I remember encountering the first eye puzzle in this game. I indeed did try shooting it first, as well as the Skyward Strike. At some point, I decided to make figure-eights to have something to do while I worked this out... but it was then that I noticed that the eye was watching my sword. I then moved it in a circle, and it worked.
I seem to be the only one who thinks Lanayru Mining Facility is the best dungeon in the game haha. I guess I'm just a weirdo. Either way, great video and good points made!
Mining Facility might actually be my favorite dungeon in the series. I played the game twice in a few months time (once normal and again in hero mode), and Mining Facility actually blew me away on both playthroughs. This game has such an elite top 3 dungeons, and the game in general is severely overlooked. If I hadn't moved onto BotW because I felt I needed to give it a second chance (good choice), I probably would've done another hero mode playthrough. Then again, I have so many hot takes on this game. One of which being I enjoy the Imprisoned fights.
LMF is one of the better dungeons in the game, and I always heard the same from fans when it came out. The puzzles are really cool, as is the atmosphere. The boss is cool if not a little too normal compared to how unique the rest of the dungeon is. Ghirahim wasn’t that aggressive either in the 1st dungeon, it just challenged your reflexes and timing but was still fun. The boss isn’t amazing but does the job, and is made up for by the rest of it In no way are the 1st dungeon and 6th dungeon better than it, other than the bosses maybe. “Feels like busy work” you can say that about any dungeon lol What you do in LMF is much more interesting than 1, 2 or 6. (Which are good, but more basic)
The change to boss keys is really cool imo, but I understand the feelings. It's funny to hear you say ghirahim was too easy, remembering how insane it was that they let people try that fight at E3. Loads of people get stuck at the ghirahim fight on their first playthrough because they don't grasp the combat and ghirahim is your teaching seminar. While I agree now that it's easy, if it were harder, that would be a major brick wall to even more players. Also I've never seen someone snipe that beamos through the electric gate. One more thing about the earth temple I liked was the bombable wall. You can see the crack, but it blends in with the design of the wall for a lot of people, so it often ends up being another cool "hey, the map says there's a path here!" moment. It recaptures that part of the swamp palace in alttp where you have to walk through a specific waterfall.
That's pretty interesting, I never knew Girahim gave so many people trouble, but you're right that it probably would've been bad if he had been more difficult if that's the case. Also now I'm really curious how you're supposed to do that Beamos puzzle, cause I don't remember ever doing it another way lol
@@WistyFishHe works similar to the eye puzzles. You need to guide his hand until he stops following your sword, and then swing so that you don’t hit it.
Dude this is a really great video. I feel lot of zelda analysis doesn't actually go indepth to the dungeon design. But this and CaptBurgerson's videos do. Stand proud this shit was peak.
The ancient cistern is the total opposite for me. Once i clinbed the thread to see a tablet on how to solve it i was furious. The whole spiders thread persuit was thrilling though
Why were you furious? You can only reach the boss key by sliding back down the thread, so it's not like you'd be able to complete the dungeon faster on a repeat playthrough.
@@devonm042690 because I spent probably 10 days playing this plus it was my introduction of Zelda to my 7 year old. We had our first Zelda bonding moment with SS and everything went great he now at age 17 loved it so much we've beaten them all and his room is all Zelda and even the dogs name is link. When we finally figured how the statue went to get the bottom chest and climbed the thread we were all scared getting followed up it and then we see the tablet at the top. And boom it translates to hey stupids this is how you solve this. Just a hand holder for the noobs.. hell I was deliberately not seeking online help and that tablet got me mad. But oh well, my mission was complete Zelda came through
I just recently found this channel and I gotta say, it's great man! You're genuinely fun to listen to and it's clear you're super passionate of what you're talking about which is great! Looking forward to more content man, you earned a new sub!
Skyward Sword is probably the Zelda game that feels the most video-gamey compared to any other in the series. And you talking about the ball rolling in the Earth Temple made me realize why: It feels like a Mario game. Which is still great and fun, but it definitely feels different from the rest of the series, especially when you consider how much of the gameplay outside of the dungeons is also puzzle-focused and almost level-based when the other games were much more traversal-focused in a big connected world.
I honestly don't think the Zelda team even wanted to make the game as linear as it was. They only did because they burned so much time struggling to get the Motionplus right that they left little time for the rest of the game. Source: Iwata Asks interview on SS.
@@quillion3rdoption I never knew that, but that makes a lot of sense. Revisiting the areas 3 times each is probably also a symptom of that. It’s crazy just how rushed Majora’s Mask, Wind Waker, and Skyward Sword were and still turned out as great as they did.
My personal favorite Dungeon in Skyward Sword is the Lanayru Mining Facility I love it so much that even after beating the Dungeon I go back to it just to have fun.
I only just noticed while watching this video that during the 'get item' animation for the Golden Carving, the carving's starting orientation before it starts spinning above Link's hand is the 'front' of it, the side that you need to have facing the screen to fit it into the lock. When I saw that I wondered for just a moment if that might be the case for all of the boss keys in Skyward Sword, but then I remembered the Blessed Idol.
Much like your ranking of Super Mario Sunshine, I watched the video of a game that I absolutely hate because I know a video from you will be entertaining and informative. I despise Skyward Sword, but you did a fantastic job here with your explanations and justifications. Stellar work as usual. Well done!
My top two favourite is 2 Skyward temple due to King Dreadnought and 1 is the entire Desert region because of the ancient machines but the it's the Pirate captain that makes the sandship the best part of desert. I wish they added the fighting trail like in Windwaker though
If you want all fairies in Stone Tower, you have to leave an extra time and even play Elegy a few times to set up the bridge again. Terrible way to punish completionists and kills the pace of an otherwise all-gas-no-brakes dungeon.
Am I the only one who did not get the clue for the door gems in ancient cistern? I just hit it in random order and voila got it first try(I think I used up all my luck there and forgot how to make the cisterm move again).
I love the 2 boss fights in the Sandship, always have haha. In fact this game is my third favorite Zelda as I find that a lot of things people have issues with, I don't. Also I adore the boss key change haha. Sandship and Ancient Cistern are a top 5 Zelda dungeon for me!!
I like that you keep acknowledging that there are no objectively bad dungeons in this game. I personally would have put Skyview Temple at #6, the final dungeon at #4 and Lanayru Mining Facility at #3 but Im just a sucker for tech stuff in fantasy games and Skyview Temple had the great misfortune of being adjacent to the introductory level of my most hated mechanic by far which is the stealth levels.The mere concept kinda radiated into my impression of Skyview Temple and corrupted it. But the Beetle is admittedly a really fun replacement for the Boomerang (and Wind Waker's seagull fruits?), even without any upgrades.
When I saw the tentacles tearing the Sandship apart, I was expecting to fight a Big Octo (or rather some kind of proto-Big Octo, since Octoroks don't exist in the game). Also, I might be in the minority here (or even alone), but I feel like the boss fight should have used Skipper's skiff for at least part of it.
But octorocks does exist?! There's the grass octorocks (i don't remember what they're actually called), the rock octorocks (same here) and the sky octorocks (you can't target them, so they're unnamed).
I actually hated ancient cistern. I think it boils down to hating the swimming controls. By the time I got to the boss I was just wanting to be done. And I really enjoyed lanayru mining facility, but the same ship was a much better take on the time shift stones
The swimming controls are honestly way better on the button controls in the remake. Having to tilt the controller to change your swimming angle was infuriating. I tried a motion only run of sshd but had to use the buttons for the swimming because it was just to hard. It felt like the controller was actively fighting against me.
There’s 2 main sources of hate that I see. 1, being the motion controls. Unless you have a shotty controller or a disability that’s honestly a skill issue. But with the remaster there’s button controls so that’s not a valid complaint. The other one is that it’s extremely linear. This is a pretty fair complaint. Skyward sword forces you to do pretty much everything in one specific order. In most other Zelda games there’s a couple dungeons where the order is interchangeable. Or you can explore areas without doing a dungeon. Skyward sword doesn’t really have that. Everything has to be done in a certain order. I still love the game. But when you compare skyward sword to a game like wind walker the difference is honestly staggering. Wind waker lets you go pretty much anywhere after the second temple. Skyward sword still has an entire region and other areas of the map that can t be accessed yet. And then they are unlocked in a certain order.
Maybe it says something about my skill levels but I didn't find any of these easy bosses all that easy! Oh and I hate the 3d keys. Trying to arrange them with the wii remote nearly snapped my wrist off!
***SKY KEEP IS FAR BETTER IF YOU READ THIS*** One argument can be made about Sky Keep. There is, from a story perspective, an item and a boss. After all, it is the last dungeon in the game. The item is technically the triforce itself, also the upgrade to the Master Sword, that Zelda gives you is in the end could also be considered an item as well. Another aspect to look at is that the dungeon connects to the sealed temple and you're still technically in the dungeon heading even though time to fight the final boss. The way I personally see it, the whole final dungeon includes the end part of the game along with traversing the Sky Keep. It actually seems more epic when all these aspects are molded together and even including the 3 part sequence of a final boss fight (the hoard of Bokoblins, Girahim, and finally Demise), that's the icing of the cake. The surprise at the bottom of the cereal box, considering the heartwarming moment of assuming that everything was well when we brought down the Sky Keep seal on the Imprisoned, only to get that hope shattered when Girahim showed up and took Zelda through the time portal. The shocking and somewhat relieving twist is imminent. Seriously, if it ended there, I would be incredibly disappointed. Anyway, I guess my point is it seems appropriate to tie the whole ending together with the Sky Keep, and consider the triforce and Master Sword upgrade as the items, and the final battles of the game as the boss. Being the first game of the chronological timeline just adds more appropriateness to it as well. Might I also add that it is technically the most long and complex, final dungeon of any 3D Zelda game?? If these aspects are kept in mind, then it's true.
Another thing about sky keep is that it’s probably the best final dungeon of the 3d Zeldas. It’s better than both ganon’s castles. Better than hyrule castle, and I mean, does the moon even count as a dungeon?
@@Linkathon Although Twilight Princess Hyrule Castle is a close second place. My Top 5 final dungeon ranking: 1. SS Sky Keep 2. TP Hyrule Castle 3. OoT Ganon's Castle 4. TOTK Gloom's Layer 5. ALTTP Ganon's Tower
Ancient Cistern does take home the gold, but it's only fair to mention the stone sign that tells you exactly how to solve the central puzzle. Most likely too many people got stuck in play testing, but it was too late to redesign the puzzle, so they just put in a spoiler stone and shipped the game like that. It's a shame that one of the best dungeons in the series has such a stain on it.
There's a tablet saying "Return the stone giant to its original form, and descend below the earth again along the thread". That's not just a hint, it's a straight up in-game spoiler. It's at 4:49 of the Boss Keys video for Skyward Sword.
For real. I think every 3D Zelda game has one dungeon that we can all agree is bad, or that we don’t like doing. Skyward sword doesn’t have one of those. The worst ones are just ok.
@@MrDrBoi Cool, I hope you get some more attention in the future and I look forward to more content, though I can already tell your ranking of the Breath of the Wild "dungeons" will be VERY interesting
I did find the dungeons quite enjoyable but not as memorable as its earlier predecessors. And they all seemed to be rather short too which was very disappointing for me. Earth Temple: waaay too short, disappointing boss (with lazy design), interesting architecture design though 👍🏼, disappointing item grab, music was nice. Lanayru Mining Facility: a little longer than Skyview Temple and Earth Yemple, a bit more interesting boss but just a giant arachnid but interesting use of the motion controls, a little dull on the dungeon aesthetics (though it is an ancient facility) but much better when switched to the past, I feel like Gust Jar (from MC) has more utility than the Gust Bellows, music felt odd Fire Sanctuary: nice length but it just felt like an extension of the Earth Temple with very little sense of being its own unique structure. The design is a bit reused from the Fire Temple. Although I don’t mind the 2nd round with Ghirahim, I felt like it that should’ve been a boss that isn’t in a dungeon. Item grab is a bit unimpressive 😅. Music was pretty cool, a bit calming for a fire theme. Skyview Temple: adequate length for a starter dungeon. Love the more forest-like atmosphere. Music is a bit repetitive but I do love how you progress in the dungeon the theme gets a bit more complex but oddly satisfying. Boss is a good addition with an accurate degree of difficulty. Personally I didn’t mind returning to the Skyview Temple but I did wish it could’ve covered new ground rather than retreading old ground. Item grab is another feel good moment. And it’s pretty cool to see that it could be upgraded. Music was fair, I felt like it didn’t really fit of an abandoned ship. Ancient Cistern: Sky Keep: I did really enjoy the gimmick of rearranging the rooms to get to your path but felt like the interior designs of each section felt reused. I personally t think that the Sky Keep could’ve had its own aesthetic design that makes it stand out. Sand Ship: this was okay for me. I felt like the design of the ship could’ve been MUCH more and more pirate like. It just felt barren despite it being a dilaptied abandoned ship. The mid boss was pretty cool, but quite easy. Regular boss was….a disaster with another lazy design. What I would’ve done is create some sort of kraken + octorok design. THAT would’ve been a neat idea! Item grab is another great find as it be one of the key items of any Zelda game. I’m probably one of the few that didn’t find the Sand Ship THAT great. Ancient Cistern: hands down the greatest and most beautiful dungeon of the game. Excellent music, excellent boss battle, excellent design and layout. I liked the “cursed/dead section”. Item grab was interesting to make use of a whip. Great use of utilizing the whip with Koloktos. Definitely my no1 pick. What I didn’t now is that the theme of the dungeon is based on an actual legend. (Hindu? Buddha?
I hated sky keep… reusing all the aesthetics just reminded me of how cramped the game felt, and how little variation there was in environments. I also hated how much waiting there was in the fire room.
Yall have legitimately overhyped ancient cistern. I was expecting to be blown away but it was fairly easy/short and i spent maybe 5 minutes in the underworld. Boss battle was good but the rest was big time mid. Yeah yeah subjective whatever, but that dungeon is hardly special.
Here's my ranking: 7: Sky Keep By the time I get to this dungeon, I just want to end this game. So, I really don't see much good in this dungeon. The shifting tile puzzle is cool, but the reused aesthetics doesn't do it for me. 6: Fire Sanctuary I can sum up this dungeon in four words: Been There, Done That. The Mogma Mitts and water plants are interesting, but everything else just feels like it was copy pasted from elsewhere. Still a great dungeon, but it needed to bring something new in terms of aesthetic. 5: Skyview Temple Solid first dungeon, with a boss in Ghirahim that tests you to ensure that you know the mechanics. The Beetle is a fantastic first dungeon item, and the ruin aesthetic is truly a sigh of relief after the game's bright colors up to this point. Can't put it higher because the others really shine. 4: Earth Temple Is it short? Yes, but after the long Eldin Volcano journey, a short dungeon run is fine with me. The rolling ball gimmick is weird, but I enjoy it for some reason. Scaldera is an easy, but unique take on the "Dondongo" boss, and the Indiana Jones segment is fun. I dunno what to say, I just really enjoyed this one. 3: Lanayru Mining Facility Time Shift Stones, an amazing contrasting theme of past and present, and stellar puzzles that require you to be observant of the dungeon's layout. Molderach and the Gust Bellows are the only negatives I can think of, but when the rest of the dungeon is so good, I can overlook those minor grievances. 2: Ancient Cistern So, SO GOOD. Aesthetics, level design, and theming make it so good. Koloktos is undoubtably the best boss in the game, and I love the Whip as an item because of its versatility. Only reason it isn't first is because of my personal bias. 1: Sandship I've said it before, but puzzle box dungeons are my favorites in the series. Figuring out how to get into certain rooms is a great challenge, and the puzzles in the Sandship are curated to make use of its layout and design. Scervo is easy, but still makes for a rememberable fight. Tentalus is this dungeon's only negative IMO, but the rest of the dungeon is just too good for me to put it anywhere but first place. I enjoyed your list, so good job on that!
Great to read your points! Even though I really like Sky Keep, I totally felt exhausted by that point in the game too, so I totally get where you're coming from.
Look im sorry. I found ancient cistern severely overhyped. The boss was good but the dungeon was "flip lilly pad, swim under, get whip, turn on water jet. Go to underworld for 3 minutes, come back and fight boss." Sandship and Fire sanctuary were much more appealing to me
yeah just came to confirm that Ancient Cistern was at the top. So good.
I remember encountering the first eye puzzle in this game. I indeed did try shooting it first, as well as the Skyward Strike. At some point, I decided to make figure-eights to have something to do while I worked this out... but it was then that I noticed that the eye was watching my sword. I then moved it in a circle, and it worked.
Love this kind of “a-ha!” moment- unfortunately this puzzle was spoiled for me in the game trailer 😭😭😭
Nice! Glad you had a similar experience.
Haha that's a shame!
I seem to be the only one who thinks Lanayru Mining Facility is the best dungeon in the game haha. I guess I'm just a weirdo. Either way, great video and good points made!
Thanks! And while not my favorite, I can totally see why the LMF might be higher on someone else's list.
I love it but the pacing is just too slow for me to make it a top dungeon compared to the other solid ones here
I love it but the pacing is just too slow to compete with the other solid dungeons of the game imo
Mining Facility might actually be my favorite dungeon in the series. I played the game twice in a few months time (once normal and again in hero mode), and Mining Facility actually blew me away on both playthroughs. This game has such an elite top 3 dungeons, and the game in general is severely overlooked. If I hadn't moved onto BotW because I felt I needed to give it a second chance (good choice), I probably would've done another hero mode playthrough.
Then again, I have so many hot takes on this game. One of which being I enjoy the Imprisoned fights.
LMF is one of the better dungeons in the game, and I always heard the same from fans when it came out. The puzzles are really cool, as is the atmosphere. The boss is cool if not a little too normal compared to how unique the rest of the dungeon is. Ghirahim wasn’t that aggressive either in the 1st dungeon, it just challenged your reflexes and timing but was still fun. The boss isn’t amazing but does the job, and is made up for by the rest of it
In no way are the 1st dungeon and 6th dungeon better than it, other than the bosses maybe. “Feels like busy work” you can say that about any dungeon lol What you do in LMF is much more interesting than 1, 2 or 6. (Which are good, but more basic)
The change to boss keys is really cool imo, but I understand the feelings. It's funny to hear you say ghirahim was too easy, remembering how insane it was that they let people try that fight at E3. Loads of people get stuck at the ghirahim fight on their first playthrough because they don't grasp the combat and ghirahim is your teaching seminar. While I agree now that it's easy, if it were harder, that would be a major brick wall to even more players. Also I've never seen someone snipe that beamos through the electric gate. One more thing about the earth temple I liked was the bombable wall. You can see the crack, but it blends in with the design of the wall for a lot of people, so it often ends up being another cool "hey, the map says there's a path here!" moment. It recaptures that part of the swamp palace in alttp where you have to walk through a specific waterfall.
That's pretty interesting, I never knew Girahim gave so many people trouble, but you're right that it probably would've been bad if he had been more difficult if that's the case.
Also now I'm really curious how you're supposed to do that Beamos puzzle, cause I don't remember ever doing it another way lol
I still don’t understand girahim in fight one. I just flailed at him until it worked after like 3 losses 😂
@@WistyFishHe works similar to the eye puzzles. You need to guide his hand until he stops following your sword, and then swing so that you don’t hit it.
Dude this is a really great video. I feel lot of zelda analysis doesn't actually go indepth to the dungeon design. But this and CaptBurgerson's videos do. Stand proud this shit was peak.
The ancient cistern is the total opposite for me. Once i clinbed the thread to see a tablet on how to solve it i was furious. The whole spiders thread persuit was thrilling though
Why were you furious? You can only reach the boss key by sliding back down the thread, so it's not like you'd be able to complete the dungeon faster on a repeat playthrough.
@@devonm042690 because I spent probably 10 days playing this plus it was my introduction of Zelda to my 7 year old. We had our first Zelda bonding moment with SS and everything went great he now at age 17 loved it so much we've beaten them all and his room is all Zelda and even the dogs name is link. When we finally figured how the statue went to get the bottom chest and climbed the thread we were all scared getting followed up it and then we see the tablet at the top. And boom it translates to hey stupids this is how you solve this. Just a hand holder for the noobs.. hell I was deliberately not seeking online help and that tablet got me mad. But oh well, my mission was complete Zelda came through
Cry me a river
It's my favourite temple, but specially the part where link is climbing and zombies tries to pull him down. 😁👍🏽
When you said, "the receptionist from Monster's Inc.", I couldn't help but laugh. That's such a funny connection that nobody else ever mentioned.
Literally every single person that's ever talked about the ship dungeon has mentioned that character LOL
I just recently found this channel and I gotta say, it's great man! You're genuinely fun to listen to and it's clear you're super passionate of what you're talking about which is great! Looking forward to more content man, you earned a new sub!
Funnily enough, I’ve been replaying Skyward Sword recently and it’s still excellent. Sand Ship for the win!!!
Sandship is sooo good. The last truly great 3D Zelda dungeon imo (even though Sky Keep/Fire Santcuary are good).
13:26 "Perhaps I'm just dumb" I don't know why, made me laugh... but I can agree with most points in this video. I like it
Haha it's always a possibility I have to consider
Skyward Sword is probably the Zelda game that feels the most video-gamey compared to any other in the series. And you talking about the ball rolling in the Earth Temple made me realize why: It feels like a Mario game. Which is still great and fun, but it definitely feels different from the rest of the series, especially when you consider how much of the gameplay outside of the dungeons is also puzzle-focused and almost level-based when the other games were much more traversal-focused in a big connected world.
I honestly don't think the Zelda team even wanted to make the game as linear as it was. They only did because they burned so much time struggling to get the Motionplus right that they left little time for the rest of the game.
Source: Iwata Asks interview on SS.
@@quillion3rdoption I never knew that, but that makes a lot of sense. Revisiting the areas 3 times each is probably also a symptom of that. It’s crazy just how rushed Majora’s Mask, Wind Waker, and Skyward Sword were and still turned out as great as they did.
@@ultimatehope549That just goes to show how talented the Zelda team is
Traditional dungeons will always be better
Have to agree
Bro we need a Diddy Kong racing track ranking!!! You’d do such a great job.
@freddyc1995 Thanks! That's not a bad idea 🤔
Awesome video boi! I love the boss for the cistern its still one of the most epic moments in a 3D zelda game imo. Pretty much agree with this ranking!
20:22 Hm, I am 99% sure that I did not get rid of the beamos that way on any of my playthroughs. Can't remember how I did it though.
Hmm I wonder if there are multiple ways to do it. I wouldn't be surprised if there was!
My personal favorite Dungeon in Skyward Sword is the Lanayru Mining Facility I love it so much that even after beating the Dungeon I go back to it just to have fun.
Not only is it my favorite Dungeon in Skyward Sword but it's my favorite Dungeon in the whole Series.
We’re opposites lol. I absolutely despise that dungeon with a burning fire that resides deep inside my soul. 😂
I only just noticed while watching this video that during the 'get item' animation for the Golden Carving, the carving's starting orientation before it starts spinning above Link's hand is the 'front' of it, the side that you need to have facing the screen to fit it into the lock. When I saw that I wondered for just a moment if that might be the case for all of the boss keys in Skyward Sword, but then I remembered the Blessed Idol.
Earth Temple: What is my purpose?
Skyward Sword Devs: To be a remade version of Dodongo's Cavern.
Earth Temple: Oh my god...
lol
Your videos are really great, keep it up! I’d love to see a breath of the wild ranking 😂
@gabriel912 thanks! Once I get back to posting videos there will definitely be some BotW/TotK rankings
Much like your ranking of Super Mario Sunshine, I watched the video of a game that I absolutely hate because I know a video from you will be entertaining and informative. I despise Skyward Sword, but you did a fantastic job here with your explanations and justifications. Stellar work as usual. Well done!
Thanks so much, really appreciate the compliment and glad you enjoyed!
0:12 oot at 60fps is so cursed for some reason
Please rank every galaxy in Mario Galaxy
My ranking of Skyward sword’s dungeons
7:Lanyaru mining facility
6:Skyview temple
5:Fire sanctuary
4:Sky keep
3:Ancient cistern
2:Earth temple
1:Sandship
"Skyview Temple's lock and key is the easiest to solve"
Ancient Cistern: AM I A JOKE TO YOU?
Thank you for the cool list, Tomar.
My top two favourite is
2 Skyward temple due to King Dreadnought
and
1 is the entire Desert region because of the ancient machines but the it's the Pirate captain that makes the sandship the best part of desert. I wish they added the fighting trail like in Windwaker though
I personally thought the new boss key gimmick was pretty cool, as it put a spin on something that had remained the same for decades.
Ancient Cistern vs Stone Tower from Majora’s Mask: pick the better dungeon?
I think I lean Stone Tower slightly but it's close! Both are S-Tier dungeons for sure.
If you want all fairies in Stone Tower, you have to leave an extra time and even play Elegy a few times to set up the bridge again. Terrible way to punish completionists and kills the pace of an otherwise all-gas-no-brakes dungeon.
Am I the only one who did not get the clue for the door gems in ancient cistern? I just hit it in random order and voila got it first try(I think I used up all my luck there and forgot how to make the cisterm move again).
I love the 2 boss fights in the Sandship, always have haha. In fact this game is my third favorite Zelda as I find that a lot of things people have issues with, I don't. Also I adore the boss key change haha. Sandship and Ancient Cistern are a top 5 Zelda dungeon for me!!
I want to make clear only the HD game on Switch as it is a massive improvement over the original.
Though SS isn’t in my top 10 Zelda games I can still appreciate the dungeons and gameplay it’s a fun game
My thoughts exactly!
Are you on bluesky?
I like that you keep acknowledging that there are no objectively bad dungeons in this game.
I personally would have put Skyview Temple at #6, the final dungeon at #4 and Lanayru Mining Facility at #3 but Im just a sucker for tech stuff in fantasy games and Skyview Temple had the great misfortune of being adjacent to the introductory level of my most hated mechanic by far which is the stealth levels.The mere concept kinda radiated into my impression of Skyview Temple and corrupted it.
But the Beetle is admittedly a really fun replacement for the Boomerang (and Wind Waker's seagull fruits?), even without any upgrades.
I like how you compared two of the game's bosses with monster's inc characters.
Haha I noticed that too. Kind of funny because it wasn't intentional and I haven't seen Monster's Inc in many many years lol
When I saw the tentacles tearing the Sandship apart, I was expecting to fight a Big Octo (or rather some kind of proto-Big Octo, since Octoroks don't exist in the game). Also, I might be in the minority here (or even alone), but I feel like the boss fight should have used Skipper's skiff for at least part of it.
But octorocks does exist?! There's the grass octorocks (i don't remember what they're actually called), the rock octorocks (same here) and the sky octorocks (you can't target them, so they're unnamed).
I actually hated ancient cistern. I think it boils down to hating the swimming controls. By the time I got to the boss I was just wanting to be done. And I really enjoyed lanayru mining facility, but the same ship was a much better take on the time shift stones
The swimming controls are honestly way better on the button controls in the remake. Having to tilt the controller to change your swimming angle was infuriating. I tried a motion only run of sshd but had to use the buttons for the swimming because it was just to hard. It felt like the controller was actively fighting against me.
never really understood the hate for this game, it is tons of fun!
There’s 2 main sources of hate that I see. 1, being the motion controls. Unless you have a shotty controller or a disability that’s honestly a skill issue. But with the remaster there’s button controls so that’s not a valid complaint. The other one is that it’s extremely linear. This is a pretty fair complaint. Skyward sword forces you to do pretty much everything in one specific order. In most other Zelda games there’s a couple dungeons where the order is interchangeable. Or you can explore areas without doing a dungeon. Skyward sword doesn’t really have that. Everything has to be done in a certain order. I still love the game. But when you compare skyward sword to a game like wind walker the difference is honestly staggering. Wind waker lets you go pretty much anywhere after the second temple. Skyward sword still has an entire region and other areas of the map that can t be accessed yet. And then they are unlocked in a certain order.
been playing loz since the 90’s i’ll never understand the hate for skyward sword. my #2 all time
Very good video
Thank you!
Maybe it says something about my skill levels but I didn't find any of these easy bosses all that easy!
Oh and I hate the 3d keys. Trying to arrange them with the wii remote nearly snapped my wrist off!
I need the next Zelda game to bring back temples following SS aesthetic!!! 🔥
SS really does have a beautiful aesthetic for its dungeons.
My ranking
7 Laneyru mining Facility
6 SkyKeep
5 Earth temple
4 Sandship
3 Skyview temple
2 Ancient Cistern
1 Fire Sanctuary
My ranking:
7. Lanayru Mining Facility
6. Skykeep
5. Skyview Temple
4. Earth Temple
3. Fire Sanctuary
2. Sandship
1. Ancient Cistern
I might be the only one liking the fire sanctuary that much lol 🙃
Every yooka laylee pagie next
Haha idk if I love the game that much, but your comment did remind me to check out the impossible lair.
I clicked the video to comment; I’ll bet you have ancient cistern as the best while the sandship is a actually the best
They are certainly close!
***SKY KEEP IS FAR BETTER IF YOU READ THIS***
One argument can be made about Sky Keep. There is, from a story perspective, an item and a boss. After all, it is the last dungeon in the game. The item is technically the triforce itself, also the upgrade to the Master Sword, that Zelda gives you is in the end could also be considered an item as well. Another aspect to look at is that the dungeon connects to the sealed temple and you're still technically in the dungeon heading even though time to fight the final boss.
The way I personally see it, the whole final dungeon includes the end part of the game along with traversing the Sky Keep. It actually seems more epic when all these aspects are molded together and even including the 3 part sequence of a final boss fight (the hoard of Bokoblins, Girahim, and finally Demise), that's the icing of the cake.
The surprise at the bottom of the cereal box, considering the heartwarming moment of assuming that everything was well when we brought down the Sky Keep seal on the Imprisoned, only to get that hope shattered when Girahim showed up and took Zelda through the time portal. The shocking and somewhat relieving twist is imminent. Seriously, if it ended there, I would be incredibly disappointed.
Anyway, I guess my point is it seems appropriate to tie the whole ending together with the Sky Keep, and consider the triforce and Master Sword upgrade as the items, and the final battles of the game as the boss. Being the first game of the chronological timeline just adds more appropriateness to it as well. Might I also add that it is technically the most long and complex, final dungeon of any 3D Zelda game?? If these aspects are kept in mind, then it's true.
Another thing about sky keep is that it’s probably the best final dungeon of the 3d Zeldas. It’s better than both ganon’s castles. Better than hyrule castle, and I mean, does the moon even count as a dungeon?
@@Linkathon Although Twilight Princess Hyrule Castle is a close second place. My Top 5 final dungeon ranking:
1. SS Sky Keep
2. TP Hyrule Castle
3. OoT Ganon's Castle
4. TOTK Gloom's Layer
5. ALTTP Ganon's Tower
Ancient Cistern does take home the gold, but it's only fair to mention the stone sign that tells you exactly how to solve the central puzzle. Most likely too many people got stuck in play testing, but it was too late to redesign the puzzle, so they just put in a spoiler stone and shipped the game like that. It's a shame that one of the best dungeons in the series has such a stain on it.
How else would you know the order to hit the gems in otherwise?
There's a tablet saying "Return the stone giant to its original form, and descend below the earth again along the thread". That's not just a hint, it's a straight up in-game spoiler. It's at 4:49 of the Boss Keys video for Skyward Sword.
I actually DESPISE Lanayru Mining Facility. Too long, I was very bored of it and wanted to clear it as fast as possible
Coloctos baby
Such a great boss!
I think this game might have the highest average quality of dungeons in 3D Zelda, at least in terms of gameplay.
For real. I think every 3D Zelda game has one dungeon that we can all agree is bad, or that we don’t like doing. Skyward sword doesn’t have one of those. The worst ones are just ok.
I didn’t like the fire sanctuary that much. Ancient cistern was amazing
Ancient Cistern is 🔥
I would like to see you do a ranking of either the episodes of the 3 other sly cooper games or the chapters of the paper Mario franchise
Currently working on some Paper Mario stuff now! And I definitely plan to get to at least Sly 2 and 3 sometime, hopefully in the near future as well.
@@MrDrBoi Cool, I hope you get some more attention in the future and I look forward to more content, though I can already tell your ranking of the Breath of the Wild "dungeons" will be VERY interesting
I did find the dungeons quite enjoyable but not as memorable as its earlier predecessors. And they all seemed to be rather short too which was very disappointing for me.
Earth Temple: waaay too short, disappointing boss (with lazy design), interesting architecture design though 👍🏼, disappointing item grab, music was nice.
Lanayru Mining Facility: a little longer than Skyview Temple and Earth Yemple, a bit more interesting boss but just a giant arachnid but interesting use of the motion controls, a little dull on the dungeon aesthetics (though it is an ancient facility) but much better when switched to the past, I feel like Gust Jar (from MC) has more utility than the Gust Bellows, music felt odd
Fire Sanctuary: nice length but it just felt like an extension of the Earth Temple with very little sense of being its own unique structure. The design is a bit reused from the Fire Temple. Although I don’t mind the 2nd round with Ghirahim, I felt like it that should’ve been a boss that isn’t in a dungeon. Item grab is a bit unimpressive 😅. Music was pretty cool, a bit calming for a fire theme.
Skyview Temple: adequate length for a starter dungeon. Love the more forest-like atmosphere. Music is a bit repetitive but I do love how you progress in the dungeon the theme gets a bit more complex but oddly satisfying. Boss is a good addition with an accurate degree of difficulty. Personally I didn’t mind returning to the Skyview Temple but I did wish it could’ve covered new ground rather than retreading old ground. Item grab is another feel good moment. And it’s pretty cool to see that it could be upgraded. Music was fair, I felt like it didn’t really fit of an abandoned ship.
Ancient Cistern:
Sky Keep: I did really enjoy the gimmick of rearranging the rooms to get to your path but felt like the interior designs of each section felt reused. I personally t think that the Sky Keep could’ve had its own aesthetic design that makes it stand out.
Sand Ship: this was okay for me. I felt like the design of the ship could’ve been MUCH more and more pirate like. It just felt barren despite it being a dilaptied abandoned ship. The mid boss was pretty cool, but quite easy. Regular boss was….a disaster with another lazy design. What I would’ve done is create some sort of kraken + octorok design. THAT would’ve been a neat idea! Item grab is another great find as it be one of the key items of any Zelda game. I’m probably one of the few that didn’t find the Sand Ship THAT great.
Ancient Cistern: hands down the greatest and most beautiful dungeon of the game. Excellent music, excellent boss battle, excellent design and layout. I liked the “cursed/dead section”. Item grab was interesting to make use of a whip. Great use of utilizing the whip with Koloktos. Definitely my no1 pick. What I didn’t now is that the theme of the dungeon is based on an actual legend. (Hindu? Buddha?
Great write-up! Hadn't thought about it before, but the Sandship being more pirate-themed would definitely have been cool.
Awesome game if you forgive it for the threepeats
You pronounced Fi’s name wrong
I hated sky keep… reusing all the aesthetics just reminded me of how cramped the game felt, and how little variation there was in environments. I also hated how much waiting there was in the fire room.
Yeah that fire room was pretty bad, not gonna lie. I did really enjoy most of the other rooms though.
You forgot the hardest dungeon: that stupid bug island
Haha that thing did take me a few tries to beat
best zelda game
Yall have legitimately overhyped ancient cistern. I was expecting to be blown away but it was fairly easy/short and i spent maybe 5 minutes in the underworld. Boss battle was good but the rest was big time mid. Yeah yeah subjective whatever, but that dungeon is hardly special.
Hoping to not see the Ancient Cistern at number 1 like every body else in the world
😬
Here's my ranking:
7: Sky Keep
By the time I get to this dungeon, I just want to end this game. So, I really don't see much good in this dungeon. The shifting tile puzzle is cool, but the reused aesthetics doesn't do it for me.
6: Fire Sanctuary
I can sum up this dungeon in four words: Been There, Done That. The Mogma Mitts and water plants are interesting, but everything else just feels like it was copy pasted from elsewhere. Still a great dungeon, but it needed to bring something new in terms of aesthetic.
5: Skyview Temple
Solid first dungeon, with a boss in Ghirahim that tests you to ensure that you know the mechanics. The Beetle is a fantastic first dungeon item, and the ruin aesthetic is truly a sigh of relief after the game's bright colors up to this point. Can't put it higher because the others really shine.
4: Earth Temple
Is it short? Yes, but after the long Eldin Volcano journey, a short dungeon run is fine with me. The rolling ball gimmick is weird, but I enjoy it for some reason. Scaldera is an easy, but unique take on the "Dondongo" boss, and the Indiana Jones segment is fun. I dunno what to say, I just really enjoyed this one.
3: Lanayru Mining Facility
Time Shift Stones, an amazing contrasting theme of past and present, and stellar puzzles that require you to be observant of the dungeon's layout. Molderach and the Gust Bellows are the only negatives I can think of, but when the rest of the dungeon is so good, I can overlook those minor grievances.
2: Ancient Cistern
So, SO GOOD. Aesthetics, level design, and theming make it so good. Koloktos is undoubtably the best boss in the game, and I love the Whip as an item because of its versatility. Only reason it isn't first is because of my personal bias.
1: Sandship
I've said it before, but puzzle box dungeons are my favorites in the series. Figuring out how to get into certain rooms is a great challenge, and the puzzles in the Sandship are curated to make use of its layout and design. Scervo is easy, but still makes for a rememberable fight. Tentalus is this dungeon's only negative IMO, but the rest of the dungeon is just too good for me to put it anywhere but first place.
I enjoyed your list, so good job on that!
Great to read your points! Even though I really like Sky Keep, I totally felt exhausted by that point in the game too, so I totally get where you're coming from.
Skyward sword is NOT mediocre 😭
Look im sorry. I found ancient cistern severely overhyped. The boss was good but the dungeon was "flip lilly pad, swim under, get whip, turn on water jet. Go to underworld for 3 minutes, come back and fight boss." Sandship and Fire sanctuary were much more appealing to me
Nice ❤