1: Forsaken Fortress
Between the first visit here, when Link is memorably fired from a catapult and survives a hit against a wall that by rights should kill him, and the time he returns, a lot has changed for our hero. He’s no longer an inexperienced kid from Outset Island– he’s bested three dungeons, visited the lost land of Hyrule and now, he’s ready to take on Ganondorf. Storming the island with the help of the pirates, Link does battle with Phantom Ganon, gains the Skull Hammer, then in cinematic scenes reminiscent of some sort of adventure movie, flees a flood by climbing to the top of the fortress, where the climactic fight against the Helmaroc King takes place.
The Helmaroc King symbolised Link’s fears at the beginning of the game– a huge menace that stole his sister away and which he was impotent to stop. Even though Ganon’s plot continues long after the bird’s demise, it shows that our hero is ready to face anything the world throws at him.
Oh yeah, and that scene where Valoo rescues Link by incinerating Ganondorf– totally cool.
And there we have it! Can you think of any examples I’ve neglected to include? Let us know in the comments below!
I know they were called palaces, but the Grand Palace should DEFINITELY be on here if only for the music alone.
I just started going through OoT (I’ve never beaten any Zelda game – you may all stone me now; I’m about to do the adult Link side of the spirit temple) so I was obviously very fearful of the water temple as I approached it. I honestly felt let down.
Now, to be fair, since I was playing it on the 3DS I did have the easier time switching between boots, since I hear that was hell on the N64. But that said, not only did I not die a single time, I only got “lost” once (took less than 2 minutes to recover), and I also didn’t have to use the blue cloak AT ALL. So unless there was some sort of enormous nerfing that happened between the N64 and the 3DS versions that I don’t know about, I really do not at all understand people’s complaints about the water temple.
ohh man, that just show that grezzo made a real good job on the 3ds version of the temple, in the past you have to pause the game, go to items, select the boots, wait and then play with the boots, and 5 seconds later doing the same thing. besides it was more confusing because it didnt have clues on the walls. well at least not that detailed, but the main factor was the boots problem, now you just touch the screen and makes a great difference.
Seriously? Where’s the love for earlier Zelda games? It’s criminal that A Link to the Past wasn’t represented at all. Several of those dungeons are amazing in the way they make you think. (The Water Temple in that game, for example). This was more a list of “The Best Zelda Dungeons Since Ocarina of Time.”
I am disappoint :(
Agreed. I love how Skull Woods in ALttP made the entire forest a dungeon with multiple entrances.
My personal favorite dungeons would include OoT’s Forest Temple, The Temple of Time in TP, and either the Mine or SandShip in SS (gotta love that TimeShift mechanic).
Why is each dungeon listed on a separate page? This is ridiculous.
Haha, I hate that, too.
Hm, I can’t say I disagree, but this is a close one for me; I love going through Hyrule Castle at the end of Twilight Princess. Just going into the castle was stunning, but cap it off with the most epic final battle with Ganon and it’s definitely a contender.