I gotta say, Spirit Temple deserved an S tier too. In my opinion, it is by far the best dungeon of OoT and the franchise overall. The music, the architecture, the boss and mini bosses, the time travel mechanic, the puzzles and the story for me make up the best dungeon of Zelda
I loved the temples in the twilight and skyward, but I will admit I didn't like how many times we had to fight the DEMONN LORRD GERRAAMM, Also I like the Scorpion boss fights
Ancient cistern doesn't deserve S tier. It's A tier but not S tier. Basing this entirely on what you pick for your A tiers which have some pretty fantastic dungeons.
My top ten are 1. Sky Keep 2. Arbiter’s Grounds 3. Temple of Time 4. Fire Sanctuary 5. Great Bay Temple 6. Earth Temple (Wind Waker) 7. Ancient Cistern 8. Stone Tower Temple 9. Hyrule Castle (Twilight Princess) 10. Palace of Twilight
I always loved that Twilight Princess' dungeons felt as though they made the most sense. Almost all of them had a reason to exist beyond a challenge for Link - a functioning mine, a snowy mansion atop a mountain peak, executioners grounds, the Twilit Palace... It seems fitting that the Zelda game most focused on telling a grand epic style story had dungeons that each told a story.
100 per cent agree, absolutely everything that Breath of the wild is not. BOTW was an amazing hub world (as I call it) but it really should of been 20 unique distinctive dungeons with lore and story rather than 120 duplications. Also I got bored of the open worldness after a while wandering aimlessly is not for me give me a linear storyline any day. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH LINEAR
3:26 One thing I particularly like about Inside the Great Deku Tree is that, in the room where the player fights three Gohma larvae, if the player looks up, they can see the Gohma larvae cocoons and shoot them with the slingshot, avoiding the fight entirely through being observant and thinking about the 3D space.
I did that on my first play through, as I was scared of everything and scoured out every room before moving an inch. On my second playthrough tho I completely forgot and they jumped me.
@@DreadeDragon Interesting. I've played Ocarina of Time since I was little, and I was scared of everything, but I wasn't very good, so I never noticed it when I was a kid. It was when I went back to the game a couple years ago, when I had resolved to finish the game, that I noticed it.
I went years without knowing about them because I always rushed through with my burning branch before it disappeared (I still don't like it when a stick burns down 😅)
My only real complaint about your list is that I feel like Hyrule Castle from Twilight Princess at LEAST deserved A-tier. I consider it an absolute *treat* to go through every time I play the game.
I AGREE!! I was watching and waiting for him to give it a rating, talkin to myself saying “c’mon, s-tier, s-tier, s-tier” as he was complimenting it like crazy and then he said B TIER and i was like “NAOOO”
Couldn't agree more. Even just how the music slightly changes as you progress further up in the tower makes it one of the best dungeons in my opinion if we're talking about atmosphere. Every floor you get higher, the theme changes. There are instruments added and from what was an almost quiet and just eerie theme in the beginning, you ascend to a musical theme that rises in importance and intimidation as you realize you're about to stand before Ganondorf himself.
It's an absolute insult putting it so low. The atmosphere is perfect, the monsters and mini bosses are perfect, the puzzles are great and the music is literally the best. Also, it's amazing how different it is from the other final dungeons in the series. To me both hyrule castles from tp and botw are SS tier.
Agreed B Tier definitely doesn’t do it enough justice for me I’d even possibly put it in S or at least in A Also I would put City in the Sky higher as it’s my one of my favorite dungeon besides Snowpeak and The Arbiter Grounds in TP I’d put City in the Sky in A for sure
@@Al-ji4gd It's about the personality and originality. You track a yeti from the smell of a fish, who turns out to be friendly. Then you snowboard race him to his snowpeak mansion to help him make soup for his ill wife. She turns out to be corrupted by the mirror piece he gifted him, instigating the bossfight. And then the heartpiece hug as a cherry on top. It's so memorable and creative in a game that is so agonizingly boring and predictable
@@tmsplltrs I mean, I appreciate the whimsical nature of it more than anyone, and I know there's more to a dungeon than that, but I ultimately judge it on how well it's designed. The layout, the puzzles, etc... and when it comes to that, Snowpeak is one of my least favourites.
The Boss of snowpack is a low note for me. 1. It's just a woman in a sweater 2. She merely gets covered in ice cubes. There is no "form" to the boss. I always disliked how the big threat of the dungeon is just ice blocks with spikes on them
For me, Stone Tower Temple's gotta be the best dungeon in the series. Just so many memorable moments. Climbing the tower, fighting the mini bosses, flipping the temple for the first time, going through the same rooms you just traversed but flipped upside-down creating a new experience entirely. I didn't actually like Twinmold too much, but aside from that it's a 10/10 dungeon all-around.
Twilight Princess had some phenomenal dungeons, they leaned more into a story arc as a set up with a pay off which was lovely. The Zora queen, Yeti couple ect. Loved all bits of it.
Even when there wasn't a plotline for Link revolving around the dungeon, the Arbiter's Grounds has such a rich and horrid history of its own that helps it fit in with the others that have a real story arc that we unfold.
I absolutely loved the Arbiter's grounds. It was difficult, scary, mysterious, and fun to figure out; and all of it lead up to one of my favorite fights in the entire series. It really appealed to the Dark Souls fan in me.
My first time I played TP I got the Spinner, somehow missed where I was supposed to go next, and backtracked all the way through the dungeon to the boss room…only to realize I completely missed the boss key and sealed off the ENTIRE TEMPLE. Insult to injury I think I’d also already saved…so…I couldn’t reload and had to delete that save file
Stallord is easily a top-5 boss across any video game I've played. I can give myself goosebumps thinking about that remixed version of Volvagia's fight music.
3:32 my oldest brother, who had already beaten OoT before, was showing me the ropes when I was about 8. We played through the Inside the Deku Tree and after the initial cutscene showing the interior of Dodongo’s Cavern played, he stood up, said “You’ll never make it past this dungeon”, and left the room. I remember feeling a little scared and too young to be playing the game. I think that was a big part of what made me so tenacious at trying to unearth the answers to puzzles, explore every area, and complete the whole game. I felt so accomplished every time I completed a new portion of the game, and was legitimately sad after the end-credits rolled.
I feel like this list features a lot of counterbalancing to make things feel more "fair". This happens a lot with twilight princess as your descriptions tend to allude to them being super good and unique, and then you give them a C
Most of Twilight Princess dungeons were linear and lacked an overarching puzzle, opting for a room to room approach. They were pretty, but it felt like a pretty big departure from the formula they established with Oot and MM.
Spirit Temple is S tier. Love the mirror shield and the way it’s used in the dungeon. They should put mirror shield in BOTW2, but give it mechanics like in the fight with Twinrova against elemental attacks.
This. I was surprised when he put it in A tier. The moment he got to it I thought, "Oh yea, this and Forest are the two definite S Tiers of OoT". Not sure why he put it in the A tier. I would have even put Stone Tower in S tier
Man, Twilight Princess really is the gold standard for 3D Dungeons in my eyes. I always look forward to them, they have fun bosses and their designs are really cool.
Totally agree! I feel like they're some of the most immersive in the series (and like some other people have already mentioned, really cohesive within the game's lore). TP was my first Zelda game and I feel like I was absolutely spoiled by the dungeons.
It is great but I wonder if it could have been bigger. The the last few dungeons seems to get pretty condensed, no new areas, lackluster dungeon items. etc
Pahaha, suppose I should have clarified that B tier is the default for good dungeons, then ones that really stand out are A, then my absolute favourites end up in S. So B tier is full of solid dungeons with no real issues! 😃
Id argue the atmosphere in skyview temple is more than eerie, its honestly so serene at the same time that I find the mood to be totally unique amongst dungeons. Its my very favorite, and its honestly really pleasant to be in to me
Honestly, if it was up to me, I'd put pretty much every Twilight Princess dungeon in either A or S. It's BY FAR the game in the whole series; not just 3D, that has the best dungeons, and it also helps that they are quite lengthy. They are all masterfully designed, and if there's something in one of the dungeons that goes wrong, there's ALWAYS something else that makes up for it, like the atmosphere of the Twilight Palace making up for its short length compared to others. Every dungeon in this game is a masterpiece, even City in the Sky, which might actually be my favourite dungeon in the whole game. So yeah, I think that Twilight Princess's dungeons are massively underrated and deserve a lot more love.
@Banuner just finished playing windwaker on my android tablet bro, emulation is so easy you should check out some guides I'm sure you could get it working
Snowpeak Ruins and Sandship are my two favorite dungeons because of the unique setting and how progressing through the dungeon sort of tells a story. Also, City in the Sky and Great Bay Temple are both A-Tier in my opinion.
One of my absolute favorite things to watch is Zelda TH-camrs doing a tier list for something like favorite dungeons, favorite games, or favorite bosses. This was really well put together, kudos to you!
@@anonymousfellow8879 Yeah but it's really only enjoyable when someone (like Zeltik) actually knows what they are talking about and have given it thought.
Ancient Cistern will forever be my favorite dungeon. The contrasting half of the dungeons and all the Buddhist inspirations throughout just makes it absolutely amazing.
I've always adored Snowpeak Ruins, what a novel concept for a dungeon. I found the corruption of a sweet soul like Yeta by the mirror shard to be great storytelling as well.
I have to say. This was the best Zelda Tier List I've seen in terms of presentation. Most just talk and show the tier list the whole time. Zeltik actually put so much effort and time into presenting this, showing all the footage of the dungeons and made his reasons and thoughts so much more interesting due to the footage involved. Once again proving why Zeltik is IMO the best TH-camr on the platform. Love your videos and this is another gem. Thanks for all your hardwork!
I love OOT's forest temple so so much! I like the loneliness, that overall eerie atmosphere and I also love the fact that it's an abandoned overgrown mansion deep in the forest. Also the puzzles are top-notch!
I agree too! However my very first playthrough I was so creeped out by the chanting in the music that I noped outta there quick. Yes I dove back in and managed to get lost, so asked a friend for help. He showed me the way through and I was amazed by how the dungeon was well designed with every section having its own quirks and traps...
@Teamgeist I mean I don't wanna be rude but what, were you expecting a circus in there or something? Re-ded parties? The desolation and isolation is the point of the whole place. Too many enemies would mean a lot of you hacking them up and the commotion would ruin the temple's cold ambience.
I remember The City in the Sky in TP being the only dungeon where I couldn't guess what treasure I was getting... For the life of me I couldn't see what I needed to progress to the parts of the dungeon that were locked away behind the dungeons treasure, right up until I opened the chest, got another clawshot and holy shit, everything clicked and I realised just what was going on with this dungeon and it is honestly one of the few surprising dungeon treasures I've ever got across every Zelda game
maybe i misunderstood the criteria a bit, but i was surprised Ikana Castle didn't make it into the list! It's longer than most of OoT's child dungeons, full of puzzles and combat encounters, makes good use of masks and items, and even has a proper unique boss fight that's extremely cool and memorable. i guess technically all it's really missing is a Heart Container and a blue warp?
There are certainly a couple things I would've put on this list as well that I guess just aren't considered "dungeons" in the end, I suppose? I also kinda wish the 2.5D or pseudo-3D games (don't know what to call them) were in here, like Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks, Link Between Worlds and Link's Awakening remake, and even technically Cadence of Hyrule. Also I would think Hyrule Warriors counts as having dungeons.
Personally, City in the Sky is one of my favorite dungeons in the series due to the atmosphere and how fun the double claw shots are but I totally get why you have it low. It is really long.
It ranks higher for me because of the lore that got further expanded on it skyward sword. I do appreciate the continuity though with the fact in ss you get double clawshots in skyward sword but in tp one of them seemed to of fallen below the clouds at some point. Or one was given to the zora for safe keeping. It's gotta make you wonder if the two hookshots in oot were meant to replicate them? Given who has them it actually makes sense.
I don’t think it’s Skyloft. Skyloft didn’t need machinery to keep it in the sky. Considering the overall themes of TP especially with how the sheikah were driven into a ghetto then walled off with a landslide and not allowed to leave until the so-called “messenger of the heavens” showed up (and arrived far too late; Impaz is elderly and the only survivor and had been alone long before Twilight Fell)…plus the Stylized Sheikah Eyes on all the doors? How that place feels like a crumbling factory and has BARS on various openings? How the Oocaa have the RED eyes characteristic of the sheikah (and the Series has already had god-caused evolutions established in the franchise with Windwaker) That’s a sweatshop. The Sheikah were locked in and enslaved, with the Messenger Rod carried by the official who carried off the next batch of Sheikah. They were then abandoned with the rod tossed into the Temple of Time. The Skybook and its letters were scattered. Impaz’s family died. The Sheikah slaves left in a now-crumbling factory evolved into the Oocaa-something able to survive falling off and needing to consume less calories. And if you really listen to the music? Aside from how it is incredibly repetitive and eery, its pattern and rhythm is similar to New Kakariko’s in Eldin (where the ruined cannon is found), and the Oocaa chanting sounds like a *lament.* (Aaaand as Hylians often do but especially in TP’s Lore, they rewrite history about what happened, completely erasing their sins. But like everything else subtext-wise in TP, it’s glaringly obvious. Mess with a TV’s contrast and it’s pretty horrifying what details the devs put into the level designs for the original Wii and probably GC releases.)
@@anonymousfellow8879 that’s some interesting thoughts. I personally believe the Oocca may be related to the wind tribe from minish cap. Nintendo Black Crisis and Zelink made a video on it and it seemed to make sense to me
On my first date with an ex I had forgotten I had paused City of the Sky before we left for the concert venue. So when we returned I was like: "Yeah, uhm, I just have to finish this dungeon." I think she spent most of the time making fun of me dropping into bottomless voids. For some reason she ended up putting up with me for some years lol. Think I even got her to play some Zelda, even tho I had to help with the dungeons half the time.
Personally, I expected TP Hyrule Castle to be an A tier at a minimum, especially considering all the praise it rightly got, and honestly even the Palace of Twilight felt like it needed higher mention. And while I do understand the 2 criticisms for the Goron Mines and the City in the Sky where one was too short and one felt too long, they both also feel like very strong high B to A tier contenders. I genuinely don't believe ANY TP Dungeon should have been ranked lower than B Tier, just based on design choices, themes, items, lore, atmosphere, enemies, and presentation. Like, say what you will about any mainline Zelda game, but there's a reason the IP is held in such high regard, there is a consistent quality in the execution of what is definitely a passionate series. It is a beloved franchise because of the experiences fostered with the players. Like many of the target franchise audience, I grew up with OoT and have a high standard for my 3D Zelda games, but on so many design and presentation decisions alone, I think TP is overall one of the most phenomenal entries in the series. And specifically looking at dungeons, I honestly believe TP sets the Gold Standard for dungeons. Every Zelda game has its shortcomings and exploitable flaws, and nostalgia is actually important to consider when looking back at each Zelda game (even objectively), because the purpose of these games is to immerse the player in the experience, story, and adventure. Some of the reasons the S Tiers were so high specifically had to do with how immersive they were, the mysteries, the ways the dungeons affect the player and are made MEMORABLE because of their execution, that's what Zelda is all about. It's why people get mad about OoT pandering but at the same time have to respect OoT for setting expectations, because the sheer MEMORY of the experiences formed from the very beginning left an impact that spanned literal generations.
I would have put it like this S - Arbiter’s Grounds, Snowpeak Ruins, Hyrule Castle as they all have amazing designs that fit their theme as well as some of the best bosses in the series (mini boss and main boss alike) A - Temple of Time, Palace of Twilight, Forest Temple. These three suffer from their lengths a bit, I really with the palace of twilight went on for a bit longer, and the others can get a tad boring for me but the bosses are again amazing B - City in the Sky, Goron Mines. They dont do anything wrong, but could have been better. The goron mines dont make enough use out of the bow like the forest temple from Oot did as an example, and Firus is underwhelming. The city in the sky drags on way too long. It always takes me multiple sessions to finish when I go back to it. C - Lakebed temple. The only one I would call average. It just feels like another okay-ish water dungeon, but serves its purpose in introducing the claw shot. As cool as morpheel looks, I wouldn’t be able to tell you how to get hit by it in the second phase. It feels like the developers forgot to add hit boxes.
It’s just a shame that for having some of the best dungeons, TP has some of the worst content that happens in between dungeons. Namely collecting the tears of light and moving the owl statues to complete the alphabet and reach the city in the skies. None of these things are fun, they are just tedious and boring and it feels like their only purpose is to (artificially) lengthen the game.
Hyrule Castle from Twilight Princess deserves at least A tier, if not S tier. The mini-boss battle, the classic theme when you finally get inside, the help from your allies, the 3-part boss battle, and of course: THE GRAVE OF THE HERO OF TIME!!!
As a 6 or 7 year old great bay temple STUMPED my friends and I. To where when I finally figured it out my homies Germane, Ramon, and Kevin absolutely had to come over and watch me demonstrate how to beat it. For that reason alone it has a special place in my heart. Little did we know the absolute monster of a dungeon that was to come: the stone tower temple. RIP Kevin. I’ll never forget destroying XG Racing 3 on co op with you.
Hope so too. I get the importance of the divine beasts in botw. But even if they weren't necessarily super repetitive in mechanics, they just felt bland and lifeless to me. Would love to see some real dungeons in botw2. Maybe some cool cavern themed dungeon, and definitely a dungeon in the sky
Naaah, BOTW is more better in finding this 120 little dungeons and more focus on wild and open world and many more other things. 5 bigger dungeons in BOTW were enough, plus The whole world is Dungeon, like for example finding all photos, fairies, koroks etc.
Stone Tower has to be my all time favorite, with OOT's forest temple being a close second. Although, I will caveat, I hated Stone Tower the first time I played it, because it confused the heck out of me. I later grew to love it, and think it's a great final dungeon to my second favorite Zelda game after BOTW. I love the eerie music and setting of both dungeons. The sense of, you're alone in a place with a lot of history and mystery behind it. Also, Stone Tower's boss fight against Twinmold is my favorite boss fight. Seeing Link urning into a giant and going full WWE on a gigantic floating interdimensional worm is just a load of fun
You and I have literally the same views! Best top 2 dungeons and Zelda games by far! Majora’s Mask was never surpassed until BotW showed up. Now, the sequel is probably guaranteed to top that. So excited!
That was a pretty good list. My only gripe is that all of Majora's Mask dungeons were underrated, as I believe they are some of the best crafted dungeons in the series. Specially Stone Tower Temple I think its easily one of the greatest dungeons in the series and definitely deserves a spot in S. It is very strange to see it right next to something like the Great Deku Tree.
I really feel like Zeltnik completely overlooked the nuance of most of Majora's Mask's dungeons. He says that they're fundamentally used to showcase the title's signature masks, but doesn't seem to recognize the full weight that statement has, especially with regards to the Goron and Zora masks. The masks go significantly beyond the common use of puzzle-solving items which define the structure of mainline Zelda games to become entire playstyles unto themselves, and that's frankly a pretty profound thing for each dungeon to work with. They're structured differently and in general more difficult and complex than equivalent OoT dungeons because MM expects you to already have experience from OoT. On top of that, the dungeons are consistently very beautifully tied into the stories of the surrounding region and the overarching narrative of Majora's curses and torment of Termina's populace. Only Twilight Princess tends to reach a comparable level in terms of lore, and even then, not always.
I feel like the fact that so much of Hyrule Castle (BotW) is skippable, but people still choose to delve deeply into it speaks volumes about how compelling it is as a dungeon. Sometimes in Zelda dungeons I get tired of puzzles etc, and am simply just playing through for progression, but Hyrule Castle had me hyped for the ENTIRE game, and it felt very rewarding to go through not just because of the music, and design, but also that there is a lot of valuable items to be found within it, as well as cool secrets - something that a lot of other Zelda dungeons don't have. I think the fact that Hyrule Castle has secrets that are completely missable make finding them so unbelievably cool, and maybe Zelda dungeons in the future should take bigger chances with secrets.
I don’t care if I’m entirely alone on this - Forsaken Fortress is S Tier. Especially if you consider the build-up from going through it the first time. Having to sneak around and avoid detection during the first visit, only to bust in head-on the second time, and the boss fight was so satisfying
Not sure if I would call it S but it was wicked cool! A tier for me. Maybe low S but not sure. Going to stealth (first run) to shredding (second run) through enemies you had to previously hide from was wicked (:
Hilariously OoT's Forest Temple was to me as Dodongo's Cavern was to you, something about the enclosed spaces, wallmasters and twisting corridors just spooked me too much as a kid
I really like how balanced your tier list is. There’s no judgment that feels out of place or unjustified. Like you said at the start of the video, all Zelda dungeons are great, even those in D-tier, so it’s nice to see the good parts of the inferior dungeons still be highlighted.
Except botw dungeons in my eyes, those deserved to be in a tier of their own with how much I disliked them. All my opinion though if you liked them then good for you
@@ebinmarshall753 I liked them for what they were. They were clearly going for something different with the shrines and beasts. To me, they shouldn’t really be compared to traditional Zelda dungeons.
@@ebinmarshall753 except that was the entire point of botw, breaking from the rigid zelda formula after 18 games to explore and experiment with new ideas, like they did in it's early years. an exploration and evolution of miyamoto's original dream for it. whether its meant as a break to let loose their creativity, a revival of the series, or whatever they have planned going forward, it has as much right being a "zelda" game as any other lol
@@ebinmarshall753 As I said, it’s extremely clear that they were going for something completely different and experimental. The Divine Beasts are optional; they are not the main part of BOTW. That game is about so much more.
My favorite has to be either the arbiter’s ground and the ancient cistern I’m a big fan of indiana Jones and I got that vibe while going through the dungeon not to mention the spinner is one of the most fun Zelda items to use and stalord is very fun and the ancient cistern because one it has huge HUGE lore significance and second it’s fun I also really like the whip item and the Buddhist theme is really neat and koloktos is my favorite non final boss fight in Zelda to me in order for a dungeon to be good it has to have good gameplay good atmosphere and a good boss that’s just my opinion though
I have to say, one of my favorite things about the Temple of Time in Twilight Princess is that it confirmed a theory I had had since I played OoT: that the resting place of the Master Sword in ALttP is what remains of the Temple of Time in OoT. Twilight Princess serves as a bridge to those two versions of the swords pedestal. Grant it, TP exists on a different timeline as ALttP but still...
For whatever reason, City in the Sky has always been my favorite Zelda dungeon. The thought of being so high in the sky, the strange bit ambient and relaxing music atmosphere, and the boss all make it extremely intriguing to explore. Puts it has the double clawshots, so….
Twilight princess really had such amazing dungeons. Consistently great, all pretty fun on repeat plays. I look forward to each dungeon in that game every time I replay
The ancient cistern is excellent. The contrast of the main floor and the hell underneath is gorgeous, and it has one of the best fights in the series hands down. Highlight of the game for sure
I personally like the use of older dungeon material in the final dungeons. not quite to the standard of S or even A, but to me it acts as a reminder of what brought Link to this point. "This was your journey and now it's at its end" type deal.
Inside Jabu-Jabu at D tier is crazy to me. That dungeon is so cool and unique. Keeping with the water theme but with a different twist, temple at the bottom of the lake is predictable, inside of a fish is off the wall and charming. The princess ruto parts were fun too, she added a fun element to the puzzles and had entertaining dialogue
I actually always wondered if anyone liked that dungeon lol every re playthrough I’ve done of OOT I always wished I could somehow skip Ethan part. It was just so annoying to me
as someone who does a lot of OoT Randomizers, Jabu-Jabu, Water Temple, and Fire Temple are the 3 i hope dont have anything needed to beat the game in them. to me, the only redeeming part of Jabu is the fact you're in a living creature.
I think i might be alone here(and late at that😂), but i actually really like the water temple from oot. The centralized theme of raising and lowering the water level is very cool, and the fact that it affects both the puzzles in the dungeon, and the way you traverse it is actually really neat to me. Sure, the iron boots thing is annoying, but if you look past that, i think the dungeon is very underated
You're not alone, it's cleverly designed and requires you to think and use the map. It punishes people who just wander around hoping they stumble across a key.
I love it on the 3DS remake. But i really disliked it when i played the original on the 64. The annoyance of the constant menu switching the boots on the 64 really tanked my enjoyment of that dungeon. I can not stress how annoying that was, escpecially since there was like 1.5sec delay for the menu on the 64 combined with how you have to learn the dungeon layout by exploring (adding to how many times you have to switch).
The greatest flex I've ever seen from a villain in a video game would have to be from Ganondorf in OOT. Like specifically the fact that he was actively the cause of the build-up to him. Climbing the tower to get to him and hearing his theme just keep getting louder and when you finally get to him you walk into the room and he's literally playing his theme on a pipe organ and the music just stops when he turns around to acknowledge that you finally made it to him. THAT right there is what I'd call a flex. I rank the final dungeon in OOT very highly just for that. Just the moment you realize it isn't the background music that's playing and he's literally just sitting there on an organ when you finally find him. I'm going to be honest that is equally one of the funniest yet badass things I've ever seen in a video game. XD
my mouth dropped when inside of the moon was at D tier. it's my favorite area in any zelda game ever, it's so creative and feels like the perfect summary to such a unique game.
The lore is fantastic, amd the area has a spiritaul, surreal feel to it. But that goron mini trial.... oh dear god that is one of the most frustrating parts of any zelda game.
I played through it yesterday for a second time. And the goron part was the most annoying thing in the world. I actually really dislike rolling around as goron Link because the controls are so bad. Shifting the stick just a little bit to the left or right lets Link roll far too wide. Then again, when I played this game as a kid (it was the 3ds version) I seemingly didn't have much difficulties with this area (I don't remember it being annoying). I replayed the game on the Switch Emulator. Is it just in the N64-version where Goron Link is so annoying to control or is it the Switch emulator?
Pretty solid list. Personally happy TP got two on your S tier. I really wished the Divine Beasts in BotW were guarding actual temples/dungeons in their respective regions instead of being just what they were. Imagine finding a hidden oasis in the desert that had signs of the Desert Colossus from OoT or getting access to a forgotten crystal mine in the mountain crater that was linked to the Earth Temple? Doesn't even have to be completed but could've helped the citizens recover parts of their lost regions. Really hope BotW 2 delivers.
One of my favourite content creators, Zelda centred or not. Zeltik has a beautiful way of writing, explaining details succinctly with a captivating tone. Godspeed Zeltik
It never occurred to me before that Twilight Princess is only 3D zelda with a "proper" final dungeon instead of a boss-rush or series of mini-dungeons.
The ones I remember the most are the Spirit Temple, Stone Tower Temple, Ganondorf's tower at the end of Twilight Princess, and the Ancient Cistern. I also loved Vah-Naboris in Breath of the Wild, because I went for that divine beast first and the Thunderblight Ganon kicked my ass so hard, it was sooooo satisfying to finally best him - I was literally shaking at the end.
Thunder light Venom was so easy for me, probable because I waited until he rammed into my daruks protection and then sacked him with the master sword. For the second phase I just did the same thing with a lightning resistance meal, and at the end I just pulled out bomb arrows!😁
Funny enough, the Water Temple in Ocarina of Time is my husband's favorite dungeon in the whole Legend of Zelda series, and is one that he compares all other game dungeons to. With me, it's a tie between The Forest Temple and Shadow Temple in Ocarina of Time. Both have amazing background music, great mystery and have wonderful atmosphere to them.
I'm a sucker for the Sandship from Skyward Sword. Loved the unique ability of the timeshift stones more better on the Sandship and around the general Lanayru Sand Sea when exploring it with Captain Skipper more better than in or around the Lanayru Mining Facility. The timeshift stones have a more greater impact in terms of traveling and reshaping of the environment in the sand sea rather than around the outside within the Lanayru Desert and/or inside of the mining facility. Yes, the timeshift stones are still a pretty cool thing to utilize around the Lanayru Desert and in the mining facility, just that the sand sea and the Sandship capitalizes on the use of the timeshift stones. Although other than all of that, I really liked the feel of the Sandship when you activate the timeshift stone to view the present or past of the ship, especially the change of music when you change between the past and present. The Sandship makes you feel like you're actually exploring the ship from the top decks, the interior of the ship and Brig, and to the engine room area of the ship. The rooms have great cohesion and remains consistent to the shape of the ship rather than being lazy in development and have rooms sticking out randomly in out of bounds beyond the shape and dimensions of the ship. The Tentalus final boss can be a bit difficult when dealing with its tentacles IMO, but remains a pretty lack luster boss when you figure out its VERY obvious weak spot. Other than that, the change of atmosphere when fighting the boss and when trying to escape the ship from the Captains Quarters feels like something bad had REALLY happened and Tentalus destroying the ship feels like it's destroying an artistic masterpiece. I guess Skipper recalibrated something with the timeshift stone on the ships main mast to make the ship whole again after defeating Mike Wazowskis obese girlfriend and obsorbing Nayrus flame into the Skyward Sword. I don't know how he got the ship all repaired and seaworthy again in a matter of minutes without the aid of the timeshift stone after the ship was basically ripped apart in two, but I guess some things are not worth trying to logic I guess, game theory that shit. I really liked exploring the Sandship again and exploring the sand sea even in the endgame. I just really like appreciating the Sandship and exploring the sand sea especially when the timeshift stones are involved. When you complete the Sandship, I really liked going down to the Brig in the past to see all the bokoblins locked up and using the Beetle to fly through the jail bars to spook the fuck out of the bokoblins, lol. I guess that's my explanation on why the Sandship is my favorite Zelda dungeon. Just a well designed dungeon that best utilizes the timeshift stones a bit more better than the Lanayru Mining Facility IMO, but is subject to debate. If not, then I guess I like how the timeshift stone environmentally enhances the Sandship. Forgive me if I got some things wrong here and there, it's been a long time since I played Skyward Sword. 😅
Forest Tempel will always be my favorite. (Alongside that mansion from TP). Even as a child I had this weird fascination for eerie, foggy, abandoned places like this. For as long as I can remember, I liked the melancholy of foggy forest areas like the Forest Tempel, the path down to Silent Hill in SH2, or the forest outside Royal Chapel in Symphony of the Night. Even while writing this comment, just by thinking about OoT's Forest Temple, I can smell the scent of the forest. That smell of trees, earth and sometimes mushrooms. It's melancholic but also romantic somehow. The music is perfect and the whole temple looks like an old Burg, forgotten in time. Forest Temple also has great puzzles and Phantom Ganon is one of the coolest bosses in the series. Let me tell you, once I'm dead, I'll make sure to find a place like this to haunt.
Going back through your old videos right now. I had the exact same childhood memory of dodongos cavers in OoT. Took me until I was 15 to muster the courage to revisit it!!
I personally loved the Goron Mines in Twilight Princess, simply because it was the first dungeon that felt like it was based in some form of reality, instead of simply being a dungeon for a dungeons sake. A lot of the places in Twilight Princess felt the same, which fit super well with the ‘realistic Zelda’ theme of the game
Twilight Princess is just a work of art. If Breath of the Wild didn't have such good mechanics and design, it would be the best Zelda game for me. TP has the best music still.
TP is the best overall imo, I didn’t care for BOTW - too open, non traditional dungeons, no overworld music, all bosses looked the same and were boring. BOTW is the most overrated game of all time.
The twinmold fight in MM3D drags on for long because the red twinmold regenerates health. The Project Restoration hack fixes this so the fight no longer drags on.
Ancient Cistern in S tier where it belongs. I remember playing the game and looking forward to that dungeon. Not just for the gorgeous atmosphere, but for the boss. Koloktos is one of the greats in terms of Zelda bosses.
Ah, man, Ganons Tower in the D rank hurts a bit. It's my 2nd favorite behind the Palace of Twilight. There's also no such thing as too many Darknut fights. Except in Minish Cap. You know what I'm talking about. Bastards are impossible to kill without being cheap.
Mostly agree with these takes. Personally, I put the Shadow Temple from OoT in S tier. It's my favorite dungeon in the game, is dark and disturbing, has a fantastic and mysterious story behind it, and a solid boss fight that requires both dungeon items (yes, I'm counting the Lens of Truth) to fight and has a bizarre Lovecraftian feel. Have I mentioned how much I love the Shadow Temple?
I agree! Shadow Temple raises the stakes and expands the lore. You are literally in a cemetery where the Royal family does their dirty work.. seriously?! Creepy atmosphere and sets such a dark tone!
Can I just say that Fyrus is one of the most terrifying bosses in the series? When I first encountered him, I spent more time trying to run away than fighting him.
Ive always considered Lakebed to be the best water themed dungeon in the series, and City in the Sky is my favorite dungeon period. Seeing both get C-tier on this highly subjective personal ranking fills me with seething rage!
I haven’t played all 3D games, but in the S Tier I would rank all the dungeons you have ranked there (Forest Temple, Arbiter’s Grounds, Snowpeak Ruins, Ancient Cistern) and just add the City in the Sky. I absolutely loved that dungeon every time I played through Twilight Princess. Twilight Princess in general makes me feel so nostalgic, I’m in love with every part of that game🥹😅
My personal favorite dungeon in the series has to be Arbiter’s Grounds. The atmosphere is great, the backstory is genuinely creepy, the puzzles are really good and it has what in my opinion are the second best mini boss and the best boss in the series, apart from a criminally underused item
Arbiter's Grounds was the dungeon that made me stop progressing in the game when I was a kid because it was just that creepy and made me feel like I wasn't up for the challenge just yet. So I reset the game file every time I got to Arbiter's Grounds until eventually I had enough courage to fight myself through the creepy vibes. Now it definitely is one of my favorite dungeons since it's just extremely well executed
It's not mentioned here but I really like the dungeons in A Link Between Worlds. I think the use of the wall merging mechanic for several are super fun. I also like the dungeons in Phantom Hourglass. I won't count Triforce Heroes because it doesn't really have dungeons but I think it's an absolutely underrated LoZ game with super fun boss levels.
*P.S. - Lengthy post.* This is actually a really fun video where the viewer can play along and share their thoughts and opinions and rate each dungeon accordingly as well. Which is exactly what I've done, so here is my tier list with dugeons in the order mentioned in the video: *Ocarina of Time:* Deku Tree - B Death Mountain - C JabuJabu - C Forest Temple - D Fire Temple - F Water Temple - A Shadow Temple - B Spirit Temple - C Ganon Castle - A *Majora's Mask:* Woodfall Temple - B Snowhead Mountain - U (for unrated) Great Bay - A Stone Tower - S Inside the Moon - D *Wind Waker:* Dragon Roost - A Forbidden Woods - C Temole of the Gods - B Forsaken Fortress - A Earth Temple - A Wind Temple - B Ganon's Tower - B I haven't played Twilight Princess but it is on my list, so no ratings for TP. *Skyward Sword:* Skyview Temple - D Earth Temple - C Lanyaru Desert - S Ancient Cistern - U (for unknown; I genuinely cannot remember this dungeon) Sandship - S* Fire Temple - C Skykeep Tower - B *Breath of the Wild:* Water Elephant - D Fire Lizard - C Wind Bird - D Sand Camel - D Hyrule Castle - A Haven't played the Champion's Ballad, so no rating. And that's that. I hope we see some more opinion-based videos like this one, these are really fun to play along to.
FINALLY, I find someone who agrees with me regarding the incredible disappointment that is City in the Sky. The concept of the dungeon is one of the most interesting in the entire series, but the execution is just terrible. It's slow moving, the music is forgettable, and while the dual hookshot is a cool idea, it's uses are just okay. And the dungeon boss is very easy and kinda boring. C tier for me easily and a completely letdown compared to the other dungeons in TP.
I will agree on everything else, but choose to respect your opinion on the bgm being "forgettable". I'm a fan of creepy things, and the first time I heard the song left a VERY strong (possibly scarring) impression on me.
Really well done tier list. I agree on all S tier placements. Some of my thoughts: I think Woodfall Temple and Lakebed Temple deserve bonus points for atmosphere and aesthetics. I feel the exact same way for the City in the Sky. It looks cool and is a nice concept, but gameplaywise, it drags on. And I would put TP Hyrule Castle way higher. Great video. I would also love one about 2D dungeons (Palace of Winds better be S tier).
The four you put in S tier are the same exact four I would have put there! All my faves. SO good, especially Arbiter’s Grounds. That one is unmatched for me. I think Sandship would have made it higher for me if it had slightly more challenging puzzles and, like you mentioned, Tentalus had a better design. The concept and atmosphere of that dungeon (and the whole Lanayru Sand Sea area) are one of my favorite things about Skyward Sword.
I like the list and there are good arguments about everything and why u count them at what tier. U put a lot of work into these, however, I am missing the dungeons from Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks as those are very much also 3D games. Both games are hardly seen anywhere so it's a bit sad they were forgotten in a tier list they clearly would be part of. Great video tho
I’m not even done the video yet, but I HAD to come say this so I didn’t forget. I always feel like I’m alone in my opinion (at least with people I’ve spoken to about it) that Snowpeak Ruins is one of the best in the series. So I’m OVERJOYED you understand and agree. I love good fights and amazing puzzles, but atmosphere and a sense of mystery is what always grabs and holds my attention. Which is also why I agree with you that the OoT Forest Temple is also my favorite of OoT (maybe the whole series as well). We might have different opinions on some other temples, but that’s what’s amazing about seeing other’s opinions! You pointed out things I’ve never thought of and it makes me look at some temples in a different way and makes me respect and enjoy them more. PS, I love your content and you’re definitely my favorite Zelda TH-camr! 💚
I both find myself disagreeing with some of your placements and unable to really decide my own so honestly just kudos for being able to think through all of these dungeons and ranking them. All in all loved it!
I'd like to note that Fierce Diety's mask was only given when all 20 non transformation mask in Majora were given to the Moon Children; requiring you to finish all sidequests in that playthrough. Which is something I think noone did as a kid on their first playthrough (Bomber's notebook was more obtuse in the original version). So the boss itself was a very cool fight if you didn't have it.
I'd love to see what the dungeons of BOTW2 would look like. Perhaps they could do a twist on the Zelda dungeon format, where you get an item that will help you with progression, and is instrumental for defeating the local boss, but if you return later with different items, you can unlock new secrets. And you can do them in any order, like the Divine Beasts, but the one you save for last becomes the hardest.
Will be interesting to see where you place Tears of the Kingdom's dungeons. That you group all the divine beasts as one dungeon is perhaps the most damning (and accurate) thing you could say about them.
They're all barely better than the Divine Beasts. Water Temple is utter shit. Lightning Temple is over before it's begun Fire Temple is kinda fun with the mine carts but still barely a dungeon Wind Temple has a really cool opening but is still pretty shallow Hyrule Castle/Chasm is nothing Spirit Temple is probably the only one I'd rank above a C, just based on how you can find it on your own and that the concept is pretty cool, even if the puzzles themselves are a bit lacking, and it's still too short.
They're definitely a huge step up from BotW. I've come to appreciate how unique they are using the new game structure. Great music and atmosphere, clever puzzles, having a companion helps them to stand out, and like shrines, you can work out the direct solution, or use your own ingenuity and feel just as clever. The only major issue I have is that the Water Temple doesn't do enough to feel different than a normal sky island, though not counting the rest of the sky islands it's super unique with how open it is. At first my gripe with the overall dungeon setup is "I wish these were bigger" or "I wish these were longer", but you can't really gauge their length because of how you can solve them in many ways. So ultimately, I just wish there were more of them. 7 or 8 dungeons total would probably help a lot with the "lacking" feeling a lot of people get.
Something I think is interesting about the Ancient Cistern is that the rope that you climb seems to be inspired by The Spider's Thread short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. It adds another layer of interest for me.
The final trial in botw is super underrated. Easy A for me. I felt it realized the divine beast style challenges in a way the 4 beasts couldn't due to the game's nonlinearity. It aesthetically made sense given the theme it had built to. The boss fight against the monk is incredible and I fully agree one of the best in the series-- especially considering you interact with 120 of these dormant, sleeping monks only to have the 121st one stand up and throw down. My only complaint was that it was too short, keeping it from a personal S rank, but my first playthrough of the final trial was total joy, followed by frustration that the 4 beasts could have been so much more.
I'd definitely bump up OoTs Spirit Temple to S Tier. Love that one and always have for the comprehensive set of challenges it throws your way and also setting it up this well with the whole Naboru Arc. But all in all a very solid List.
The scene of Yeta's face spinning around, twisted by the mirror of Twilight at the start of her bossfight, terrified me when I first played Twilight Princess. I was around 9 or 10 back then, and the sight just haunted me for days xD
I've only played 2 of the games on this list: BOTW and Skyward Sword (will get working on fixing that after TOTK). BOTW is the one I started with, and the one I've spent the most time in. From the perspective of a total Zelda noob, the Divine Beasts were FANTASTIC introductory dungeons. They were short and straightforward which made me feel accomplished for figuring them out, but didn't frustrate me. For that reason I really like the Divine Beasts, even if they are quite short and easy now. The final trial from the Champion's Ballad was a great final challenge for me as well, and I'm really looking forward to doing it again on my quest to 100% BOTW before TOTK comes out. I've never thought of Hyrule Castle in BOTW as a dungeon, but after hearing you describe it that way, I totally see where you're coming from. I've never had to tackle it as one because of being able to skip it and go straight to Ganon, but on my first playthrough I had already explored everything else so I don't think that the non-linearity really hurt it that much for me. Also Lynels are my favourite enemies to fight in the game, so getting locked in a smaller arena with them is a fun change of pace from fighting them in the open. I finished playing through Skyward Sword HD a little while ago and I've got to say that the Sky Keep was my favourite dungeon by far. I didn't mind at all that the rooms were themed after previous dungeons because they incorporated all my favourite aspects of the previous dungeons without the things I found irritating. I also REALLY loved the ability to rearrange the rooms, that was an incredibly cool way to make it feel different from all the other dungeons in the game. The Ancient Cistern was probably my other favourite dungeon, although for whatever reason it took me FOREVER to figure out how to fight Koloktos so I ended up feeling really annoyed by it at the end. I'm definitely curious to try it again sometime and see if my opinion changes after I'm better acquainted with more traditional Zelda games.
I love that you did such a thorough list here, and that you even included the champions ballad dungeon!! I agree with a lot of your placements, but there were a few that I would have ranked differently. In my opinion, the stone tower temple was the greatest zelda dungeon of all time (and I only just experienced it for the first time this year). I would have ranked it S. also, I enjoyed the wind temple in wind waker (largely because of how fun it was bringing makar around the temple) and i would've ranked it higher. I was bored by the twilight princess temple of time and would not have ranked it higher than city in the sky, which I enjoyed a lot more. I also think palace of twilight deserves a tier simply for its uniqueness and i wouldve given the goron mines extra points simply because of how much i love the character designs of the elders. as far as skyward sword goes, i 100% agree on the placements
i really love when the temple makes you go outside of them, for example spirit temples gauntlet chest is on the outside or final descent on ganons castle, windwakers dragon roost volcano also makes you climb it from the outside. idk what it is but i like it, i think its the only charm to the divine beasts in my opinion
For me, it sort of brings context to where you are and how the dungeon interacts with the real world. It adds a depth of creativity as opposed to being underground the whole time, and with open air access anything can happen (mini boss dropped in, for example)
If you think of the parts leading up to the Divine Beasts as part of their dungeon. They become a bit more unique. Not that it greatly improves them, but it definitely helps set them apart from each other. Basically think of them as open world dungeon sections for a more open world game. Just like how some Sheikah shrines are solved without entering them and use surface puzzles. Entering the shrine is just a formality.
I agree with you on almost everything. I'm glad all my favorite dungeons, like the Arbiter's Grounds and Snowpeak Ruins from Twilight Princess and the Ancient Cistern from SS ended up in S tier, hell yeah. I probably would have put the Maz Koshia beast/fight in A tier because it was soooo much fun, but that's just me I guess. I love BotW so much and have no issue with it's lack of traditional dungeons, unlike so many other people. I can't complain about your list very much though, and this was a very fun video to watch so thanks for making it!! I love all your Zelda content so much.
What are your favourite 3D Zelda dungeons? Which of my opinions deserve the most hate? 😅
Very similar to you actually, with some slight differences in the middle. This is pretty accurate overall in terms of objective critic.
I gotta say, Spirit Temple deserved an S tier too. In my opinion, it is by far the best dungeon of OoT and the franchise overall. The music, the architecture, the boss and mini bosses, the time travel mechanic, the puzzles and the story for me make up the best dungeon of Zelda
I loved the temples in the twilight and skyward, but I will admit I didn't like how many times we had to fight the DEMONN LORRD GERRAAMM, Also I like the Scorpion boss fights
Ancient cistern doesn't deserve S tier. It's A tier but not S tier.
Basing this entirely on what you pick for your A tiers which have some pretty fantastic dungeons.
My top ten are
1. Sky Keep
2. Arbiter’s Grounds
3. Temple of Time
4. Fire Sanctuary
5. Great Bay Temple
6. Earth Temple (Wind Waker)
7. Ancient Cistern
8. Stone Tower Temple
9. Hyrule Castle (Twilight Princess)
10. Palace of Twilight
I always loved that Twilight Princess' dungeons felt as though they made the most sense. Almost all of them had a reason to exist beyond a challenge for Link - a functioning mine, a snowy mansion atop a mountain peak, executioners grounds, the Twilit Palace... It seems fitting that the Zelda game most focused on telling a grand epic style story had dungeons that each told a story.
Yeah TP's dungeons always felt the most Natural
The placement also feels natural
Another reason for why BOTW really does not belong within the Top 5 Zelda games.
@@kevc5510 fr botw is so fucking mid
100 per cent agree, absolutely everything that Breath of the wild is not. BOTW was an amazing hub world (as I call it) but it really should of been 20 unique distinctive dungeons with lore and story rather than 120 duplications. Also I got bored of the open worldness after a while wandering aimlessly is not for me give me a linear storyline any day. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH LINEAR
3:26 One thing I particularly like about Inside the Great Deku Tree is that, in the room where the player fights three Gohma larvae, if the player looks up, they can see the Gohma larvae cocoons and shoot them with the slingshot, avoiding the fight entirely through being observant and thinking about the 3D space.
I did that on my first play through, as I was scared of everything and scoured out every room before moving an inch. On my second playthrough tho I completely forgot and they jumped me.
@@DreadeDragon Interesting. I've played Ocarina of Time since I was little, and I was scared of everything, but I wasn't very good, so I never noticed it when I was a kid. It was when I went back to the game a couple years ago, when I had resolved to finish the game, that I noticed it.
@Bloo Berri Indeed. I did that trick during that boss fight.
@Bloo Berri That's a trick? That's just how I fight the boss... The second that eye colour changes, it's time to ping it xD
I went years without knowing about them because I always rushed through with my burning branch before it disappeared (I still don't like it when a stick burns down 😅)
My only real complaint about your list is that I feel like Hyrule Castle from Twilight Princess at LEAST deserved A-tier. I consider it an absolute *treat* to go through every time I play the game.
I AGREE!! I was watching and waiting for him to give it a rating, talkin to myself saying “c’mon, s-tier, s-tier, s-tier” as he was complimenting it like crazy and then he said B TIER and i was like “NAOOO”
Couldn't agree more.
Even just how the music slightly changes as you progress further up in the tower makes it one of the best dungeons in my opinion if we're talking about atmosphere. Every floor you get higher, the theme changes. There are instruments added and from what was an almost quiet and just eerie theme in the beginning, you ascend to a musical theme that rises in importance and intimidation as you realize you're about to stand before Ganondorf himself.
It's an absolute insult putting it so low. The atmosphere is perfect, the monsters and mini bosses are perfect, the puzzles are great and the music is literally the best. Also, it's amazing how different it is from the other final dungeons in the series. To me both hyrule castles from tp and botw are SS tier.
Agreed B Tier definitely doesn’t do it enough justice for me
I’d even possibly put it in S or at least in A
Also I would put City in the Sky higher as it’s my one of my favorite dungeon besides Snowpeak and The Arbiter Grounds in TP
I’d put City in the Sky in A for sure
Jesus Christ loves you
I’m so glad you put Snowpeak Ruins in S tier. It should be talked about more often. It’s a GOAT dungeon for sure
Its widely considered to be one of the best. I dont like tp that much anymore but that dungeon is stilly my favourite
I think it's the most overrated dungeon in the series. There really isn't that much to it in terms of design. Super simple and linear. Meh
@@Al-ji4gd It's about the personality and originality. You track a yeti from the smell of a fish, who turns out to be friendly. Then you snowboard race him to his snowpeak mansion to help him make soup for his ill wife. She turns out to be corrupted by the mirror piece he gifted him, instigating the bossfight. And then the heartpiece hug as a cherry on top. It's so memorable and creative in a game that is so agonizingly boring and predictable
@@tmsplltrs I mean, I appreciate the whimsical nature of it more than anyone, and I know there's more to a dungeon than that, but I ultimately judge it on how well it's designed. The layout, the puzzles, etc... and when it comes to that, Snowpeak is one of my least favourites.
The Boss of snowpack is a low note for me. 1. It's just a woman in a sweater 2. She merely gets covered in ice cubes.
There is no "form" to the boss. I always disliked how the big threat of the dungeon is just ice blocks with spikes on them
For me, Stone Tower Temple's gotta be the best dungeon in the series. Just so many memorable moments. Climbing the tower, fighting the mini bosses, flipping the temple for the first time, going through the same rooms you just traversed but flipped upside-down creating a new experience entirely. I didn't actually like Twinmold too much, but aside from that it's a 10/10 dungeon all-around.
finally a man with a brain organ
I wouldn't say the boss itself was too good, but man it was cool to finally use the Giant's Mask
I love how everything about Ikana Valley .akes you think its going to be somthing like the shadow temple. But its litteraly a light temple instead
Very few dungeons in all Zelda games ever felt to me like a journey to completion like tackling Stone Tower
@@kevinwright6159 and everytime its mentionned the song plays in my head
Twilight Princess had some phenomenal dungeons, they leaned more into a story arc as a set up with a pay off which was lovely.
The Zora queen, Yeti couple ect. Loved all bits of it.
I totally agree. Twilight Princess had the best cohesiveness lore wise, in terms of design and theme.
I also agree. These dungeons are at least B tier all the way through. Definitely one of the best LoZ games.
They were not great though. The weakest of the 3D games with crazy simple puzzles, lol level bosses, a boss that won't attack, and so on.
Even when there wasn't a plotline for Link revolving around the dungeon, the Arbiter's Grounds has such a rich and horrid history of its own that helps it fit in with the others that have a real story arc that we unfold.
@@kevinj12345 Admittedly that’s not a concern for all players. The story, atmosphere and spectacle is what I love about it.
The stone tower temple is definitely one of my favorites. It’s so ominous and atmospheric
it's my fave dungeon in the game!
Definitely the best gimmick and soundtrack for sure.
and the music
But the fucking fairies
Stone Tower Temple probably has my favorite lore of any dungeon in the series
I absolutely loved the Arbiter's grounds. It was difficult, scary, mysterious, and fun to figure out; and all of it lead up to one of my favorite fights in the entire series. It really appealed to the Dark Souls fan in me.
My first time I played TP I got the Spinner, somehow missed where I was supposed to go next, and backtracked all the way through the dungeon to the boss room…only to realize I completely missed the boss key and sealed off the ENTIRE TEMPLE. Insult to injury I think I’d also already saved…so…I couldn’t reload and had to delete that save file
@@anonymousfellow8879 I'm pretty sure reloading the game puts you at the beginning of the temple
Stallord is easily a top-5 boss across any video game I've played. I can give myself goosebumps thinking about that remixed version of Volvagia's fight music.
@@linkheroofwinds it does
YESSSSSSSIIIIRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!
3:32 my oldest brother, who had already beaten OoT before, was showing me the ropes when I was about 8. We played through the Inside the Deku Tree and after the initial cutscene showing the interior of Dodongo’s Cavern played, he stood up, said “You’ll never make it past this dungeon”, and left the room.
I remember feeling a little scared and too young to be playing the game. I think that was a big part of what made me so tenacious at trying to unearth the answers to puzzles, explore every area, and complete the whole game. I felt so accomplished every time I completed a new portion of the game, and was legitimately sad after the end-credits rolled.
I feel like this list features a lot of counterbalancing to make things feel more "fair". This happens a lot with twilight princess as your descriptions tend to allude to them being super good and unique, and then you give them a C
Most of Twilight Princess dungeons were linear and lacked an overarching puzzle, opting for a room to room approach. They were pretty, but it felt like a pretty big departure from the formula they established with Oot and MM.
@@ianwhite2608I quite liked that tbh.. I struggled so much with OOT and MM's dungeons to an embarrassing level lol
@@ianwhite2608 Yeah but then the main one that does have an overarching puzzle he put in C anyway
@@Geralt_of_Rivia7 me, on the other hand, only struggled with the twilight princess' dungeons, and thats why I don't like twilight princess too much
He did that throughout the video. He’ll say a dungeon was just alright and then put it in A tier. He’s not consistent at all.
Spirit Temple is S tier. Love the mirror shield and the way it’s used in the dungeon. They should put mirror shield in BOTW2, but give it mechanics like in the fight with Twinrova against elemental attacks.
This. I was surprised when he put it in A tier. The moment he got to it I thought, "Oh yea, this and Forest are the two definite S Tiers of OoT". Not sure why he put it in the A tier. I would have even put Stone Tower in S tier
@@SuperSweatyPocari Stone Tower Temple is by far my favorite dungeon in Majora’s Mask and should’ve gotten S tier.
Definitely S[pirit] Tier
Spirit is absolutely s tier
Oh imagine a mirror mechanic that can reflect attacks from Wizzrobs and lynels!
Man, Twilight Princess really is the gold standard for 3D Dungeons in my eyes. I always look forward to them, they have fun bosses and their designs are really cool.
Totally agree! I feel like they're some of the most immersive in the series (and like some other people have already mentioned, really cohesive within the game's lore). TP was my first Zelda game and I feel like I was absolutely spoiled by the dungeons.
I never liked twilight princess as much as the previous 3 Zelda’s, but part of me wants to replay it now
It is great but I wonder if it could have been bigger. The the last few dungeons seems to get pretty condensed, no new areas, lackluster dungeon items. etc
@@shaloon64 the HD remake is what you want, it uses the game cube layout and has no motion controls, just makes it a better game imo
Same, I never understood the hate for twilight princess. It deserves more love than it gets
Lol you really made me double take on some of the rankings when you went “There’s nothing wrong with this dungeon, it’s really good. B tier.”
Pahaha, suppose I should have clarified that B tier is the default for good dungeons, then ones that really stand out are A, then my absolute favourites end up in S. So B tier is full of solid dungeons with no real issues! 😃
@@Zeltik hey, today, infact 5 mins ago I found a Zelda botw glitch or bug, I uploaded a video just now, is this a comon thing?
@@livelyvoid9681 it's not a glitch, it's just environment effects. I commented on your video my thoughts about it.
Zelda games are just that good smh
Id argue the atmosphere in skyview temple is more than eerie, its honestly so serene at the same time that I find the mood to be totally unique amongst dungeons. Its my very favorite, and its honestly really pleasant to be in to me
Honestly, if it was up to me, I'd put pretty much every Twilight Princess dungeon in either A or S.
It's BY FAR the game in the whole series; not just 3D, that has the best dungeons, and it also helps that they are quite lengthy. They are all masterfully designed, and if there's something in one of the dungeons that goes wrong, there's ALWAYS something else that makes up for it, like the atmosphere of the Twilight Palace making up for its short length compared to others.
Every dungeon in this game is a masterpiece, even City in the Sky, which might actually be my favourite dungeon in the whole game. So yeah, I think that Twilight Princess's dungeons are massively underrated and deserve a lot more love.
I wanna play TP and WW so bad but they just wont put it on switch 😂
@@banuner_just get a wii U
@@banuner_ Use dolphin emulator
@@banuner_use an emulator
@Banuner just finished playing windwaker on my android tablet bro, emulation is so easy you should check out some guides I'm sure you could get it working
Snowpeak Ruins and Sandship are my two favorite dungeons because of the unique setting and how progressing through the dungeon sort of tells a story. Also, City in the Sky and Great Bay Temple are both A-Tier in my opinion.
No one ever XD
Snow peak and Sandship are so good!
THIS, Ikana's temple in Majora's and the Temple of Time and Beyblade twilight mirror temple in Twilight, Skyward's Ancient Cistern are good contenders
One of my absolute favorite things to watch is Zelda TH-camrs doing a tier list for something like favorite dungeons, favorite games, or favorite bosses. This was really well put together, kudos to you!
Tier Lists are a classic for a reason lol
@@anonymousfellow8879 Yeah but it's really only enjoyable when someone (like Zeltik) actually knows what they are talking about and have given it thought.
Tier lists are cringe.
Ancient Cistern will forever be my favorite dungeon. The contrasting half of the dungeons and all the Buddhist inspirations throughout just makes it absolutely amazing.
That’s actually my personal favorite as well even though Wind waker is my favorite game.
The Koloktos fight is easily one of my favorite boss fights.
I've always adored Snowpeak Ruins, what a novel concept for a dungeon. I found the corruption of a sweet soul like Yeta by the mirror shard to be great storytelling as well.
Arbiter's grounds used to creep the hell out of me. I always loved the dark tone that Twilight Princess tried to set for itself.
I have to say. This was the best Zelda Tier List I've seen in terms of presentation.
Most just talk and show the tier list the whole time. Zeltik actually put so much effort and time into presenting this, showing all the footage of the dungeons and made his reasons and thoughts so much more interesting due to the footage involved.
Once again proving why Zeltik is IMO the best TH-camr on the platform. Love your videos and this is another gem. Thanks for all your hardwork!
I love OOT's forest temple so so much! I like the loneliness, that overall eerie atmosphere and I also love the fact that it's an abandoned overgrown mansion deep in the forest. Also the puzzles are top-notch!
I agree too! However my very first playthrough I was so creeped out by the chanting in the music that I noped outta there quick. Yes I dove back in and managed to get lost, so asked a friend for help. He showed me the way through and I was amazed by how the dungeon was well designed with every section having its own quirks and traps...
It doesn’t have the best puzzles or boss but the atmosphere is the best. Highlight of the game for me & maybe the whole series.
@Teamgeist I mean I don't wanna be rude but what, were you expecting a circus in there or something? Re-ded parties? The desolation and isolation is the point of the whole place. Too many enemies would mean a lot of you hacking them up and the commotion would ruin the temple's cold ambience.
@@stuartdparnell I first play through the game I started the forest temple and went straight to bed as it creeped me out.
Forest temple is my absolute favorite Zelda dungeon and has my favorite bossfight
I remember The City in the Sky in TP being the only dungeon where I couldn't guess what treasure I was getting... For the life of me I couldn't see what I needed to progress to the parts of the dungeon that were locked away behind the dungeons treasure, right up until I opened the chest, got another clawshot and holy shit, everything clicked and I realised just what was going on with this dungeon and it is honestly one of the few surprising dungeon treasures I've ever got across every Zelda game
I was so excited to get another Clawshot! Best type of item in the series just got better!
Hmm, I suppose this is why I like the Just Cause series.
I remember not liking city in the sky but I do like its design.
It actually feels like a massive city.
The Zant Hands are such genius. Like the Silent Realm Guardians, they are brilliant at making the player freak right out
maybe i misunderstood the criteria a bit, but i was surprised Ikana Castle didn't make it into the list! It's longer than most of OoT's child dungeons, full of puzzles and combat encounters, makes good use of masks and items, and even has a proper unique boss fight that's extremely cool and memorable. i guess technically all it's really missing is a Heart Container and a blue warp?
There are certainly a couple things I would've put on this list as well that I guess just aren't considered "dungeons" in the end, I suppose? I also kinda wish the 2.5D or pseudo-3D games (don't know what to call them) were in here, like Phantom Hourglass/Spirit Tracks, Link Between Worlds and Link's Awakening remake, and even technically Cadence of Hyrule. Also I would think Hyrule Warriors counts as having dungeons.
@@TrevorJuve Hyrule warriors is certainly not a Zelda game. It’s a warriors game with a Zelda theme.
I agree with most of this but Stone Tower Temple definitely deserves to be in S tier
Personally, City in the Sky is one of my favorite dungeons in the series due to the atmosphere and how fun the double claw shots are but I totally get why you have it low. It is really long.
It is a really cool dungeon for sure. I got lost in it, and found it rewarding once you figure it out!
It ranks higher for me because of the lore that got further expanded on it skyward sword. I do appreciate the continuity though with the fact in ss you get double clawshots in skyward sword but in tp one of them seemed to of fallen below the clouds at some point. Or one was given to the zora for safe keeping. It's gotta make you wonder if the two hookshots in oot were meant to replicate them? Given who has them it actually makes sense.
I don’t think it’s Skyloft. Skyloft didn’t need machinery to keep it in the sky. Considering the overall themes of TP especially with how the sheikah were driven into a ghetto then walled off with a landslide and not allowed to leave until the so-called “messenger of the heavens” showed up (and arrived far too late; Impaz is elderly and the only survivor and had been alone long before Twilight Fell)…plus the Stylized Sheikah Eyes on all the doors? How that place feels like a crumbling factory and has BARS on various openings? How the Oocaa have the RED eyes characteristic of the sheikah (and the Series has already had god-caused evolutions established in the franchise with Windwaker)
That’s a sweatshop. The Sheikah were locked in and enslaved, with the Messenger Rod carried by the official who carried off the next batch of Sheikah. They were then abandoned with the rod tossed into the Temple of Time. The Skybook and its letters were scattered. Impaz’s family died. The Sheikah slaves left in a now-crumbling factory evolved into the Oocaa-something able to survive falling off and needing to consume less calories.
And if you really listen to the music? Aside from how it is incredibly repetitive and eery, its pattern and rhythm is similar to New Kakariko’s in Eldin (where the ruined cannon is found), and the Oocaa chanting sounds like a *lament.*
(Aaaand as Hylians often do but especially in TP’s Lore, they rewrite history about what happened, completely erasing their sins. But like everything else subtext-wise in TP, it’s glaringly obvious. Mess with a TV’s contrast and it’s pretty horrifying what details the devs put into the level designs for the original Wii and probably GC releases.)
@@anonymousfellow8879 that’s some interesting thoughts. I personally believe the Oocca may be related to the wind tribe from minish cap. Nintendo Black Crisis and Zelink made a video on it and it seemed to make sense to me
On my first date with an ex I had forgotten I had paused City of the Sky before we left for the concert venue. So when we returned I was like: "Yeah, uhm, I just have to finish this dungeon." I think she spent most of the time making fun of me dropping into bottomless voids. For some reason she ended up putting up with me for some years lol. Think I even got her to play some Zelda, even tho I had to help with the dungeons half the time.
Personally, I expected TP Hyrule Castle to be an A tier at a minimum, especially considering all the praise it rightly got, and honestly even the Palace of Twilight felt like it needed higher mention. And while I do understand the 2 criticisms for the Goron Mines and the City in the Sky where one was too short and one felt too long, they both also feel like very strong high B to A tier contenders. I genuinely don't believe ANY TP Dungeon should have been ranked lower than B Tier, just based on design choices, themes, items, lore, atmosphere, enemies, and presentation.
Like, say what you will about any mainline Zelda game, but there's a reason the IP is held in such high regard, there is a consistent quality in the execution of what is definitely a passionate series. It is a beloved franchise because of the experiences fostered with the players.
Like many of the target franchise audience, I grew up with OoT and have a high standard for my 3D Zelda games, but on so many design and presentation decisions alone, I think TP is overall one of the most phenomenal entries in the series. And specifically looking at dungeons, I honestly believe TP sets the Gold Standard for dungeons. Every Zelda game has its shortcomings and exploitable flaws, and nostalgia is actually important to consider when looking back at each Zelda game (even objectively), because the purpose of these games is to immerse the player in the experience, story, and adventure. Some of the reasons the S Tiers were so high specifically had to do with how immersive they were, the mysteries, the ways the dungeons affect the player and are made MEMORABLE because of their execution, that's what Zelda is all about. It's why people get mad about OoT pandering but at the same time have to respect OoT for setting expectations, because the sheer MEMORY of the experiences formed from the very beginning left an impact that spanned literal generations.
I would have put it like this
S - Arbiter’s Grounds, Snowpeak Ruins, Hyrule Castle as they all have amazing designs that fit their theme as well as some of the best bosses in the series (mini boss and main boss alike)
A - Temple of Time, Palace of Twilight, Forest Temple. These three suffer from their lengths a bit, I really with the palace of twilight went on for a bit longer, and the others can get a tad boring for me but the bosses are again amazing
B - City in the Sky, Goron Mines. They dont do anything wrong, but could have been better. The goron mines dont make enough use out of the bow like the forest temple from Oot did as an example, and Firus is underwhelming. The city in the sky drags on way too long. It always takes me multiple sessions to finish when I go back to it.
C - Lakebed temple. The only one I would call average. It just feels like another okay-ish water dungeon, but serves its purpose in introducing the claw shot. As cool as morpheel looks, I wouldn’t be able to tell you how to get hit by it in the second phase. It feels like the developers forgot to add hit boxes.
and he put botw hyrule castlei in A tier, which is honestly barely a dungeon in itself and yet its ranked really high
Well said 👏
It’s just a shame that for having some of the best dungeons, TP has some of the worst content that happens in between dungeons. Namely collecting the tears of light and moving the owl statues to complete the alphabet and reach the city in the skies. None of these things are fun, they are just tedious and boring and it feels like their only purpose is to (artificially) lengthen the game.
@@frantschou2369 I never minded the Tears of Light bit but ooooouuugh those Owl Statues.... 😅 Bit tedious, yeah
Hyrule Castle from Twilight Princess deserves at least A tier, if not S tier. The mini-boss battle, the classic theme when you finally get inside, the help from your allies, the 3-part boss battle, and of course: THE GRAVE OF THE HERO OF TIME!!!
As a 6 or 7 year old great bay temple STUMPED my friends and I. To where when I finally figured it out my homies Germane, Ramon, and Kevin absolutely had to come over and watch me demonstrate how to beat it. For that reason alone it has a special place in my heart. Little did we know the absolute monster of a dungeon that was to come: the stone tower temple. RIP Kevin. I’ll never forget destroying XG Racing 3 on co op with you.
I couldn’t beat great bay temple even at 15 years old. I would get halfway through it by the third day And end up resetting the time.
I really hope we get traditional dungeons in BOTW2. I love wondering through a themed dungeon and finding an item to progress through it.
Same! I would love to see linear dungeons as good as those from Twilight Princes and Skyward Sword in BOTW2!
Hope so too. I get the importance of the divine beasts in botw. But even if they weren't necessarily super repetitive in mechanics, they just felt bland and lifeless to me.
Would love to see some real dungeons in botw2. Maybe some cool cavern themed dungeon, and definitely a dungeon in the sky
Jesus Christ loves you
@@ben2808 Hail Satan.
Naaah, BOTW is more better in finding this 120 little dungeons and more focus on wild and open world and many more other things.
5 bigger dungeons in BOTW were enough, plus The whole world is Dungeon, like for example finding all photos, fairies, koroks etc.
Stone Tower has to be my all time favorite, with OOT's forest temple being a close second. Although, I will caveat, I hated Stone Tower the first time I played it, because it confused the heck out of me. I later grew to love it, and think it's a great final dungeon to my second favorite Zelda game after BOTW.
I love the eerie music and setting of both dungeons. The sense of, you're alone in a place with a lot of history and mystery behind it. Also, Stone Tower's boss fight against Twinmold is my favorite boss fight. Seeing Link urning into a giant and going full WWE on a gigantic floating interdimensional worm is just a load of fun
You and I have literally the same views! Best top 2 dungeons and Zelda games by far! Majora’s Mask was never surpassed until BotW showed up. Now, the sequel is probably guaranteed to top that. So excited!
@@DanielMazahreh I, too, share the same top 2 dungeons and Zelda games as this person.
That was a pretty good list.
My only gripe is that all of Majora's Mask dungeons were underrated, as I believe they are some of the best crafted dungeons in the series. Specially Stone Tower Temple I think its easily one of the greatest dungeons in the series and definitely deserves a spot in S. It is very strange to see it right next to something like the Great Deku Tree.
Stone Tower Temple is a masterpiece of a dungeon and definitely belongs in S.
@@Autonova Its pretty hard and can be slow imo so I would say A. But the design and mechanic is S for sure.
Stone Tower Temple is the best dungeon in the series
@@benobrien7920 It is one of the best, but it is no Ancient Cistern or Sky Temple.
I really feel like Zeltnik completely overlooked the nuance of most of Majora's Mask's dungeons. He says that they're fundamentally used to showcase the title's signature masks, but doesn't seem to recognize the full weight that statement has, especially with regards to the Goron and Zora masks. The masks go significantly beyond the common use of puzzle-solving items which define the structure of mainline Zelda games to become entire playstyles unto themselves, and that's frankly a pretty profound thing for each dungeon to work with. They're structured differently and in general more difficult and complex than equivalent OoT dungeons because MM expects you to already have experience from OoT. On top of that, the dungeons are consistently very beautifully tied into the stories of the surrounding region and the overarching narrative of Majora's curses and torment of Termina's populace. Only Twilight Princess tends to reach a comparable level in terms of lore, and even then, not always.
I feel like the fact that so much of Hyrule Castle (BotW) is skippable, but people still choose to delve deeply into it speaks volumes about how compelling it is as a dungeon. Sometimes in Zelda dungeons I get tired of puzzles etc, and am simply just playing through for progression, but Hyrule Castle had me hyped for the ENTIRE game, and it felt very rewarding to go through not just because of the music, and design, but also that there is a lot of valuable items to be found within it, as well as cool secrets - something that a lot of other Zelda dungeons don't have. I think the fact that Hyrule Castle has secrets that are completely missable make finding them so unbelievably cool, and maybe Zelda dungeons in the future should take bigger chances with secrets.
I don’t care if I’m entirely alone on this - Forsaken Fortress is S Tier. Especially if you consider the build-up from going through it the first time. Having to sneak around and avoid detection during the first visit, only to bust in head-on the second time, and the boss fight was so satisfying
Not sure if I would call it S but it was wicked cool! A tier for me. Maybe low S but not sure. Going to stealth (first run) to shredding (second run) through enemies you had to previously hide from was wicked (:
Hilariously OoT's Forest Temple was to me as Dodongo's Cavern was to you, something about the enclosed spaces, wallmasters and twisting corridors just spooked me too much as a kid
It still scares me haha, but that’s why it’s so good.
You had me at wallmasters. Have hated those things since Link to the Past xD
I think the spookiness makes it a great introduction to the dark, depressing world Link wakes up in after 7 years of Ganon's rule.
It has the spookiness I wish we saw more of with Zelda. It’s still creepy as an adult.
Oh same. That damn place absolutely freaked me out a thousand times more than the Shadow Temple ever could.
I really like how balanced your tier list is. There’s no judgment that feels out of place or unjustified. Like you said at the start of the video, all Zelda dungeons are great, even those in D-tier, so it’s nice to see the good parts of the inferior dungeons still be highlighted.
Except botw dungeons in my eyes, those deserved to be in a tier of their own with how much I disliked them. All my opinion though if you liked them then good for you
@@ebinmarshall753 I liked them for what they were. They were clearly going for something different with the shrines and beasts. To me, they shouldn’t really be compared to traditional Zelda dungeons.
@@fezmel if the main part of the game shouldn’t be compared to all the other Zelda games it might as well not be called a Zelda game
@@ebinmarshall753 except that was the entire point of botw, breaking from the rigid zelda formula after 18 games to explore and experiment with new ideas, like they did in it's early years. an exploration and evolution of miyamoto's original dream for it.
whether its meant as a break to let loose their creativity, a revival of the series, or whatever they have planned going forward, it has as much right being a "zelda" game as any other lol
@@ebinmarshall753 As I said, it’s extremely clear that they were going for something completely different and experimental. The Divine Beasts are optional; they are not the main part of BOTW. That game is about so much more.
My favorite has to be either the arbiter’s ground and the ancient cistern I’m a big fan of indiana Jones and I got that vibe while going through the dungeon not to mention the spinner is one of the most fun Zelda items to use and stalord is very fun and the ancient cistern because one it has huge HUGE lore significance and second it’s fun I also really like the whip item and the Buddhist theme is really neat and koloktos is my favorite non final boss fight in Zelda to me in order for a dungeon to be good it has to have good gameplay good atmosphere and a good boss that’s just my opinion though
I have to say, one of my favorite things about the Temple of Time in Twilight Princess is that it confirmed a theory I had had since I played OoT: that the resting place of the Master Sword in ALttP is what remains of the Temple of Time in OoT. Twilight Princess serves as a bridge to those two versions of the swords pedestal. Grant it, TP exists on a different timeline as ALttP but still...
For whatever reason, City in the Sky has always been my favorite Zelda dungeon. The thought of being so high in the sky, the strange bit ambient and relaxing music atmosphere, and the boss all make it extremely intriguing to explore. Puts it has the double clawshots, so….
Twilight princess really had such amazing dungeons. Consistently great, all pretty fun on repeat plays. I look forward to each dungeon in that game every time I replay
The ancient cistern is excellent. The contrast of the main floor and the hell underneath is gorgeous, and it has one of the best fights in the series hands down. Highlight of the game for sure
I LOVE KOLOKTOS! 😂 Best Zelda Dungeon ever 😂
This was really impressive. Ranking all dungeons is a pretty big task, and you accomplished it with style. Thank you for making this!
I personally like the use of older dungeon material in the final dungeons. not quite to the standard of S or even A, but to me it acts as a reminder of what brought Link to this point. "This was your journey and now it's at its end" type deal.
Inside Jabu-Jabu at D tier is crazy to me. That dungeon is so cool and unique. Keeping with the water theme but with a different twist, temple at the bottom of the lake is predictable, inside of a fish is off the wall and charming. The princess ruto parts were fun too, she added a fun element to the puzzles and had entertaining dialogue
that shit was just confusing as fuck as a kid
I actually always wondered if anyone liked that dungeon lol every re playthrough I’ve done of OOT I always wished I could somehow skip Ethan part. It was just so annoying to me
@@len-ul9ji confusing as an adult. Didn't enjoy it
as someone who does a lot of OoT Randomizers, Jabu-Jabu, Water Temple, and Fire Temple are the 3 i hope dont have anything needed to beat the game in them. to me, the only redeeming part of Jabu is the fact you're in a living creature.
I just replayed it and overall eh
It’s not really interesting room to room and surprisingly short
OMG THIS DUNGEON IS SO INSANE AND SATISFYING, DEFO ONE OF THE BEST IN THE SERIES.... C tier
Real Zeltik moment, that's why we love him
"with some really solidly designed temples with great designs" - Zeltik
Ooh I wasn't expecting a dungeon ranking vid, this is going to be good and as always happy to see another upload from you Zeltik!
I think i might be alone here(and late at that😂), but i actually really like the water temple from oot. The centralized theme of raising and lowering the water level is very cool, and the fact that it affects both the puzzles in the dungeon, and the way you traverse it is actually really neat to me. Sure, the iron boots thing is annoying, but if you look past that, i think the dungeon is very underated
You're not alone, it's cleverly designed and requires you to think and use the map. It punishes people who just wander around hoping they stumble across a key.
I didn’t dislike it; it just took me a while. The music is pretty great
I love it on the 3DS remake. But i really disliked it when i played the original on the 64. The annoyance of the constant menu switching the boots on the 64 really tanked my enjoyment of that dungeon. I can not stress how annoying that was, escpecially since there was like 1.5sec delay for the menu on the 64 combined with how you have to learn the dungeon layout by exploring (adding to how many times you have to switch).
The greatest flex I've ever seen from a villain in a video game would have to be from Ganondorf in OOT.
Like specifically the fact that he was actively the cause of the build-up to him. Climbing the tower to get to him and hearing his theme just keep getting louder and when you finally get to him you walk into the room and he's literally playing his theme on a pipe organ and the music just stops when he turns around to acknowledge that you finally made it to him.
THAT right there is what I'd call a flex. I rank the final dungeon in OOT very highly just for that. Just the moment you realize it isn't the background music that's playing and he's literally just sitting there on an organ when you finally find him. I'm going to be honest that is equally one of the funniest yet badass things I've ever seen in a video game. XD
Too bad for him that Zelda's not really a fan of dark Goth tunes.
@netweed09 Niether is bottle boi unfortunately... .-.
Ghirahim is the biggest flexer.
@@MillieBarger-ku7gj How so?
my mouth dropped when inside of the moon was at D tier. it's my favorite area in any zelda game ever, it's so creative and feels like the perfect summary to such a unique game.
I know right? I mean I don't think it deserves S tier or something, but D tier? Along with Jabu-Jabu? No way.
Yeah the lore is super creative calming and menacing at sametime.
The lore is fantastic, amd the area has a spiritaul, surreal feel to it. But that goron mini trial.... oh dear god that is one of the most frustrating parts of any zelda game.
S Tier, 100%.
Seeing the kids dancing and playing around the tree for the first time is one of my most memorable Zelda moments.
I played through it yesterday for a second time. And the goron part was the most annoying thing in the world. I actually really dislike rolling around as goron Link because the controls are so bad. Shifting the stick just a little bit to the left or right lets Link roll far too wide.
Then again, when I played this game as a kid (it was the 3ds version) I seemingly didn't have much difficulties with this area (I don't remember it being annoying). I replayed the game on the Switch Emulator. Is it just in the N64-version where Goron Link is so annoying to control or is it the Switch emulator?
Pretty solid list. Personally happy TP got two on your S tier.
I really wished the Divine Beasts in BotW were guarding actual temples/dungeons in their respective regions instead of being just what they were. Imagine finding a hidden oasis in the desert that had signs of the Desert Colossus from OoT or getting access to a forgotten crystal mine in the mountain crater that was linked to the Earth Temple? Doesn't even have to be completed but could've helped the citizens recover parts of their lost regions. Really hope BotW 2 delivers.
One of my favourite content creators, Zelda centred or not. Zeltik has a beautiful way of writing, explaining details succinctly with a captivating tone. Godspeed Zeltik
Centered*
It never occurred to me before that Twilight Princess is only 3D zelda with a "proper" final dungeon instead of a boss-rush or series of mini-dungeons.
The ones I remember the most are the Spirit Temple, Stone Tower Temple, Ganondorf's tower at the end of Twilight Princess, and the Ancient Cistern. I also loved Vah-Naboris in Breath of the Wild, because I went for that divine beast first and the Thunderblight Ganon kicked my ass so hard, it was sooooo satisfying to finally best him - I was literally shaking at the end.
Thunder light Venom was so easy for me, probable because I waited until he rammed into my daruks protection and then sacked him with the master sword. For the second phase I just did the same thing with a lightning resistance meal, and at the end I just pulled out bomb arrows!😁
Funny enough, the Water Temple in Ocarina of Time is my husband's favorite dungeon in the whole Legend of Zelda series, and is one that he compares all other game dungeons to. With me, it's a tie between The Forest Temple and Shadow Temple in Ocarina of Time. Both have amazing background music, great mystery and have wonderful atmosphere to them.
Seeing all these dungeons in quick succession really makes me appreciate the art design for all of these.
I'm a sucker for the Sandship from Skyward Sword. Loved the unique ability of the timeshift stones more better on the Sandship and around the general Lanayru Sand Sea when exploring it with Captain Skipper more better than in or around the Lanayru Mining Facility. The timeshift stones have a more greater impact in terms of traveling and reshaping of the environment in the sand sea rather than around the outside within the Lanayru Desert and/or inside of the mining facility. Yes, the timeshift stones are still a pretty cool thing to utilize around the Lanayru Desert and in the mining facility, just that the sand sea and the Sandship capitalizes on the use of the timeshift stones.
Although other than all of that, I really liked the feel of the Sandship when you activate the timeshift stone to view the present or past of the ship, especially the change of music when you change between the past and present. The Sandship makes you feel like you're actually exploring the ship from the top decks, the interior of the ship and Brig, and to the engine room area of the ship. The rooms have great cohesion and remains consistent to the shape of the ship rather than being lazy in development and have rooms sticking out randomly in out of bounds beyond the shape and dimensions of the ship.
The Tentalus final boss can be a bit difficult when dealing with its tentacles IMO, but remains a pretty lack luster boss when you figure out its VERY obvious weak spot. Other than that, the change of atmosphere when fighting the boss and when trying to escape the ship from the Captains Quarters feels like something bad had REALLY happened and Tentalus destroying the ship feels like it's destroying an artistic masterpiece. I guess Skipper recalibrated something with the timeshift stone on the ships main mast to make the ship whole again after defeating Mike Wazowskis obese girlfriend and obsorbing Nayrus flame into the Skyward Sword. I don't know how he got the ship all repaired and seaworthy again in a matter of minutes without the aid of the timeshift stone after the ship was basically ripped apart in two, but I guess some things are not worth trying to logic I guess, game theory that shit.
I really liked exploring the Sandship again and exploring the sand sea even in the endgame. I just really like appreciating the Sandship and exploring the sand sea especially when the timeshift stones are involved. When you complete the Sandship, I really liked going down to the Brig in the past to see all the bokoblins locked up and using the Beetle to fly through the jail bars to spook the fuck out of the bokoblins, lol.
I guess that's my explanation on why the Sandship is my favorite Zelda dungeon. Just a well designed dungeon that best utilizes the timeshift stones a bit more better than the Lanayru Mining Facility IMO, but is subject to debate. If not, then I guess I like how the timeshift stone environmentally enhances the Sandship. Forgive me if I got some things wrong here and there, it's been a long time since I played Skyward Sword. 😅
Forest Tempel will always be my favorite. (Alongside that mansion from TP).
Even as a child I had this weird fascination for eerie, foggy, abandoned places like this. For as long as I can remember, I liked the melancholy of foggy forest areas like the Forest Tempel, the path down to Silent Hill in SH2, or the forest outside Royal Chapel in Symphony of the Night. Even while writing this comment, just by thinking about OoT's Forest Temple, I can smell the scent of the forest. That smell of trees, earth and sometimes mushrooms. It's melancholic but also romantic somehow.
The music is perfect and the whole temple looks like an old Burg, forgotten in time. Forest Temple also has great puzzles and Phantom Ganon is one of the coolest bosses in the series.
Let me tell you, once I'm dead, I'll make sure to find a place like this to haunt.
Going back through your old videos right now. I had the exact same childhood memory of dodongos cavers in OoT. Took me until I was 15 to muster the courage to revisit it!!
I personally loved the Goron Mines in Twilight Princess, simply because it was the first dungeon that felt like it was based in some form of reality, instead of simply being a dungeon for a dungeons sake. A lot of the places in Twilight Princess felt the same, which fit super well with the ‘realistic Zelda’ theme of the game
Twilight Princess is just a work of art. If Breath of the Wild didn't have such good mechanics and design, it would be the best Zelda game for me. TP has the best music still.
Incorrect.
@@jarlwhiterun7478 Thanks for your feedback!
Correct.
@@jarlwhiterun7478 how so
TP is the best overall imo, I didn’t care for BOTW - too open, non traditional dungeons, no overworld music, all bosses looked the same and were boring. BOTW is the most overrated game of all time.
The twinmold fight in MM3D drags on for long because the red twinmold regenerates health. The Project Restoration hack fixes this so the fight no longer drags on.
Ancient Cistern in S tier where it belongs. I remember playing the game and looking forward to that dungeon. Not just for the gorgeous atmosphere, but for the boss. Koloktos is one of the greats in terms of Zelda bosses.
you... can't put great bay temple, lakebed temple, city in the sky, or sky keep that low in the list. you just cant.
Now you have to do one for the 2D games. And I’d like to see a little tier list series with the Shrines and maybe weapons too!
Good Idea!
Link Between Worlds prob has the best 2 d dungeons.
Ah, man, Ganons Tower in the D rank hurts a bit. It's my 2nd favorite behind the Palace of Twilight. There's also no such thing as too many Darknut fights. Except in Minish Cap. You know what I'm talking about. Bastards are impossible to kill without being cheap.
Mostly agree with these takes. Personally, I put the Shadow Temple from OoT in S tier. It's my favorite dungeon in the game, is dark and disturbing, has a fantastic and mysterious story behind it, and a solid boss fight that requires both dungeon items (yes, I'm counting the Lens of Truth) to fight and has a bizarre Lovecraftian feel.
Have I mentioned how much I love the Shadow Temple?
I agree! Shadow Temple raises the stakes and expands the lore. You are literally in a cemetery where the Royal family does their dirty work.. seriously?! Creepy atmosphere and sets such a dark tone!
Can I just say that Fyrus is one of the most terrifying bosses in the series? When I first encountered him, I spent more time trying to run away than fighting him.
Ive always considered Lakebed to be the best water themed dungeon in the series, and City in the Sky is my favorite dungeon period. Seeing both get C-tier on this highly subjective personal ranking fills me with seething rage!
I haven’t played all 3D games, but in the S Tier I would rank all the dungeons you have ranked there (Forest Temple, Arbiter’s Grounds, Snowpeak Ruins, Ancient Cistern) and just add the City in the Sky. I absolutely loved that dungeon every time I played through Twilight
Princess. Twilight Princess in general makes me feel so nostalgic, I’m in love with every part of that game🥹😅
My personal favorite dungeon in the series has to be Arbiter’s Grounds. The atmosphere is great, the backstory is genuinely creepy, the puzzles are really good and it has what in my opinion are the second best mini boss and the best boss in the series, apart from a criminally underused item
Arbiter's Grounds was the dungeon that made me stop progressing in the game when I was a kid because it was just that creepy and made me feel like I wasn't up for the challenge just yet. So I reset the game file every time I got to Arbiter's Grounds until eventually I had enough courage to fight myself through the creepy vibes.
Now it definitely is one of my favorite dungeons since it's just extremely well executed
It's not mentioned here but I really like the dungeons in A Link Between Worlds. I think the use of the wall merging mechanic for several are super fun.
I also like the dungeons in Phantom Hourglass.
I won't count Triforce Heroes because it doesn't really have dungeons but I think it's an absolutely underrated LoZ game with super fun boss levels.
These were the 3D title dungeons. A link between worlds is technically 3d but it's top down so considered "2D"
*P.S. - Lengthy post.*
This is actually a really fun video where the viewer can play along and share their thoughts and opinions and rate each dungeon accordingly as well. Which is exactly what I've done, so here is my tier list with dugeons in the order mentioned in the video:
*Ocarina of Time:*
Deku Tree - B
Death Mountain - C
JabuJabu - C
Forest Temple - D
Fire Temple - F
Water Temple - A
Shadow Temple - B
Spirit Temple - C
Ganon Castle - A
*Majora's Mask:*
Woodfall Temple - B
Snowhead Mountain - U (for unrated)
Great Bay - A
Stone Tower - S
Inside the Moon - D
*Wind Waker:*
Dragon Roost - A
Forbidden Woods - C
Temole of the Gods - B
Forsaken Fortress - A
Earth Temple - A
Wind Temple - B
Ganon's Tower - B
I haven't played Twilight Princess but it is on my list, so no ratings for TP.
*Skyward Sword:*
Skyview Temple - D
Earth Temple - C
Lanyaru Desert - S
Ancient Cistern - U (for unknown; I genuinely cannot remember this dungeon)
Sandship - S*
Fire Temple - C
Skykeep Tower - B
*Breath of the Wild:*
Water Elephant - D
Fire Lizard - C
Wind Bird - D
Sand Camel - D
Hyrule Castle - A
Haven't played the Champion's Ballad, so no rating.
And that's that. I hope we see some more opinion-based videos like this one, these are really fun to play along to.
I like your list but please dont give the forest temple a d
FINALLY, I find someone who agrees with me regarding the incredible disappointment that is City in the Sky.
The concept of the dungeon is one of the most interesting in the entire series, but the execution is just terrible. It's slow moving, the music is forgettable, and while the dual hookshot is a cool idea, it's uses are just okay. And the dungeon boss is very easy and kinda boring.
C tier for me easily and a completely letdown compared to the other dungeons in TP.
I will agree on everything else, but choose to respect your opinion on the bgm being "forgettable". I'm a fan of creepy things, and the first time I heard the song left a VERY strong (possibly scarring) impression on me.
Really well done tier list. I agree on all S tier placements. Some of my thoughts:
I think Woodfall Temple and Lakebed Temple deserve bonus points for atmosphere and aesthetics.
I feel the exact same way for the City in the Sky. It looks cool and is a nice concept, but gameplaywise, it drags on.
And I would put TP Hyrule Castle way higher.
Great video. I would also love one about 2D dungeons (Palace of Winds better be S tier).
The four you put in S tier are the same exact four I would have put there! All my faves. SO good, especially Arbiter’s Grounds. That one is unmatched for me. I think Sandship would have made it higher for me if it had slightly more challenging puzzles and, like you mentioned, Tentalus had a better design. The concept and atmosphere of that dungeon (and the whole Lanayru Sand Sea area) are one of my favorite things about Skyward Sword.
Stone Tower Temple is my favorite Zelda dungeon of all time, love everything about it.
Damn, never would've guessed based on yo pfp
Lanaryu Mining Facility and Spirit Temple
Sure majora.
I like the list and there are good arguments about everything and why u count them at what tier. U put a lot of work into these, however, I am missing the dungeons from Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks as those are very much also 3D games. Both games are hardly seen anywhere so it's a bit sad they were forgotten in a tier list they clearly would be part of. Great video tho
I’m not even done the video yet, but I HAD to come say this so I didn’t forget. I always feel like I’m alone in my opinion (at least with people I’ve spoken to about it) that Snowpeak Ruins is one of the best in the series. So I’m OVERJOYED you understand and agree. I love good fights and amazing puzzles, but atmosphere and a sense of mystery is what always grabs and holds my attention. Which is also why I agree with you that the OoT Forest Temple is also my favorite of OoT (maybe the whole series as well). We might have different opinions on some other temples, but that’s what’s amazing about seeing other’s opinions! You pointed out things I’ve never thought of and it makes me look at some temples in a different way and makes me respect and enjoy them more.
PS, I love your content and you’re definitely my favorite Zelda TH-camr! 💚
I both find myself disagreeing with some of your placements and unable to really decide my own so honestly just kudos for being able to think through all of these dungeons and ranking them. All in all loved it!
Interesting concept for a video. I know what video I'm watching when I eat. Thanks Zeltik.
I'd like to note that Fierce Diety's mask was only given when all 20 non transformation mask in Majora were given to the Moon Children; requiring you to finish all sidequests in that playthrough. Which is something I think noone did as a kid on their first playthrough (Bomber's notebook was more obtuse in the original version). So the boss itself was a very cool fight if you didn't have it.
I'd love to see what the dungeons of BOTW2 would look like. Perhaps they could do a twist on the Zelda dungeon format, where you get an item that will help you with progression, and is instrumental for defeating the local boss, but if you return later with different items, you can unlock new secrets. And you can do them in any order, like the Divine Beasts, but the one you save for last becomes the hardest.
I’m from the future, it’s in the same vain as Divine Beasts sadly
@Nature's Experiment at least they look and play less samey now
@@placeholdername3123 Yeh, a big upgrade, the gameplay doesn't lend itself to the linear nature of the classic dungs regardless
themeing is ok, puzzles are non existant and boss figjts are more bland than an armored lynel
Will be interesting to see where you place Tears of the Kingdom's dungeons.
That you group all the divine beasts as one dungeon is perhaps the most damning (and accurate) thing you could say about them.
They're all barely better than the Divine Beasts.
Water Temple is utter shit.
Lightning Temple is over before it's begun
Fire Temple is kinda fun with the mine carts but still barely a dungeon
Wind Temple has a really cool opening but is still pretty shallow
Hyrule Castle/Chasm is nothing
Spirit Temple is probably the only one I'd rank above a C, just based on how you can find it on your own and that the concept is pretty cool, even if the puzzles themselves are a bit lacking, and it's still too short.
They're definitely a huge step up from BotW. I've come to appreciate how unique they are using the new game structure. Great music and atmosphere, clever puzzles, having a companion helps them to stand out, and like shrines, you can work out the direct solution, or use your own ingenuity and feel just as clever. The only major issue I have is that the Water Temple doesn't do enough to feel different than a normal sky island, though not counting the rest of the sky islands it's super unique with how open it is. At first my gripe with the overall dungeon setup is "I wish these were bigger" or "I wish these were longer", but you can't really gauge their length because of how you can solve them in many ways. So ultimately, I just wish there were more of them. 7 or 8 dungeons total would probably help a lot with the "lacking" feeling a lot of people get.
Something I think is interesting about the Ancient Cistern is that the rope that you climb seems to be inspired by The Spider's Thread short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. It adds another layer of interest for me.
The final trial in botw is super underrated. Easy A for me. I felt it realized the divine beast style challenges in a way the 4 beasts couldn't due to the game's nonlinearity. It aesthetically made sense given the theme it had built to. The boss fight against the monk is incredible and I fully agree one of the best in the series-- especially considering you interact with 120 of these dormant, sleeping monks only to have the 121st one stand up and throw down. My only complaint was that it was too short, keeping it from a personal S rank, but my first playthrough of the final trial was total joy, followed by frustration that the 4 beasts could have been so much more.
Thank you for still uploading these videos, I love this franchise so much!!!
Forest temple music is such an eerie amazing atmospheric piece!
I'd definitely bump up OoTs Spirit Temple to S Tier. Love that one and always have for the comprehensive set of challenges it throws your way and also setting it up this well with the whole Naboru Arc. But all in all a very solid List.
The Spirit Temple was so fun, I really wished that they'd used the mechanic where you can go in as both versions of Link to make progress a bit more.
It’s far too difficult to decide, each labyrinth has its’ own unique identity.
The scene of Yeta's face spinning around, twisted by the mirror of Twilight at the start of her bossfight, terrified me when I first played Twilight Princess. I was around 9 or 10 back then, and the sight just haunted me for days xD
I've only played 2 of the games on this list: BOTW and Skyward Sword (will get working on fixing that after TOTK).
BOTW is the one I started with, and the one I've spent the most time in. From the perspective of a total Zelda noob, the Divine Beasts were FANTASTIC introductory dungeons. They were short and straightforward which made me feel accomplished for figuring them out, but didn't frustrate me. For that reason I really like the Divine Beasts, even if they are quite short and easy now. The final trial from the Champion's Ballad was a great final challenge for me as well, and I'm really looking forward to doing it again on my quest to 100% BOTW before TOTK comes out.
I've never thought of Hyrule Castle in BOTW as a dungeon, but after hearing you describe it that way, I totally see where you're coming from. I've never had to tackle it as one because of being able to skip it and go straight to Ganon, but on my first playthrough I had already explored everything else so I don't think that the non-linearity really hurt it that much for me. Also Lynels are my favourite enemies to fight in the game, so getting locked in a smaller arena with them is a fun change of pace from fighting them in the open.
I finished playing through Skyward Sword HD a little while ago and I've got to say that the Sky Keep was my favourite dungeon by far. I didn't mind at all that the rooms were themed after previous dungeons because they incorporated all my favourite aspects of the previous dungeons without the things I found irritating. I also REALLY loved the ability to rearrange the rooms, that was an incredibly cool way to make it feel different from all the other dungeons in the game. The Ancient Cistern was probably my other favourite dungeon, although for whatever reason it took me FOREVER to figure out how to fight Koloktos so I ended up feeling really annoyed by it at the end. I'm definitely curious to try it again sometime and see if my opinion changes after I'm better acquainted with more traditional Zelda games.
I love that you did such a thorough list here, and that you even included the champions ballad dungeon!! I agree with a lot of your placements, but there were a few that I would have ranked differently. In my opinion, the stone tower temple was the greatest zelda dungeon of all time (and I only just experienced it for the first time this year). I would have ranked it S. also, I enjoyed the wind temple in wind waker (largely because of how fun it was bringing makar around the temple) and i would've ranked it higher. I was bored by the twilight princess temple of time and would not have ranked it higher than city in the sky, which I enjoyed a lot more. I also think palace of twilight deserves a tier simply for its uniqueness and i wouldve given the goron mines extra points simply because of how much i love the character designs of the elders. as far as skyward sword goes, i 100% agree on the placements
Another great video man, alot of effort went into this. Also a joy to watch this channel grow strength to strength over the years.
Comment on the content, not the video editing process.
i really love when the temple makes you go outside of them, for example spirit temples gauntlet chest is on the outside or final descent on ganons castle, windwakers dragon roost volcano also makes you climb it from the outside. idk what it is but i like it, i think its the only charm to the divine beasts in my opinion
For me, it sort of brings context to where you are and how the dungeon interacts with the real world. It adds a depth of creativity as opposed to being underground the whole time, and with open air access anything can happen (mini boss dropped in, for example)
If you think of the parts leading up to the Divine Beasts as part of their dungeon. They become a bit more unique. Not that it greatly improves them, but it definitely helps set them apart from each other.
Basically think of them as open world dungeon sections for a more open world game. Just like how some Sheikah shrines are solved without entering them and use surface puzzles. Entering the shrine is just a formality.
I agree with you on almost everything. I'm glad all my favorite dungeons, like the Arbiter's Grounds and Snowpeak Ruins from Twilight Princess and the Ancient Cistern from SS ended up in S tier, hell yeah. I probably would have put the Maz Koshia beast/fight in A tier because it was soooo much fun, but that's just me I guess. I love BotW so much and have no issue with it's lack of traditional dungeons, unlike so many other people. I can't complain about your list very much though, and this was a very fun video to watch so thanks for making it!! I love all your Zelda content so much.
For breath of the wild, I like to look at it as Hyrule Kingdom being the dungeon and the shrines being the puzzle rooms you find within said dungeons.
That's fair