Top 50 Best Action Adventure Games Like Zelda

#10. – Terranigma

Here’s another one Quintet’s releases most often classified as an action RPG. They aren’t wrong, but the action adventure elements are extremely prevalent throughout. Terranigma has you playing as a youth named Ark who lives his life in the village of Crysta. Upon opening a box he unleashes all the evils into the world in a quest that leads him to revive the real Earth. You begin by bringing back continents, then animals, and finally people. It’s an interesting story, and the gameplay is good to boot. It’s an overhead action adventure/RPG game where you explore a world map and journey into deep and dark dungeons full of enemies. The puzzles take the backseat in this title, but they’re still commonplace. Terranigma looks like a Zelda clone, but has it’s own nuances to set it apart. It’s easily one of the best action adventure games.

#9. – Ganbare Goemon 3

Again, I really struggled justifying including all of the Ganbare Goemon titles into this list. Most of them lean more heavily into platforming elements, and while this one does to an extent, Ganbare Goemon 3 makes some changes. Most of the time you’ll be playing this from an overhead perspective exploring large areas, interacting with characters and of course fighting off enemies. The dungeon areas are still side scrolling, but this one has more puzzle elements. Again, that’s sort of more in line with the action adventure genre in my book. It’s not really a Zelda clone although it does share some elements with the franchise. I really like the new time travel based scenario of Ganbare Goemon 3 which made exploration all the more interesting in my opinion. It’s clearly one of the best action adventure games ever released.

#8. – Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Few video game reveals have been as controversial as when Nintendo unveiled the first Zelda game for the Gamecube. Previously they showed a brief demo of a realistic Link fighting against Gannon. Apparently they scrapped that and instead opted for a cel shaded cartoon style. This was not what most fans wanted at the time. The backlash was strong. Fortunately the end product turned out to be one of the best action adventure games of all time. Instead of a traditional overworld you now had a flooded Hyrule to explore and used a ship to sail from island to island. The dungeon format is largely the same with a new tool in each, and these were mostly used to solve puzzles. Exploration has never felt as good in any other Zelda game. It took years but finally the Wind Waker has found it’s audience.

#7. – Crusader of Centy

Third party developers knew the Sega Genesis had a major gap in it’s library. It had nothing that could directly compete with the Legend of Zelda. That’s why a company called Nextech stepped in and made what is without a doubt the best Zelda clone on the Sega Genesis. Crusader of Centy could almost be mistaken for a Link to the Past in screenshots. It’s clear they got the aesthetic down, but surprisingly this one is even more colorful and has better graphics overall. It plays like a traditional action adventure game with dungeons and a map (though this one is point and click) to choose your location from. The main gimmick here is that the protagonist gets help from animal friends. This can be used for both offensive moves as well as puzzle solving. The gimmick really helps distinguish this one from the pack.

#6. – Marvelous: Another Treasure Island

Eiji Aonuma was a huge fan of the Legend of Zelda. He created Marvelous: Another Treasure Island to expand on the action adventure genre by mimicking the format of a Link to the Past. It was such a great game that after this Nintendo put this fledgling developer on their main series. In this quest you move from island to island consisting of town areas, wilds, and of course dungeons. The latter has some puzzles that even surpass those in Nintendo’s main action adventure series. Rather than sticking exactly to the format here you can play as three different characters with each their own abilities. I absolutely love the sense of adventure weaved into the atmosphere of this title. You really feel as if you’re exploring old ruins. It’s a shame Marvelous was never localized because it’s absolutely one of the best action adventure games of all time.

#5. – Seiken Densetsu 3

This is absolutely one of the most ambitious games for the Super Famicom. I can’t imagine the cartridge being packed any fuller with content. It’s also the best Seiken Densetsu game. What’s interesting is the fact that you can choose from one of six protagonists, and follow three different storyline arcs. There’s even two player support. It plays like the last iteration for the most part with you guiding characters from an overhead perspective through dungeons and towns doing all the usual action adventure things the genre is known for. The game also has some of the most gorgeous 16-bit graphics, and a simply amazing soundtrack. Now that it has been re-released and actually localized you owe it to yourself to check this one out. It’s definitely one of the best action adventure games around.

#4. – Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Nintendo realized that the classic Zelda format was getting a bit worn out. They experimented with not so great results with Skyward Sword, but they really went all in on Breath of the Wild. No joke, this game is what Western style RPGs promise to be but have always fallen short of. Few games have I played where I could see a world and directly effect it in such a big way. There’s also an absolute ton of options for combat and exploration. You can waste hours of your life just from experimenting, and every single one would be some of the most fun you’ve ever had. It’s basically the greatest realization of the Legend of Zelda, and is without a doubt one of the best action adventure games of all time. Try as you will you won’t find anything else that’s this open and free.

#3. – Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Easily this was the most hyped game of all time before release. It is also one of the only titles to live up to all of pre-release buzz. Ocarina of Time moved the franchise into the realm of 3D, and it did so in ways few other series have ever managed. The land of Hyrule may seem sparse now but at the time there just weren’t any other 3D games with such huge and open areas to explore. What’s more is the fact that you can travel to the future, after Ganon has acquired the tri-force of power, and discover a world left on the brink of destruction. Few games have dungeons as well designed as this one. I absolutely love the tools you can find and how they are all integrated and useful practically until the end of the adventure. Ocarina of Time is still worth playing. Absolutely.

#2. – Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

By now you’re probably tired of hearing about the Legend of Zelda. I realize that the franchise dominates this list, but to put it simply these are the best action adventure games of all time. This article would be incomplete without so many of these sequels. A Link to the Past was originally released for the Super Nintendo. It pushed the franchise so far forward that the amount of features and growth in gameplay mechanics would make you think there were several other stepping stones in between it and Zelda II. There aren’t, and it’s just Nintendo’s ability to create amazing sequels that makes it so good. A Link to the Past features one of my favorite iterations of Hyrule to explore. No other game has so many small secrets and nuances. It even has a dark and light world and I love how your actions affect both of them.

#1. – Soul Blazer

“What?” That’s the most common response I get when people find out the ultra high regards I hold Soul Blazer in. It’s not only the best Zelda clone, but also the best action adventure game of all time. In my opinion, of course. It’s an overhead dungeon crawler where you defeat series of enemies to restore town areas. I’ve always been absolutely in love with this mechanic and I’m a huge fan of how it helps unfold the rather haunting and dreary story in Soul Blazer. This one is less focused on finding tools to aid in puzzles, and instead focuses on the abilities of various swords you acquire. Even as you near the end of the game you’ll find yourself returning to earlier areas to see what new villagers/animals/buildings what have you that your new weapons allow you to release. If you haven’t played it then please do.