Summary
The Legend of Zeldafranchise has conquered fans over the decadeswith its impressive dungeons, filled with innovative mechanics and challenging puzzles. Each challenge is a mix of exploration with epic battles, creatively testing players' skills. Thus, these locations stand out as one of the main elements of the series, ensuring numerous incredible dungeons throughout the games.
Not always themost iconic dungeons ofThe Legend of Zeldaare those that present the best technical design. Many of them mark players through narrative, unique atmosphere, or challenges that defined unforgettable moments. Whether by their difficulty, the creativity of the solutions, or memorable bosses, these dungeons remain as symbols of an epic journey.
Eagle’s Tower is widely considered the most iconic dungeon inThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakeningdue to its innovative and challenging mechanics. The main objective is to topple four pillars with a demolition ball, drastically altering the tower’s structure to open new paths. This unique design approach requires strategy and offers an experience that remains memorable for players.
Additionally, Eagle’s Tower is a brilliant example of the integration between theme and mechanics, with puzzles that challenge logic and navigation. Although some players may find the process tedious at certain moments, the sense of accomplishment upon overcoming its challenges is unparalleled. This combination of innovation, and complexity solidifies it as one of thebest dungeons in theZeldafranchise.
The Minish Capoffers the mechanic of Link shrinking in size at certain moments of the adventure and, although it is well utilized throughout the game, it is precisely Deepwood Shrine, the game’s first dungeon, that best takes advantage of these elements. Its design is simple and does not demand much from players, but it is extremely fun.
Moreover,this dungeon inThe Minish Capalso does a good job of showing how the game’s scale feeling works, since its final boss is a ChuChu, an enemy that is easy to handle on other occasions but becomes a challenging fight given Link’s reduced size. Thus, Deepwood Shrine serves very well to situate players in this new setting and set the tone for the entire adventure.
Tower of the Gods is one of themost emblematic dungeons inThe Wind Waker, serving as a divine test to determine if Link is worthy of wielding the Master Sword. Located in the middle of the Great Sea, the tower combines aquatic puzzles and creative challenges that utilize the navigation mechanics with the King of Red Lions, creating a dynamic experience.
In addition to the challenges, the dungeon features a design that blends divine and mysterious elements, reinforcing its importance in the narrative. The puzzles involving the use of items like bow and arrow, coupled with changes in water levels, keep exploration always interesting, making Tower of the Gods an epic journey full of symbolism for the game’s themes.
The Sandship is one of the most remarkable dungeons inThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward Swordthanks to its unique setting - a stranded ship in the desert. It perfectly intertwines exploration and creativity, utilizing the Timeshift Stone to alternate between past and present, enabling players to solve complex puzzles while uncovering more of the location’s history.
In addition to innovative mechanics, the Sandship stands out for an atmosphere that fuses mystery and discovery, forging an unforgettable experience. The battle against Tentalus is a good finale for this dungeon, but the true highlight lies in its fantastic puzzles and some of the best narrative elements in the series, leaving a lasting impression on players.
As the final dungeon Link must overcome before heading to the Moon to face Majora’s Mask, the Stone Tower Temple is also one of the most challenging in the franchise, requiring use of Link’s four forms to progress. Additionally, it compels players to flip the entire temple upside down to move forward
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Despite its demanding nature, thistemple ranks among the best inThe Legend of Zelda, pushing Link in various ways and making extensive use of items collected throughout the journey. It is therefore an ideal choice for those who enjoy a higher level of difficulty, featuring not only complex puzzles but also mini-boss encounters until its complete conclusion.
The approach this title in the franchise takes with more realistic graphics makes Arbiter’s Grounds not only one of the most iconic dungeons inThe Legend of Zelda, but alsoone of the most terrifying. This is because the place is inhabited by Poes, which, thanks to the game’s artistic direction, have a terrifying appearance instead of their cartoony look.
Additionally, Arbiter’s Grounds is the first dungeon that Link visits after obtaining the Master Sword and the location has great importance for the game, advancing the narrative at certain points. The place also forces players to use both the protagonist’s human form and wolf form, making exploration even more interesting.
Hyrule Castle is one of the most iconic places in the entireThe Legend of Zeldafranchise, and inA Link to the Past, the place is also one of the most important dungeons in the game. At the very beginning of the journey, the protagonist needs to infiltrate the place to save Princess Zelda using a more stealth-focused approach to avoid being caught by enemy guards.
Later, players return to Hyrule Castle, after gaining access to the Master Sword, to rescue the princess againand also face Agahnim. Thus, inA Link to the Past, the dungeon has enormous importance for the game’s story, present in various moments of the character’s journey, making it an iconic place for many players.
Although not a location that stands out for its design or difficulty, The Eagle, or Level-1, is among the most iconic dungeons inThe Legend of Zeldafor being the franchise’s first. It was from it that the dungeon became a common element in the subsequent games, becoming a hallmark of the series.
Thus, the design of The Eagle is quite simple, but it provides access to some items that will be very useful throughout the rest of the journey, such as the Boomerang, which helps to face various enemies during the game. Additionally, the confrontation against Aquamentus, a green dragon, is an excellent way to showcase the epic tone that the franchise would have in future titles.
Even though the dungeons inThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wildare not among the best in the series, Hyrule Castle is an exception, offering one of the best experiences in the franchise. What makes this place so good is thegreat freedom players have when exploringit, with various ways to reach the final part.
For example, players can skip some parts of Hyrule Castle using abilities like Revali’s Gale or even the Zora Set. However, the exploration and challenges the place offers are also worthwhile, as it is possible to find the Hylian Shield in this dungeon, one of the best equipment in the game to be used by Link during battles.
Although not one of the best dungeons created for Link’s adventure inOcarina of Time, the Water Temple in this game is one of the most iconic ever made for the franchise. The place can only be explored when the protagonist is in his adult form and contains some mechanics that stayed in players' minds, especially the need to constantly switch boots.
Thus, besides being one of the most iconic dungeons inThe Legend of Zelda, the Water Temple is also a very divisive place, as its unique design may please some players but also be frustrating at times. However, that is what makes it one of the most remembered places by fans, making the experience of exploring it something unique in the series to date.
