After spending a lot of time talking to Eiji Aonuma about Breath of the Wild, we took a step back to ask him about the wider series, specifically about his favorite games in the series. Aonuma was familiar with the Zelda series prior to working at Nintendo as a fan, but Ocarina of Time marked his first occasion as a person in charge. He co-directed Ocarina of Time, directed the three follow-up Zelda games, and then became the overall producer for the series.

We asked him to rank his top three Zelda games which he joked, "I could just say it in in the order of my wife’s preference," after sharing his list. At the bottom of the list you will also find what he considers to be the most underrated Zelda.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

"Twilight Princess, because I wanted to create something better than Ocarina."

2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

"Ocarina of Time is a game that gave me the opportunity to create a 3D world."

1. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

"This is something my wife also likes, Phantom Hourglass. That’s number one. I was developing Twilight Princess, and the goal for that was to make something better than Ocarina. But then that game was something I proposed as a new style of gameplay, and I was a producer on that game for the first time, so I have a lot of sentiment for it."

The Most underrated Zelda?

"The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. I wanted the users to play a little bit more of that game and have that experience. I love that game."

For our review of Tri Froce heroes, head here. For our review of the 3DS version of Ocarina of Time, head here. For our impressions of the Wii U version of Twilight Princess, head here.

For our own ranking of the Zelda games, head here. And for all of our coverage for the upcoming Breath of the Wild, click the banner below.