Legend of Zelda Dungeon Discussion Thread

[XACE-K]

What has appeared in every Legend of Zelda game thus far? If you said Link, bad guys, or weapons, you are right but if you can't tell by the title, we will be disucssing dungeons, one of my favorites apsects of the Zelda series. Before you posts whatever, here are some guidelines of what you can post about:

- What your favorite dungeon is and why? Same goes for your least favorite dungeon and why.
- Puzzles that you've come against
- Bosses/mini-bosses
- Possible new ideas for dungeons
- Why the f*** is there always a forest/fire/water temple?

Anyways to start, the Ocarina of Time's Fire Temple is one of my favorite dungeons in the series. For one, you get to wear the Goron Tunic which is my favorite tunic in OoT (even though it's a simple color swap). You learn the Bolero of Fire outside of the temple (my favorite transporting song in OoT). Lastly, the boss of the temple is Volvagia who even though is a big fire dragon (which is the definition of cliche) I find awesome.

As for least favorite, the Water Temple in Ocarina of Time. I would say for my reason "It's obvious" but I would be breaking my rules. The constantly changing of the water levels is a pain in the a** but I glitch I saw on Youtube can help with that when I replay OoT.

So now let's hear from you.

 

[Clownbot]

Favorite Dungeon Music: Legend of Zelda's

 

[Scott!]

My favorite dungeon, as I've described back in ye merrye olde Zelda Threade, is the Forest Temple, OoT. Aesthetically speaking, it's so amazing and beautiful, and it perfectly captures what a Forest Temple should be. The WW and TP forest dungeons fall short in my eyes because of the standard OoT set in the forest.

However, the boss is one of my least favorites in OoT. Phantom Ganon doesn't really do it for me.

 

[StinkomanFan]

Lord Jabu-Jabu's belly, I have good memories of getting the boomerang and showing it off.
Edit: Scratch that, Replayed it. It's hard as hell, Deku Tree FTW

 

[Clownbot]

I'm really kind of a newb when it comes to Zelda, but SO FAR, my favorite boss is Kalle Demos from Wind Waker.

 

[Firus]

Well, at least ALttP doesn't have the Forest/Water/Fire temples as the first three in the game like the others. It has like...uh...Stone/Desert/Moon? >_> I have no clue what you call them.

Anyways, favorite dungeon:

The City in the Sky.

For one, the music. Even when you're falling out of the sky it's hard to be angry because the music is just so soothing and beautiful (in my opinion, anyways). I will play that dungeon just for the music.

Another thing is the dungeon item: The Double Clawshots. I find them to be one of the most fun items and it allows for a whole new perspective on travel. You're not just running and climbing ladders, or even just latching onto one thing to get up to a ledge. As long as you've got something to grab onto you can go as high as you want.

The scenery is great too, with the sky panning out -- most dungeons don't have as large of an outside involvement (after all, they are dungeons), but with this dungeon there is.

I'm not a huge fan of the mini-boss -- I mean, it's kind of mediocre in my opinion. However, the main boss, Argorok, is one of the most fun bosses to fight. It starts out kind of boring, but I love how, at the final phase, you swing from plant to plant (in the torrential rain, might I add) avoiding the fire, finally latching onto the dragon's back to deliver blow after blow until it goes down. The dragon is obviously pretty cliched, but I like the boss battle nevertheless.

Least Favorite...hm...

Temple of Time.

Now, let me explain this one, because I actually did enjoy this dungeon.

I think it would be more fitting to say it's the one that had the least impact on me. I need to replay Twilight Princess anyways, but I'll be entirely honest, I was watching a Twilight Princess tribute video and it scrolled through the intro and death sequences of each boss. I saw the boss of the Temple of Time and I couldn't remember fighting the boss. When I went through the list of dungeons I realized which one it was from and all, but I had forgotten it initially.

I always liked the Dominion Rod and its use, but I can't even remember the mini-boss anymore and I can't really remember a whole lot of the dungeon as a whole.

But I'm going to give an honorable mention to the Goron Mines merely due to the boss...namely its name...

It totally stole my nickname.

[/petty complaints]

It was a fun boss to fight, though.

 

[rhan]

My favorite Temple/Dungeon is the Spirit Temple(OoT). I loved it because you had to be both Young and Grown to complete the Temple. That has enriched the exprience for me because it showed how creative the creators got when making the puzzles and such. The final boss was an amazing fight. Mirror shield is effing amazing.

My least favorite would probably be the first time going to The Forsaken Fortress. I'm not all into being sneaky and taking out the 2 main spotlights was annoying due to the fact I lose the sword on this level. I gotta admit though. Getting caught is hilarious.

 

[urdailywater]

One thing people don't seem to do often now a days is USE THERE DUNGEON MAP. Why do people often reject this utensil ultimately having them stuck in a dungeon for hours? It's the same reason why nobody should ever get stuck in the Wind Wakers Wind Temple.

As for Water Temple... even with the dungeon map it took a while. It wasn't a hard dunegon really, but that mid boss really did get to me until I figured out the mega hammer trick. Other than that I just checked out my dungeon map, explored each nook and cranny and never really got stuck. Was pretty easy actually. Of course.. this is my second playthrough, lol. My first playthrough when I was a kid (about 6 years ago..) I got lost so hard. Then again I didn't know about the dungeon map's uses as a kid.

I actually find the Fire Temple a little bit more frustrating.

Now.. the hardest dungeon I've ran into yet? Probably the Great Bay Temple in Majoras Mask. Granted it wasn't as big.. when you're looking for those stupid fairies you can get lost pretty easily. =/

 

[Mewter]

I figured that this question could fit into the Q&A thread as well as this one, but since it relates to dungeons, I'll ask it here.

The Forest Temple in OoT and the Temple of Time in TP. Are they related to each other at all? And if they are, then how are they related?

 

[Scott!]

@Mewter: the short answer is that we don't really know. It's a possibility. It's also possible that after OoT, they moved the Temple of Time to somewhere safer, or that all of Castle Town moved north. I'm skeptical that the two are related. Besides their location, there really isn't much in common. Both are reached through the Lost Woods, and that's big, but the places are so different once you get there. And the ToT is clearly designed to be similar to the ToT in OoT. They have pretty much identical layouts. Who knows for sure, though?

 

[TLMSheikant]

My favorite dungeon would have to be between Spirit Temple and Stone Tower Temple. I cant decide tho lol. They're just amazing and very unique. The worst for me would have to be the Freaking OoT Water Temple >_>. So annoying.

 

[XACE-K]

The Forest Temple in OoT and the Temple of Time in TP. Are they related to each other at all? And if they are, then how are they related?

To tell the truth, I'm not sure but it is possible. As the time moved on, the Forest Temple could have broken down and it could have been sealed away by having the forest growing around it. The answer isn't definite so it's up to us fans to speculate.

 

[Blaziking17]

Man, City in the Sky is so freaking awesome!! The music and the scenery just gorgeous! Dungeon Boss just a totally epic fight!

Also like the battle with Stallord, crazy spinner action!

Hm, did not like the Water Temple from Oot, and also the one from TP, both are really confusing!!

Ganon's Tower from WW and Oot IMO needs to be more epic like ALttP, Hyrule Castle from TP at least does it justice, but make it like HC for future final dungeons!

How about a space temple, or a star, something to do with outer space.....??

 

[Scott!]

City in the Sky is pretty epic. Only flaw? The Oocca. They're so incredibly annoying, and you can't even throw them out without the coming back.

So, am I the only one who didn't hate the OoT Water Temple? I liked the music, and the Dark Link room is one of the best in the game. Sure, the water levels are bothersome, but there's this overhwelming aversion to backtracking that I just don't understand. To me, it felt realistic that you had to keep going back like that. I dunno, it just didn't bother me.

 

[Clownbot]

So, am I the only one who didn't hate the OoT Water Temple? I liked the music, and the Dark Link room is one of the best in the game. Sure, the water levels are bothersome, but there's this overhwelming aversion to backtracking that I just don't understand. To me, it felt realistic that you had to keep going back like that. I dunno, it just didn't bother me.

The fact that it's the proven most difficult dungeon in OoT brings me closer to it. <3

Spoiler

Seriously, anyone who says they hate the OoT Water Temple is a wimp.

 

[SkylerOcon]

So, am I the only one who didn't hate the OoT Water Temple? I liked the music, and the Dark Link room is one of the best in the game. Sure, the water levels are bothersome, but there's this overhwelming aversion to backtracking that I just don't understand. To me, it felt realistic that you had to keep going back like that. I dunno, it just didn't bother me.

The OoT Water Temple was easy. Just a lot, a lot of backtracking. It's way overhyped, and I personally found the Forest Temple to be much harder.

 

[XACE-K]

The OoT Water Temple was easy. Just a lot, a lot of backtracking. It's way overhyped, and I personally found the Forest Temple to be much harder.

The Forest Temple was hard, but the whole backtracking in the Water Temple is what makes people say it's hard. If you removed it, it would be so much easier.

 

[Kuraudo]

inb4pushingpersonwhocreatedwatertempledownaflightofstairs lmao

But in all seriousness, my favorite dungeon was probably Ganon's Castle as a whole in Ocarina of Time. It set the stage for it all, with some impressive challenges, and storming the tower... Don't get me started.

 

[GTA_Hater_331]

Before I choose my favorite dungeon, I have to narrow it down by game.

Zelda 1: the D Labyrinth (Level 4 in Quest 2, level 13 overall)
Zelda II: Level 5, the Nabooru Cove Palace
Past: Ice Palace (Labeled as Level 5, but 9th in the game overall)
Awakening: Color Grave (The closest they'll come to Level 10)
Ocarina: Level 7, Shadow Temple
Majora's: Level 4, Stone Tower Temple
Ages: Level 3, Moonlit Grotto
Seasons: Level 8, Sword & Shield Maze
Waker: Level 6, Wind Temple
Four Swords Adventures: Level 8, Vaati's Palace
Minish: Level 6, Dark Hyrule Castle
Twilight: Level 6, Temple of Time
Hourglass: Level 7, Mutoh's Pyramid
Tracks: N/A, game not released yet
Other Wii Zelda: N/A, game not released yet

Of all these, I like Shadow Temple the best. It's the closest they've ever come to sheer horror.


Now for the bosses...

Zelda 1: Ganon
Zelda II: Thunderbird
Past: Trinexx
Awakening: Giant Hardhat Beetle
Ocarina: Twinrova
Majora's: Goht
Ages: Ganon
Seasons: Ganon
Waker: Helmaroc
Four Swords Adventures: Ganon
Minish: Vaati Reborn
Twilight: Fyrus
Hourglass: Linebellum

Out of all of these, my favorite was Ganon from Oracle of Ages/Seasons


As far as I can confirm, only Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess have had Plant/Fire/Water or Fire/Plant/Water dungeons to start. I don't think it's such a bad thing, but I don't think it happens often enough to consider it a trademark either.


If you're asking which dungeon I don't like...unfortunately for the sake of this question, the Zelda series is so good that I can't recall playing through a REALLY bad dungeon, but if I have to pick one, it's The Minish Cap's Cave of Flames.

 

[Medli]

Favorites for each of the games I've played:

OoT: Spirit Temple
MM: Stone Tower Temple
WW: Earth Temple
TP: Snowpeak Ruins

 

[Phantom7]

Favorite Dungeons:

OoT: Forest Temple
WW: Tower of the Gods
TP: Arbiter's Grounds/Snowpeak Ruins

Favorite Bosses:

OoT: Ganon (Of course)
WW: Molgera
TP: Ganondorf (Of course)

 

[etecoon]

I'm the random rare person that actually likes the water temple, switching the boots is a pain but no worse than switching items a lot in LTTP or LA to me, and I love its atmosphere.

Favorites are

Forest Temple(OoT)
Shadow Temple(OoT)
Stone Tower Temple(MM)
Great Bay Temple(MM)
Arbiters Grounds(TP)
City in the Sky(TP)

LA had some that I loved but it's been too long since I last played it to remember, for the most part I've enjoyed the 3D ones more with the exception of WW being pretty weak, although I dislike how much more linear they are especially more recently.

 

[Hylian]

The OoT Water Temple was easy. Just a lot, a lot of backtracking. It's way overhyped, and I personally found the Forest Temple to be much harder.

I agree! I never had any problems with the water temple. When I first played through OoT I was stuck on the forest temple for ages :/.

 

[Spire]

inb4pushingpersonwhocreatedwatertempledownaflightofstairs

You would push Eiji Aonuma down a flight of stairs? What has he done since the Water Temple, you ask? As Creative Director and Producer of The Legend of Zelda franchise, everything (except OoS/OoA, FS/FSA, and TMC).

I'd think twice before pushing him down if I were you.

I agree! I never had any problems with the water temple. When I first played through OoT I was stuck on the forest temple for ages :/.

I was stuck on it because I was 8 years old at the time and I wasn't ready to be an adult in the game, facing such horrific challenges like the Forest Temple. I wanted to be a kid again, but trying to drop the Master Sword back into the Pedestal proved futile. It took me a very, very long time to work up the courage to face the Forest Temple. That's exactly what Zelda is about though; that's why Link, the character you control, is given the Triforce of Courage.

**** I should have voted for Ocarina of Time in the poll. In retrospect, it really is the most important to me, even though I may admire some of the elements seen in other games.

 

[SkylerOcon]

I agree! I never had any problems with the water temple. When I first played through OoT I was stuck on the forest temple for ages :/.

Despite the rest of the game being really easy for me outside of the Forest Temple (I still get stuck on that thing even after 5+ playthroughs), it's still probably my favorite looking dungeon in the game. The design of it as a whole is brilliant.

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

Water gives me migraines and I feel like I Can't breathe when I am in the water temple..IT's disturbing

 

[Phantom7]

Honestly, that's not the reason I hate most of the Water Temple!

Dark Link was awesome, though, probably the most awesome mid boss in OoT.

 

[Clownbot]

I've been playing through the Tower of the Gods in WW, and I haven't gotten past the whole thing yet, but dang. As of right now, it's my favorite WW dungeon.

 

[Kujirudo]

What the hell, I don't understand why everybody loves the Forest Temple so much. Personally, I hated it's guts, I remember being stuck in it for I don't know how long when I beat it the first time. Last summer I played OoT again and I got stuck AT THE EXACT SAME PLACE without a guide in the area to help me. Argh, can't stand that temple.

So yeah, on to the happy stuff. I really have a boner for boss battles, they are my main reason to play through a Zelda game again. It's like this big foreplay, searching and clearing a dungeon and for dessert, you get yourself a nice big boss battle.
But well, my favorite battle..I absolutely loved Twinrova in OoT though but maybe that was more because I loved their characters in stead of the battle against them. Also, Argorok was a good one too: I mean, come on, you jump on a ****ing dragon to stab a diamond on his back!
But I think you can all guess what my absolute favorite was, just look at my signature. Man, I loved this guy. I don't know why exactly but I just found it insane to battle a giant skeleton who can summon an army of undead soldiers, followed by an insane Spinner pursuit against his still living head.

I've been playing through the Tower of the Gods in WW, and I haven't gotten past the whole thing yet, but dang. As of right now, it's my favorite WW dungeon.

Yes, I did like this dungeon too, the boss battle is awesome too (not gonna spoil it for you). I did hate the part you had to do on your ship though, it took quite a lot of time to go from one side of the flooded room to the other without a sail.

 

[Clownbot]

Okay, so far, from what I'm experiencing with LoZ bosses, many of them are much too easy. Which begs the question.....

Which LoZ boss is the hardest for you? Just one from any game.

Spoiler

I know the last post was over two months ago!, I have permission from Skyler to do this.

 

[Scott!]

As far as in replays, Phantom Ganon in OoT messes me up more than any boss in that game should. He will always get me at least once in the portraits just because I can't spin around fast enough to find the right one, or I guess wrong and can't correct in time. Also, in his second mode, I get messed up by the timing since it's harder than against real Ganon, what with the speeding up and such.

 

[SkylerOcon]

I always die like three times on every boss on every playthrough of the original LoZ I do. Those guys are tough! To me, they're some of the hardest bosses in any game I've played, much less Zelda.

 

[lanky_gunner]

I used to be like everyone here, just hating on the Water Temple...until I got out of the habit of forgetting one key. I mean, that was the only reason why I never like it. I was always stuck for an endless amount of time until I realized I forgot one key. I mean, the Water Temple is such an amazing Temple. It's a bit redundant with the whole water level agenda, but once you get the extended hookshot (which, in reality, shouldn't take too long), the temple is cake.

Stuff like this reminds me of when my friend tried Ocarina of Time for the first time. He was extremely frustrated with the Forest Temple because he couldn't find one key to get him past the rest of the dungeon. All I had to do was ask him, "Did you get the key in the very first room?", and he finished the dungeon. One small detail can make you either love or hate the dungeon, depending on whether you get that small detail.

So to all the Water Temple haters out there, maybe you should play through it a few times, get the hang of it, then maybe you'll see it's actually a pretty awesome temple.

Now for mine...

Most Favorite - Spirit Temple AND Forest Temple in Ocarina of Time

Why - Essentially, for the Spirit Temple, they made this temple into "two" temples, one to complete as a child and one as an adult. You get TWO temples, with TWICE the puzzles, and even TWO items are gained from this (Silver Gauntlets and Mirror Shield). You even get TWO boss battles, composed of TWO witches, with TWO distinct powers over the elements! This temple was excellently planned to impose this idea of "two" into the mix. But with the Forest Temple, I love it mainly for the music, it being my favorite dungeon music in any Zelda game. But the gimmick of the twisting corridors actually twisting a room along with it is another cool idea I loved. Add that with the boss battle against Phantom Ganon (where you not only practice your bow skills, a needed benefit, but it's great practice for deflecting attacks for the final battle against Ganondorf), and you got another winning combination

Least Favorite - The Tower of Hera in Link to the Past

Why - The dungeon itself isn't what bothers me, I can handle the dungeon pretty well. But what makes me hate it is two things. The pits which make you fall down a level, and the final boss (which will answer Clownbot's question above). It's very infuriating when you got everything handled on one level of the dungeon, when suddenly a monster comes out of nowhere, or you hit those d*** bumpers, and they send you down a pit into a lower level (sometimes TWO if lined up correctly). Now this I wouldn't mind...IF it wasn't present on the final boss of this place! Not only does it make the fight harder to avoid the monster, but if you fall.....THE BOSS FIGHT STARTS OVER!!! When you only have a limited supply of hearts, both on you and in the dungeon, and you're constantly trying to avoid an ever increasing speed of a worm, whose only weak spot is the small circle on its a**, and with the ever present fear that if you don't hit it just right, you'll have to waste even more time climbing back up the stairs to do the same fight again, you pretty much HAVE to list it as the worst dungeon.

F***in hate that worm...

 

[Omnicron's Baklava Enterprises]

Least Favorite - The Tower of Hera in Link to the Past

Why - The dungeon itself isn't what bothers me, I can handle the dungeon pretty well. But what makes me hate it is two things. The pits which make you fall down a level, and the final boss (which will answer Clownbot's question above). It's very infuriating when you got everything handled on one level of the dungeon, when suddenly a monster comes out of nowhere, or you hit those d*** bumpers, and they send you down a pit into a lower level (sometimes TWO if lined up correctly). Now this I wouldn't mind...IF it wasn't present on the final boss of this place! Not only does it make the fight harder to avoid the monster, but if you fall.....THE BOSS FIGHT STARTS OVER!!! When you only have a limited supply of hearts, both on you and in the dungeon, and you're constantly trying to avoid an ever increasing speed of a worm, whose only weak spot is the small circle on its a**, and with the ever present fear that if you don't hit it just right, you'll have to waste even more time climbing back up the stairs to do the same fight again, you pretty much HAVE to list it as the worst dungeon.

I agree with this x7.

My favourite dungeon was either the Lava Cave in the Minish Cap or the Temple of Time in the Ocarina of Time. The Temple of Time's music is just purely epic for a place like that.

 

[lanky_gunner]

...the Temple of Time in the Ocarina of Time. The Temple of Time's music is just purely epic for a place like that.

I would like to point out there was no Temple of Time dungeon in Ocarina of Time. Yes, you did enter, but you were given the medallion straight off. There was only a small exploration, no puzzles, and no final boss.

If, however, you are referencing the Temple of Time in Twilight Princess, then you would be correct in stating such a Temple exists to explore, solve puzzles, AND fight a boss within.

 

[Omnicron's Baklava Enterprises]

I would like to point out there was no Temple of Time dungeon in Ocarina of Time. Yes, you did enter, but you were given the medallion straight off. There was only a small exploration, no puzzles, and no final boss.

If, however, you are referencing the Temple of Time in Twilight Princess, then you would be correct in stating such a Temple exists to explore, solve puzzles, AND fight a boss within.

Whoops.

I just wanted to point out the music.
Besides, I didn't actually know that it wasn't a dungeon, considering I was at my friend's house when I played it. I thought it was the beginning of a dungeon until he called me over for a Pokemon battle.

And no, I wasn't referencing the Temple of Time in TP. However, the Temple of Time in TP was great as well; although I don't have that game either. I've played the majority of the 3-D Zelda games at my friend's house.

 

[Scott!]

I love the Temple of Time in TP from every viewpoint except actually playing through it. The first time I played OoT, I expected a dungeon of the Temple of Time. I even had a dream once where I went down into the basement labyrinth that I imagined waited below. That was probably the only disappointment for me in the whole game. But TP gave me that dungeon. Aesthetically, I love it. I love the concept as well, how you go back in time to reach it. And I did enjoy playing through it, but it just wasn't all that exciting. The Dominion Rod was a big letdown after the Spinner and Ball & Chain. It was decently cool, but not nearly as fun as those two, even with the Spinner's limited usefulness. Gohma was fun though. Epic ending is epic.

 

[Luigitoilet]

Favorite Dungeons

Zelda 2- Great Palace. It wasn't nearly as hard as the path to get there that preceded it, and two fun bosses.

LttP- Blind's Cave. This is one of the dungeons I was stuck on for AGES. Trying to get Blind to appear. Figuring out to throw the bomb and then get the girl to walk in sunlight. I dunno why but it took me forever to figure it out.

Link's Awakening- Honestly it's been so long I can't remember!

OoT- Spirit Temple. I loved doing half of the temple as a child and half as an adult. It gave the dungeon a really epic feel. It is also the only dungeon that still gives me trouble. Water Temple had me stumped during all of 1999 but it's so easy now. Spirit Temple still gets me though.

MM- Stone Tower, no doubt. Woodfall Temple is retardedly easy, Snowhead is tedious, and making some of those rolls/ramps as a Goron are annoying. Great Bay Temple is even worse than OoT's Water Temple. Plus, Stone Tower had the upside down world thing going on, which is the coolest thing ever.

Wind Waker- Don't remember. I wasn't a huge fan of the dungeons in this one.

Twilight Princess- City in the Sky, or the siege on Hyrule Castle, though the latter isn't really a dungeon. It was my favorite part of the game however.

Bosses:

Zelda 2- Gooma. Thunderbird is the coolest design but is wayyyy too easy for a penultimate boss.

Link's Awakening- The Shadow thing at the very end.

LttP- Vitreous. Misery Mire. Awesome.

OoT- Twinrova. The most cinematic boss fight in OoT. I remember being super impressed with the graphics way back when. Nowadays, it's just plain fun.

MM- Goht. Majora is cool but really pathetic with Fierce Deity Link.

WW- Ganon/dorf

TP- Ganon/dorf. Or the spinner guy.

also, Dark Link is far and away the hardest boss in the entire series I think (Zelda 2 one, of course).

 

[D3m0nhunter719]

I kinda likedthe fire temple off OoT.
Not sure why but I always liked it.

 

[Scott!]

I kinda likedthe fire temple off OoT.
Not sure why but I always liked it.

The Fire Temple grew on me with time. It's still far from the top of my list, but that's not to say it isn't great. For me, the turning point was when I realized that it was located in those two smoking stone pillars in the Death Mountain Crater. That revelation for me was pretty great, and made me love the design of that game even more, since it's not something immediately obvious, or ever really pointed out.

Fire-based dungeons are never my favorite. It seems that my jumping ability, which is normally spot-on, drops off significantly whenever it's lava that I'm jumping over. Plus, the whole fire theme isn't my favorite aesthetically. Caves don't excite me very much as far as dungeons go; I prefer more temple-like places. OoT's Fire Temple is high on my list of fire-based dungeons, while Dodongo's Cavern is probably my least favorite OoT dungeon, as is the Dragon Roost Cavern (or whatever it's called) in WW.

Oh, and the room where you get the hammer is one of my favorite challenges in OoT these days because it's one of the few that still challenge me. Gotta run, but don't want to fall, and all that. Love it.