Best Towns & Villages In Zelda Games

The Legend of Zelda has certainly earned its reputation as one of the best and most beloved fantasy video game series on the market. One of the biggest reasons for its success is the incredible amount of charm and personality in Hyrule and the other realms Link visits on his adventures. Each Zelda game is rich with distinct cultures, helpful allies, and charming shops to aid the hero on his adventure.

This is especially true in the franchise's towns and cities. Even the smallest village in a Legend of Zelda game has plenty of interesting characters to meet and secrets to uncover. Here are ten of the best towns and villages in the Legend of Zelda series.

10 Mabe Village (Link's Awakening)

All Is Not As It Seems

Link's Awakening is a strange game. Its cute design and charming island landscape hides a surreal edge simmering just under the surface. Mabe Village epitomizes that contradiction well. The city is quaint but full of oddities, like the pet chain chomps and the undead rooster slumbering beneath the weathervane at the center of town.

Amongst the peculiarities, Mabe Village has plenty of things to keep Link occupied. The iconic Trendy Game gives the hero a chance to win a variety of exciting prizes, and the fishing mini-game is another way for Link to unwind between quests. Mabe Village also houses an infamous shopkeeper, who will kill Link with a powerful magical attack if the hero tries to shoplift from his store.

9 Goron City (Ocarina Of Time)

Rolling Into Town

Gorons are some of the most beloved creatures in The Legend of Zelda. These rolling, rock-eating beings got their start in Ocarina of Time, where they live on the slopes of Death Mountain in a subterranean community known as Goron City.

Goron City is infamous among Ocarina of Time players for the gorons constantly rolling at high speeds down its streets. Despite these dangers, Link aids the Gorons multiple times, slaying King Dodongo and later freeing them from the menace of Volvagia. He can also meet the titanic Medigoron and his larger brother Biggoron here, the latter of which will grant him the most powerful sword in the game.

8 Zora's Domain (Breath Of The Wild)

A Watery World

The fish-like Zora often combine majesty and grace with fearsome savagery. Breath of the Wild certainly leans toward the former, presenting one of the most beautiful locations in the whole game in the form of Zora's Domain. This elegant, multi-tiered structure hosts all the amenities fans would expect from a major settlement, all wrapped in gorgeous aquatic architecture and graceful, flowing water features.

Related

Breath of the Wild: The Location of Every Stable in the Game

Collecting horses in Breath of the Wild is one of the game's most fun features, and here's everywhere to find them across the world.

Posts

By  Holden Jones

In Breath of the Wild, the Zora are also some of the most long-lived creatures in the game, meaning that several of their elders remember the events of the great Calamity 100 years before the beginning of the story. This gives the interactions that Link has within the city an added weight, as the Zora remember more than most what happened when Link failed to defeat Ganon.

7 Castle Town (Twilight Princess)

A Cursed Capital

The Castle Town in Twilight Princess is one of the largest cities in the Zelda franchise. It's split into four main locations for ease of access, and each one has its own stores and amenities to offer. Like most of the world, it's also shrouded in unnatural twilight at the start of the game, turning all of its inhabitants into helpless spirits.

While Link does eventually save Castle Town and restore it to its former glory, the gloom that haunts the entire game never fully leaves the city, which is still full of dark alleys and hidden secrets. The cursed Jovani, a petrified golden man locked in a house full of treasure, is just one of the many strange secrets that players can find here.

6 Clock Town (Majora's Mask)

A Doomed City

Clock Town is a vibrant and bustling community at the heart of the strange realm of Termina. The upcoming Carnival of Time lends a festive air to the city, which is severely undercut by the encroaching doom of the falling moon above.

This town is especially striking due to the behavior of its NPC inhabitants. Each character in Clock Town has a schedule that they stick to throughout the three repeating days of Majora's Mask. As Link lives and relives the town's destruction, he'll have to familiarize himself with the characters' routines if he wants any hope of saving them.

5 Gerudo Town (Tears Of The Kingdom)

Sneaking In The Sand

The infamous no-men policy of the desert Gerudo in Breath of the Wild leads to one of the most memorable quests in Breath of the Wild, where Link must acquire feminine clothing in order to enter Gerudo Town in disguise. Aside from the main quest that requires it, entering Gerudo Town proves to be well worth the effort. The desert oasis is full of unique shops and interesting side quests for Link to get caught up in.

In Tears of the Kingdom, Gerudo Town is besieged by an endless sandstorm, and undead monsters prowl the wastes. This gives Link the opportunity to explore the secret tunnels beneath the city and eventually mount a defense against the Gibdo armies. In both towns, Gerudo is a striking and memorable place to visit.

4 Windfall Island (Wind Waker)

A Voyage Begins

Wind Waker is infamous for the wide variety of islands dotting its expansive ocean landscape. Windfall Island is one of the most significant spots in this vast sea, as it hosts one of the most populous settlements left after the flooding of Hyrule. Link visits this city early in his adventure in order to procure a sail for the King of Red Lions, his talking vessel.

The hero will find himself returning frequently to Windfall Island over the course of his adventure. The city houses several useful shops, like any good Zelda town, and it offers countless side quests. If the hero sticks around after dark, they can even take part in the city's nightly auction, competing with locals for some truly valuable prizes.

3 Skyloft (Skyward Sword)

A City In The Sky

Few towns in Zelda history can match Skyloft for its unique setting. This expansive city floats through the sky on a series of interconnected flying islands, hovering eternally over the cloud cover blocking access to the mysterious surface below. Between journeys to the lost surface realm, Link will visit Skyloft often to resupply and catch up with friends and neighbors, many of whom have developing storylines that life and vivacity to the flying city.

Like any good Zelda town, Skyloft also has a dark side. There are plenty of mysterious secrets to uncover throughout the city, including the mysterious Moonlight Merchant and the misunderstood demon Batreaux. The fact that the city's adorable feline, Remlits, turn into feral monsters when night falls makes the city just a bit more treacherous.

2 Kakariko Village (Ocarina Of Time)

A Timeless Town

• Ocarina of Time

Kakariko Village is an iconic location that appears in one form or another in numerous Legend of Zelda games. Arguably, its most famous iteration is in Ocarina of Time, where it serves as one of the earliest stops on Link's quest to defeat Ganondorf. The town is defined by its towering windmill, where Link learns the Song of Storms.

Countless other landmarks dot this iconic city, though. Dampe's graveyard is one particularly noteworthy locale, as is the House of Skulltula, where Link can trade the Skulltula tokens he's been collecting to end the monstrous curse afflicting the residents of this overrun abode. Kakariko Village is also home to the Bottom of the Well, a sinister mini-dungeon exposing Hyrule's dark, bloodstained history.

1 Tarrey Town

The Town That Link Built

• Breath of the Wild

There are plenty of unique and vibrant towns in the post-apocalyptic landscape of Breath of the Wild, but Tarrey Town is arguably the most memorable. This city is the focus of one of the longest quests in the game, as Link helps Hudson the carpenter build up the city from scratch. During the process of bringing Tarrey Town to life, Link meets new friends and gets involved in some truly touching personal moments, forming memories that are just as real and foundational as the town itself.

By the time of Tears of the Kingdom, Tarrey Town is bustling and strong, even in the face of the mysterious new crisis afflicting Hyrule. This sort of enduring legacy, which can only come about with the player's help, makes Tarrey Town a truly special place in The Legend of Zelda.

More

15 Hardest Legend Of Zelda Games, Ranked

The Legend of Zelda franchise has endured for decades, but the difficulty usually isn't that high in the games, making these the exceptions.

Posts

By  Chris Harkin