Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteIf you want a Zelda game built around choosing your own route and finding things as you go, start with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. For exploration across multiple layers of the same world, choose The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The right follow-up to Ocarina of Time depends on whether you want open roaming, sea travel, or discovery shaped by dungeons and puzzles.
How to choose a Zelda game for exploration
These games offer different kinds of discovery, not a single objectively best exploration experience. Consider three questions: how freely you want to roam, what kind of travel appeals to you, and whether you prefer open-ended wandering or designed dungeons and puzzles.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - World Edition | $59.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
The Legend of Zelda™: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch™ 2 Edition | $69.00 | Buy on Amazon |
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
- Open roaming: Choose Breath of the Wild for self-directed travel through Hyrule.
- Layered exploration and traversal experiments: Choose Tears of the Kingdom for a return to Hyrule that includes land, sky, caves, and depths.
- Sea and islands: Choose The Wind Waker if the idea of a voyage across the seas is the draw.
- Dungeons and puzzles: Choose Skyward Sword HD if you want discovery organized around distinct puzzle-filled areas, sky islands, and the surface.
Breath of the Wild: self-directed travel through Hyrule
Breath of the Wild is the clearest starting point for players who want to decide where to go and how to approach the landscape. Nintendo’s Breath of the Wild Explorer’s Guide calls Hyrule “vast and wild” and notes that “While climbing is a great way to reach new heights, it’s only one of the many ways Link has to explore the world.” That description points to exploration as more than simply following a route upward: the landscape invites different approaches.
Recommended Free Tools
This is the recommendation if you want to roam without making a particular dungeon structure or travel mode your main priority. Nintendo’s guide supports the broad, self-directed exploration framing; it does not establish a measured comparison of world size, playtime, or discovery count.
#1 Best Overall
- Discover Hyrule as never before: by making your own path, choices, and consequences
- Ingenuity is the key to survival: find multiple solutions to tons of dynamic puzzles
- Surprises hide around every corner: scavenge weapons, armor, plants, animals, and more
- Live off the land: find weapons and armor, cook food, and brew elixirs
- Utilize special technology: the in-game Sheikah Slate controls, objects and enemies in fun ways
Tears of the Kingdom: explore Hyrule across multiple layers
Tears of the Kingdom is a sequel to Breath of the Wild that revisits Hyrule and adds travel across land, sky, caves, and depths. Nintendo describes the choice of paths across Hyrule’s landscapes and floating islands. Its abilities also make movement more experimental: Ultrahand lets Link move and attach objects, Ascend provides a shortcut through overhead surfaces, and Recall reverses an object’s movement. These tools support creative traversal, shortcuts, and construction rather than exploration being limited to walking a route.
Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi describes diving from the sky into water as both seamless travel and a way to survey the surface: “Thinking how satisfying it’d be to dive from the sky and jump directly into the water. In this title, diving is not just about enjoying an exhilarating, seamless means of travel, but it also brings more value as a tool for gathering information about the surface by surveying it from above.” The statement appears in Nintendo’s developer interview and captures how movement can also help reveal the world.
Choose Tears of the Kingdom if you want a layered return to Hyrule and enjoy experimenting with how to move through it. The Tears of the Kingdom – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is a separate edition: Nintendo lists enhanced resolution, frame rates, HDR, faster loading, and ZELDA NOTES for that edition. Those features should not be assumed to apply to the original Nintendo Switch version; check Nintendo’s current page for platform compatibility and availability.
Rank #2
- Step into a world of adventure—now enhanced for the Nintendo Switch 2 system!
- Use your ingenuity to survive and thrive in Hyrule
- Support your journey with ZELDA NOTES on the Nintendo Switch app
The Wind Waker: exploration as a sea voyage
The Wind Waker is the natural choice if you want exploration framed around ocean travel and island discovery. Nintendo’s series history describes its premise as Link traveling the seas to rescue his sister. That supports the broad sea-voyage recommendation, but not a detailed comparison of its exploration systems with the other games here.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Skyward Sword HD: discovery through dungeons and puzzles
Skyward Sword HD fits players who want exploration arranged around designed areas rather than primarily open roaming. Nintendo describes puzzle-filled dungeons and travel between floating islands and the surface; its gameplay information characterizes each dungeon as its own adventure. Materials used for equipment upgrades provide another reason to look around as you progress.
The Nintendo Switch release offers both motion controls and button-only controls, according to Nintendo’s gameplay page. That makes it an option for players who prefer the dungeon-and-puzzle structure but want to choose between those control approaches.
Quick Recap
Quick comparison
| Game | Exploration style | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Breath of the Wild | Open landscape; Nintendo’s guide highlights climbing as one of several ways to explore. | Self-directed travel through Hyrule. |
| Tears of the Kingdom | Hyrule across land, sky, caves, and depths, with abilities for creative movement and construction. | Multiple world layers and experimentation with traversal. |
| The Wind Waker | A sea voyage, as described in Nintendo’s series history. | Ocean travel and island discovery. |
| Skyward Sword HD | Distinct puzzle-filled dungeons, sky islands, and surface regions. | Designed areas, dungeons, and puzzles. |
Official game information
- Nintendo’s Breath of the Wild Explorer’s Guide
- Nintendo’s Tears of the Kingdom store page
- Nintendo’s Tears of the Kingdom developer interview
- Nintendo’s Zelda series history
- Nintendo’s Skyward Sword HD overview
- Nintendo’s Skyward Sword HD gameplay information
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
