The Legend of Zelda is a fantastic series and one of the most notable gaming franchises in history. Having managed to retain a place atop the mountain of popularity for several decades, this franchise has an impressive way of reinventing itself in a way that few other franchises have managed to replicate.

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Despite the incredible and ever-changing nature of the Legend of Zelda franchise, fans will never forget some of the more bizarre things that have happened to the series over the years. This goes from experimental CD-I games to worlds and mechanics that make very little sense but are memorable in their own way.

8 Link’s Crossbow Training

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Often, Legend of Zelda games are created as the product of a huge amount of creativity and amazing storytelling. However, once one of these worlds has been created, there is nothing stopping the team, or Nintendo, from creating spin-off games that make use of the world in a slightly bizarre way.

This was the case with Link’s Crossbow Training. Set in the world of Twilight Princess, this Wii game was a launch title for the Wii Zapper controller, which was supposed to revolutionize shooter games on the console. Light on story, this may be the only Legend of Zelda shooting game ever seen, and it remains a bizarre entry as far as the franchise is concerned, though it is one of the highest-selling in franchise history.

7 Hyrule Warriors

Random Crossover Event

While it has been hugely successful and has even managed a sequel, Hyrule Warriors is undoubtedly a bizarre but great spin-off from the Legend of Zelda franchise. Another entry with ulterior motives, this game exists as a crossover with the Dynasty Warriors series of games. The gameplay is in hack-and-slash format and follows the gameplay from that franchise.

But, while doing that, the actual story and characters are all from the Legend of Zelda franchise. Following a sorceress called Cia who attempts to take over Hyrule but unwittingly releases Ganondorf, the plot feels like a Zelda one but is set outside the official timeline of the series.

6 Zelda’s Adventure

Live-Action Cut-Scenes

One of the three Legend of Zelda games developed for the CD-I system, all of which are generally forgotten about by fans of the series, Zelda’s Adventure is one of the few games in the franchise with a playable version of Princess Zelda available.

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Unfortunately, this was paired with difficult controls due to the newness of the CD-I system. Zelda’s Adventure was the last of the CD-I games, and the gameplay followed the style of the top-down Zelda games as opposed to the side-scrolling ones, which did help. However, by far the most bizarre thing of all was that this game is the only one in franchise history to feature live-action cut-scenes.

5 Link’s Awakening

The One Where It's All A Dream

In a time when the Legend of Zelda was starting to become a true phenomenon within the gaming industry, it was fascinating to release a Zelda game without Princess Zelda, or indeed, Hyrule at all. Link awoke on Koholint Island and went on an adventure before finding out that the entire thing had been a dream.

This made for a slightly heart-breaking moment as fans realized that the new characters they’d met throughout their adventure weren’t even real in the continuity of the franchise. Additionally, as the first handheld Zelda game, this came with a lot of strange new ideas in play style, making a bizarre but much-beloved entry.

4 Link: The Faces Of Evil

CD-I Shenanigans

Another of the CD-I games in the Legend of Zelda franchise, there was a lot that felt truly bizarre about Faces of Evil. The first two games made for the system, without any oversight from Nintendo bizarrely, were paired with each other and came with one of the less well-regarded art styles for cut-scenes in the franchise.

Additionally, Faces of Evil, instead of following the style of the most recent Zelda games, used the side-scrolling 2D style of the very first Legend of Zelda game. The story involved Link traveling to an island and destroying the faces of evil, a series of mountains and bases where Ganon’s followers were gathering. The weirdest part of this entry by far was the cut-scenes, which were truly different from anything the franchise ever saw outside the CD-I games.

3 The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Filled With Darkness

One of the weirdest mainline entries in the Legend of Zelda franchise, Majora’s Mask manages to be one of the darkest games in the series despite coming out at a time when adding that sort of dark style to video games hadn’t been popularized yet.

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Majora’s Mask featured much of the same gameplay as Ocarina of Time, but involved Link wearing masks made from dead people, and following a three-day cycle that Link had to repeat over and over, returning to the beginning by playing the Song of Time, so that he has long enough to complete all the dungeons and save the kingdom. A fantastic story and one of the franchise's best, Majora's Mask is definitely a weird one.

2 Zelda 2: The Adventure Of Link

Black Sheep Of The Franchise

Looking back now on the way the Legend of Zelda franchise has constantly reinvented itself despite having so many similar stories, it is fascinating and very strange to revisit the black sheep of the franchise, the original sequel that attempted to move on from Ganondorf as a villain.

The Adventure of Link took on many aspects of a Castlevania game, there was side-scrolling gameplay, strategic combat, proximity continues system, and role-playing elements that have never returned. The primary villain was also Dark Link, which is the only time an evil counterpart has served the role of primary villain.

1 Zelda: The Wand Of Gamelon

Bizarre In Every Way

The last of the three CD-I games that were released under the Legend of Zelda banner, The Wand of Gamelon was paired with Link: The Faces of Evil and saw players getting another opportunity to play as Princess Zelda, in another adventure that featured side-scrolling action, and a life system.

Once again featuring some truly bizarre cut-scenes and narrative, The Wand of Gamelon featured Zelda going after Ganon and his accomplices after both her father and Link disappeared or were captured trying to fight him. With a bizarre narrative and gameplay that has never been loved among fans of the franchise, The Wand of Gamelon is a truly bizarre moment in Zelda history, though Best Overworld Maps In Zelda Games, Ranked.

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