Isn't it terribly boring that so many ranked lists of Zelda games, whether it's "best music" or "best hairstyle for Link" or something else, end up dominated by Breath of the Wild? Well, not this one, because today we're ranking the very best dungeons in the Legend of Zelda series, and for once, BOTW doesn't have much to add (although it looks like Tears of the Kingdom might).
But rather than pointing out Breath of the Wild's dungeonlessness, let's instead celebrate the brilliant design, visuals, and music of our top 15 favourite dungeons over the past 35+ years, as well as the creative bosses, settings, and items that set those dungeons apart from all the rest.
As always, make sure to head down to the comments to leave your own dungeon opinions, too!
15. Stone Tower Temple (Majora's Mask)
Discussing Majora's Mask's temples with the NL team, we mostly landed on "they don't hold a candle to other Zelda games", and even Stone Tower Temple was a toss-up, because its central mechanic of getting flipped, turned upside down makes the whole thing very disorienting.
However, this gigantic temple is the culmination of many of Majora's Mask's story threads and mechanics, including the use of all four Link statues, as well as fire, water, and Mirror Shield-based puzzles. Sure, it's frustrating to be constantly switching forms, but it's still a masterpiece of puzzle work, and deserves to be on this list... even if it is right at the bottom.
14. Catfish's Maw (Link's Awakening)
Populated by Bloobers, Cheep-Cheeps, and Goombas, Catfish's Maw contains a lot of the trademark Link's Awakening weirdness, plus the Master Stalfos, a mini-boss that you have to defeat four separate times, and Gohma, everyone's favourite recurring bad guy.
The boss is the Slime Eel — a haunting re-imagining of a Chain Chomp — who leaves you with an unnerving message as it dies, saying that you don't even know what Koholint Island is. That's true, of course, but you don't know that yet!
13. Snowpeak Ruins (Twilight Princess)
Snowpeak Ruins takes the tried-and-tested Zelda temple formula and subverts it. Instead of an abandoned temple, it's a decrepit mansion; instead of some evil monster waiting for you at the end, it's a sick old lady who becomes corrupted by a cursed mirror. Instead of finding maps and solving puzzles, you'll be... making soup.
It's always nice to be surprised in a Zelda game, because the series' traditions and tropes are so strong by now, and Snowpeak is a great example how to break the rules properly. After all, Twilight Princess takes place in a broken, shattered world, where the normal Zelda rules don't apply, and everything is strange and different — why not have a temple that's just someone's house?
12. Dragon Roost Cavern (Wind Waker)
Fire temples in Zelda games can be annoying, lava-filled mazes, but this early-game volcano level in Wind Waker is not that. Instead, it's both a beautifully simple yet compelling introduction to a new style of Zelda games, with a banging soundtrack, a cool new item (the Grappling Hook), and the return of our old friend Gohma, whom you'll have to defeat by pulling on a dragon's tail to dislodge the ceiling above her. We love innovative Zelda boss battles, and this is one of the GOATs. Or should that be GOHMAs?
11. Misery Mire (A Link to the Past)
The Misery Mire is located in the Swamp of Evil, which is about as obvious a clue as you can get that this is not a nice place to be. However, this Link to the Past dungeon is a Zelda classic, and not as miserable as it sounds. The Dark World version of the Desert Palace, Misery Mire is a green-tinted maze with a bunch of optional content, and a number of ways to complete the dungeon, making it feel more like an adventure than a puzzle with one solution.
Oh, and the boss is a pile of eyes. Everyone knows that the weak point of a Zelda boss is the eyes! This guy is 100% weak spots!
10. Swamp Palace (A Link to the Past)
If we owned a palace, we would probably call it something cool, and not "Swamp Palace", but hey. Each to their own. At least Swamp Palace is a dungeon which you can enter from the very beginning of the game, but not progress any further, leaving little Link with a big mystery to solve. It's also apparently the first ever water-themed dungeon in the Zelda series, which harnesses the power of the wet stuff to create liquid-based puzzles and oceanic monsters that definitely want to drag you down to the deep.
This Link to the Past dungeon is also the first time you'll ever get the Hookshot, which is one of the most inventive weapons/tools in the early Zelda series, which allows Link to zip over to hitherto unreachable places. This was a literal game-changer in the early '90s!
9. Sandship (Skyward Sword)
When you reach Lanayru Sand Sea's Sandship, you've just harnessed the power of Timeshift Stones to navigate your way through a dried-up ocean, in a rather beautiful sequence featuring a lot of vibrantly-coloured coral, in order to catch a ship that's invisible.
The Sandship has been overrun by pirates, and you'll need to use more of those Timeshift Stones to explore the ship, climb the rigging, take down the pirate scum, and defeat a pirate captain robot mini-boss and a big tentacle monster who looks a lot like Celia from Monsters Inc. So much to do!
We just really love Skyward Sword's Lanayru robots, and having a boat-themed dungeon is always a welcome Zelda twist — we also saw it in Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass! We think this one's the best iteration of it, though.
8. Tower of the Gods (Wind Waker)
Every now and again, a Zelda game will have a dungeon that is not a Ganon-infested maze filled with lava and skeletal mini-bosses, but a deity-built test for the hero. These dungeons are oddly serene, with a purpose that is more than just "help, our temple is full of evil bugs" — they exist to provide Link with a trial to prove himself, and you can almost feel the gods watching down on you from above, fingers crossed for your success.
Wind Waker's Tower of the Gods is one of these, and completing it feels especially poignant — a task that Link must do completely alone. Even summoning this tower is a monumental moment, as it rises from the depths after Link places three sacred pearls in three sacred statues to form a big, watery Triforce; and when the temple is complete and the boss is defeated, you get to travel down to the frozen-in-time Hyrule Castle, which is one of the best moments in the game. So cool.
7. City in the Sky (Twilight Princess)
A city? In the sky? What is this, Skyward Sword? Nope, it's Twilight Princess' Ancient-Greece-themed seventh dungeon, the home of the creepy-looking-but-friendly Oocca tribe. Link's new Double Clawshots make exploration of this dungeon a breeze (pun intended, it's a windy dungeon), and in no time at all, you'll be zipping around the place like Tarzan.
Taking place late in the game, City in the Sky feels like a culmination of a lot of the things you've learned and items you've found while playing the game, and the final boss — Argorok, a flying dragon — is sufficiently challenging to match.
6. Thieves' Hideout (A Link Between Worlds)
A Link to the Past steals a lot of A Link Between Worlds' glory, since a lot of their dungeons are similar, but Thieves' Hideout stands all on its own.
The Thieves' Hideout is a sort of warehouse for the Thieves' Town above, which requires a special poem password to allow Link to gain access (they're very romantic thieves). It's a dungeon that feels suitable to its setting, where all the treasure chests inside feel like thieves' plunder, and you have to secure the help of a pink-haired Thief Girl to navigate the maze-like corridors. Juggling both Link and the girl to press switches and solve puzzles adds an extra dimension to the dungeon, without ever feeling like an irritating escort mission (looking at you, Jabu Jabu's Belly).
Keep reading to find out our top five dungeons on page 2...
Comments 119
No way, no Eagle Tower from Link's Awakening? It's such a memorable multi-level dungeon!
I was going to vote for the Sandship, but I think its missing from the poll!
My favourite not on this list is Eagle's Tower.
@Eel your number 14, congrats.
Hahaha, Forest Temple was where I quit the game when I was a kid because it was boring me to death. Didn't realize that people regarded it so highly.
Aw, no Deku Tree from Ocarina! I love that dungeon. Also, even though it was a classic "give up" scenario for a lot of people, the Water Temple (also from Ocarina) is a great piece of dungeon design.
Good list. I'd swap one of these out for the Spirit Temple from Ocarina of Time, however. The swapping between young and adult Link is really unique.
Also, honorable mention from me for the Sand Temple in Spirit Tracks. The Sand Wand is used in clever ways here, and the boss is pretty memorable.
Twilight Princess had some great ones, but I freaking hate City in the Sky. So slow and plodding. Maybe it's because I'm a completionist and have to get all of the chests. Link Between Worlds and Minish Cap also have great dungeons. I'd like to go back and play those some time.
I play the Devil‘s Advocate: The infamous Water Temple is in fact a gem, but it can be tedious if you miss the small hints. Really a dungeons for Zelda connoisseurs.
What's notable to me about this list is no Breath of the Wild. I hope ToTK has some properly fleshed out dungeons something resembling them.
The fact that the Forest Temple was the first dungeon you do as adult Link made it feel like a more “mature” dungeon. Like the child Link dungeons were “easy,” but now that you’re an adult you’re going to have to step your game up.
Note on the list: the Color Dungeon in Link's Awakening, it was my favorite of that game.
I LOVE Ancient Cistern - it's so incredible - each time I play it I'm blown away by just how good it is
I've liked almost all dungeons in the two Zelda games I've played extensively (LttP and Awakening), but I think I'll give the edge to Face Shrine for now. Not necessarily because it's that groundbreaking of a dungeon (it's admittedly probably one of the weaker ones in terms of puzzles), but because of that MUSIC. To this day, this is one of the most beautiful songs ever composed for a Nintendo game and made this dungeon insanely memorable on my first run-through.
@RupeeClock Memorable is.....certainly a word I would use to describe it.
I got trapped in that hellhole of a dungeon for over THREE HOURS on my first playthrough. I had never wanted to vault a controller through the wall more in my entire life.
@Kermit1 😎 of course. Too bad my homie Morpheel didn’t make the cut
I’m surprised the water temple from OOT didn’t make it.
Not bad, though my list would have at least a couple Link Between World dungeons.
Skyward Sword has some really great and memorable dungeons, but where's Temple of the Ocean King?!
Great picks. I just needed to make sure the Forest Temple was on the list. Pleasantly surprised by its ranking.
@AcridSkull I had it as the #15 and I chickened out because I knew people would be angry! I really like it 😅
1: Ancient Cistern sucks
2: Water Temple (original N64) is awesome
@Cool-Breeze Excellent point! Kate did mention this too.
The Divine Beasts are interesting, but I don’t think they are in the top 15.
And I agree, hopefully Tears of the Kingdom improves on this. 😊
The stone tower is easily my top dungeon many unique enemies, puzzles and , it puts all your items and transformations to the test. its the least linear dungeon and had a great build up with the story and lore.. also it has one of my favorite dungeon songs
Level 9 & Great Palace
“Oh, and Bongo Bongo, of course — whatever he is.“
A phantom shadow beast of course! Definitely not a bit of phallic anatomy with disembodied hands.
My own personal favourite is the Spirit Temple - such a vibe and peak OOT.
I feel you’re unfair on Majora’s Mask. The time limit is more than enough time to explore the dungeons and the fairy side quests make coming back to them worth the effort. Snowhead Temple is a masterpiece of ‘dungeon as one big puzzle’ design with a fantastic boss. The water temple is a lot of fun as well, if only because Zora Link is so damned cool.
I’d actually have Skyward Sword at the top because in reality the whole game is one big dungeon with many deeper levels disguised as a Zelda game. It has one over world village and asks you to delve deeper each time you set out, like a puzzle-filled Diablo.
@Fizza I would highly recommend checking out this musical analysis of the LA soundtrack that perfectly illustrates why the Face Shrine music is as it is. http://jasonyu.me/links-awakening-dungeons/
It’s set out from the perspective of the original GB chip set but carries through to the faithful (and amazing in general) remake music you posted.
@KateGray Right?! I don't understand all the hate TOTOK gets, it's really quite a fun dungeon, I understand it can be tedious at times but I always have lots of fun with it. Hate to admit how much those phantoms scared me back when I first played it.
Bottom of the Well from Ocarina gets my vote. You turn back into a kid after beating 3 adult dungeons and feel weak and underpowered. All the invisible walls and enemies mess with my head to this day.
The dungeon you mentioned from Minnish Cap is probably my second place.
Hyrule Castle and elephant divine beast from Breath of the Wild. Yes, really.
Why even bother to put Stone Tower on the list, considering you only put it there to insult Majora's Mask. Heathens.
@JohnnyC we had a loooong discussion on whether Hyrule Castle counts as a dungeon. It's sort of a stealth-ish explore-ish thing without a concrete approach, since you can just catapult yourself straight to Ganon if you want, so we decided it wasn't!
The elephant was on our shortlist, but got booted out in favour of ones we liked more
@Maulbert that may have been influenced by my personal dislike of the MM dungeons, Stone Tower Temple in particular... BUT it's still one of my favourite Zelda games!
@FroZtedFlake I loved it, and it has some neat tricks, like being able to skip areas with new items, and the map thing where you have to transfer the seal — so goooood!
I really loved those mines in Skyward Sword. The time travel crystals were such a fun mechanic.
My favourite Zelda dungeon is the Thieves Hideout in what is still my favourite Zelda game; A Link Between Worlds. Man, I wish they’d bring that game to Switch!
What was the one in A Link To The Past where the girl turned into a monster when you blew up the wall / roof to shine light on her? That was clever. I liked that one…
For me it’s the unsettling disorientation that happens in the Forest Temple which gives it an edge over the other temples. That eerie, repetitious music, the fact you don’t really know what the space is and the shifting layout. The whole place kept your senses on edge in a way I don’t think any of the other dungeons have done for me
@JamminOnThe1 We need more OG representation in this list in general
I guess my favorite (which is very hard to pick) is the Earth Temple from Wind Waker. I love the mirror puzzles and I have very fond memories of that dungeon. A very close second I guess is the wind temple. Gosh, I love Wind Waker, now where is that Switch version...
I can’t pick a favorite, but this list makes me want to replay many of these games. Very nice list.
I'm not a huge fan of the Forest Temple, but I'd have put Dodongo's cavern somewhere on this list instead when it comes to OOT. The cavern might be relatively simple, but moments like bombing the eyes, the staircase, lifting pillars, a fun boss, etc make it one of the most memorable dungeons in the series in my book.
As for others... Wind Waker doesn't have a bad dungeon, it's hard to say the two on the list deserve it more than the three that didn't make it.
And perhaps Ocean Palace from TAoL? Probably a controversial choice, but I think it's easily the high point of that game (It's definitely not Great Palace lol), and I'd probably rank it above Stone Tower (as much as I enjoy that temple, it is a bit of a mess)
Although it's not from a mainline title, I love the singular dungeon from the fan game "The Missing Link", the one that acts as a small interquel between Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.
The dungeon is called Hollow Root Keep, and despite it being the only dungeon in the game, I genuinely think it ranks among the best dungeons in the series.
The dungeon has a great melancholy atmosphere to match the rest of the game, with suitably haunting, memorable music. What's more, I think it's actually really well-designed. It has red-blue switch puzzles like from some of the mainline games, and I've always liked those kinds of puzzles. It requires good use of Bombchus, which are your only explosive item (a cool idea in its own right as in OoT and MM you have almost no need to ever use Bombchus over regular bombs). The mid-boss is a cool souped-up version of the splitting Floormaster from OoT and MM (where instead of splitting up once, you have to make a giant one split up twice).
Best of all is the dungeon item, a totally original item called the Magic Hourglass, which lets you rewind back in time Link's most recent movements, including through solid surfaces. It's used very cleverly throughout the dungeon, including a puzzle that actually stumped me for some time, and it gives the game a kind of time-traveling mechanic to match OoT and MM. Plus, it's used against the dungeon boss amazingly. Speaking of which, the boss is genuinely challenging too!
I could go continue rambling on, but in a nutshell I think Hollow Root Keep as fanmade dungeon stands among Nintendo's best.
For actual mainline game dungeons, in no particular order I love:
Such a sacrilege not including Lakebed Temple (Twilight Princess). Actually, Twilight Princess is the most perfect The Legend of Zelda game. My favourite is Ocarina of Time, probably because of the story, writing and characters.
Dungeon n°7 of link's awakening. I discovered it when I was still young and it was something to discover that we need to destroy several floors in order to reach the final boss
Water Temple all the way 👍🏼👍🏼
The ads overload in the mobile version of this website is ridiculous, why do I get one ad by every dungeon listed? Disgusting.
Extra points to the editor for the Beyblade reference.
Snowpeak Ruins from TP is my fav. It's atmosphere is totally unique and unlike anything else in the series.
It really felt as if I was cleaning someone elses house, and having fun doing it. Weird stuff.
Hoping Totk has a combination of older style dungeons and the smaller bite size ones from BOTW. While I enjoyed all the puzzle shrines and beasts from a gameplay perspective, they could've needed more unique art and overall presentation.
Besides no 1 being objectively correct, this list is waaayy off. Opening by saying the majora's mask dungeons are sub par is insane. And Deepwood shrine? Huh? Shadow Temple being number 5 shows me this is really about vibes above all else, and fair enough. But some of these choices are bizarre, and some ommisions are glaring.
I hated city in the sky tbh. I got lost too many times. And falling into nowhere because of some annoying enemies isn‘t much fun either.
Other than that TP really had some of the best dungeons in the series which you already named.
The sandship is missing from the poll
Glad to see Forest Temple is predictably on the list and at the top at that, but I also love Spirit Temple. The way you have to enter the dungeon is very unique, the music and atmosphere are almost as haunting as Forest Temple, and Twinrova is an easy, though funny boss.
I agree with Arbiter's Grounds. It's been so long since I played Twilight Princess, but the Spinner was fun and Skullord was a fantastic boss. I'd also add Face Shrine from Link's Awakening, particularly from the remake. That music gives me chills.
@R_is_KC Totally agree. Those are two of my favs.
Good list overall(I like the inclusion of Sandship and Ancient Cistern from SS. I know a lot of folks don't like SS but those are some good dungeons).
I would want to fit Lakebed Temple(TP) on this list somewhere. Such a memorable dungeon for me.
@Munchlax I've added it, but now it's so far behind, poor thing!
Spirit temple in OOT
@Diogmites Holy... That must be the most unpopular opinion in all of videogames. And I just have to ask why you dislike "Ocarina of Time" that much. I'm not combative, but genuinely interested in your reasons.
Hmmm interesting. Never thought about which is my favourite Zelda dungeon before. I recently played through Majora’s Mask and loved all four (so the first line of this feature threw me for a loop) and then went straight into playing Breath of the Wild and was disappointed with lack of said big dungeons. Hopefully Tears of the Kingdom brings them back…
Anyway, without thinking too hard I’ll list my top-3 from each 3D game…
OoT
1) Forest Temple
2) Shadow Temple
3) Spirit Temple
MM
1) Stone Tower
2) Great Bay
3) Snowhead
TWW
1) Dragon Roost
2) Forsaken Fortress
3) Tower of the Gods
TP
1) Snowpeak Ruins
2) Arbiter Grounds
3) Lakebed Temple
SS
1) Sandship
2) Ancient Cistern
3) Lanayru Mining Facility
I would add:
-Water Temple (OoT)- This dungeon really isn't as confusing as it's made out to be, and I actually appreciate its mazelike design as it gave me a good challenge. Also the Dark Link miniboss is one of the most memorable moments in the game.
-Dark Palace (ALBW)- Again a remix of a previous dungeon from ALttP (and also a remix of the Light World dungeon Eastern Palace), but this time it takes "Dark" quite literally by incorporating a lot of light/shadow based puzzles into its design.
-Ice Ruins (ALBW)- This one is interesting because it's kind of a remix of an ALttP dungeon but not really because ALBW swaps the locations of Ice Palace/Ruins and Turtle Rock. Like with the Water Temple in OoT, it has the sort of challenging mazelike design that I love, with tons of walkways and elevators every which way and as you progress you keep connecting new areas to old ones. It also is very precarious with the dungeon being built into Death Mountain and has a lot of narrow, icy walkways over giant pits.
Also remove Swamp Palace and Shadow Temple, neither were that memorable to me. Swamp Palace started water dungeons but didn't have the unique water puzzles that later ones had (such as OoT Water Temple, TP Lakebed Temple, or ALBW Swamp Palace), and Shadow Temple was spooky, but not interesting or puzzling, the only part that really stood out to me was using the Hover Boots but they're criminally underutilized (although really every item past the Fairy Bow is in OoT, it really doesn't make good use of its late game items).
I am very surprised that there are no Oracle games on this list.
Can’t really disagree with any of these, although I do think stone tower temple should be a bit higher.
Temple of Time in Twilight Princess
The Face Temple from Link's Awakening is my pick. Yes, I think I had to look something up (which I try not to do nowadays), but that music, combined with the looks and the fact that (I think) it's the first dungeon you do after the big plot twist, it's just magnificent. Eagle Tower from the same game gets a special shoutout because of Anti-Kirby.
@SuperBro64 Kind of happy to see some love for the OoT Water Temple (for me, it's not bad. It's just tedious).
Man, I hate the Forest Temple. That and Jabu's Belly are always tough for me. For whatever reason, I get all turned around and it takes me forever to get back on track in both.
Some great ones in here, though I found all of Wind Waker's pretty boring. As for what's missing, I'd put the Lakebed Temple and Goron Mines above any of the other Twilight Princess dungeons. I also really like Skyview Temple from Skyward Sword, and the Great Deku Tree and Water Temple from Ocarina of Time.
Level 9 from the original zelda deserves a mention for being a marathon labyrinth that still evokes dread to this day.
@ketrac Snowpeak Ruin is magical, the whole game is, and it looks incredible with the new textures in the Wii U remaster.
@Khezu I agree, the ranking doesn't make any sense to me except #1 but then again, her ranking of Mario Kart circuits was even worse! Sorry, Kate😅.
Stone Tower Temple is the culmination of 3D Zelda temples. In fact, all Majora's Mask temples, limited in number but high in quality, feel like a challenging step-up from OOT (and games after MM). The only thing bringing Stone Tower Temple down is the out-of-place final boss fight.
Also not a traditional dungeon, but BOTW's Hyrule Castle is fantastic and does not get the credit it deserves.
And this is exactly why Breath of the Wild will never be the best Zelda game. It was close to being it... but the abscence of any REAL dungeon knocks it off of the top of any list.
I’d have to agree with Forest Temple. Certainly the most memorable for me. The music, the dark atmosphere and eerie vibe, those two corridor puzzles where you literally twist the corridor to get into the room beyond on the ceiling. And the boss fight with Phantom Ganon coming out of the paintings.
Ocarina of Time and Link to the Past have loads of dungeons each and most of the dungeons are great. It’s no coincidence these 2 are my 2 favourite Zelda games.
The lack of dungeons is why I’ll never see BotW as a true Zelda game. It’s an open world crafting and inventory management game with Link in it.
@ketrac I really enjoyed the snowboarding minigame to get there, as well. Twilight Princess is the bomb
Must resist urge to replay games.
I'm perplexed by the opening of this article. Snowhead, Great Bay, and Stone Tower are all better than at least 50% of all other Zelda dungeons.
I’m just very surprised none of the Zelda 8-bit games had a dungeon listed. I’m sure the author has played through them and surely there’s gotta be a dungeon in one of those that stands out…..
“MM dungeons don’t hold a candle to other games”
Now there’s a mighty hot take.
Honestly, I think my favorite dungeon is Hyrule Castle from Twilight Princess. The scale of it is so grand, and there's multiple parts to not only the dungeon itself, but also the boss fight.
You start out in the courtyard of the castle, trying to gain entry into the castle. Then you end up in the main foyer, trying to find a way to get into the central spire of the castle, and finally, you ascend the central spire to breach the keep.
Plus, the friends you made along the way (that being the Resistance, which one of Link's fellow townsfolk is a member of) help you when it looks like you're about to be taken out by a multitude of enemies, bringing their story to a satisfying climax.
You also fight King Bulblin for the final time, and when you beat him, he recognizes your strength, saying that he follows the strongest side before leaving. Midna (the best sidekick in the series) is subsequently shocked that King Bulblin is capable of speech.
Finally, you fight Ganondorf in what I think is the best battle against him in the entire series. You fight him while he possesses Zelda herself, you fight his beast form, you fight him on horseback, and finally, you have a one-on-one sword duel with him.
While Breath of the Wild's Hyrule Castle is also comparable in the grandiose scale of Twilight Princess' Hyrule Castle, very little of it can actually be explored, and the boss fight does feel a little lackluster.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Twilight Princess is the best Zelda game, period. It took what was great about Ocarina of Time and dialed it up to 11.
It has an expansive world full of nooks and crannies to explore, like Breath of the Wild, but has more traditional stories, music, and dungeons to beat out all others. Furthermore, it has a wealth of side content and minigames, plus the best fishing minigame in the entire series.
Anyone who says Twilight Princess is overrated doesn't get the genius that the game is, with them comparing it to the vastly inferior Ocarina of Time. Their loss, I guess. But of all the Zelda games, it's the only one I'd ever care to start over again after beating it, more than any other. It's that great, in my opinion.
@YoshiF2 Dungeons are but one of the various reasons Zelda games can be great. WW also has weak dungeons but is pretty stellar in other regards. BotW’s heights are master achievements.
Personally I’d probably go with Snowhead in MM or one of the latter Oracles dungeons, but there are many great ones.
@Manxman64 Yes, I was thinking the same. Hella game after that awful first hour
"It's a shame that Skyward Sword isn't most people's idea of a good Zelda"
Which is pretty unfortunate. It's a great game in my opinion with tons of elements from older Zelda games used in its own way. The result is great for me
Fun list, so many good memories. If Tears of the Kingdom has epic dungeons and boss battles combined with the great overworld of Breath of the Wild, it will be the greatest game in history.
Oh, and it needs the spinner!
@Diogmites At least you got to see Bongo Bongo.
Unpopular opinion: I like BoTW Shrines more than Dungeons.
I am by no means knocking dungeons, however, and this list highlights some of the very best of the series.
BOTW2 better have dungeons!!!
Eastern Palace (LTTP) is a flawless example of how to build a first Zelda dungeon.
It is deceptively linear, but you FEEL like you're in control exploring every room. Absolute pinnacle of 'first dungeon' in any Zelda game.
I gotta throw a nod to the Dark Temple in LttP for truly driving the "this place is messed up" vibe of the dark world. And the Ice Palace in LttP for being so annoying.
Despite BOTW and OOT3D being two of my favourite Zeldas, Skyward Sword and Twilight P had my favourite collection of dungeons in any Zelda game.
How come that Zelda BotW, which is ostensibly the "best Zelda game of all time", is not on the list? Which shows that it is not a true Zelda game...
I know people hate it completely, but I LOVE the water Temple in Ocarina of Time, especially in Master Quest mode, all you need to remember is where the level changers are and its fine.
Hard to argue with this list! Agree 100% with the top choices
@YoshiF2
Spot on.
Although I love Ocarina of Time and, to me, it's the best game in the universe, I voted City in the Sky. Its puzzle mechanics, environment, and boss fight are superb.
The Sandship is annoying, I disagree with that
I love BOTW and it’s crazy that none of the main dungeons are worthy of a “best of” list. It would be a chore to play any of them again.
Some predictable choices, and some interesting ones.
My top 10, 1 from each game:
1) Stone Tower Temple-MM3D
2) Unicorn Cave-OoS
3) Arbiter's Grounds-TP
4) Ancient Cistern-SS
5) Palace of Darkness-ALBW
6) Island Maze Palace-AoL
7) Shadow Temple-OoT3D
8) Demon-TLoZ
9) Thieve's Town-ALttP
10)Face Shrine-LADX
Good call on the forest temple, playing that was probably the most mysterious feeling I'd ever had.
And while many people don't like it, I have to give a shout out to OOT's water temple and its boss. And Majora's Mask's water temple too actually. Both masterpieces of creativity and abnormal movement.
The Forest Temple is the best one ever. The theme, the setting, the MUSIC, the boss, everything is PERFECT. Second one is the Ancient Cistern, for the same reasons, but I played the Forest Temple first hehehe. My top 5 would be the same as yours, but I'd switch the Minish Cap temple for the Spirit Temple.
I'd go with Eagle tower from Links awakening. It's so very, very hard and cool! Constantly switching and floor hopping, all while remember where you left that wrecking ball. Best part of course is when you break the 4th pillar and everything comes crashing down!
And then there's actually reaching out on the mountains with your animal companion! ❤️
@Edu23XWiiU oh God, the spirit temple was so amazing! I always leave it till last because I feel it's the perfect final dungeon. (Although Nayrus love comes in handy in the shadow temple!)
I usually hate dessert themed stuff, but this one is so cool!!
Temple of Time. Twilight Princess.
Skull woods in A Link to the Past. As a kid playing that and as an adult I would say the dungeon is pretty tricky, I’d also say the atmosphere is one of my favorites. If anyone reading this comment hasn’t played this game, you must. I love Skull Woods but almost all of the dungeons are amazing and fun, same goes the rest of the weirdness throughout hyrule.
On the one hand, I'm very sad that OoT's Spirit Temple isn't on the list
On the other I am SUPER happy to see Minish Cap crack the top five. It's my favorite Zelda and never seems to get enough love.
@garfreek me too! I play it at the end, is the perfect "last dungeon"!
@Vvan28 the atmosphere in that one was AMAZING!! ❤️❤️❤️
I think Twilight Princess has the best hit rate with dungeons.
Turning the Temple of Time into a dungeon was an inspired move imo and might be my favourite from that game.
It's a pretty unusual structure; a linear gauntlet of circular rooms and staircases, but the fact that you get to dismantle all the traps and barriers on your return journey is immensely satisfying.
Would shout out Eagle Tower from Awakening, Temple of the Ocean King, Lanayru Mining facility and the Water and Spirit temples from OoT. Most the handheld dungeons blur into one in the memory.
City in the sky, probably followed closely by the Spirit temple from Oot. I also love the tower of the gods, windpalace from Minish cap and the ice dungeon from Albw.
Shadow Temple and Bongo Bongo
Arbiters Grounds and Stallord
Those 2 are tied for me. But Spirit Temple and Twinrova im surprised were omitted.
I personally love the skyview temple in skyward sword
@Freddyfred EXACTLY! Thank you!
@Tempestryke surprisingly, I think I agree with most of this. I’d add Snowhead Temple from MM and Forest Temple from OoT as my honorable mentions, but you’re pretty spot on.
I also really love Misery Mire and (surprisingly to some) Ice Palace from ALttP. Totally agree with Face Shrine for LA, even though Eagle Tower is a great second choice. The atmosphere in Face Shrine is unmatched.
Replace Stone Tower Temple with Lanayru Mining Facility and Catfish's Maw with Face Shine or Eagle Tower, and we're good.
@SuperBro64 Nice List! I always felt that Forsaken Fortress deserves more love, and even though it terrorized a whole generation of Zelda Players, the Water Temple is honestly one of the most creative and difficult levels of them all.
@MeloMan Agreed. plus that epic boss fight where you have to shine light on the main villain was so creative for that time period.
@Dark_Isatari Facts. Majora's Mask has arguably the best dungeons of the series, in my opinion at least.
@LinktotheFuture That's honestly sort of the point of both of those dungeons. It's what makes them so fascinating and difficult, and it forces you as the player to actually critically analyze and think about where you should go next.
@Bolt_Strike Good points. I'd say the Shadow temple is one of the most intriguing places in the entire series from a lore perspective and is also quite terrifying, but is overall a rather short and just par dungeon, especially for OoT. Swamp palace is also sort of mid, but it did have some cool puzzles and it was cool how the dungeon felt very simple and linear only to actually be reasonably tricky and complicated .
@Oswinner Good list. I'd probably agree with all of those.
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