What do I need to play before Breath of the Wild? Rediscover Zelda‘s DNA

As an avid gamer and content creator focused on the Legend of Zelda franchise, readers often ask me "what classic Zelda games should I play before Breath of the Wild?" At first glance, the lush open-world adventure of Breath of the Wild (BotW) stands completely apart from earlier Zelda titles with a fresh new style of nonlinear gameplay. However, a deeper dive reveals BotW repurposes popular mechanics, locales, characters and mythologies from past games, albeit filtered through a completely reinvented wild frontier perspective.

In this guide, I showcase the 10 most essential Zelda games for understanding BotW‘s origins and appreciating its twisted takes on franchise traditions. While none need to be played beforehand, discovering the saga‘s rich history enhances the experience tenfold. Let‘s rediscover the Legend of Zelda‘s DNA!

1. The Legend of Zelda (NES – 1986)

As the progenitor of franchise traditions, the 8-bit Legend of Zelda established quintessential aspects like exploring an open, mysterious overworld while clearing dungeons using items uncovered in cryptic order.

Links to BotW:

• Top-down perspective inspiring BotW‘s panoramic landscape
• Nonlinear approach to exploration via raft, ladder, candle
• Survival emphasis on collecting hearts and essential items

My Take: BotW revives the intensity and curiosity of the NES original but with 3D complexity, letting players forge their own way like never before. Discovering shrines in any order echoes the first quest‘s open-ended spirit.

2. A Link to the Past (SNES – 1991)

This 16-bit refinement introduced a parallel Dark World with memorable teleportation gateways. The Hookshot, Master Sword and Pegasus Boots all originated here.

Links to BotW:

• Dual worlds to mirror BotW‘s Sheikah Slate teleports between towers
• Iconic items like the Hookshot inspire BotW‘s rune abilities
• Death Mountain and Zora‘s Domain visual inspiration

My Take: BotW‘s concept art reimagines Link to the Past locations like swapping the Desert Palace for the Gerudo Desert gateway. Though distant in graphical style, the joy of exploration stays intact.

3. Ocarina of Time (N64 – 1998)

Link‘s coming-of-age tale in 3D built elaborately designed towns and sweeping Hyrule Fields that raised player expectations. Sidekicks like Navi set new storytelling benchmarks as well.

Links to BotW:

• Hyrule Field‘s scale adapted for BotW‘s massively downsized map
• Ocarina songs that manipulate time could inspire BotW‘s rune magic
• Fishing pond and horseback riding as pastoral, replayable activities

My Take: As Breath of the Wild‘s desolate landscape attests, Ocarina of Time‘s once vibrant kingdom met an untimely end. Perhaps the memories of bustling Castle Town still echo.

Statistics according to Reddit user IAmTimeLocked comparisons

4. Majora‘s Mask (N64 – 2000)

Link‘s surreal detour harnessed the power of masks to inhabit alternate roles while on a timeline countdown to doomsday. Many costumes and characters reemerge in BotW.

Links to BotW:

• Mask collecting quests and world tendency systems
• Goron hero Darmani seen in BotW Goron City
• Fierce Deity Avatar theories about BotW‘s Barbarian Armor

My Take: Majora‘s cyclic fatalism and emotional character subplots certainly influenced BotW‘s melancholy memories about the fallen Champions before calamity struck.

5. The Wind Waker (GCN – 2002)

The Great Sea sailed Link into uncharted territory for open exploration by boat as the series embraced toon-shaded visuals bursting with character.

Links to BotW:

• Sailing mechanics adopted for shield surfing and paragliding
• Korok seeds in forests replaced by Hestu‘s maracas
• Fishman charts exposing map segments akin to towers

My Take: Though thematically opposite in tone, Wind Waker first pushed Zelda gameplay boundaries outwards to pioneer the thirst for discovery driving Breath of the Wild today.

6. Twilight Princess (GCN/Wii – 2006)

A return to mature themes cast Link as a divine wolf hero. Midna‘s mischievous companion role seemingly informed BotW‘s pivotal portrayal of Zelda not as a princess, but guiding spirit.

Links to BotW:

• Wolf Link dark realm beasts reflected in BotW‘s restless blood moons
• Hero‘s Shade golden wolf may be connected to BotW‘s spirits
• Horseback combat and archery predating mounted battles

My Take: Twilight Princess began Link‘s reliance on beast forms for otherworldly power, a concept BotW‘s Champion powers manifest by necessity without hesitation in the face of calamity.

7. Skyward Sword (Wii – 2011)

The sacred Master Sword origin story also christened Loftwings as winged Air riders. Ancient robots and floating islands laid groundwork for Sheikah tech and forgotten kingdoms reprised in BotW.

Links to BotW:

• Loftwing gliders inspiring paragliders as aerial vehicles
• Goddess Hylia reincarnation mythology surrounding Zelda
• Digging up ancient robot technology

My Take: Skyward Sword‘s history lessons detail the eternal struggle between Hyrule and Calamity Ganon‘s incarnations, explaining princesses Zelda‘s divine purpose to support heroes like Link across generations in the battle against darkness.

8. A Link Between Worlds (3DS – 2013)

A nostalgic top-down sequel upended Zelda inventory norms with Ravio‘s rental storefront. The wall merge technique foreshadows BotW‘s free-form climbing as Link can shimmy almost anywhere.

Links to BotW:

• Renting items echoed in scavenging weapons, bows, shields
• Open exploration rewarded above dungeon order
• Maiamais collectibles akin to Koroks

My Take: By decoupling items from dungeons, A Link Between Worlds redefined nonlinear progression for modern Zelda just as Breath of the Wild soon shattered the mold completely after initial development struggles.

9. Hyrule Warriors (Wii U – 2014)

The Dynasty Warriors mashup seemingly served as a playable tech demo for BotW. Urbosa and other Champions debuted here prior to starring in BotW‘s backstory drama during the impending Great Calamity.

Links to BotW:

• Prototype open zone areas in Adventure Mode
• Champion movesets and personalities debuted
• Cia‘s magic summoning twilight beasts

My Take: Hyrule Warriors mixed up combat, geography and fan service as a springboard toward Breath of the Wild ambition by portraying key characters that raise the prequel stakes. Just don‘t expect accurate canon.

10. Breath of the Wild (Switch/Wii U – 2017)

Climbing towering summits to glide off points of interest completely reinvented the framework. Scavenging weapons, cooking food and experimenting with elemental chemistry conceived groundbreaking sandbox gameplay refined through DLC.

My Take:

While every Zelda game features incremental evolution, after Ocarina of Time‘s reliable template dominated for over 15 years, Breath of the Wild‘s radical open-air approach reflects a complete systemic overhaul comparable to Super Mario 64 or Grand Theft Auto III‘s genre revolutions. By referencing its entire lineage from characters to locations to lore, Breath of the Wild interweaves tribute and reinvention to culminate the franchise‘s overarching themes of courage and destiny into one watershed experience.

In summary, I highly recommend revisiting earlier Zelda games to fully appreciate Breath of the Wild‘s PNW-inspired kingdom rooted in reinvented nods to its entire history rather than shallow member berries. Each classic entry prepares long-time fans for different elements that BotW remasters into one magical adventure. For newcomers simply seeking to dive in, BotW stands firmly on its own as a masterpiece. But peering deeper into its DNA reveals an open-air evolution 30 years in the making. Hopefully this guide helps highlight the long and winding road across Hyrule fields both vast and tiny that brought us to this point. Just beware of guardians along the way!