Top 10 Best Dungeons in The Legend of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda franchise is renowned for its innovative and challenging dungeons, making them some of the most exceptional video game levels in history. And today, we’re counting down the Top 10 Best Dungeons in the Legend of Zelda.

10. Tower of the Gods (The Wind Waker)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRBXPEGHpQc

After acquiring all three Goddess Pearls, the Tower of the Gods is issued as a final trial to you to prove yourself worthy of the Master Sword. The dungeon is a mix of religious awe and medieval sci-fi that is a sight to behold. You start by sailing around the inside of the tower with your trusty boat. You then have to take control of three sentient statues to a special altar to ascend to the boss room. The subsequent fight against the tower’s robotic guardian, Gohdan, is a heart-pounding test worthy of your skills. The fact that you end this dungeon by ringing a bell at the top makes completing feel like a real accomplishment.

9. Sandship (Skyward Sword)

Encountering ancient robots on your adventure was one in Skyward Sword, but encountering robot pirates is just too good. Your task is to retake control of this ancient vessel from the demons onboard and their robot captain. You thus make good use of Timeshift Stones to restore the ship to its former glory. You then finally get to use a Bow & Arrow to shoot down your enemies. But the dungeon also forces you to think carefully about your surroundings in order to complete it. While the boss’s design may not be as intimidating as it should, it’s still exciting to fight a giant Kraken like Jack Sparrow.

8. Spirit Temple (Ocarina of Time)

As the penultimate dungeon before Ganon’s Castle, Link must explore the temple in the heart of the Demon King’s homeland. This dungeon is unique mainly because you are forced to complete each half of the temple as a child and an adult, respectively. The dungeon also introduces the Mirror Shield in a whole new way. Being able to redirect beams of light to solve puzzles broke new ground for the kinds of challenges Zelda can present. This is exemplified by the dungeon’s boss, in which you have to fight Twinrova, Ganon’s surrogate mothers. Fighting the Sorceress Sisters by deflecting their magical lasers back at them is an exciting end to a marvelous dungeon.

7. Shadow Temple (Ocarina of Time)

This dungeon is pure nightmare fuel. When an ancient demon is freed from its prison in Kakariko Village, the player must venture into this hellish abyss to defeat it. From medieval torture devices to petrifying zombies, this dungeon is sure to keep you on edge until the boss against the strangely terrifying Bongo Bongo. But what makes this dungeon more terrifying is its history. Since this temple was used by the Sheikah tribe to torture some of Hyrule’s worst criminals, it thus presents the glorious fantasy world in a much darker light.

6. Ancient Cistern (Skyward Sword)

Nintendo

Water dungeons haven’t always been a fan favorite in the Zelda franchise. But what makes the Ancient Cistern stand out is that it stunningly deviates from the norm. The dungeon Taking inspiration from Eastern culture, with the first half resembling a Buddhist temple, while the second half is a subterranean graveyard filled with zombies. The dungeon is rife with symbolism and fun obstacles thanks to the Whip you acquire there. The dungeon also features Koloktos as one of the series’s most exciting boss battles.

5. Forest Temple (Ocarina of Time)

Nintendo

As the first dungeon you tackle as Adult Link, this level is fittingly much darker than your previous adventures. This bizarre labyrinth looks less like a temple and more like a gothic mansion. To get to the boss room, the player has to defeat four ghosts scattered throughout the temple, and not without acquiring a Fairy Bow. With an eerie aesthetic, creepy enemies, and ambient background music, turning the dungeon into a surreal and unnerving experience. The dungeon reaches a stellar climax when you face off against Phantom Ganon, a clone of the Demon King himself, who comes charging at you through paintings on the wall. All in all, the Forest Temple is a prime example of how creative Zelda developers can get.

4. Arbiter’s Grounds (Twilight Princess)

Nintendo

When I was younger, it took me forever to get through the first half of this dungeon, but that doesn’t mean I have any ill will towards it. This ancient prison was where Hyrule kept some of the kingdom’s worst criminals, including Ganondorf himself, making it a house of horrors. This dungeon takes cues from the Forest Temple in its first half by making you pursue ghosts throughout the labyrinth. But this level takes an exciting turn when you acquire the Spinner. You then gain the ability to ride along the walls and bounce around the rooms like you’re in a pinball machine. This mechanic also makes the boss battle against Stallord all the more exhilarating. If only the game made more use of it afterward.

3. City in the Sky (Twilight Princess)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVgJMR5VOiE

Twilight Princess has some of the franchise’s most diverse dungeons, and the City of the Sky is no exception. This ancient, floating metropolis is home to the mysterious Oocoo, who are being terrorized by the Twilit Dragon, Argorok. In a team effort, you’re allowed to fly around this dungeon with the help of its winged inhabitants. While the level’s cool design and heavenly atmosphere are exciting, what really takes the cake is its signature item: the Double Clawshots. Launching yourself across the walls like Batman is one of Zelda’s most thrilling mechanics, and the way you use it against the dungeon’s airborne boss is downright epic.

2. Hyrule Castle (Breath of the Wild)

While Breath of the Wild is now widely considered the best Zelda game in the series, I think we can all agree that it had a problem with its main dungeons. They were too short, not that unique, and they didn’t feature a lot of fierce enemies. In short, they weren’t challenging enough. However, the final run in Hyrule Castle is arguably the best level in the entire game. The castle is littered with some of the game’s toughest enemies, including dozens of Guardians waiting to shoot you down. You’re also free to explore the entire castle in all its ruined glory, witnessing all the destruction leveled upon it by Calamity Ganon. With an epic and booming theme song playing in the background, this dungeon will make you want to fight Ganon and rescue Zelda.

1. Stone Tower Temple (Majora’s Mask)

Nintendo

Though this technically isn’t the final level of the game, Stone Tower Temple is arguably its greatest challenger. This dungeon forces the player to utilize all the items and masks they’ve accumulated in order to complete it. Not only that, but it forces you to navigate the temple twice in the most creative way possible: by reversing the tower’s gravity. With the Light Arrows, you can flip the game upside down and turn the dungeon into something completely different. With a variety of enemies and mini-bosses to fight, this dungeon is nothing short of entertaining. And by getting the Giant’s Mask at the end of the level, you get to fight Twinmold as, well, a giant. While this mechanic was originally lackluster, the game’s emake invigorates it by turning it in a colossal smackdown. To this day, Stone Tower Temple stands tall as the high standard that all dungeons that the Zelda franchise should look up to.