9. Twilight Princess
Before I discuss the quality of the game itself, allow me to brief you a little on the history of Twilight Princess, perhaps the most reviled entry in this beloved series. Nintendo had received a lot of negative feedback for the unorthodox approach they took with The Wind Waker. Sure it was critically acclaimed and had plenty of fans, but there were many who were vocally displeased with its kiddie art-style, its short playtime, all the sailing, etc. When Twilight Princess was announced, the Wind Waker haters jumped for joy because it appeared to be more in line with the Nintendo 64 Zelda games. Upon its release, the game seemed destined to become a classic, with many critics calling it the best Zelda ever. Traditionalists were especially happy that it was nothing like Wind Waker. It had a dark and realistic tone, (it was the mid 2000s afterall) it was lengthy, and it had absolutely no sailing whatsoever. Everything was coming up Twilight Princess. So, what the hell happened? Fast forward to 2013 and everything has been reversed. Wind Waker is now universally adored, and poor Twilight Princess, once praised for being the second coming of Ocarina of Time, is now panned for being the second coming of Ocarina of Time. Without question, Twilight Princess is most derivative entry in a franchise that is regularly criticised for being derivative. It tries so desperately to be Zelda-esque that it fails to bring anything new to table. Not only that, but its dark and realistic tone hasnt aged nearly as well as Wind Wakers lighthearted, cartoonish whimsy. And sure, its a long game, but so many of its hours are unnecessary padding that could have been trimmed to make a more concise experience. Oh, and dont get me started on those boring-as-hell wolf sections. Id choose sailing over that any day of the week. Now, it may be an overblown, overly-serious, overly-nostalgic game, but it certainly doesnt deserve the amount of hate it gets. Too many seem to forget the things this game did exceptionally well. The level designs, especially the dungeons, were extraordinary, even when they were obviously ripping off Ocarina of Time. There was also a memorable cast featuring two of the series best characters with Midna and Zant, the former being Links most well-rounded sidekick and the latter being an antagonist that was as frightening as he was sympathetic. So while it may not be the best Zelda ever, as some initially claimed, its far from an abomination, as so many claim now.