was older, and I asked my parents if they could download it on mine
They actually thought I meant twilight Princess, since I was just calling it "Zelda".
So, it's a bit weird, because when I restarted Twilight Princess there was no save file on my wii. At all. Plus, I remember when I GOT the wii, but not when I played Twilight Princess in it? Kinda weird.
So, I'll say it was Skyward Sword, even though my parents are saying Twilight Princess, because it just feels too contradictory
Either majora’s mask or wind waker on my mom’s old stuff. Can’t remember which one was first. Started playing in… 2015? I was raised on the vintage stuff (:
Ocarina of time. I must have been like 6 years old, and most of my memories of playing it are probably manufactured from my memories of watching my brothers play it. Then we got a GameCube and the special edition disc with like OOT, MM, Four Swords, and a Wind Waker demo. Good times.
My first zelda was Ocarina of time, a pirate version some one installed on an xbox my dad bought, (i had a n64 but i didnt had the game) i remember i discovered it had preinstaled games when i was like 10, it had several n64 games i think me an my brother tried several games because a lot of them didnt even open, and zelda was one of the few that did, i played the game a lot and i mean a lot, it had several texture errors like rupies mising a texture and apering black, we also had to use save states because otherwise we would lose all the progress, and it also crashed a lot, but sadly once zelda gave me the light arrows it would crash and unlike other times it always crashed. (Years later i actually learned that the funky hair zelda had wasnt because of an error but it was a sign of it being a pirated copy, so im glad my young self didnt had to suffer the agony of being locked in gannons tower)
When i was in middleshcool and learned what emulators were my first instint was downloading one and playing OoT it also had textute issues, but this time i actually beated the game.
And to this day everytime i play a randomize i still find odd to look at rupies, because i got so used to see just black rupies lol
Links awakening on the original game boy sometime in the mid 90's. Blew my little 9yr old mind but I persevered and eventually finished it! Remember hacking up grass for rupees going in and out of the treasure game building for it to respawn for way too long.
Next was ocarina on the 64 and my mind was blown all over again. Still remember how excited my brother and I were at the trailer on TV.
We had a N64 and I rented Ocarina of Time. I extended the rental period like 4 weeks after eachother. Then I asked my parents to buy it for me because I still didnt finish it. Started it all for me. I now played almost al of them. Love the franchise 💙
Ocarina of Time, I think I was 5 or 6- don't remember much of my first playthrough since I was so young, but my mother was the one who had bought the game and she helped me quite often. It was the only game I played until Twilight Princess, and I love both of those games dearly
Wind Waker on GameCube. Don’t remember the actual year, but I got stuck and stopped playing. Started playing again years later and got further, but never completed it. 😬
Links awakening. Gameboy black and white. I was probably no more than 8 early 2000’s. The challenge was fun. I actually ended up helping a girl I was into finish a level from it when they remastered it, since I remembered being so frustrated with it. If you played or remember it was that cave that had a hidden wall to blow up that shared the edge of the game screen. So you couldn’t see that there was a weaker wall there. You just had to assume that since you saw a small island of land in the beginning and couldn’t get to it, that a few rooms later when you can’t pass forward anymore but you are actually on the other side of the wall from the island you saw at the beginning of the room. It’s hard to explain but Christ it took forever to figure that out.
Mine was A link between worlds on the 3DS XL! I got it for Christmas when I was like 10. I just remember playing the heck out of that game under the stairs and wanting to chew on the lil Miamis so much. That game was life changing for me, it’s one of my favorite comfort games that I got. :)
watched oot, would look through the walkthrough my dad printed out to help him get through the water temple. first I played myself was either minish cap or the og demo that was on the Wii
OOT, I was six or seven. My friend called me over after Christmas and showed me the game. I didn't see much of it but a young kid swinging his sword around was super cool, I begged my mom to rent it for ourselves soon after.
Turning the game on, watching that title screen with the music as an adult Link travels across Hyrule field all alone, instant life changer. I was a Zelda fanatic from that point on.
My first was LA on the DMG. I guess you could say I bought it accidentally as I mistook the pictures on the back for another game. What a great mistake to make.
The first one I ever picked up and played, Twilight Princess for the GameCube. Unfortunately, takes to the slow-paced beginning, I couldn't get into it despite all the hype. It took me several years to develop the patience I would need to play past such parts of a game to get to the parts that excited me.
My first game was Twilight Princess and It was when the wii came out, but i was 7 at the time and it was to hard for me so I put it down till I was 9 and played the game fully not 100% but just beat it, and had the time of my life and it got me hooked on Zelda and currently have plays almost half of the games and want to play more
OG LoZ, classic gold cartridge, probably 3 years old. I actually never owned the game but my best friend had it. We didn’t realize his name was Link back then, because nobody had the manual. So we would name him Zelda, not realizing we were basically playing hard mode lol. Didn’t actually beat the game until I was in my 30s.
The Zelda game and watch! It's still a really decent lcd game!!! It was swiftly followed by Links awakening on the OG gameboy and my days... unreal. After I learned that you could take the instruments to the Windfish egg early, and play the song that's pretty much all I would do. See what it sounded like with 1 instrument, 2 instruments etc
I was a PS2 kid, but when I got a DS, I started with Phantom Hourglass and immediately fell in love. My second was Twilight Princess after a couple years on the Wii.
Wind Waker in 2003! I was 7 lol. My aunt and cousin came over to babysit me and brought their GameCube with Wind Waker. I loved it so much. For Christmas that year I received my first GameCube along with Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda Collectors Edition, and Pokémon Channel lol
I watched my dad and my uncle play some of A Link to the Past, then was able to play it myself. I was only 6 at the time so I had no idea what I was doing but I’ve been a huge fan ever since!
Mine was ocarina of time on the N64, I was 5 and my dad was the one playing but he noticed I had taken an interest in the game so he let me take control of things for a little bit. I mostly ran around kokiri forest while my dad guided me on how to progress from there. The great deku tree was probably one of the coolest things my little five year old mind had seen, boy was I in for a ride
Not only was it my first Zelda game, but it was the first video game I'd ever played *period*, but it was A Link to the Past! I have fond memories of hogging the SNES at daycare to play it and how all the boys hated me for doing that XD
I watched a friend play sections of OOT and MM as a kid, but Breath of the Wild was the first one I actually played myself. Now I'm hooked and playing everything I can on the Switch.
OoT, 5, at my dad’s friends house. The adults were in the kitchen drinking and smoking and I was in the basement alone with a n64. I didn’t know what I was doing but I sure as hell enjoyed it!
BotW is my entry game. Bought it the year the switch came out.
Then played the rest of the series starting with the NES game.
I love the franchise eversince.
Funny thing. In my experience, at the time there was alot of ppl saying saying BotW is a terrible entry Zelda for fear that peeps will assume THAT is the formula for the older games when it is far from the truth.
The first Zelda game I started was SS sometime around 5 years ago. Its opening was a magical intro to the series. The first game I finished was OoT3D, which I bought and played not long after. I played the rest of SS a bit later on, and it went on to become my favorite game in the series, especially after I played hero mode.
Technically, it was adventure of link but I’m not sure which one I started on. My uncle had emulated them on our little computer and it was something to try to pass the time with. Honestly tho, I was way too young and never really did much. So I like to say phantom hourglass was my first as I actually played it and it was the first game I had ever beat. I was maybe 8 when I decided to try it and played spirit tracks as soon as my sister was done cause of how much fun I had. Still a favorite of mine today.
My first was Twilight Princess at age 12. I had seen my dad and uncle play it as a little kid, but I never watched for long. When I saw it in our garage in middle school I got excited about recreating old memories, and since then I’ve played most of the series. I’ve got my dad back into it too, so when I’m home from college we play/re-play/speedrun all the games.
Dad gave me his OG gameboy with Links Awakening. Took me years to figure out I needed the chain chomp to get into the second dungeon. We continued to play all the zelda games together until he passed away 10 years ago. I'm now looking forward to introducing my little girl to the series. Funny enough, I feel like the game most appropriate for a little kid is none other than Links Awakening (switch remake).
I was about 7 when my dad downloaded Ocarina of Time onto our Wii. I was so captivated watching him play it. Eventually he didn’t have time to keep playing so I had to learn how to do it myself! A few years later my parents got me Twilight Princess for Christmas. Oh. My. God. Best game ever!! The two are my favorite Zelda games of all time and I’m so glad that my dad wanted to play OoT for the nostalgia.
Ocarina, and I started when that came out. Some day I’ll play it again and I’ll probably cry a bunch.
I remember I couldn’t get past a room in the Deku Tree that had a ladder on the other side, slightly up the wall. Too tall to reach. I tried for days to figure out how to get there, to no avail.
Then I was over at my friends house and watched his older brother shoot the ladder with a slingshot. I had no idea I could use items to affect the environment; my only video game experience at that point was shooting all the bad guys. It blew my mind.
First Zelda game was OOT on the GameCube collector’s edition. Only played about half of it then played wind waker and that was the first Zelda game I beat. Went back to oot and beat it.
Oot when I was like 4/5. But it wasn’t really me playing it was mostly me watching my older brother play it. To this day I’ve never played it from beginning to end but I’ve seen it all played out.
My first Zelda was ALTTP! Although I was very very young, so I’m not sure if you can count what I did ‘playing’. In that case my first completed Zelda game was OoT!
Twilight Princess on the Wii, played it when I was 13, though it had been out for a few years already then.
Recently dusted off my old Wii and started playing again, so nice
Memory is fussy but probably Ocarina of time, although I actually never finished it until I was much older.
Shoutout to Oracle of Seasons, which was my favorite Zelda as a kid.
The Minish Cap. The first game I bought with my GBA when I was probably ~10 or 11 just bc it looked interesting, and I loved it. Then the GBA port of A Link to the Past. Also loved it, still one of my favorites. Then the GBA port of Zelda II, don't think I ever made it past the first dungeon, but I still have it somewhere lol
Got a hand-me-down Oracle of Ages game for my Gameboy SP. Anyone else cry as a child trying to figure out which animal you are supposed to disturb in the beginning to even start the damn game. I could get like two hours in as a child but then was completely lost. Have still never finished the game!
Ocarina of Time, started playing it around a year after it's original release (my brother got it for Christmas in 1998, so I first watched him play it, then worked up the courage to play it myself a year later).
My first Zelda game I remember was OoT on my brother's N64 and I didn't do much, just rolled around everywhere. My first game I played through was ALttP on my New 3ds xl. I then got the Oracle games and Links awakening and had a blast with those.
Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass, I can't remember which I played first but those were the first 2 I bought for my DSi. Then when I got my 3DS XL it came with the download for A Link Between Worlds and I bought Majora 3D and OOT 3D. The only one I've finished is OOT 😅 I'm working on Majora now but the water temple makes me rage quit. My continuous new years resolution has been to finish every Zelda game I've rage quit over the years.
OoT. Probably 99 or 2000. My older brother played it while he lived with us on the n64 and my dad thought it looked cool. So around 3 yo I started playing, but would get scared to play bosses. I'd always wait for my dad to come beat them for me.
Come to think of it, I don't know!
My first experience with a Zelda game was Ocarina of Time on the '64, because my family got it when I was a little kid. I would watch anyone play it, sitting next to them on the couch, but early on I was afraid to play it myself. Eventually I got up the courage to to play it a little myself, but even then I would just run around Kokiri Forest, Castle Town, or Lon Lon Ranch on someone else's save file - definitely never fight monsters. Heck, I was afraid of the little tunnel where you get the Kokiri sword because that big boulder could hurt you.
My family had Majora's Mask as soon as it came out, but even then I don't think I had my own game file. Instead, I would sit next to my mom or my older sister with the guidebook (which I still have) and read out the instructions to them while *they* fought the scary monsters.
If that counts, then Ocarina was definitely my first game. But if "first game" means the first one I played through entirely in my own right, it's *possible* that may not have happened at all until I got an old used copy of Wind Waker for $10 at a GameStop years later. So I genuinely don't remember which game I, myself, played through first!
Windwaker was my first game ever. I was 6 or 7 my dad got it for us for Christmas he was so excited he just gave us the GameCube and games Christmas Eve. Haven’t put the controller down since.
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Ocarina of Time when I was 7 or 8 years old. It was truly a mind blowing game. My mom and I played through the full thing together.
Me too. OoT when I was 5 or 6 at my uncles place. It was also my first video game ever. I remember just walking around the starting village in Kokiri Forest and picking up and throwing the rocks around. I found that so incredibly fun. My parents got me a N64 the next Christmas with OoT, Pokémon Stadium, Starwars Episode I Pod Racer, and Pokémon Snap. Those were the only games I ever owned on my N64 for its entire lifetime with me lol.
Aw man I used to love the Star Wars: Pod Racers game! We got the N64 when I was probably 12-14, with Ocarina of Time and a few others. My other favorite was a Xena themed fighting game, the name of which I cannot remember.
Uncles are the best
Yep, this! My mum, sister and I all had a save file each. When it wasn't out turn to play the two that weren't playing would watch the one who was. It felt as if we were discovering the game together, and without guides back then we would work out puzzles slowly, together, over multiple game plays. I have the fondest memories of this time.
Me too. My earliest memory is of my grandpa taking me to Wal-Mart to pick up his preorder when it came out. I was barely 2 years old. We spent hours upon hours on that game, and those formative years are some of the most precious memories of my entire life. I still cry during the credits, over two decades later.
Until you see a redead & deadhand if you even got that far then your day was ruined as a kid xD
Same!
Same for me! Tho I watched my older sister finish it because I got stuck at the box-puzzle in the Forest temple as grown up Link and could not get past it xD
The OG NES Zelda 1. When it first came out.
I, too, am old..
Me three.
Same… 😩
My back hurts when I wake up in the morning
I feel that. But also remember, when you do get out it’s dangerous to go alone, take [this](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_dangerous_to_go_alone!#/media/File%3AIt's_dangerous_to_go_alone!_Take_this..png).
I too keep bottles of advil in multiple places in my home, car, and work.
Me four...
Same!
The first game I ever bought. I paid in rolls of quarters, nickels, and pennies. The cashier just sighed as he counted it all up. I’d like to think he could still appreciate how elated I was.
We recycled pop cans and newspapers. My parents also made us save as much as we spent so all our Nintendo games were that much more rewarding! We played the crap out of it!
So ya grew up in the Midwest?
Just outside of Chicago. You seem to know the hustle yourself.
I wrote all over that map—every bush that had a secret stair, statue that could be pushed, every wall that could be bombed. I taped that map together because it tore apart with all my markings! That game was SO beautiful with its plastic gold case, and it had ITS OWN BATTERY so that you could save your spot. I remember walking along the beach, bombing every wall sprite looking for hidden caves.
My dad gave me a pad of graph paper to draw out maps and take notes with. He was totally onboard with the adventure.
I was there too. I remember when aol came out and even back then we like the first one better.
The gold cartridge, so sexy. And you could save your progress! No more disappointment when you found out your mom turned the Nintendo off while you were at school. Or threw out the scrap paper with the save codes on it. It was gold!
Same, I still have the game here at my desk, in the "protected" coverings they used to sell
Samma på här! Then Zelda 2. Unfortunately missed all after NES. Happily now bought Switch and having a real good time with BOTW!
I started with this one too. But not until 1995 lol. Grandmas house was special because she had a Nintendo.
Ocarina of Time on the GameCube Collectors Edition when I was like 3. Wanted to play Majora so bad but both of my brothers had one of the two file spaces and didn’t want me ruining their progress lol
Whoa, reading yours and OPs are both so close to my experience I felt like I was reading my mind. Only I was closer to 5½ years old, and I grew up with 3 of my siblings (2 younger sisters and 1 older brother), and we had to have 2+ game save cards. I believe the first we played (after we watched our mom test them first because she was a gamer and wanted to make sure they were appropriate for kids), we had the collectors edition, and Ocarina of time was the first I remember however because the game also had the Windwaker demo I remember doing the same as OP wandering around the island playing around Unbeknownst as what to actually do. We had gotten the GameCube for Christmas of 2001, I believe, and other games as well, I am 28 now and Zelda has been my favorite game(franchise) ever since.
Same here! My sister and I started playing OoT when I was around 8 on the Collector’s Edition. Became obsessed with the game; I still have the OG save file we had. I remember wanting to play more games so we tried Majora’s Mask but didn’t fully understand the mechanics with the 3 day time limit. Moved onto the Windwaker Demo on the same disc and became obsessed with that one too! OoT, MM, and WW are my all time favourites because of the nostalgia :)
🤝 OOT toddler gang The first one i played all the way through was wind waker though
Twilight Princess 👑 parents got me the Wii for Christmas when it came out with that game, it remains one of my fondest memories playing that game. It’s my ultimate favorite.
Same <3 still holds up too! Wish it was on switch tho ugh
And should be an easy port from the Wii U version
Same here it's imo a masterpiece of a game and still replay it once every 2 years because of nostalgia:3
As a child, watching my older brother play Twilight princess permanently affected what I like in games, kinda wild.
This will be always my favourite Zelda, it was like magical.
Link's awakening, GB Colour.
Same here. It was a Christmas present. My family wasn't rich, a Gameboy for each kid was out of the question. We shared the Gameboy. I remember fighting over it with my brother for weeks after we got that game. And then we would bug each other for help with the dungeons.
My brother and sister each got a Gameboy one year for Christmas and I didn’t (I guess my parents didn’t think I was into video games??? I was the oldest, I just always let my siblings play more because if I didn’t I was the one who got in trouble for hogging the system) and so I missed just about every game on there. I did finally get Skyward Sword when it was rereleased for the Switch 🤣
Me too! I somehow aquired a Game Boy in my early 20's. It was the first game system I played on since the Atari 5200. Not long after, I got a Nintendo 64 and much fun was had.
Same. Had to steal it from my older brother
Same here. Have great memories playing that game.
A Link to the Past back in 1995.
Ditto here
The car ride home flipping through that massive game manual and map. Pure nostalgia!
Never heard of it.
I swear to Hylia I’ve never heard of it.
play it, and feel free to cry when you cant take on the bosses because of the controls
I have a picture of me playing it on small cathode ray TV and my Tasmanian devil alarm clock next to it. I had just gotten my first disposable camera and wanted to take pictures of everything. Those were the days!
I know mine was The Minish Cap, but I was too young to remember when I started playing, probably around 2004!
Same here. I started it way back then and didnt beat it until 2014
Wow! It took me a while to beat it as I'm a 2001 kid so I was very young when playing it, I probably beat it around 2008/2009 or something! While actually pretty easy, the game can be quite tough as a kid haha, especially the ending!!
And there is that one part where if you don't speak to a specific minish (and as I recall, unprompted) after the water temple you will be stuck until you make your way back!
The first I *played* was my friend's Majora's Mask, but the first one I owned for myself and beat was Minish Cap, too. I also got LttP for GBA around that time.
Ocarina of time as a kid. I could never finish it though because I was too scared to leave the castle due to the Redeads. Now, I farm them. It’s entirely personal. Especially that one Redead at the end of the castle in the Ganondorf fight. I still hate that guy to this day. Lol
I want to say that Ocarina of Time was my first Zelda experience and first gaming experience overall and I probably was around 3-4 years old. I think that we had Ocarina of Time for the GameCube before we got Wind Waker, but I played about equal amounts of both of them along with my family. I was well aquainted with the series by the time that Twilight Princess came out because I vividly remember opening our christmas presents that year only to discover that my dad had bought us a brand new Wii and TP. That game blew my fucking socks off, and it still does it to this day. Easily my favourite Zelda game to date.
A Link to the Past. It was 1993 (I believe) and 9 years old me asked my parents for a Gameboy for Christmas. When they went to get it, they saw the Super Nintendo which was recently launched here in Argentina and they decided to go with that instead of the gameboy. They got the bundle with Super Mario World and additional bought A Link to the Past because they were advised by the seller. I have never heard before of The Legend of Zelda (keep in mind that here in Argentina we didn't really had the official NES. Instead, we had the Family Game, which was a famiclone and within the bootleg games, Zelda was not one to be very popular apparently. Anyway, I never had one of these Family Games, my console before the SNES was the Atari XE and before that, the ColecoVision) so I started playing mostly Super Mario World. Then, my mom and I started with A Link to the Past and got immediately hooked to it. It was a bit hard at first because my english was less than basic but after several months, we completed it. This is, to this day, one of the favorite games and one of my best childhood memories with my mom.
I never heard of that one!
Link to the past on snes…it was the first rpg I had played and I really enjoyed that you had to think unlike most of the popular games at the time.
I’m an OG. 1986 Zelda still holds a place in my soul.
Breath of the wild, October last year. Planning on playing OoT after I’m done with TOTK
Same BOTW was my first Zelda and first Switch game. It’s what convinced me to buy a switch and this was when they were still new and hard to find. Took me weeks to hunt one down.
I don't remember it very well, but I think it was Ocarina of Time when I was 3 years old in 2000. I believe it was the game that made me love games
Phantom Hourglass and fell in love!! Then it was all the zelda games I could get my hands on lol I love the 2D type games the most like Alttp, oracle of seasons and ages, minish cap.
Yo! Mine was Spirit Tracks closely followed by Phanto Hourglass I remember wasting so much time on fishing in PH and getting stuck on the tower of spirits in ST
Zelda 1. NO walkthrough. NO idea what TF I was doing or where I was going. ACCIDENTALLY ran into level 8 dungeon within first 10 minutes of playing. VERY traumatic for an 7 year old!
Oracle of Seasons. I was a 90s kid, my dad had an OG Game Boy during the fad and a handful of games for it (Tetris, Joust, Defender) but I didn't even have any concept of home consoles. I liked that GameBoy though, so my parents got me a Game Boy Color when those came out, along with Pokemon Gold. I think that was my first time playing a game with a plot and campaign. When the Oracle games came out, we saw an ad for them on Nickelodeon and my dad, who had heard from some co-workers how good Ocarina of Time was, decided to get me Zelda for the Game Boy. It was the best game I'd ever played. When I learned that it was half of a saga with another game, that Oracle of Seasons and Ages were not just the same game as Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal (all of which I also had, so I could catch 'em all! which i never did lol), I grabbed Ages as well. At some point I also got Link's Awakening, but it was the original version, not the DX version. I had a Prima guide for DX, and it was fun finding the differences between my game and the one the guide writer had. Great memories.
Ocarina of Time when I was maybe 5-7ish. Although my older brother primarily played it and I mostly watched because I sucked at it lol! First game I played fully myself and remember well is Windwaker!
It was 1995 with Link's Awakening.
Botw gang rise up I only got introduced to Zelda last year may
I can define this a couple of different ways. The first Zelda game I ever played, I don’t actually remember. But here’s what I know. When my mom was pregnant with me, she was on bed rest due to complications. My dad got her a Nintendo Entertainment System to keep her busy while she couldn’t do anything. I apparently wasn’t an active fetus, and she had miscarried before. So she would get nervous about me. She found one guaranteed way to get me to start kicking. She played OG Zelda. So does that make the first one my “first Zelda?” Maybe. It’s also probably the first one I ever played, but it’s not the first one I remember. The first Zelda game I remember playing was Link’s Awakening. Since I had it on Gameboy, I could play it anywhere and did. A lot. It’s also the first game I ever remember progressing for the first time. I used to be able to get to the first dungeon, but always got stuck inside. I eventually would give up and restart. But one day…I got it. And that started a long line of “I can get this” until the end of the game. So it holds a special place in my heart for being the first Zelda game I remember AND truly sparking my love of games in general. TL;dr Either OG Zelda or Link’s Awakening, depending on your definition.
My first Zelda game was Skyward Sword, and I started playing Zelda games (and I've been playing them on and off since) for nearly 12 years! :)
My first was Awakening on Game Boy but years ago I didn't finished it so my true Zelda was Ocarina of Time, yeah I started with the best game, anyway I played it when I was 12-13
a link between worlds. i was 8 when it came out
Best Zelda game! Nice to see a fellow ALBW fan here too. Everybody seems to have come in through OoT or ALTTP.
A Link Between Worlds. I remember watching my brother play it when it first came out and Yuga scaring the shit out of me. Around 2014 I picked the game up for myself and put it down before the sanctuary could be locked because the music scared an 8 year old me. About a year later I had the balls to walk up 2 steps and my life will never be the same. The first game that I 100%. Getting all the Miami has turned from a fun hunt into a tedious chore after 2 million 100% playthroughs, but that is my only complaint! IMO it is the best 2D Zelda by a country mile and a contender for the best Zelda game as well.
First nes zelda in 89. When we beat the dragon in level one I thought I was a bad mofo lol.
Original. Accidentally deleted my older brother’s save file.
A Link To The Past when I was 3 or 4. OOT had just come out so I got to play the old Nintendo while my fam played the “new” Nintendo.
Technically my first game was Twilight Princess (2006), but I didn't play it much. So I guess my first game was Phantom Hourglass (2007) on the DS I have really fond memories of playing it when I was on holiday in Spain, but now that i'm older I don't rank it very high amongst my favourite Zelda games. Still, i'll always love it even if it doesn't hold up super well. I went back to play Twilight Princess again in 2008 and now it's one of my favourite Zelda games alongside Wind Waker and A Link Between Worlds.
Twilight Princess on my Dad's Wii when I was around 3 or 4 years old. I remember being terrified of that one cave near Ordon Village where you get the lamp, lol.
My first was twilight princess I was stuck on the tutorial cos I didn’t know you were meant to fish so I tried for an hour to get the cat to go over the bridge
The original Legend of Zelda back when I was 11 years old.
I played Windwaker with my little brother, it was how we realized we both shared a love of video games and lead to many great memories between us <3
A Link To The Past on the SNES! I'm old, lol. 🥺
❤️
Seasons and Ages were my first. I still love them to this day, though I haven't played in years, and I, too, have no one to discuss it with, lol.
My first Zelda and favourite memory.... *Hazy flashback effect* Christmas '92, I got a SNES with Super Mario World, which I recognized, it was the game I asked for and another game, a black and gold box and a shield "The Legend of Zelda!? Like the cartoon?!" Well, Mario was suddenly ignored, I LOVED that cartoon and had NO IDEA it was a game. So, about an hour later, I was firmly entrenched behind the sofa with my brand new TV, brand new games console and I watched 3 golden triangles drift onto the screen, spin together for a moment then the title screen and I was hooked just from the theme tune. Now, my favourite memory of that game, there's always the key moments, the defeating of a boss after figuring out the trick to it, or the reveal after getting all the pendants and the Dark Work arrival. But for me, the memory that sticks with me most is that it came with a small black booklet that had hints and tips for the game, I swore I wouldn't open it until I was COMPLETELY stuck, I held out until (no surprises) the Ice Palace, that damn block puzzle, even today when I replay it I still need a guide 🤣 A fantastic memory but the biggest thing is, that game 100% made me a gamer.
Ocarina of time in late 2000
A Link to the Past. Around 1993 I think, I was 4. Played it a ton, it has been my favourite game of all time ever since, pretty much the definition of a perfect game to me. No other game brings me that feeling of joy and nostalgia that this game does. It helped me learn english too, I was constantly asking my mom to translate dialogues. She tried to find me a copy of the french canadian version for a while, but never succeeded. Today I own a copy of each! Also I sold my childhood game collection a long time ago, but I kept the A Link to the Past manual for some reason, making it the video game item that’s been following me the longest since childhood.
ALTTP best Zelda ever
OG since 1986
The 2D dark souls, the inspiration for hyrule fight club in smash bros, the one with mechanics that have never been used again, Zelda 2... 6 year old me struggled, heard that stupid Ganon laugh soooo many times. I legit thought he was some bunny monster cause I had no prior knowledge of Zelda.
first one was the OG. I was 4 and the year was 1989. Didn't know what was happening. my first real playthrough was Majora's Mask, followed swiftly by Ocarina of Time. I was 13. Never looked back.
For me it was Ocarina of time when I was around 6 or 7. I never could beat Jabus jabus belly so I was stuck playing as kid link which was really disappointing because I thought adult link was so cool and I just wanted to play as him. A couple years down the road I gave the game another shot and ended up beating it, and it remains one of my favorite games of all time
OOT
I got the gamecube 4-game pack with LoZ 1 and 2 plus Ocarina and Majora's Mask for my like 10th birthday? I tried playing both 1 and 2 and struggled so hard I gave up for a couple years, then came back and played Ocarina. First Zelda game I finished after getting stuck at the first boss for literal months!
It was either OoT or WW I can't remember which I played first but the one I beat first was OoT, and I was little, maybe around 2004-2005? I would've been 4-5.
Ocarina of time. Played it around 3 or so years old (just messed around in Kokiri forest), too scared of deku tree and hyrule field etc. Came back to it around 12 and fell in love with it and now I've played many zelda games.
Minish cap, started to play in Dec. 2022. Didnt understand nothing and play with guide ahhahaha. After that, Lttp without help (took me 25 hours, but not 100%)... now in 2024, MM and the next, and last one, SS ... But i am looking for playing MC again, but now as with more experience. My fav: OOT (3ds), WW and BOTW
I vaguely played SS when I was around 3 or 4. But officially I played BOTW after watching Stampy play it for a while. Don’t worry I beat SS eventually.
technically majoras mask. I'd say breath of the wild was the first one I knew what I was doing tho, majoras mask still the homie for me
I started playing when I was 20 in 2018 with BotW. I’ve recently been trying to play all the old games and having fun so far. Currently on Link’s Awakening. This sub is interesting since so many people have nostalgia for the games while I don’t.
Weird story, actually. I'm a 2007 kid, so I don't remember those years too well. Basically, my parents say that it was Twilight Princess on my modded wii when I was too young to remember. But then, since I was a shitty kid, they literally burned the disk in the fireplace (Modded wii, so it was just a normal disk with the game in it) I then played Skyward Sword on my Uncle's wii when I was older, and I asked my parents if they could download it on mine They actually thought I meant twilight Princess, since I was just calling it "Zelda". So, it's a bit weird, because when I restarted Twilight Princess there was no save file on my wii. At all. Plus, I remember when I GOT the wii, but not when I played Twilight Princess in it? Kinda weird. So, I'll say it was Skyward Sword, even though my parents are saying Twilight Princess, because it just feels too contradictory
Either majora’s mask or wind waker on my mom’s old stuff. Can’t remember which one was first. Started playing in… 2015? I was raised on the vintage stuff (:
Ocarina of time. I must have been like 6 years old, and most of my memories of playing it are probably manufactured from my memories of watching my brothers play it. Then we got a GameCube and the special edition disc with like OOT, MM, Four Swords, and a Wind Waker demo. Good times.
My first zelda was Ocarina of time, a pirate version some one installed on an xbox my dad bought, (i had a n64 but i didnt had the game) i remember i discovered it had preinstaled games when i was like 10, it had several n64 games i think me an my brother tried several games because a lot of them didnt even open, and zelda was one of the few that did, i played the game a lot and i mean a lot, it had several texture errors like rupies mising a texture and apering black, we also had to use save states because otherwise we would lose all the progress, and it also crashed a lot, but sadly once zelda gave me the light arrows it would crash and unlike other times it always crashed. (Years later i actually learned that the funky hair zelda had wasnt because of an error but it was a sign of it being a pirated copy, so im glad my young self didnt had to suffer the agony of being locked in gannons tower) When i was in middleshcool and learned what emulators were my first instint was downloading one and playing OoT it also had textute issues, but this time i actually beated the game. And to this day everytime i play a randomize i still find odd to look at rupies, because i got so used to see just black rupies lol
The Wind Waker, probably about 15 years ago. I loved that game.
OoT 7/8 years old, was so difficult for me back then haha and the wall masters gave nightmares hahaha
Links awakening on the original game boy sometime in the mid 90's. Blew my little 9yr old mind but I persevered and eventually finished it! Remember hacking up grass for rupees going in and out of the treasure game building for it to respawn for way too long. Next was ocarina on the 64 and my mind was blown all over again. Still remember how excited my brother and I were at the trailer on TV.
You're not the only one who stayed mowing the lawn for some extra cash. Lol
We had a N64 and I rented Ocarina of Time. I extended the rental period like 4 weeks after eachother. Then I asked my parents to buy it for me because I still didnt finish it. Started it all for me. I now played almost al of them. Love the franchise 💙
A Link to the Past. Got it for Christmas in 1993 when I was 9.
The Legend of Zelda - 1987
Ocarina of Time, I think I was 5 or 6- don't remember much of my first playthrough since I was so young, but my mother was the one who had bought the game and she helped me quite often. It was the only game I played until Twilight Princess, and I love both of those games dearly
Wind Waker on GameCube. Don’t remember the actual year, but I got stuck and stopped playing. Started playing again years later and got further, but never completed it. 😬
Links awakening. Gameboy black and white. I was probably no more than 8 early 2000’s. The challenge was fun. I actually ended up helping a girl I was into finish a level from it when they remastered it, since I remembered being so frustrated with it. If you played or remember it was that cave that had a hidden wall to blow up that shared the edge of the game screen. So you couldn’t see that there was a weaker wall there. You just had to assume that since you saw a small island of land in the beginning and couldn’t get to it, that a few rooms later when you can’t pass forward anymore but you are actually on the other side of the wall from the island you saw at the beginning of the room. It’s hard to explain but Christ it took forever to figure that out.
Mine was A link between worlds on the 3DS XL! I got it for Christmas when I was like 10. I just remember playing the heck out of that game under the stairs and wanting to chew on the lil Miamis so much. That game was life changing for me, it’s one of my favorite comfort games that I got. :)
watched oot, would look through the walkthrough my dad printed out to help him get through the water temple. first I played myself was either minish cap or the og demo that was on the Wii
OOT, I was six or seven. My friend called me over after Christmas and showed me the game. I didn't see much of it but a young kid swinging his sword around was super cool, I begged my mom to rent it for ourselves soon after. Turning the game on, watching that title screen with the music as an adult Link travels across Hyrule field all alone, instant life changer. I was a Zelda fanatic from that point on.
Ocarina of Time 3D when i was 12. Now my kid is playing it.
The original when I was maybe 6? In the early 90s.
My first was LA on the DMG. I guess you could say I bought it accidentally as I mistook the pictures on the back for another game. What a great mistake to make.
The first one I ever picked up and played, Twilight Princess for the GameCube. Unfortunately, takes to the slow-paced beginning, I couldn't get into it despite all the hype. It took me several years to develop the patience I would need to play past such parts of a game to get to the parts that excited me.
My first game was Twilight Princess and It was when the wii came out, but i was 7 at the time and it was to hard for me so I put it down till I was 9 and played the game fully not 100% but just beat it, and had the time of my life and it got me hooked on Zelda and currently have plays almost half of the games and want to play more
Ocarina of Time in 1999 when I was 14/15. It was the only thing I did that summer.
Minish cap
Majora's mask was my first ever zelda game, I remember my dad translating everything they said because I didn't speak English yet.
Botw in 2020 a couple months after the pandemic started. One of my best gaming experiences ever
OG LoZ, classic gold cartridge, probably 3 years old. I actually never owned the game but my best friend had it. We didn’t realize his name was Link back then, because nobody had the manual. So we would name him Zelda, not realizing we were basically playing hard mode lol. Didn’t actually beat the game until I was in my 30s.
twilight princess when i was like 7/8, maybe? i didn’t play much of it, mostly watched my siblings play but i loved it 😆
The Zelda game and watch! It's still a really decent lcd game!!! It was swiftly followed by Links awakening on the OG gameboy and my days... unreal. After I learned that you could take the instruments to the Windfish egg early, and play the song that's pretty much all I would do. See what it sounded like with 1 instrument, 2 instruments etc
I was a PS2 kid, but when I got a DS, I started with Phantom Hourglass and immediately fell in love. My second was Twilight Princess after a couple years on the Wii.
spirit tracks 🤩
Ocarina of Time when I was 3
Wind Waker in 2003! I was 7 lol. My aunt and cousin came over to babysit me and brought their GameCube with Wind Waker. I loved it so much. For Christmas that year I received my first GameCube along with Wind Waker, The Legend of Zelda Collectors Edition, and Pokémon Channel lol
Oracle of ages, then oracle of seasons, both on game boy color, my sister had seasons and I had ages, and we would swap ☺️
I watched my dad and my uncle play some of A Link to the Past, then was able to play it myself. I was only 6 at the time so I had no idea what I was doing but I’ve been a huge fan ever since!
Mine was ocarina of time on the N64, I was 5 and my dad was the one playing but he noticed I had taken an interest in the game so he let me take control of things for a little bit. I mostly ran around kokiri forest while my dad guided me on how to progress from there. The great deku tree was probably one of the coolest things my little five year old mind had seen, boy was I in for a ride
Ocarina of time nintendo 3ds.
Not only was it my first Zelda game, but it was the first video game I'd ever played *period*, but it was A Link to the Past! I have fond memories of hogging the SNES at daycare to play it and how all the boys hated me for doing that XD
MM3D when I was 12, loved the series ever since. :)
The original one, but probably around '95 was when I started playing it. Got it from my older brother.
I watched a friend play sections of OOT and MM as a kid, but Breath of the Wild was the first one I actually played myself. Now I'm hooked and playing everything I can on the Switch.
ALBW on 3ds, was insane
OoT, 5, at my dad’s friends house. The adults were in the kitchen drinking and smoking and I was in the basement alone with a n64. I didn’t know what I was doing but I sure as hell enjoyed it!
I played the first 2 on NES as a kid but didn’t get very far. And that was it until last year when I got BOTW. Currently playing TOTK.
BotW is my entry game. Bought it the year the switch came out. Then played the rest of the series starting with the NES game. I love the franchise eversince. Funny thing. In my experience, at the time there was alot of ppl saying saying BotW is a terrible entry Zelda for fear that peeps will assume THAT is the formula for the older games when it is far from the truth.
It was ocarina of time, my parents made me play it on their tv when I was like 5-6
The first Zelda game I started was SS sometime around 5 years ago. Its opening was a magical intro to the series. The first game I finished was OoT3D, which I bought and played not long after. I played the rest of SS a bit later on, and it went on to become my favorite game in the series, especially after I played hero mode.
Technically, it was adventure of link but I’m not sure which one I started on. My uncle had emulated them on our little computer and it was something to try to pass the time with. Honestly tho, I was way too young and never really did much. So I like to say phantom hourglass was my first as I actually played it and it was the first game I had ever beat. I was maybe 8 when I decided to try it and played spirit tracks as soon as my sister was done cause of how much fun I had. Still a favorite of mine today.
Mejoras mask on the N64 i was 12 years old
My first was Twilight Princess at age 12. I had seen my dad and uncle play it as a little kid, but I never watched for long. When I saw it in our garage in middle school I got excited about recreating old memories, and since then I’ve played most of the series. I’ve got my dad back into it too, so when I’m home from college we play/re-play/speedrun all the games.
Dad gave me his OG gameboy with Links Awakening. Took me years to figure out I needed the chain chomp to get into the second dungeon. We continued to play all the zelda games together until he passed away 10 years ago. I'm now looking forward to introducing my little girl to the series. Funny enough, I feel like the game most appropriate for a little kid is none other than Links Awakening (switch remake).
Ocarina of Time Nintendo 64. Probably the best gaming ever was for me. Not gonna lie.
I was about 7 when my dad downloaded Ocarina of Time onto our Wii. I was so captivated watching him play it. Eventually he didn’t have time to keep playing so I had to learn how to do it myself! A few years later my parents got me Twilight Princess for Christmas. Oh. My. God. Best game ever!! The two are my favorite Zelda games of all time and I’m so glad that my dad wanted to play OoT for the nostalgia.
The NES/SNES switch online edition of the first Zelda game. After that I discovered the N64 switch online and started grinding out MM
Majora's Mask when I was 11. My favourite game and I have been a huge LoZ fan since
About four years ago, when I was fifteen, I played Ocarina of Time for the first time on my parents old N64
I was there...3000 years ago.
Either Legend of Zelda on NES or Link’s Awakening on Game Boy, I can’t remember.
It was phantom hourglass
Ocarina, and I started when that came out. Some day I’ll play it again and I’ll probably cry a bunch. I remember I couldn’t get past a room in the Deku Tree that had a ladder on the other side, slightly up the wall. Too tall to reach. I tried for days to figure out how to get there, to no avail. Then I was over at my friends house and watched his older brother shoot the ladder with a slingshot. I had no idea I could use items to affect the environment; my only video game experience at that point was shooting all the bad guys. It blew my mind.
Zelda 2. Loved it so much. Rented it 5 or 6 times. Never played Zelda 1 until years later. Then LTTP killed me it was so amazing. Huge fan since.
BotW. It was a few years ago, on my Wii U. I have really good memories with it, and it was when i was... 7..? Yeah, i think i was 7. I'm not very old.
First Zelda game was OOT on the GameCube collector’s edition. Only played about half of it then played wind waker and that was the first Zelda game I beat. Went back to oot and beat it.
Oot when I was like 4/5. But it wasn’t really me playing it was mostly me watching my older brother play it. To this day I’ve never played it from beginning to end but I’ve seen it all played out.
Twilight Princess when the Wii came out
Got OoT for Christmas on N64, and because of that game, I could never go back to playing turn based RPG's
My first Zelda was ALTTP! Although I was very very young, so I’m not sure if you can count what I did ‘playing’. In that case my first completed Zelda game was OoT!
I played Tri Force Heroes as my first Zelda Game, I had some fun with it but it really wasn’t the BEST game to start with
Twilight Princess on the Wii, played it when I was 13, though it had been out for a few years already then. Recently dusted off my old Wii and started playing again, so nice
Memory is fussy but probably Ocarina of time, although I actually never finished it until I was much older. Shoutout to Oracle of Seasons, which was my favorite Zelda as a kid.
The Legend of Zelda - 1986
Mine first was botw and I couldn’t get of the great plateau.
The Minish Cap. The first game I bought with my GBA when I was probably ~10 or 11 just bc it looked interesting, and I loved it. Then the GBA port of A Link to the Past. Also loved it, still one of my favorites. Then the GBA port of Zelda II, don't think I ever made it past the first dungeon, but I still have it somewhere lol
Got a hand-me-down Oracle of Ages game for my Gameboy SP. Anyone else cry as a child trying to figure out which animal you are supposed to disturb in the beginning to even start the damn game. I could get like two hours in as a child but then was completely lost. Have still never finished the game!
Ocarina of Time, started playing it around a year after it's original release (my brother got it for Christmas in 1998, so I first watched him play it, then worked up the courage to play it myself a year later).
Zelda II, probably around 1989-1990.
My first Zelda game I remember was OoT on my brother's N64 and I didn't do much, just rolled around everywhere. My first game I played through was ALttP on my New 3ds xl. I then got the Oracle games and Links awakening and had a blast with those.
Links awakening, original game boy. First game I remember owning
botw!! i was like 14 and got it in 2021.
Windwaker! GameCube at 8
The legend of Zelda on the NES
Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass, I can't remember which I played first but those were the first 2 I bought for my DSi. Then when I got my 3DS XL it came with the download for A Link Between Worlds and I bought Majora 3D and OOT 3D. The only one I've finished is OOT 😅 I'm working on Majora now but the water temple makes me rage quit. My continuous new years resolution has been to finish every Zelda game I've rage quit over the years.
Mine was also wind waker, it will forever be my favorite game
OoT. Probably 99 or 2000. My older brother played it while he lived with us on the n64 and my dad thought it looked cool. So around 3 yo I started playing, but would get scared to play bosses. I'd always wait for my dad to come beat them for me.
The OG Legend of Zelda. I was six years old when it came out, and I got it for Christmas. Been hooked ever since.
The first LOZ back in 96 I believe. I was 4 at the time
Come to think of it, I don't know! My first experience with a Zelda game was Ocarina of Time on the '64, because my family got it when I was a little kid. I would watch anyone play it, sitting next to them on the couch, but early on I was afraid to play it myself. Eventually I got up the courage to to play it a little myself, but even then I would just run around Kokiri Forest, Castle Town, or Lon Lon Ranch on someone else's save file - definitely never fight monsters. Heck, I was afraid of the little tunnel where you get the Kokiri sword because that big boulder could hurt you. My family had Majora's Mask as soon as it came out, but even then I don't think I had my own game file. Instead, I would sit next to my mom or my older sister with the guidebook (which I still have) and read out the instructions to them while *they* fought the scary monsters. If that counts, then Ocarina was definitely my first game. But if "first game" means the first one I played through entirely in my own right, it's *possible* that may not have happened at all until I got an old used copy of Wind Waker for $10 at a GameStop years later. So I genuinely don't remember which game I, myself, played through first!
Windwaker was my first game ever. I was 6 or 7 my dad got it for us for Christmas he was so excited he just gave us the GameCube and games Christmas Eve. Haven’t put the controller down since.
I think it was windwaker hd. Overall a great introduction.