1) Top-down old-school with heavy focus on the puzzles/boss mechanics. Was the first one I played (age: 3) so I could be heavily biased...
2) First 3D release and generally held up to as the best of the best.
3) Completely different art style, die-hard Zelda fans hated it because of this but I feel its grown on the fans since then. I also hated it when I was younger but enjoy it more now when I replay each game of the series.
I recommend against Twilight Princess because they tried something and IMO failed (a big "selling point" was playing as Wolf Link, but Wolf Link felt more 'grindy' with "gather 15 bugs before each level that takes 30 minutes no matter how good you get at it". The puzzles feel less challenging and more "you solved it in 5 seconds but you'll spend the next 15 minutes moving things around".
Each game of the series is "related" only in the aspect that there is the `Hero of Time` (Link). There are a few indirect sequels (Majora's Mask is a 'sequel' to Ocarina of Time) but you don't need to play Ocarina of Time before Majora's Mask. It largely comes down to what puzzles/items/story is in each one and that is where they differ (with large amounts of overlap. Some items are "trademark" things like a Hookshot, Bombs, or Bow & Arrow)
Thanks for the advice. I've sure we already have all of these in the house, (2 kids now 16 & 22), but with so many to choose from, I was looking for a good jumping in point.
Three different flavors to choose from.
1) Top-down old-school with heavy focus on the puzzles/boss mechanics. Was the first one I played (age: 3) so I could be heavily biased...
2) First 3D release and generally held up to as the best of the best.
3) Completely different art style, die-hard Zelda fans hated it because of this but I feel its grown on the fans since then. I also hated it when I was younger but enjoy it more now when I replay each game of the series.
I recommend against Twilight Princess because they tried something and IMO failed (a big "selling point" was playing as Wolf Link, but Wolf Link felt more 'grindy' with "gather 15 bugs before each level that takes 30 minutes no matter how good you get at it". The puzzles feel less challenging and more "you solved it in 5 seconds but you'll spend the next 15 minutes moving things around".
Each game of the series is "related" only in the aspect that there is the `Hero of Time` (Link). There are a few indirect sequels (Majora's Mask is a 'sequel' to Ocarina of Time) but you don't need to play Ocarina of Time before Majora's Mask. It largely comes down to what puzzles/items/story is in each one and that is where they differ (with large amounts of overlap. Some items are "trademark" things like a Hookshot, Bombs, or Bow & Arrow)