The Legend of Zelda games have been constant benchmarks for what video games can be capable of. The iconic Nintendo series began way back with the Nintendo Entertainment System, and continuously pushed the envelope on multiple occasions. The numerous adventures of Link as he travelled through Hyrule and beyond were always growing and expanding with each new console.
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Something that The Legend of Zelda titles would always improve is the size of their maps. The bigger the map, the more alive the world tends to feel. With numerous handheld titles and console titles, the sizes of the maps can certainly vary but that doesn’t mean the worlds are any less engaging. Aside from a few spin-off titles that don’t focus on world size, and the infamously terrible titles on Philips CD-I, the Zelda series brings it all when it comes to its worlds.
Updated on June 1, 2023, by Hilton Webster: Compared to other Nintendo staples like Mario and Kirby, the Legend of Zelda games have slowed down dramatically in their launch schedules. Tears of the Kingdom is the biggest game (both literally and in terms of importance) to come from them since 2017, so we've decided to include a few of the more renowned spin-off Zelda games as well to gauge just how big they are.
20 The Legend Of Zelda
The game that started it all, The Legend Of Zelda for the NES was bound to have one of the smallest maps. At the time, however, this map of Hyrule was groundbreaking in its scope and grandeur.
Even today, the mysteries and the challenge that this game brings can still make your adventure last longer than you may expect. Although the detail and size may falter by today’s standards, this game started and revolution in the gaming world that can’t be ignored.
19 Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity
Age of Calamity isn't the first Hyrule Warriors game, though it is definitely the most beloved. Released at the mid-point between Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Age of Calamity has you experience the world 100 years before Breath of the Wild, though with some slight story differences.
In terms of scale, it's hard to precisely say. It's based on the Hyrule seen in Breath of the Wild, literally taking large swathes of the world to use here. However, you only ever see those areas in large chunks rather than as a single connected piece. As such, despite the game it's pulling from, it's a much smaller map in comparison than you might expect.
18 The Legend Of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
This long-overlooked Zelda game on the Game Boy (until it was remade for the Switch), Link’s Awakening was a portable Zelda adventure that felt like a whole console game on the go (if only they knew about the Switch back then).
Whether this game is factually bigger or smaller than The Legend of Zelda on the NES, Link’s Awakening certainly felt bigger with its uses of towering mountains and cliffs, sprawling beaches, and populated towns that felt like home.
17 The Legend Of Zelda: Oracle Of Ages/Seasons
Taking after Pokemon in certain ways, The Legend of Zelda series released two companion adventures in the form of Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons on the Game Boy Color. These games were smaller in scale due to their handheld platform, but they certainly held up when looking at the lush worlds of each game.
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Plus, if you put these two companion games together, technically it's two maps put together. Maybe that’s cheating, but who’s to say?
16 Zelda 2: The Adventure Of Link
Link got his name into the second game of the series, but unfortunately not many others. Zelda 2: The Adventure Of Link is a notoriously difficult game, but its map is no joke.
Sprawling grasslands, caves, populated towns, castles, dungeons; nearly everything was on the table. The game blended top-down exploration with side-scroller gameplay to make the world truly feel huge but simultaneously detailed at the same time.
15 Cadence Of Hyrule
Spin-off Zelda games are rare enough as it is, and rare still to get them from developers that aren't closely associated with, or are Nintendo itself. Cadence of Hyrule, thankfully, is something incredibly new for the franchise. Combining the gameplay of classic Zelda with the musical elements of Crypt of the Necrodancer, you get the perfect love letter of a game.
Stepping away from the hand-crafted worlds of other Zelda games, Cadence of Hyrule instead uses a randomly-generated world. Most areas will be where you expect, with the Gerudo in the southwest and Death Mountain in the northeast, but they'll look different every time. By default, we have a map that's somewhat smaller than A Link To The Past, though you can view it entirely differently with another playthrough.
14 The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past
This super popular Super Nintendo title was also super huge for the time. A Link To The Past continued to push the envelope of the kind of worlds that are possible on a home console.
If one world weren’t already huge enough for the Super Nintendo, the game started the constant trend of a “light” and “dark” world scenario that showed the good and evil of the land of Hyrule. Each world felt unique despite being largely the same, and in turn, the game felt enormous for its time.
13 The Legend Of Zelda: Four Swords/Four Swords Adventures
Shooting to a more modern age of gaming, the Four Swords games on the Game Boy Advance and GameCube continued the 2D style of the Zelda series despite its dramatic leap to the realm of 3D. These games also included the series' first foray into multiplayer, and what would a multiplayer game be without a big world to explore?
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Although not the most sizeable map in the series, adventures with friends make the experience feel so much bigger, whether portably or on a console.
12 The Legend Of Zelda: The Minish Cap
This Game Boy Advance game was a very well-received title in the Zelda series and the land of the Minish was such a fascinating place to explore.
While The Minish Cap is not the smallest map in the Zelda series, it is literally the smallest map because Link is shrunk down to the small stature of the Minish people, and thus everything small feels huge. Should The Minish Cap truly be at the beginning of this list?
11 The Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
This Zelda title landed on the Nintendo DS and blended the style of the 2D and 3D styles that have defined the Zelda series for many years. Spirit Tracks is the second main Zelda title on the DS, and it is known as the Black Sheep of the series.
Link travels by train to multiple locations, which makes the map of the game feel absolutely massive for a handheld console due to the constant traveling that must be done. The game must be huge because everybody knows how long train rides can take.
10 The Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
The DS series of Zelda games had a very specific focus on travel. While Spirit Tracks focused on trains, Phantom Hourglass has players traveling by boat to different island locations, similarly to The Wind Waker.
Being on the open seas in a handheld fashion meant for a gigantic open world for its time, and it almost seemed surreal to have that much freedom on the go.
9 The Legend Of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
The series’ second go on the Nintendo 3DS, Tri Force Heroes was another attempt after Four Swords to attempt a multiplayer-focused Zelda game, to mixed results. Thankfully, players could search for a ridiculous amount of costumes for their Link in a huge world that is richly realized by the graphical capabilities of the 3DS.
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The world feels just a tiny bit smaller than it actually is, only because there are three Links running around getting in each other’s way.
8 The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Often touted as one of the best Legend of Zelda games, A Link Between Worlds was a benchmark title for the series and both created arguably the biggest open world in any of the handheld titles (that weren’t remakes/ports).
It reintroduced the light/dark world mechanic with Hyrule and Lorule, respectively. The towns were brimming with life and the open and detailed locations made the game feel like it was jumping right out of the screen.
7 The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
This extremely divisive Wii title was the talking point of much controversy, but Skyward Sword was still a massive game.
It has taken Link to the skies, making him fly to multiple locations to explore dungeons and have epic adventures. The flying segments may make the game seem a little bigger than it actually is, but the game’s world is very well realized.
6 The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
A big part of the 3D revolution at the turn of the century, Majora’s Mask was the second outing for the Zelda series on the Nintendo 64. While Majora’s Mask and Ocarina of Time are quite comparable in size, Majora’s Mask felt smaller if only for its smaller-scale story, even though it ironically focuses on the end of the world.
The areas in Termina are so varied and so well-realized and give off a sense of unease and creepiness that no other game has been able to replicate. The game is so huge that it takes an entire moon with a face to look at the whole thing.
5 The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
Praised at every corner as the greatest game of all time, Ocarina of Time was a revolutionary game that truly penned the term 'open-world.' The game intelligently starts Link in the tiny Kokiri Forest, and as soon as he leaves, you are overwhelmed by the immense size that the land of Hyrule envelops.
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Volcanoes, underwater temples, a desert camp, and even the inside of a giant fish; Ocarina of Time sent you into an epic new world that changed video games forever.
4 The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Wind Waker was criticized upon release for its radically different graphical style, but as the years went on, the game received the respect it deserved. Although most of the gigantic map of this game is covered with water due to the flooding of Hyrule a long time ago, traveling by boat across the vast ocean feels so alive and daring.
Among the waves, there are dozens of small islands to explore and hidden treasures to find. The game makes you feel like a true pirate, and its scope reflects that in spades.
3 The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess
This entry in the series was significantly darker than every other Zelda game, and the lends itself to its immense scope. The gigantic map was filled with realistic towns and wide-open landscapes, but it also provided a grandiose fantasy tale that felt more grounded in tone.
Whether traveling between the dozens of areas within the game or traveling into the Twilight to discover even more secrets, Twilight Princess was game-changing and truly made you feel the weight of both a huge and convincingly real world.
2 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Breath of the Wild is a game like few others, one that many have tried and failed to emulate. As soon as Link awakens after 100 years and looks out onto the Great Plateau, it’s absolutely clear that there is no comparison to the sheer beauty and overwhelming scope that this game offers.
What this game lacks in numerous towns, it makes up for with rich and detailed vistas that hide so many secrets in every dip and bend. Breath of the Wild is a new standard for the worlds that The Legend of Zelda can create for players, and hopefully, its sequel can pull off that same feeling of pure amazement.
1 The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
Following up on the massive acclaim and industry-changing effect of Breath of the Wild was never going to be easy, yet Nintendo still managed to do it anyway. Tears of the Kingdom feels bigger in just about every conceivable way, turning the quiet moments of Breath of the Wild into a non-stop adventure with Tears of the Kingdom.
When we say Tears of the Kingdom is bigger in every way, that really is literal. Beyond just the already remarkably large surface, you can now ascend into the islands of the sky above, and even more beyond those that we won't spoil for you. It is truly massive, and yet still feels so lovingly crafted in every little corner.
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