10 Video Game Franchises With The BEST Spin-Offs

While it's no secret that Zelda spin-offs were once universally terrible, Nintendo have spent the past few years getting its act together when it comes to sending Link and company out on alternate adventures. 

The first and most obvious point of reference has to be Omega Force's stellar work on the series. As well as offering more fan-service than you can shake a korok at, Hyrule Warriors and pseudo-sequel Age of Calamity see the developers catapaulting the Musou genre to new heights. Turns out bashing thousands of enemies at a time feels a lot less repetitive and a lot more enjoyable when you're playing with characters as diverse as a magical-ipad wielding princess, a maraca-shaking tree and a trio of middle-aged fairies!

Aside from the Warriors games, special mention must also be paid to Cadence of Hyrule - a thoroughly bizarre rhythm-action/RPG hybrid that sees Link bop his way across Hyrule by attacking enemies to the beat of the BGM. And, of course, there's Four Swords Adventures - a madcap co-op adventure that's easily Zelda's best pre-Warriors spin-off (albeit one hampered by the necessity of finding three other Zelda die-hards equipped with GBAs, link cables, and a complete lack of fiscal sense).