The 11 best Zelda-likes to play while you wait for Tears of the Kingdom

polygon.com:

With the recent influx of Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games to Nintendo’s online subscription service, it’s easier than it’s ever been to play most of the mainline Zelda games. We here at Polygon have been blazing through the series’ classic catalog in the lead-up to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomin May. It’s a joy to play the games back to back and watch the series evolve in microcosm between each subsequent entry.

But sometimes, it’s just as much fun, if not more so, to play the games that were inspired by Zelda — to see how different studios interpreted the pillars of Nintendo’s action-adventure franchise.

Because, really: What makes a Zelda game a Zelda game? Is it the characters? Is it the puzzle-based dungeons? Is it collection of cool new tools, which you’ll need to master in order to take down the next boss? For each new Zelda game that reinforced these pillars, just as many came along to refute them. (I myself am partial to Majora’s Mask, perhaps the most subversive chapter in the “let’s shake things up” line of thinking.) It’s this malleability that has led to such a diverse range of “Zelda-like” games.

So, if you, like us, are once again exhausting the number of Zelda games you have yet to replay in the lead-up to Breath of the Wild’s direct sequel, we’ve compiled a list of our favorite alternatives that embody the term “Zelda-like.” Some focus on puzzles; others embrace time manipulation; one gives us the strongest glimpse yet at a Zelda game entirely focused on combat. We kept the criteria vague because, well, the criteria were vague to begin with. And that’s why it’s so fun.

The Legend of Zelda’s influence on Eastward is clear the moment you load up the game; its gameplay and