Which Zelda Should You Play First in 2026? Order, Versions

Three groups of people ask this question in 2026: people who just bought a Switch 2, people who saw the Ocarina of Time remake trailer, and people waiting for the April 2027 movie. Search results answer a different question for each of them — mostly with 2017 Breath of the Wild guides. This page gives one answer per situation.

Which Zelda games can I actually play right now?

Sales figures are Nintendo’s as of June 30, 2026.

I have a Switch 2 and have never played Zelda. Where do I start?

Breath of the Wild, Switch 2 Edition. It is the game that reset the series, it runs and looks best on Switch 2, and everything in Tears of the Kingdom assumes you have seen its Hyrule. Play it until you have freed at least two Divine Beasts, then decide whether to finish or move on. Tears of the Kingdom will still be there.

The order that most players who have done both recommend: Breath of the Wild → Tears of the Kingdom. The reverse works, but Tears of the Kingdom’s opening lands harder when you recognize what changed. The full comparison is in Tears of the Kingdom vs Breath of the Wild. Once you have picked, the beginner tips for Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom list what to do first. If you do not know the two games yet, read the Breath of the Wild overview and the Tears of the Kingdom overview first.

I only have time for one. Which?

Tears of the Kingdom. It contains more of everything — 152 shrines to Breath of the Wild’s 120, 1,000 Korok seeds, the sky and the Depths, and the building systems — and it is the game the Switch 2 Edition improvements matter most for. You will miss some story context; the game recaps enough.

I want the “classic” Zelda with dungeons and items. Which?

Wait for the Ocarina of Time remake. It is a Switch 2 exclusive scheduled for November 5, 2026 — see the release date tracker. Until then, Echoes of Wisdom is the most dungeon-like modern entry, though it plays very differently from the 3D games.

What kind of game it is and where its story starts is on the Ocarina of Time overview. N64 and Nintendo 3DS walkthroughs describe earlier versions. Their room layouts, puzzle solutions, item locations and collection totals cannot be assumed to match this remake. Our Ocarina of Time guides currently follow the N64 original, and each one says so at the top; after the remake launches we will check them against it page by page.

I am buying for a child or a complete beginner

Echoes of Wisdom. It is top-down, has no weapon durability, no cooking survival loop and no stamina climbing, and its puzzles are built around copying objects rather than combat. It received a free Switch 2 update (HDR, stable 60 fps) on June 5, 2025.

I am here because of the movie

The live-action film opens April 30, 2027 and tells an original story — see the movie page. You do not need to play anything to follow it. If you want context on Hyrule, Ganondorf and the Triforce, Breath of the Wild is the most approachable place to get it, and its Switch 2 Edition is the best-looking version.

What order should I play the whole series in?

There is no required order. Every Zelda is a complete story, and the official timeline is a retroactive framing rather than a play order. A practical modern order, if you want to go beyond the two open-world games: Breath of the Wild → Tears of the Kingdom → Ocarina of Time (remake, 2026) → Echoes of Wisdom → Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment for the Tears of the Kingdom backstory.

Which versions should I buy on Switch 2?

Everything the upgrade changes — and the one save-slot catch — is in Tears of the Kingdom Switch 2 Edition: every difference.