Hardest Legend of Zelda Dungeons

The Top Ten
1 Water Temple - Ocarina of Time

Its not tough in a way many dungeons are. not to say this one isn't hard. its worth a high placement here, but all in all, this dungeon is more confusing that difficult. there is no clear path to progress, as in most of the dungeons in the game. it revolves around changing water height to progress. This has been done before, and has been done many times since, but the water temple is odd because of the new 3D, making the temple difficult to visualize. The changing water makes the dungeon layout change constantly, and Link's limited mobility underwater doesn't help. Its got a confusing miniboss, Dark Link, who can be difficult to fight if you don't know how to beat him.

This is super hard as hell, it took me forever to pass this level! It was pretty annoying going back and forth since I didn't have a map or anything and I would mess up and keep going back to the same room! As annoying and difficult as it was, still beats the other temples in all of the other games :P They don't make temples like these anymore

Honestly, I don't find it that hard. It's annoying to backtrack, but there are basically only three levels. It's not hard to find your way back because the tracks always leads to one specific room, not multiple rooms like in Great Bay Temple. Use the map well and it's not that difficult.

To be fair, I haven't played the Great Palace, Stone Temple, or Great Bay Temple, but this was an unfair dificulty curve. Seriously, you can't tell whether you have forgotten a key until much later in the temple, and then you can't figure out what to do. It took me days to beat it... with a walkthrough.

2 Great Palace - Adventure of Link

The Water Temple is the dungeon everyone thinks of when you say "Hard Zelda Dungeon", but it's not really hard, it's annoying, tedious and somewhat broken, consisting not of tough enemies, brutal bosses and deadly traps, but instead of a confusing layout, tedious changing of the water levels and randomly hidden small keys, the Water Temple was a place where you lose your patience, not your life.

The Great Palace on the other hand is full of powerful enemies, incredibly tough bosses and instant death traps, making matters worse? It, also like the Water Temple has a confusing layout, I understand why people call the Water Temple hard, and in fairness if tedious and annoying is your idea of hard I can see it being called the hardest dungeon in the series, but as far as actual hard, look no further than here, the final dungeon in the hardest game in the series, filled with mighty enemies, super strong bosses, lava instant death traps and a maze of a layout - The Great Palace from ...more

Not sure if the Master Quest port is any different besides being easier to save your progress, but the dungeon sure is hell from beginning to end. I got through it with plenty of patience and trial and error (mercifully a Game Over starts you at the dungeon unlike the rest of the game). Pretty much every enemy in that dungeon could be a boss battle; they move erratically, attack fast and hit hard (I always skipped past the blue bird soldiers). Then came the Thunder Bird, somehow I managed to beat it without using the Shield spell which I forgot at the start of the game (basically two hits from TB and you are dead without it). After all that, I used the trick with Shadow Link and I have no remorse as the game was cheap enough already.

The Water Temple in Ocarina of Time has gone down in Zelda fans history are being difficult, but at the end of the day it's simply annoying, not truly difficult. Whereas the Great Palace from Zelda II is truly brutal, enemies that drain a 10th of your life bar in one hit and can kill you if you let down your guard should you battle them, pits of lava, lack of magic refils and 2 of the hardest bosses in Zelda history to finish it off, not too mention the Valley of Death on the way to the Palace, The Water Temple, Stone Tower, Great Bay and Snowhead may be annoying, but there is only one that will beat you down quite like this - The final dungeon of the hardest game in the series.

I have played nearly every game, but I have definitely played all of the games that have dungeons on this list. I can say after having beaten the game twice, and the others at least that many, that this is definitively the hardest temple in the entirety of the series. Its design makes it so, as do the enemies and bosses inhabiting it.

Firstly, the labyrinthine construction is exceedingly disorienting. And while in most if not all other Zelda games there is some level of the "Zelda Logic" that fans have learned to interpret, in this game there is not. Invisible holes in the floor, no map, and no definitive floor system, make this palace one massive deathtrap. And speaking of deathtraps, this place is full of instant death lava pools.

As for the enemies they are not only numerous, but are all the most difficult versions of said enemy to inhabit the game. They take huge chunks out of your health and can both kill you from start to finish, or easily pick you off ...more

3 Great Bay Temple - Majora's Mask

Everyone has different experiences, but I personally didn't find this one to be THAT terrible. The fairies were definitely tedious, the boss was tough, and the puzzles were a bit complex, but there were only a few lever things to push in each area, making the current stuff a bit less complicated than people make it out to be, and I felt that there was always a general sense of direction, so I never really got lost. It's all down to each individual's experiences and abilities at certain dungeons, since I'm definitely not that great at Zelda in general, but this was never one of my hardest dungeons, it was just not easy.

This was the most frustrating, annoying, horrible, repetitive, hardest, toughest and tedious dungeon I've ever experimented. Even Water Temple was better.

The only time I ever used walkthroughs in a Zelda dungeon is to get the stray fairies after I already beat it-except for this awful dungeon. The current puzzles are awful, not to mention a tedious mini-boss that takes forever to beat. The only thing that could make this dungeon worse is a time limit...

Great Bay Temple is so damn hard to navigate! And the boss is just tedious.

4 Stone Tower Temple - Majora's Mask

Every room is a puzzle. Well-hidden Bomb Walls. Tricky buttons. Incredibly non-linear. You need to use every single transformation mask and most of the items you got up until now. The mirror room is just demonic (You are charging the last mirror to unlock the door and then... The monsters come and ruin your targeting). And when you think that it can't get worse... You need to reverse the dungeon and guess what? MORE puzzles. Flying. Flying through ghosts and explosives. Reversing rooms INSIDE the reverse dungeon. A room focused in reversing, where you need to reverse the dungeon 5 times or something like that. Unlocking chests in the main room to use the hookshot on them and get to the Boss Room. And all that in a crazy dungeon with dozens of doors, where you don't even know where you should go first.
I didn't even really complete the dungeon. I used a "extra small key" trick. Take some of these keys which you use to unlock the room with the Garo Master and the Light ...more

Water temple is tedious and time-consuming, sure. However, the cool-yet ridiculously-difficult-drug-trip-simulacrum known as the Stone Tower Temple is simply maddening. The time limit doesn't help, but that's really not the worst part of the dungeon (seeing as the Inverted Song of Time triple what you have to work with). The toughest part is actually the layout combined with the screwy mechanics. Just when you think you've cleared a particularly annoying room full of tough enemies and puzzles, you figure out that you have to leave the dungeon and go through the room AGAIN. Oh joy. However, the dungeon really rears its ugly head if you plan on trying to find all the stray fairies, because you will have to leave and invert the dungeon not once, not twice, but three stinking times to collect them all (Assuming you didn't screw up and miss one on a previous pass and have to leave and flip more times, that is). The fairy quest is the one aspect of the dungeon that would really have you ...more

Water Temple is annoying, not hard, but it is actually pretty linear if you explore thoroughly. Stone Tower Temple, is like exploring two dungeons in one dungeon. Plus, remember Majora's Mask provides a time limit? Yeap, go figure out the dungeon, in the 3 day time limit. Just URGH, but it gives a satisfying feeling once you finish it. It is also a great dungeon

It was a difficult dungeon, but I LOVED the concept, the fact that the whole dungeon flips is incredibly AMAZING. Although the only thing I would change would be the boss...I remember running out of magic over, and over...

5 Ice Palace - A Link to The Past

Being a Zelda fan for decades, I Googled for the most annoying Zelda dungeons because I just finished the Ice Palace (a remarkable occasion which evidently makes yourself wonder...)

What really did it to me was when I finally solved the puzzle with the red/blue switches, ending up with the boss and realizing that you actually DO need 100% magic to even start the fight... ARGH...!

Every single switch you hit counts, and odds are that youll get to the end of the dungeon and have to go back to hit a switch. And youll also probably forget how to get back to the room berore the boss because of the complexity of this dungeon. This is one of the few dungeons in the series in which you MUST have magic, because you wont get past the first room, let alone beat the whole thing.

I too got held up by the switches but this dungeon has nothing on jabu jabu's belly in Oracle of Ages. The switches make you backtrack but there's waaay more backtracking in jabu jabu's belly. I do love this dungeon though and will never forget it! The boss is super easy.

This...this... boss was the most tedious boss fight in link to the past making Ganon seem like Gohma from OOT... Yes that's how bad it was for me

6 Hidden Palace - Adventure of Link

This palace is hard because who's supposed to guess even to get in it? And the you need the item to get through death valley but there the many boss and that boss is harder than the regalur boss!

7 Tower of Spirits - Spirit Tracks

How is it harder than the temple of the ocean king? No hourglass, no repeating the floors, and is puzzling but is still easy to understand.

8 Eagle Tower - Link's Awakening

Oh come on! This is simple and the boss isn't that difficult. I beat it in one hour maybe.

I still don't know what I'm supposed to do.

This dungeon is simply a hellish maze.

This dungeon is a real pain.

9 Spirit Temple - Ocarina of Time (Master Quest)

I definitely agree with this. It was a very simple dungeon in OoT, but the MQ version makes you return to the same rooms over and over again.

One of the easiest temples in OoT just became the hardest...

This stumped me. Twice.

10 Sky Keep - Skyward Sword

Its like trying to solve a giant rubiks cube, and I hate rubiks cubes

It is challenging, but very fun and rewarding!

It is the only fun one so far. Challenging, but fun. That is how all dungeons should be!

By switching each room to find the triforce pieces is hard! But its problebly down here on the list because there is no boss

The Contenders
11 Forest Temple - Ocarina of Time

The only temple I had to look for help on. It is fine up to the point you have to shoot the eye thing again to twist the room. No idea you could shoot it again to re-twist it. Water temple is more frustrating and annoying to me but this temple is just not fair in the way I had no idea you could re twist the room. The boss battle is brilliant one of the best.

The Water Temple isn't hard, it's annoying

Why do I find it harder to navigate through Forest Temple than Water Temple?

The Forest Temple is Harder the Water!

12 Temple of the Ocean King - Phantom Hourglass

This is an unpopular opinion, but I really don't mind going back to the same temple over and over again. You get really familiar with the entire temple and by the time you come back for the last time there's only one difference to the temple and it's incredibly easy to get through. The Temple can be annoying to some, but it's honestly not very difficult and pretty straightforward.

The fact that you had to return to it and go through every level again was what made it terrible for me.

I literally hated finishing a level in phantom hourglass because I knew I would have to return to this god forsaken temple.

Thank god they fixed the backtracking with checkpoints and no time limit in Spirit Tracks. The whole game is about getting sand or something for the hourglass in the temples or some bullcrap... The story sucks. The villain sucks. This temple is the focus of the game. Phantom hourglass is a good game, but as a Zelda game... It sucks.

13 Shadow Temple - Ocarina of Time

Really? This dungeon is that high? It was the only dungeon in Ocarina of Time where I didn't need a guide. It's really easy. Go in a room, use the Lens of Truth, go where there is new things, and repeat. But Bongo Bongo can be pretty hard if you don't know what to do.

How is this #11! I just finished the ocarnia of time for the 3rd time and this is by far the hardest temple. The eye of truth makes everything tedious. Every time you die you have to restart the entire temple! The boss is also one of the hardest in the game.

So annoying! Using the eye of truth is a tedious job and the puzzles are downright vague. Not to mention the stupid boss.

It was so hard and Bongo Bongo is infuriating

14 Ganon's Tower - A Link to the Past

Is too long, you have to be prepare to use a lot of magic, is really a difficult dungeon, beat ganon's alterego is easy though

Thers this one room where... link has to light 4 torches and then run for the exit before the torches run out which is conviniently 5 seconds

The only confusing thing is getting to the chest that has the Red Tunic in it.

15 City In the Sky - Twilight Princess

You get in and then there's no clues on what to do. You're just faced by all this stuff that doesn't change when you try to mess around with it.

Be careful in this dungeon! If you make any mistakes, then you have have start a new game losing EVERYTHING you had on your current save!

You go around the entire dungeon and end up in the same room you started in, just to open the door

Me and my Brother screwed up in this dungeon on the Gamecube, because now, we have to restart the game...yaayyy... - Gehenna

16 Lakebed Temple - Twilight Princess

Hated this temple. It was ridiculous and I got lost so much. There is always two doors. Not an obvious door you have to go to, no. You have to pick, and hope you are lucky you chose the right door or you have to go back and pick the other door.

That staircase is your life in this one because you WILL get lost!

True staircase equals life

Worst dungeon ever

17 Forsaken Fortress - Wind Waker

It can be quite confusing at first, but I got through it.

Not even a real dungeon, plus you visit it two times

18 Lanayru Mining Facility - Skyward Sword

One of the most creative dungeons to come out of a Zelda game

It's not hard but I hated
Time shift stuff
The creepy scorpions
The boss because I couldn't hit at the right angle
The quicksand
The laser thingamabobs
And the music made me practically craw the walls it was so nerve racking

Skyward is easy no matter what you say

Hated this one

19 Turtle Rock - Link's Awakening

Turtle Rock in LA is the toughest dungeon I've ever played. Water Temple, Ice Palace and Stone Tower Temple are all non linear dungeons but have nothing on Turtle Rock. Turtle Rock is easy to get lost in because it spreads out in every direction. Also Turtle Rock has a bunch of underground tunnels which you can't see on the map. It has maddening puzzles and strong enemies. I think the reason this dungeon doesn't get the credit it deserves is because it has the exact same name of another famous dungeon.

Turtle Rock was the hardest Zelda dungeon I ever played. All the backtracking and puzzles were confusing and it was like a big maze with a lot of mini bosses. The secret rooms were hard to find and you had to fight the dungeon before getting in. It was the final and hardest and longest dungeon in Link's Awakening. The boss wasn't that hard though.

#16? Go into this dungeon without any form of a guide and tell me it doesn't deserve to dethrone Water Temple as #1 on this list. This is a maddening and complex dungeon that takes the ideas of backtracking and finding secret rooms to a whole new level.

It has one bs puzzle, there's no hint whatsoever that you're supposed to shoot an arrow into the eye of that statue, how is a normal player supposed to find this on their own? Cryptic puzzles are a recurring problem in the Zelda video game series.

20 Sandship - Skyward Sword

Even though it looks to be small I always get lost and the frustrating puzzles to the hidden areas it was difficult but one of the best temples I've ever done but the boss could be better

Dude this one was easy as crap

21 Sword and Shield Dungeon - Oracle of Seasons

People need to pay more attention to these ones. The dungeons in the Oracle games were brutal.

Hard dungeon. This place is huge, also. Perhaps harder than Eagle's Tower in Link's Awakening.

22 Palace of Winds - Minish Cap

My god, when you finally start to progress and then something kills you or knocks you off a platform...silent rage my friend...silent rage

This one was looong! The length was a pleasant surprise.. however the minish cap was short as a whole.

23 Jabu Jabus Belly - Oracle of Ages

This is the #1 hardest dungeon that comes to mind. Its multilevel, you must change water levels, and the hunt for keys is a long one. This is the dungeon that will make you back track more than any other. I will never forget Jabu Jabus belly, its harder than ice palace and turtle rock in LTTP. I suggest that those of you who didn't play Oracle of Ages... Download it on your phone or tablet via a gameboy advanced emulator

The single one hardest dungeon in all of Zelda games together. It's a pity so little people have played the Oracle series.

It is because nobody played Oracle of age that this dungeon isn't #1.

Perhaps is only because not a lot have played it, but this is one of the most confusing, desperating Zelda dungeons out there. The Water Temple is absolutely easy in comparison.

24 The Wind Temple - Wind Waker

This is so confusing that I got lost 30,000 times.

Confusing multilayered dungeon kept falling and losing magic

The beginning of this dungeon alone should at least put in 20

This temple is the water temple on steroids!

25 Parapa Palace - Zelda II

From the hardest Zelda game comes an annoying first dungeon...

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