In 1987, Nintendo introduced the gaming world to a fantasy adventure unlike any other that came before. It challenged players to take up their swords, steady their nerve, and save the princess from the forces of darkness. We are, of course, talking about one of the most influential games of all time .
Since Link and Zelda's debut way back in the early days of the home console, the formula and style have influenced several other adventures. And by influence, we mean often imitated but never duplicated. There are dozens of Zelda-clones out there, but here are ten൲ we recommend chec𒈔king out.
10 🔥 Golden Axe: Warrior
If you know the title Golden Axe, you're probably thinking of the swords-and-sorcery side-scrollin⛦g beat-em-up of Sega fame, right? Well, what♋ you might not know is that this series also boasted it's own Zelda clone. Not only that, but this is one of the few games on our list that almost directly rips off the 1987 original title.
From its top-down perspective to its choice of character sprites, we can't help but think Link would look just a little bit too comfortable in this barbarian realm. Since it was released shortly after the original Zelda, we can't think s꧃ome creative liberties were taken.
9 Adventures of Mana/Final Fan🅘tasy Adventure
If you were to take the basics of a top-down Zelda title and jazz it up with designs, creatures, and sprite work from the worlds of Final Fantasy, you'd get this little gem from Square Enix. The unofficial first entry in the Mana series, this adventure checked all the boxes for a Zelda title but added some action RPG elements as well.
Underrated by a mile, but certain elements were pulled straight from Nintendo's classic adventure. Though it's certainly more polished than Link's original 8-bit outi🎶ngs, we can't de𝓰ny the similarities.
8 ꦡ Darksiders
Don't let the dark and gory comic-book-style fool you. The original has more in common with The Legend of Zelda than it does God of War or Devil May Cry, despite what others might 𒊎have you believe. War might have a higher body count than ou♛r favorite Hero of Hyrule, but his adventuring methods are all too familiar.
How many times have both ไcharacters had to acquire new weapons to escape dunge☂ons, traverse through maze-like forests, temples, and ruins, or ride horseback into battle with an equine they know by name? We don't exactly see Dante doing that.
7 Wonder Boy 🔯Series
We know what you're thinking. "This doesn't look a thing like a Zelda game, what gives?" Though the Wonder Boy series from Sega indeed lacks the top-down perspective, some of its mechanics are eerily similar to some of the series earlier adventures. It's essentially Zelda as a platform game.
Consider the following, the protagonist is a young boy hero, armed with a sword and shield against the forces of evil, and you have to use certain items and weapons like a boomerang or arrows to traverse and explore a beautiful fantasyꦗ world. Starting to sound familiar?
6 Oceanhorn
Okay, there's borrowing certain elements of a famous game, and then there's shamelessly ripping it off. Where a game like Final Fantasy Adventure or Darksiders may have borrowed some elements, but Oceanhorn is a pure, unabashed rip-off of not one, but two Zelda titles. The similarities are not only𒉰 blatantly obvious, they're painfully obvious.
While it does add a few decent classic adventure and RPG elements to set it apart from most of its kind, the game essentially takes the visuals and island setting from Windwaker and the classic layout of something like A Link to the Past.
5 Alundra
To put it incredibly bluntly, Alundra is the PlayStation's answer to A Link to the Past. It features an elven protagonist armed with a slew of different weapons including bombs, blades, and more to explore a world plaguꦐed by nightmares and black magic. Tie it all together with an anime art style and you've got a decent game.
The sprites and the top-down perspective give it a more-advanced Link to the Past look about it, but i𒉰t never feels like a rip-off. With its mix of high-fantasy and dreamscapes, it's definitely a greaꦰt game to play after saving Hyrule.
4 Okami
Whenever anyone talks about Zelda-inspired titles, they almost always mention this cell-shaded work of art. Mixing the fantasy and puzzle elements of The Legend of Zelda with a beautiful watercolor style and a heavy influence of Japanese mythology. Needless to say, the classic Zelda notes are beautifully seen in .
Players take up the ro𝄹le of the wolf goddess Amaterasu and, armed with a magic paintbrush, they must recreate and repair the broken world of the game. With several memo▨rable characters and enjoyable gameplay, it's no wonder this game is relentlessly praised and lauded for its elements.
3 3♒D Dot Game Heroes 🐻
Though they might be more well-known for their brutal action RPGs like the Dark Souls series and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, From Software has one of the best tributes to the Zelda games we've ever seen. 3D Dot Game Heroes is one of the greatest games you've probably never played, and it wears its ins💛pira♏tion like a crown.
Imagine the pixelated art style of A Link to the Past but put it in high-definition, that's kind of what this game is going for. The plot and mechanics feel remarkably similar to the aforementioned Zelda title, but it's more of an honorable tribute or homag✤e than anything else.
2 🥀 Horizon: Zero Dawn 😼
One of the newest titles on our list, Horizon: Zero Dawn on the PlayStation 4 has a lot in common with Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and we're not just talking color palate or box art. Though this game relies more on a sci-fi post-apocalypse setting with robots and an alien world, the familiar open sꦐense of adventure is still there.
Both Link and Aloy have definite prowess with a bow, but if you give Horizon's heroine a blade, the similarities would get clearer and clearer. Both gamꦺes have open worlds, savage monsters, and endless areas to explore and things to collect. We'd be lying if we said it w🥃asn't slightly suspicious.
1 ﷺ Beyond Oasis
Beyond Oasis is probably one of the most underrated and underappreciated games of the 16-bit era. At first glance, it probably doesn't look like a Zelda clone. But once you start playing this magical adventure, things start to get a little more than fa🍷m🍎iliar. Especially when you pick up newer items and go dungeon crawling.
There are several different elements put into this hidden gem, but we think of Beyond Oasis as a more action-oriented Zelda. You simply can't deny the heavy use of hack-and-slash combat throughout his incredible adventure. Dust off yo🧔ur old Sega Genesis to see what we mean.