Guide: Best Lord Of The Rings Games, Ranked
By No need to alert the elf! We’ve refreshed the line-up below with Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game now that it’s touched down on Switch. Have fun!
A single catalogue to govern them, One catalogue to seek them, One catalogue to gather them all and in the gloom entwine them. Correct, precious—it’s ranking time for every Middle-earth adventure on Nintendo devices.
The chronicle started with the forging of the Grand Adaptations. The Super NES received one—eternal, keenest, and loveliest of all machines. The Game Boy Advance and GameCube welcomed five—towering platforms and pillars of the nostalgia chambers. Three more found their way to the DS, which, more than any other, craved horsepower… (Yes, we’re glossing over Wii, 3DS, Wii U, and Switch entries, but we needed to stretch the Galadriel vibe for as long as humanly possible.)
You cannot merely saunter into ordering every Middle-earth adaptation, yet we gave it a go.
19. J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings – Volume I (SNES)
The Lord of the Rings: Volume I boasted grand promises back in 1994. Preview magazines raved about a genre-shattering quest sporting peerless visuals and spell-binding mechanics—an experience set to challenge titans like A Link to the Past and countless other action-RPG marvels on Nintendo’s 16-bit powerhouse. The finished game, alas, stands among the most painfully underwhelming uses of Tolkien’s realm in interactive form.
Occasional sparks do glimmer; the score is magnificent and almost worth suffering the mechanical agony for. Brief stretches allow you to shrug off vapid fetch tasks and sense what trekking across The Shire on a perilous errand could have felt like.
Yet such moments are scarce, swiftly crushed under the weight of utterly broken design, horrendous handling, comical AI, and a storyline so threadbare it barely registers. Tolkien, famously uneasy with adaptations of his work, would be whirling in his tomb here.
18. The Lord of the Rings: Conquest (DS)
Trading 3D spectacle for a 2D isometric view and a trimmed-down class selection, The Lord of the Rings: Conquest on the DS is a markedly different beast from its brawnier Xbox 360 and PS3 brethren. Still, there’s enjoyment to be squeezed out of its hack-and-slash romp that dashes through the three films’ narrative checkpoints in bite-size fashion.
It’s hardly the high-end action classic seen on other platforms, yet it does a respectable job of shrinking the experience to fit inside your pocket.
17. Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest (DS)
The handheld variant of Aragorn’s Quest diverges enough from its Wii sibling to serve as a decent side adventure; however, its laser-focus on grinding skill points and stacking stronger gear soon backfires, trivialising any lingering challenge.
The absence of co-operative play only magnifies the monotony of its slash-heavy encounters, though a parry-and-flurry combat loop of light and special strikes injects some pulse into every skirmish. Scattered locales ooze fan service across an eight-hour trek, yet scarce variety makes short play sessions the wisest approach.
15. The Hobbit (GBA)
Departing from the GameCube version’s focus on 3D platforming, The Hobbit on GBA skews toward hack-and-slash brawls mixed with brain-teasers. Swinging Sting is passable at best, yet the isometric viewpoint lends the quest a subtle Zelda-esque aura, and wandering Tolkien’s original locales minus Peter Jackson’s CGI filter holds a certain charm.
14. LEGO The Hobbit (3DS)
LEGO The Hobbit on 3DS stumbles almost every step of the journey. Weak writing, recycled combat, and rough edges join uneven audio and tiny hiccups in telegraphing a generally lackluster product.
Flashes of clever design and goodwill shine here and there, but potential remains tragically untapped. The absent third act leaves you convinced the cartridge left the factory ahead of schedule; overall, it screams “rushed.” Give it a miss.
13. LEGO The Lord of the Rings (DS)
Launching alongside 3DS and Wii brethren, LEGO The Lord of the Rings on DS delivers nearly identical gameplay while naturally sporting the weakest graphics of the trio.
A pair of fresh combat tweaks and a full trilogy-spanning campaign are welcome bonuses, yet the drastically shorter runtime and bug-ridden code make this edition worthwhile only when no alternative exists.
12. Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest (Wii)
While the quest is sprawling, its toll outweighs any treasure. Early hours of Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest may spark warm nostalgia and fangirl giddiness, but as the hours roll on, that delight flattens into a pitiable, aimless slog.
A scant handful of Middle-earth titles truly deserve oblivion—this one barely justifies a single playthrough.
11. The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game (Switch eShop)
The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game dishes out an unorthodox combo of co-op play and story-driven showdowns, bucking standard digital CCG conventions. If your heart leans toward tabletop-style rules blended with RPG traits, this one will speak to you.
The glaring omission of robust online PvP feels strange in a genre where multiplayer brawling reigns, although the merciful absence of stifling micro-transactions goes some way to patch that wound.
10.LEGO The Hobbit (Wii U)
LEGO The Hobbit packs in a handful of bright spots, and it’s easy to be wowed by its sprawling map and mountain of collectables. Still, the sluggish design choices and clumsy mechanics keep it from ever feeling like more than a series misstep.
We’re usually quick to praise Traveller’s Tales for what the Lego titles pull off in spite of their limitations, yet Warner Bros. pumped this one out half-baked; another hurried silver-screen cash-in that soils the otherwise cheery reputations of both Lego games and LOTR adaptations.
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (GBA)
Where the Cube release is a grand adventure-RPG, the GBA adaptation of The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age is a turn-based strategy romp that mirrors the films from a bird’s-eye vantage point. Combat lacks the flash of its big-brother edition and without any overworld exploration, the grind soon turns repetitive.
Even so, the purely grid-and-menu structure did let the entire trilogy travel inside your pocket—hardly a small feat back in the day.
8. The Hobbit (GCN)
Ditch the tiny GBA chapter—The Hobbit on GameCube is a proper 3D platform-action caper that barrels through every key beat of Tolkien’s novel. Inevitable Entertainment bends the chronology in spots (who could forget that flashy prologue flash-forward?), yet Bilbo’s sprightly traversal and the game’s vivid, painterly style make for a charming reinterpretation.
7. LEGO The Lord of the Rings (3DS)
The 3DS spin on LEGO The Lord of the Rings carries the same skeleton as the DS build, only with slightly crisper textures. Like its handheld sibling, it feels diluted next to the home-console giant—smaller stages, frequent glitches, and missing features leave a dent in the experience.
If the 3DS is the sole option, it works; otherwise, hunt down the Wii release without hesitation.
6. LEGO The Lord of the Rings (Wii)
In contrast to the chopped-down portable entries, LEGO The Lord of the Rings on Wii hews far closer to the complete console package. Outside of a few tacked-on waggle sequences, its sweeping hub world and fully 3D cinematics crown it the definitive Nintendo version of that era.
The only regret is that Nintendo and TT were neck-deep in LEGO City: Undercover and never gave Wii U owners the same treatment.
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (GBA)
Unable to match the GameCube’s arena-style carnage, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on GBA is a surprisingly addictive Diablo-lite for Middle-earth. Loot hunting and summoning spells keep the loop fresh, plus the extra Frodo, Gandalf and Éowyn mini-campaigns add replay mileage.
Far gentler on the pulse than its console cousin, yet a treat for loot-grind addicts.
4. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (GBA)
Much like its GBA predecessor, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King serves up another top-down action-RPG remix. This sequel (third film, second handheld—yes, it’s confusing) folds in a Rune-forging system for weapon tweaks, though little else marks it apart.
The repetition creeps in over extended sessions, yet Griptonite still delivers a bitesize, entertaining retelling perfect for short bursts on the go.
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (GCN)
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age shamelessly asks, “What if Final Fantasy X uprooted Spira in favour of Middle-earth?” The overworld structure and battle engine echo Squaresoft’s playbook a little too closely, but the fusion lands better than expected.
This is a refreshing pivot away from the licensed hack-and-slash glut, telling a concurrent narrative that slides neatly alongside Jackson’s trilogy.
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (GCN)
Lacking an official movie companion for Fellowship, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers barrels through the first two motion pictures in the most hack-and-slashy way possible. The GameCube build throws a trio of playable heroes at you and a dizzying arsenal of combos to master.
While Return of the King would later blow the scope and roster wide open, Two Towers still sat at the top of the heap for sheer cool factor during its 2002 debut.
And there you have it, every Rings-related romp, sorted and slotted (well, the Nintendo-published ones anyway!).
Best LOTR Games FAQ
Here are a handful of burning questions that tend to pop up whenever we wheel out this Middle-earth league table:
Are there any Lord of the Rings games on Switch?
At the moment, the Switch’s Rings library sits at two titles: The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game and Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game.
Where’s Shadow of Mordor?
This rundown sticks strictly to titles that arrived on Nintendo hardware, and as of now neither Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor nor Shadow of War have made that leap.
We’d love to see the Nemesis system flex its muscles on Switch one day; until then you’ll need a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One to get your fix.
Is The Lord of the Rings: Gollum on Switch?
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum hasn’t materialised on Nintendo’s hybrid, no.
The port was officially announced by Daedalic Entertainment back in 2020, yet it quietly slid to a nebulously “later” slot while other platforms locked in launch windows. After a tepid critical reception, Daedalic closed its internal studio to focus solely on publishing, leaving the Switch build in limbo.
In short: Gollum hasn’t been formally cancelled for Switch, though the odds of it emerging now are next to nil.
How can I change the ranking in this article?
If our pecking order doesn’t line up with yours, throw your own verdict into the mix—assign your star rating and watch the table shuffle in real time.
Click, score, and repeat on any game that catches your eye; even the odd one-star tweak can upend destiny.
So, how does this line-up strike you? Have we been the biggest Fools of Tooks and overlooked a gem? Launch your fellowship of opinions in the comments below.