Since its inception in 1986, The Legend of Zelda has made dungeons a core part of its identity as a franchise. Dungeons in The Legend of Zelda are about as important as maps in Call of Duty or boss fights in Dark Souls. Zelda games missing good dungeons feel like they're missing personality. The franchise has been incredibly popular for years and has plenty of games and dungeons to choose from.While The Legend of Zelda has had its fair share of lackluster dungeons, there are plenty of fantastic puzzle-filled domains to choose from. The dungeons of a game usually try to follow a trend set by its story. There are a few entries in the franchise that showcase excellent dungeons and stand as examples to future entries on how to build incredible and dangerous areas for Link to explore.
10 The Legend Of Zelda (1986)
The Legend of Zelda might look plain on the outside, but the game laid the groundwork that would make up the fundamental DNA of the franchise for years to come. Players will need to find keys, bombs, and more items to traverse through the many dungeons of the first Zelda game.
Interestingly, the game is surprisingly open, especially for a title made in the '80s. Players can tackle dungeons in any order they desire, and Hyrule is free to explore. There is no objective marker and no real set goal in mind. While basic, this game's dungeons offer everything a fan of classic Zelda could ask for!
9 The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages (2001)
With the Oracle games, Nintendo wanted to utilize the Game Boy Color to its fullest capacity before the system would be replaced. Though the Oracle games are two different titles, they follow a similar storyline and offer completely different dungeons. The games are meant to be played together using the Game Boy Color's "Game Linking" feature to unlock the full story once completed.
These games play similarly to The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and offer plenty of dungeon variety. Players who picked up both titles were able to get the full experience of dungeons and many people agree that the dungeon variety was a fantastic feature in the Oracle games.
8 The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (2013)
A Link Between Worlds is a sequel to the Super Nintendo classic A Link to the Past. The former takes place in the same Hyrule as the latter and features many of the same dungeons. This isn't a bad thing though, as the dungeons are freshened up and new puzzles have been added. One of the game's primary new mechanics called "Wall Merging" is used heavily in the redone dungeons.
Players can also choose to tackle the dungeons in the order they want thanks to the item renting system in A Link Between Worlds. Though a bit experimental and divisive among players, item renting allowed more freedom than most traditional linear Zelda titles. Fans of A Link to the Past or just good dungeon design, in general, should definitely give A Link Between Worlds a shot!
7 The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap (2004)
Made during the era of "Toon Link," Minish Cap offers vibrant and beautiful landscapes. The game uses lots of bright popping colors and the shading/artwork really makes the world come to life. This applies to the game's dungeons as well. Minish Cap proves that dungeons don't always need to be grungy dark holes in the ground.
Minish Cap features a fan-favorite dungeon in the form of the Temple of Droplets. This ice temple has all the same struggles of any ice-based level, and players need to find ways to melt ice blocks containing key items for completing the dungeon. Many fans still love the BGM of the Temple of Droplets to this day and reference it as one of the best dungeons in the game.
6 The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (2004)
For Zelda fans that play the games for the dungeons, Four Sword Adventures is a must-own. The game is designed differently than many other titles in the series. Players going through the main campaign don't have a set world to explore and interact with. Instead, they go through a series of stages. Each stage culminates in a "dungeon" but by definition and gameplay, each stage is its own dungeon!
Four Swords Adventures also features multiplayer functionality, making it a fantastic dungeon crawler for a group of up to four people. With nearly every stage of the game offering unique puzzles, combat, and music, Four Swords Adventures really is the ultimate package for dungeon-loving Zelda fans.
5 The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (2011)
Skyward Sword is considered something of the black sheep of the Zelda franchise. Many fans were turned away by the motion controls on the Nintendo Wii and the game's original game-breaking bug. Many people also felt that Skyward Sword was too linear and failed to achieve its own goal of feeling adventurous and new. Despite these flaws, Skyward Sword features some of the best dungeons in The Legend of Zelda franchise.
From an ancient temple of unknown origins to a mining facility with time-changing crystals, the game takes Link to wildly different locales. Players will face tough foes and incredible boss fights. Every item in Link's arsenal is required in many parts of the game, giving each dungeon's unique item more personality. Though the game may have its faults, it cannot be denied that Skyward Sword's dungeons perfectly capture the feeling of what good Zelda dungeons should include.
4 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991)
There are certain games that define the consoles they were released on. The SNES was blessed with a superstar lineup of games, and one of these was The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. This game is arguably the most important game in the franchise in terms of trendsetting. A Link to the Past solidified the core gameplay and progression that would become the gold standard for Zelda games for years to come.
This game set the standard for three opening dungeons, an important in-game event, several more dungeons (usually in an alternate world), followed by Ganon's final dungeon. This exact formula was used in arguably the most popular Zelda game of all time, Ocarina of Time, and others in the franchise. While A Link to the Past's dungeons might not be anything special on their own, the precedent they set was too important not to be included in any discussion about Zelda's dungeons.
3 The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2000)
Though Majora's Mask only features four core dungeons, they are some of the best The Legend of Zelda has to offer. Some people might be put off by Majora's Mask's timer mechanic, but even these players have probably heard of the Stone Tower Temple. Many fans of the franchise know the Stone Tower Temple by name, and would probably recognize the iconic music of the dungeon.
Every dungeon in the game is brimming with personality and completing them is no easy task. Majora's Mask does very little hand-holding and the dungeons are proof of this. They are tough to complete and sometimes difficult to even get into! Yet, the dungeons of Majora's Mask are iconic and force players to use their unique items carefully to solve puzzles and defeat foes.
2 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
1998 was a tremendous year for the video game industry. Multiple titles from that year remain on the greatest games of all time lists for both fans and critics. One such title is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The game is commonly considered to be the best in the series by many fans, and this is in part due to its excellent dungeons.
The game's dungeons are some of the most memorable in the franchise and offer insane variety for the player. The puzzles and combat of each dungeon are fully realized and age wonderfully. New fans of the series could easily pick up Ocarina of Time and enjoy going through the game's wide selection of dungeons.
1 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006)
Twilight Princess offers a more mature and dark vision of what The Legend of Zelda could be. As such, some of the dungeons in the game feel darker and more frightening than usual for the series. The game features some of the best dungeons in the Zelda franchise and each and everyone feels truly unique.
Though some of the boss fights of the game can be underwhelming, the dungeon variance, music, puzzles, and combat are nearly unmatched in the series. What other game allows Link to snowboard to a mansion owned by yetis and have that be the dungeon?