If you've clicked across one or another Top 100 games of all time list you'll remember one thing from all of them - the amount one game is nearly always Zelda. they have a tendency to clump them together by franchise, and Zelda tends to battle it out with Mario for the highest spot. More often than not though, Link's work of art comes out on top.
The Legend of Zelda series is usually about an equivalent basic thing; a young boy, Link (or whatever goofy sophomoric name you give him - my brother's first link was named poopFace) is named upon to accomplish a search that his name sake, the good hero of Hyrule (at some unspecified time within the past) undertook. Said quest usually involves being tossed randomly into a situation of battle (often times as a young child) only to satisfy the princess of the realm, Zelda and uncover a plot by Ganondorf to require over and destroy the realm by getting his hands on the Triforce, an ancient remnant of Hyrule's Goddesses. Link always kicks enormous amounts of ass and becomes the good hero of the realm. The story's usually an equivalent, with whatever goofy humor Miyamoto decides to contribute there and therefore the few variations of gameplay.
And the gameplay is that the key to all or any the Zelda games. The famous dungeons, usually 7-10 of them throughout the sport, are notoriously well crafted, difficult without being impossible and nearly always incredible beautiful. The time and energy put into the Zelda games usually produces lavish, monstrous games that rewrite how the genre is played. which is why it is the greatest franchise of all time.
It's impossible to create a chronology for the games, as they're never specifically linked, but there are a spread of little details that give out some information on how these break down.
The Legend of Zelda, released in 1986 for the NES, created and established the dungeon actioner genre and introduced us to the cast of now documented characters. The story involves Link being called upon to defeat Ganon, already in his pig form, after retrieving the triforce pieces that Zelda scattered throughout the land.
Zelda II: The Adventures of Link was released subsequent year and involves an equivalent Link only a couple of months later. It's considered by most to be at the top of the chronology because it isn't referenced in other games. Moreover it gives cause for all of the princesses being named Zelda. A Zelda of the many generations before was put to sleep for her transgressions against the King by hiding the triforce, therefore the prince decreed that each one princesses of the realm would carry the name Zelda.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past was released for the SNES in 1991, making the good leap to 16 bit, the sole game from the sequence to seem on the console. This game occurs earlier within the Zelda chronology, revolving around Link's first plan to retrieve the Master sword and defeat Ganon, still in pig form. It also makes first regard to the origins of Ganon, that's Ganondorf the thief, who stole the triforce and attempted to overtake Hyrule, and therefore the Seven Sages who seal of the Golden Land from him.
With most of the Zelda games, shortly after a main sequence game, a bear or sequel, something lighter is released not involving Ganon. In 1993, Link's Awakening was released for the sport Boy as just that, a search for enlightenment after defeating Ganon.
It wasn't until 1998 that subsequent true Zelda game was released, and boy was it a game. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of your time is taken into account by many because the greatest computer game ever made. I tend to agree. Chronologically, it is the first within the series, happening when Ganondorf remains human, a thief from the desert within the west. He steals the triforce, which shortly after breaks apart due to his impure intentions. Link's quest involves finding and putting the triforce back together and enacting all of the seven sage's seals. This game more or less invented the genre as we all know it today. Autojumps, aiming, analog controls, fully 3D environments, and therefore the sheer scope of the sport make it a classic without peer.
Majora's Mask does the entire side story thing again. It's about Link's return to youth after the events of Ocarina, during which he's robbed and drafted to assist stop the moon from destroying another world.
Wind Waker, released for the Gamecube in 2003, takes place many years after Ocarina, after the land of Hyrule has been destroyed and is underwater. We meet Ganon as a pig another time, and find out that Link and Zelda are both reincarnations of their Ocarina counterparts. This game took a pointy turn from previous games, still extremely well made, but alienating many fans, with it's cel shaded graphics and fetch quests. the sport took as long as any previous Zelda to finish, but half that point was spent sailing from island to island, floating round the great Hyrule sea. It might be....frustrating sometimes.
And that brings us to the most recent entry, the large Wii release game, Twilight Princess. the most recent Zelda takes place a couple of decades after the Ocarina of your time, this point our Link is an adult, living on his own in southern village as a wrangler. it is the darkest and most mature of the Zelda games and along side its Wii controls, it manages to be the foremost breathtakingly cinematic of the games also. Ganon first appears as pig, but reverts to Ganondorf at the top. Easily the longest of the Zelda games, Twilight Princess introduces plenty of new elements, not the smallest amount of which is that the chance to play as a wolf various times throughout.
The Legend of Zelda series may be a long running Nintendo tradition, the type which will never dissolve, if only due to the fierce loyalty of its fans. These games are masterpieces, all and never once has Nintendo let its fans down. We'll just plow ahead and pretend The CDi games never existed (they weren't Nintendo anyways).