Before anyone emails us: this entire post is opinion. There's no methodology here beyond "we looked at pictures and argued about it." If you want the neutral factual version of this list, we published a straight timeline separately. This one's just for fun.
5. Nintendo 3DS, Zelda 25th Anniversary Edition (2011)
Solid gold-and-crest concept, undercut by the fact it was stuck on the original 3DS's smaller, less premium-feeling shell. It reads more like a nice sticker job than a from-the-ground-up special edition, and the limited regional release didn't help its reputation. Long discontinued — check current secondhand listings if you're chasing one.
4. Game Boy Advance SP, Zelda Limited Edition (2003)
Simple, but it works — a clean gold clamshell with a single Triforce mark is hard to get wrong. It ranks this low mostly because "gold rectangle with a triangle on it" is a fairly low degree-of-difficulty design compared to what came later. Check current secondhand listings.
3. Gold Wii Remote Plus, Skyward Sword bundle (2011)
Not a full console, so it's a little unfair to rank it against the others, but as an accessory it's genuinely well done — the gold finish reads as premium rather than gaudy, and it's aged better than a lot of Wii-era peripherals. Check current secondhand listings.
2. New Nintendo 3DS XL, Majora's Mask Edition (2015)
This one takes more design risk than most of the list — leaning into Majora's Mask's unsettling color palette instead of playing it safe with gold-and-green. It won't be everyone's favorite, but it's the most distinctive entry here. Check current secondhand listings.
1. Nintendo Switch OLED, Tears of the Kingdom Edition (2023)
Genuinely not close. The glow-in-the-dark Triforce detail on the dock is the kind of small touch that makes a special edition feel considered rather than slapped together, and the matching Pro Controller ties the whole set together instead of being an afterthought. If the rumored Ocarina hardware is aiming for a bar to clear, this is it. Still findable new — see our buyer's guide and products directory for current listings.
Disagree with the order? That's the entire point of a ranking post. We'll keep watching to see whether the rumored Switch 2 hardware — covered in our main roundup — ends up cracking this list at all.