Summary
The Legend of Zeldafranchise is Nintendo’s flagship IP, alongside a certain mustachioed plumber. Since its inception in the 1980s on the NES, the series has gracedevery single Nintendo consoleand handheld on the market, with players continuously rising to the challenge to brave the dangers of Hyrule and defeat Ganon and other mystical threats.
A key tool in vanquishing these forces of darkness is the Master Sword, the blade of evil’s bane. Appearing in nearly every single installment, the Master Sword is generally a top-tier weapon sealed away for the player to discover. It carries both narrative significance and heightened power during gameplay, with its place inThe Legend of Zeldaseriesnow iconic. With so many appearances, all players likely have personal favorites, however, there is a case to make a list of the most memorable and epic inclusions for this legendary blade.
Spoiler Warning for Tears of the Kingdom AheadRELATED:6 Breath of the Wild Items That Should Have Stayed in Tears of the Kingdom
S-Tier
The Master Sword is a powerful weapon, both in the context of the game’s lore and for the player to use. The cream of the crop for themany appearances of the Master Swordmanifest the blade in an epic fashion, showcasing its importance while also making it feel like a devastating weapon.A Link to the Paston SNES really builds up to Link acquiring the sword, as he ventures into a mysterious forest in a now iconic sequence of him pulling the sword from the stone, King Arthur style. After this, the player has access to a weapon capable of quickly defeating any enemy that crosses their path.
Similarly,Breath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomborrow the same design philosophy to make the Master Sword look and feel incredible.Breath of the Wildrecaptures the same mystical forest setting ofA Link to the Past, while also requiring the player to extensively level up their maximum heart containers in order to wield the sword at all. This makes the moment the sword is pulled from the ground feel truly earned.Tears of the Kingdomstands out for providing a twist on the sword for the first time in years. The sword is destroyed early in the adventure, and the player spends most of the game trying to repair it. While different, it’s no less epic and has quickly cemented itself as a new standout scene.
A-Tier
Making the jump to 3D, the Master Sword had an entirely new dimension to work its magic. AlthoughOcarina of Time’stake on the Master Swordis mechanically weaker to actually use in combat, its place in the story alone cements its position high in the minds of gamers. The Master Sword is used as a key to travel back and forth in time in some of the game’s most memorable scenes, and the game concludes with a shot of the sword on its pedestal, ensuring it would not be forgotten after playing.
Skyward Swordmay be a divisive entry in the series, but its innovation with the Master Sword should not be overlooked. The first appearance of the sword chronologically in the franchise, its narrative importance is second to what Nintendo attempted to do gameplay-wise. Taking advantage of the Wii’s intuitive motion controls, Nintendo tried to simulate the actual motion of swinging a sword with each wiggle of the Wii remote, literally putting players in Link’s boots for the first time. Unfortunately, the only thing holding this back from being ranked higher were the occasional motion control input errors, causing some unwanted frustration during gameplay.
RELATED:Tears of the Kingdom Missed a Trick Not Including one Skyward Sword Location
B-Tier
The GameCube erabuilt upon the excellent entries in the franchise on the N64 with the one-two punch ofThe Wind WakerandTwilight Princess. The former features a Master Sword with faded power, which Link has traversed an endless sea to restore. Meanwhile, the latter’s Master Sword is once again hidden in a deep forest, and this time is used to heal Link and transform him back to human from his wolf form. While both are interesting narratively, combat also featured new stylish move sets including dodges and finishing attacks.
The 3DS entryA Link Between Worldsserved as a spiritual successor toA Link to the Past, having callbacks to nearly every aspect of the original, including the Master Sword. It is just as fun to use in this newer game, with a flashy beam of light emitting from the sword to destroy all enemies in the player’s way. The one downside is that this Master Sword can have a sense of deja vu, with it being perhaps a little bit too similar to the SNES version in order to stand out on its own. Also, worth mentioning is theMaster Sword featured in the original NES game,The Legend of Zelda, which laid the foundation for all others to follow.
C-Tier
It’s important to note that although these final entries are placed at the bottom, in no way implies they are bad. These are all still renditions of the Master Sword that fans know and love, they simply didn’t offer anything new or exciting from either a story or gameplay perspective to stand out. In theHyrule Warriorsgames, the power of the sword is bolstered up to a staggering degree, but one which also makes it feel a bit too exaggerated and less special. It’s undeniably fun to use and see enemies fly across the screen, but most of the other weapons function the same, taking away any sort of uniqueness.
Lastly, is the Master Sword’s inclusion in the Game Boy adventuresOracle of SeasonsandOracle of Ages. Although it visually looks like the Master Sword and is a powerful in-game weapon, the issue here is that it’s never outright confirmed that it’s the legendary sword at all. It’s clearly the strongest tool in the game, as per usual just like the Master Sword, however, it’s not found in the usual location and it is breakable. Still, it’s handy to have an evil vanquishing blade in anyThe Legend of Zeldagame, and its presence here is certainly appreciated.
MORE:Even After Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the Zonai Remain a Mystery
