10 games similar to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, a Adventure, Puzzle game, drawn from IGDB's similarity data. Each pick below notes the genres it shares with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
01Shares AdventurePuzzleThe Minish Cap mirrors A Link to the Past's top-down exploration of Hyrule, with dungeons, puzzles, and boss fights that demand the same methodical progression. Both games center on Link rescuing a petrified princess from a powerful mage, and both rely on collecting items and backtracking through interconnected areas. The Minish Cap explicitly returns to the design philosophy of A Link to the Past, making it a natural continuation of that classic formula.
Games like The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap →
02Shares AdventurePuzzleBoth games center on action-adventure exploration through dungeons and forests, where you solve block puzzles and boss fights using bows, swords, and magic. Ocarina of Time expands this formula with time travel between child and adult Link, each with unique abilities, while maintaining the same core of backtracking through interconnected worlds to collect items and uncover Hyrule's mysteries.
Games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time →
03Shares AdventurePuzzleBoth games send Link through expansive Hyrule across multiple dungeons and temples, solving block puzzles and boss fights with bow and arrow. Twilight Princess deepens the formula with an alternate reality (the Twilight Realm) that mirrors A Link to the Past's Dark World concept, requiring backtracking and exploration to uncover its mysteries. Each demands methodical puzzle-solving within a cohesive fantasy campaign.
Games like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess →
04Shares AdventurePuzzleOracle of Seasons shares the top-down adventure structure of A Link to the Past, with eight dungeons to explore, block puzzles to solve, and boss fights punctuating your journey through a threatened land. Both games emphasize action-adventure combat with the bow and arrow, and both require backtracking through their overworlds to gather collectibles and uncover the mysteries blocking your path forward.
05Shares AdventurePuzzleOracle of Ages shares the action-adventure structure of A Link to the Past, with sword combat, boss fights, and block puzzles woven through a campaign to rescue a captured maiden. Both use a bird's-eye perspective to explore dungeons and overworlds, and both feature time or world-shifting mechanics that alter the landscape you navigate. Oracle of Ages leans harder into puzzles, but maintains the same satisfying blend of exploration and combat.
06Shares AdventureBoth games send you through interconnected dungeons and mazes to rescue a kidnapped princess from an evil force threatening the realm. Paper Mario shares Link to the Past's structure of boss fights, backtracking through areas to find collectibles and hidden rooms, and magic-based puzzle solving. The adventure unfolds across a single campaign with fantasy stakes and recurring obstacles that demand persistence and exploration.
Games like Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door →
07Shares AdventurePuzzleBoth games cast you as a silent protagonist navigating hostile territory armed with a bow and magical abilities to overcome enemies and solve puzzles. Dishonored shares the action-adventure structure of exploring interconnected spaces, discovering hidden rooms and secret areas, and collecting resources to craft potions and gear. Each mission's outcome depends on your choices, mirroring how Link's approach to dungeons shapes his journey through Hyrule.
Games like Dishonored →
08Shares AdventurePuzzleFour Swords Adventures mirrors A Link to the Past's isometric adventure structure, dungeon exploration, and boss battles, but expands the formula with cooperative multiplayer. Both games feature archery, collectibles, and backtracking through Hyrule's landscapes. Four Swords Adventures draws directly from A Link to the Past's visual style and music while introducing the ability to control multiple Links simultaneously, transforming the classic single-player campaign into a shared experience.
09Shares AdventurePuzzleLink's Awakening follows the same action-adventure formula as A Link to the Past, with a top-down perspective, dungeon exploration, and boss fights punctuated by puzzle-solving. Both games center on collecting items and magical artifacts to progress through campaigns in fantasy worlds. Link's Awakening adds side-scrolling platforming sections and dream sequences, but maintains the core structure of traversing dungeons and uncovering hidden treasures that defined its predecessor.
10Shares AdventureBoth games follow Link on a campaign through Hyrule to rescue Princess Zelda, with action-adventure combat centered on sword skills and magic. Each structures progression around locating dungeons, defeating bosses, and collecting items that unlock new areas. Zelda II shifts to side-scrolling combat and adds RPG leveling, but maintains the same dark fantasy tone and real-time sword-based gameplay that defines A Link to the Past.
Frequently asked
10 games similar to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Dishonored, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures.
Most of these games share Action, Adventure, Fantasy and Puzzle with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, based on IGDB's similarity data. Each pick has a short note explaining what it has in common with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
