All Hyrule Warriors Games, Ranked

Koei Tecmo’s Dynasty Warriors franchise has been the torchbearer for the Musou genre for a while now. You know, that one vs 1000 action hack and slash power fantasy that spun off into Persona 5 Strikers and Fire Emblem Warriors. Often, one character, or a few party members, fight against hundreds of enemies at a time across a massive battlefield. 

Some Musou games do add their own twist to the base gameplay, like strategic battles. Hyrule Warriors, on the other hand, is one of the spin-offs of The Legend of Zelda that veers the direction of party-based gameplay, as well as versatility in the character abilities and combos available to you. As a result, the combat feels more refreshing than the usual repetitive structure Musou games tend to suffer from. 

Either way, it remains a chaotic, fun fest you can’t help diving back into. If you’re keen on beginning your journey into The Legend of Zelda’s spin-off game series, then you’ll want to check out our ranking of all Hyrule Warriors games so far.

3. Hyrule Warriors (2014)

The first Hyrule Warriors game launched in 2014, much to the surprise of The Legend of Zelda and Koei Tecmo’s Dynasty Warriors fans alike. It merged Zelda’s settings and characters with the one versus 1000 hack and slash gameplay of Dynasty Warriors. And the end result, while not 100% great, did manage to provide a couple of decent hours of play.

In the game, you control characters from The Legend of Zelda’s universe, charging them into battle across the Hyrule Kingdom. Every battle is an intense hack-and-slash against hundreds of enemies at a time. The attacks and moves all adopt the flashy, over-the-top style of the Dynasty Warriors franchise. Battles, thus, look and feel ecstatic, with lots of chaos and satisfying finishers.

As your characters travel across Hyrule, they break down enemy frontlines. Then, take over enemy strongholds until the entire map is yours. And all along, you’ll face all kinds of enemies. Often, relatively weaker ones that are easy to beat, to fearsome bosses who require a more tactful approach. 

Although you play through a campaign about Link and the team taking down The Dark Sorceress and rescuing Princess Zelda, the story isn’t profound. It mainly serves to unlock new playable characters with unique abilities and weapons. Plus, provide a pathway to collect useful items and upgrade your gear. 

For this reason, Hyrule Warriors falls short in the ranking of all Hyrule Warriors games. Most of the Zelda themes come across as fan service content that doesn’t, in any way, add more context or plot points to The Legend of Zelda franchise. In fact, many of the settings and characters are ones Zelda fans would already have seen and interacted with.

Hyrule Warriors Legends

2016’s Hyrule Warriors Legends does reimagine the original Wii U for the Nintendo 3DS. While it maintains the same levels and campaign, it also adds new content and action refinements. The graphics leave a lot to be desired, though.

Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition

Meanwhile, 2018’s Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition combines the content of the original and Legends. So, it’s definitely the best way to play the first game. Plus, it looks better, plays better, and offers more mindless but fun hack-and-slash action gameplay.

Overall, the combat is what would keep you interested in Hyrule Warriors, switching things up a bit in the Musou genre. You have different characters whose unique skills and weapons inspire exciting combos that can wipe out hordes of enemies. Experimenting with different characters and their unique moves is fun, though ultimately repetitive, as is problematic with Musou games. 

2. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (2020)

Next up on our ranking of all Hyrule Warriors games is Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. This time, Nintendo chose a more story-focused sequel, set 100 years before the events in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The second game does reveal more story beats about the Great Calamity, although it chooses to structure the setting in an alternate timeline. 

Cutscenes and visuals are definitely more polished, which makes the story more digestible. But perhaps because of the high expectations of Zelda’s typically profound storylines, Age of Calamity somewhat loses momentum by the mid to late stages. 

This is more of an expansion of Breath of the Wild. It uses both old and new characters and explores the relationships between them. Unfortunately, the alternate timeline earned mixed reviews. A “what if” story is fun. But it will also leave others unsatisfied by the questions they had from Breath of the Wild, along with the conflicting themes and events between the two games. 

Fortunately, the larger map and more things to do, including a whole lot of horde-based combat that improves on its predecessor with refinements and new abilities like Flurry Rushes and Runes, help make Age of Calamity still a fun playthrough.

1. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment (2025)

And finally, the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, earns the top spot of our ranking of all Hyrule Warriors games. Firstly, launching on Switch 2 is already a boost in performance and graphics, which roll on smoothly and seamlessly throughout your playthrough.

Meanwhile, Nintendo seemed to have listened to fans, as they opted for a canon storyline this time around, taking you to the Imprisoning War that took place in ancient Hyrule. While the story does have its emotional moments and breakthroughs, the combat is the winner here.

Stylish, flashy, and all-around engaging, Age of Imprisonment has found the sweet spot of versatility. It’s the best Hyrule Warriors game yet, simply because of the many unique skills and abilities playable characters have, the clever ways you can synchronize their attacks, and specific counters you need against certain enemies.

Elemental Zonai devices from Tears of the Kingdom also help add more depth and strategy to combat. So, you’re not always button-mashing against waves of enemies, but actually facing moments when tougher enemies demand planning and thought about your next move.