Top 10 Legend of Zelda Clones

#10: “The Binding of Isaac” (2011)

The Bible says Adam and Eve, not Link and Zelda... right? The biblical influences are obvious right from the start. Young Isaac’s mother hears “a voice from above” that she dutifully listens to ... much to her child’s dismay. After being deemed “sinful,” Isaac is stripped of everything -- even his clothing -- before his mother, eventually, attempts to kill him. Thus starts your Zelda-esque adventure where the dungeons, otherwise known as Isaac’s basement, and gameplay bare a striking resemblance to the Dungeons of the first Zelda game.

#9: “3D Dot Game Heroes” (2010)

If someone took Dippin’ Dots and built castles out of them... that would be a waste. It’s better to eat ice cream than to build with it, but that’s exactly what this game looks like. In a rather clever way to pay tribute to the 8-bit games of yesteryear, the entire game is made up of dots -- or rather, “voxels.” As if the appearance wasn’t enough of a callback to Zelda, the gameplay, the weapons, and even the chickens definitely remind us of Hyrule and its dangerous feathered fiends. This game comes to you from From Software, the maker of the ultra popular Souls series – which some people say also bears similarities to the Zelda franchise.

#8: “Beyond Oasis” (1995)

Prince Ali, fabulous he... no, wait, wrong Ali... ah, here’s the prince we’re looking for! It’s not just the look of Oasis that bares a resemblance to “A Link to the Past.” In this world there are two powerful amulets -- silver and gold. Like most mystical video game trinkets... let’s say, for example, the tri-force, someone wants to use the amulets for evil. As Prince Ali, you wield the gold amulet, and are on a quest to stop an evil force from causing chaos with the silver one.

#7: “Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas” (2013)

There are some games where, when you look at them, you wonder if you’ve seen them somewhere before. And then there’s games, like this one, that prance around in the same game’s clothing. There’s not much that needs to be debated about with this one. The boat navigation. The hearts for health. The vendetta against Pottery Barn. This game has it all... and wears it well with good reviews all around. Let’s face it, this is as close to a Zelda on the iOS as we’ll ever get.

#6: “Crusader of Centy” (1994)

It might be hard to believe, but there was a time when Sega stood toe to toe against Nintendo. Everyone knows about the feud between Mario and Sonic, but not many know about this game, which was labeled as the Sega Genesis’s answer to Zelda. The game stars a 14 year old boy named Corona who inherits his father’s sword and goes on a quest to save the world. The game itself didn’t do nearly as well as Zelda, but it was, at least, a valiant effort.

#5: “Star Fox Adventures” (2002)

The games on this list seem to use their Zelda influences pretty well. And then there’s... sigh... Fox McCloud. To be fair, the slow burn felt from this game is, most likely, due to the Star Fox franchise going completely out of left field with its GameCube release. What we wanted was intense space battles, an old hair yelling at us to roll around like a barrel, a snarky bird, and an annoying toad. Instead we got a very strange Zelda-style adventure, one that was clearly hamstringed by serious development issues and a shoe-horned name change.

#4: “StarTropics” (1990)

There’s no stopping a boy and his sword ... oops, we mean... yo-yo? After his uncle goes missing Mike sets out to find him. The overall look of the game combined with weapons like yo-yos and items inspired by baseball make it feel like an americanized Zelda... and, it kinda is. The game was made in the U.S. and only released there and Europe, making it one of the few Nintendo games that didn’t see a Japanese release. Even the virtual console release isn’t available in Japan.

#3: “Castlevania: Symphony of the Night” (1997)

This game marks a very important moment in the franchise (What is a man, A miserable little pile of secrets)... sorry, we couldn’t help ourselves. In all honesty this game is a milestone in the Castlevania series since it’s the first to use a non-linear gameplay style. We have two games to thank for that: Super Metroid and... yes, Zelda, since director Koji Igarashi stated that he was directly inspired by Zelda’s map style. Zelda’s gameplay style of backtracking and exploration helped influence the mechanics of this title and future 2D Castlevanias to come – think about it; you get a new item or ability, and that item allows you to get past a section you couldn’t beforehand – sound familiar?

#2: “Darksiders” (2010)

We weren’t too surprised when reviewers pointed out the game’s similarities to “God of War and “Devil May Cry, but... Zelda? Really? This looks nothing like Zelda, what with it’s huge “war-torn” protagonist and the whole “Horseman of the Apocalypse” thing. But then... you start playing the game. We were pleasantly surprised with the exploration and the puzzles, a lot of which can’t be solved until you gain the right power up. Huh. Now that we think about it, Link would be an interesting Horseman, wouldn’t he?
Before we reveal our number one pick, let’s check out the similarities between our honorable mentions:

“Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why’d You Steal Our Garbage?!!” (2012)
“Golden Axe Warrior” (1991)
“Alundra” (1997)
“Neutopia II” (1992)
“Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon” (1997)

#1: “Okami” (2006)

The beauty of the Zelda series is laced within the brushstrokes of this gorgeous title. Don’t take our word for it. Hideki Kamiya, the director of this title, has come out and said that his game was influenced by Zelda. And with the wolf theme being present in the following Zelda game, its possible the inspiration went both ways. Regardless of the themes, the general structure of Okami is undeniably Zelda-esque, meaning this #1 one spot was all but ensured from the get-go.

Do you agree with our list? What video games do you feel have Zelda to thank for their creation? For more top 10 lists published everyday, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com. Come on, we won’t try and force you... sorry, last Zelda pun, we swear.