For a series called The Legend of Zelda, players don't get many chances to play as the titular princess. She's usually in need of rescuing or, at most, helping the citizens of Hyrule in some other way while Link gets all the glory. However, that may all be about to change. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity trailers have shown Zelda stringing together runic attacks using the Sheikah Slate. As that game is canonically linked to 2017's Breath of the Wild and its upcoming sequel (which some have speculated will allow players to control Zelda), fans may see her player bigger roles in future games.
Fans have been begging Nintendo for a playable Zelda for years. However, there are several other games where players have been able to control her impressive powers. Here is every game where you can play as Princess Zelda.
Zelda CD-i Games
Let's get the big, unfortunate elephant in the room out of the way first. Through a failed partnership with Nintendo, Philips was allowed to use some of its characters for the CD-i console in the early 1990s. Philips produced three non-canonical Zelda games, all of which are notorious for laughably bad cutscenes and stiff controls. But they did get one thing right.
Two of the games let players control Zelda for the first time ever in 1993's side-scrolling Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon and 1994's top-down Zelda's Adventure. The Wand of Gamelon follows the princess as she searches for a missing Link on an island under attack by Ganon's forces, slaying countless beasts along the way. Zelda's Adventure sees her rescue Link again by venturing into the Seven Shrines of the Underworld to collect the celestial signs needed to defeat Ganon.
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
So far, the only title in the main series where Zelda is playable is 2009's Spirit Tracks on the Nintendo DS. However, saying she's playable may be putting it a bit strongly. The story, set 100 years after Phantom Hourglass, follows Link and Zelda as they try to stop the disappearance of magical train tracks that act as chains on a malevolent force. Unfortunately, Zelda's spirit is separated from her body by the villainous Chancellor Cole towards the beginning of the game.
As a spirit, Zelda finds she can possess Phantoms, knight-like guardians found in the Tower of Spirits. Doing so gives players control over the enemies as well as each one's unique abilities. Red phantoms are equipped with flaming swords that can light up dark rooms and defend against ghost-like Nocturns, blue Phantoms can teleport and black Phantoms can transform into a boulder to attack enemies and break through obstacles.
Super Smash Bros.
Princess Zelda is known to be immensely powerful and magically gifted even if she doesn't normally use her abilities in combat. The Super Smash Bros. series, for which she's appeared in every entry since 2001's Melee, lets her get her hands dirty with some impressive attack power.
Zelda utilizes the three items Link obtains from Great Fairies in Ocarina of Time, just reworked for the fighting game. Her Special is Nayru's Love, a barrier that deflects projectiles and deals damage to anyone next to her. Her Up Special is Farore's Wind, which teleports her in the player's direction of choice while dealing damage. Her Over Special is Din's Fire, a powerful explosive burst that travels across an arena. Before the two were split, Zelda's Down Special would transform her into her alter ego, Sheik. It's now a charge attack that summons a Phantom from Spirit Tracks to lunge forward. Her Final Smash, the Light Arrow, pierces any foe unlucky enough to be caught in front of it and sends them barreling off the side of the stage.
Hyrule Warriors
The first Hyrule Warriors featured Zelda as one of the first playable characters. While Smash has her using all manner of magical attacks, Koei Tecmo's first Zelda game showed she's pretty decent at swordplay as well. Her weapon of choice is a rapier, which she uses to gracefully fence against hordes of monsters. She can also produce a massive Triforce piece on the ground to hit multiple enemies at once and, like in Smash, she uses a powerful Light Arrow as a special attack.
The main story follows the sorceress Cia, who becomes corrupted by Ganondorf and attempts to reunite the various fragments of his soul that have been scattered across different timelines. The nature of the game allows characters from the series' different timelines to appear, including two other versions of Zelda as DLC. Tetra from The Wind Waker uses a cutlass and a water-infused pistol, while Zelda from Spirit Tracks possesses a Phantom and fights like a knight.
Cadence of Hyrule
Hyrule Warriors was Nintendo easing into letting a third-party developer work with this beloved franchise. In 2019, it gave a smaller team the chance. Brace Yourself Games combined the world of Zelda with the gameplay from its roguelike rhythm-based dungeon crawler, Crypt of the NecroDancer.
Cadence of Hyrule finds the lead character from Crypt transported to Hyrule, where Link and Zelda have been put to sleep by the mysterious Octavo. Upon their awakening, players can choose between the two and fight their way through enemies from the franchise. Every movement and attack must be timed to the music tracks, all of which are gloriously remixed versions of classic Zelda tunes. Not only does maintaining the beat earn extra rewards, but it is also incredibly satisfying considering Zelda has some of the best music in all of gaming.