Six of the best Legend of Zelda dungeons
Despite what Breath of the Wild might want you to think, The Legend of Zelda series has always been all about the dungeons. With a mixture of puzzle-solving, combat, and exploration, the best Legend of Zelda dungeons offer a wonderfully balanced approach, guiding the player through the challenges without forcing them to repeat themselves or making them feel stupid for not figuring it out the first time.
Grab your hookshot and boomerang, because these are our picks for the best Legend of Zelda dungeons of all time.
Snowpeak Ruins – Twilight Princess
The best levels in gaming will always find a way to incorporate the story into the level design. In the case of Snowpeak Ruins in Twilight Princess, Link has been sent to the top of a mountain to recover a cursed mirror for his adventures. Once there, he finds a mansion that has been twisted and corrupted, but no actual evil to fight. This is a story of rescuing someone rather than defeating them, making it stand out among other Legend of Zelda dungeons in the best way.
Sandship – Skyward Sword
Skyward Sword remains one of the most underrated Zelda titles in my opinion. While its overreliance on motion controls means that it hasn’t aged particularly well, it dared to do something different with almost every single aspect of its design. This Legend of Zelda dungeon makes you run back and forth through a pirate ship to face both a pirate robot and a giant tentacle monster boss fights. It isn’t the first time Zelda has used boats for a dungeon design, but it is easily my favourite.
Skull Woods – Link to the Past
The contrast between the Dark and Light Worlds makes for some fantastic moments in Link to the Past. No area showcased that feature better than Skull Woods. Rather than the idyllic Lost Woods where you first got the Master Sword, Skull Woods was dark, dangerous, and difficult to navigate. In fact, the entire area of the map is part of the dungeon’s level design, as the actual dungeon has multiple entry points to choose from.
Shadow Temple – Ocarina of Time
Few Legend of Zelda dungeons are as terrifying as the Shadow Temple, which takes place in a twisted nightmare of a graveyard and forces Link to fight undead versions of other monsters. The fact that much of the dungeon is invisible fits into the narrative beautifully and the boss fight against Bongo Bongo is both creepy and challenging. The fact that the dungeon also hints at the dark past of the Hyrule Royal Family makes it that much more perfect.
Ancient Cistern – Skyward Sword
Another entry from Skyward Sword, the Ancient Cistern is a beautifully designed dungeon that brings many of the game’s themes to life. This Legend of Zelda dungeon has a divine aspect, with Link needing to affect the water flow in the temple to help him navigate the giant Buddha statue. However, in the final part of the dungeon, he is dragged into a dark pit filled with bones and enemies, showing the simmering darkness just below the surface of the world at large. It is a really clever and creative use of design to tell a story.
Forest Temple – Ocarina of Time
After being transported into the future and given an adult body, Link has to return to his former home in the Kokiri Forest to continue his quest to save Princess Zelda. Here, we see the impact that his time away has had. The music is dark and unsettling, the people Link grew up with don’t recognise him, and his best friend has been taken captive. There are other more creative dungeons in The Legend of Zelda series, but few have the same emotional impact that returning to the Forest Temple does.
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