Top 10 Best The Legend of Zelda Dungeons

Ah yes. The Stone Tower Temple is gaming's finest level. It is mind-blowing. It has everything I love about a video game level: awesome atmosphere, great music, amazing design, a cool backstory, excellent build-up, and it uses all of Link's abilities.

The best part is just when you think you're done with it, it flips upside down, and you realize you finished only half of the level. The other half feels so different yet so similar at the same time. I can't put my finger on it, but despite the fact that it's flipped upside down, it feels like the layout was slightly altered, even though it's not. All of these things culminate together to make the ultimate Zelda dungeon and the ultimate video game level. It goes even further into proving that Nintendo EAD are the best developers in gaming. Period.

This is the one temple in Ocarina of Time that utilizes the time travel mechanic. You need to get the silver gauntlets as a kid, which then allows you to progress in the adult timeline. Also, Nabooru has been captured by Twinrova for seven years! How does she even remember you?

All in all, it was a solid dungeon, and the boss fight with Twinrova was epic and fun. The mini-bosses are intimidating even though every person who rates the mini-bosses cuts them from the list. This dungeon gives you both the silver gauntlets and the mirror shield, both used for cool stuff. This dungeon was the reason why Stone Tower Temple from Majora's Mask was so good because it made the mirror shield. If it wasn't around, Stone Tower Temple might have just been another Shadow Temple (which would still be cool).

Snowpeak Ruins, to me at least, is one of the best-designed dungeons in all of Zelda. For a start, it's incredibly unique. When has there ever been a dungeon in a house? That's what I thought.

The concept of only getting hearts by using Yeto's soup was also very interesting. Speaking of Yeto, the two yetis had very interesting personalities to me, which gave the dungeon that extra charm. I personally loved the contrast in the dungeon as well. The rooms with the yetis were warm and friendly, whereas the other rooms felt more hostile. Even the music changed slightly depending on which of those two types of rooms you were in!

The boss Blizzeta was OK, but I did like Yeta's sudden shift in personality. All in all, this is well deserving of being so high on the list, and I hope you agree with me.

Many dungeons have different features. I believe that the fact that above ground everything is nice, while the underground holds a dark secret, is fascinating.

The dungeon shows that even a beautiful dungeon has its dark secrets.

My personal favorite Zelda dungeon. Amazing puzzles, love the music, the great contrast between heaven and hell, and of course Koloktos, one of the best bosses in the franchise.

Very good looking, this dungeon is. Also, it has the rare blessing of a non-mind-murdering water temple. And an awesome boss.

In my personal opinion, although the Spirit Temple has a fantastic boss fight and makes great use of the time-traveling mechanic, the Forest Temple stands above the rest of the dungeons not only for its atmosphere and puzzles but for the significance of the temple to the story and its themes.

It is the first dungeon you enter as an adult, waking up in a broken, desolate world. You are told to go to the Forest Temple in the Lost Woods, only to discover that its entrance was Saria's special place. Watching Link stop and slowly approach the now empty tree stump still gets me every time. It's at this point that Link and you, the player, realize that there is no regaining his whimsical, carefree, happy childhood. Saria is gone, and you weren't there for her. Now you have to go try to find her in this mind-bending labyrinth that has both some of the whimsy of the childhood arc but with much more sinister undertones.

The temple is full of ghosts, a giant hand of death that hovers over you, and a boss fight that gives you a glimpse of how scary Ganon really is and reminds you that you are going to have to fight this guy. The innocent and rose-colored adventure is over now, replaced by a solemn duty, and the Forest Temple is what drives that home. Plus, the Forest Temple theme music is simply put, perfection.

Is it weird that the sound when you enter the dungeon sounds like my toilet flushing, or is that just me? I think it's probably just the music. In other words, yeah. I love this dungeon. It's kinda like the Shadow Temple and the Spirit Temple had a horrifying, deformed child.

One thing I don't like about this dungeon is the random ReDead knights that rise up, shriek, and try to chop you up with their swords. And the ghost rats. Screw them. It's pretty much just one big creepy abandoned prison. Might I add that I had the dungeon music playing in my head when I went to Eastern State Penitentiary during my Pennsylvania road trip with my bros?

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is almost 20, so of course, I have to feel old. I remember booting up my GameCube just to progress through the game's story, and lo and behold, I made it to my favorite dungeon in the game.

It's another case of "Spirit Temple/Stone Tower Temple meets Shadow Temple," where it has the same mechanics of the former and the creepy atmosphere of the latter. The ReDeads in OOT and MM didn't scare me. I was like, "huh," while the ReDeads in this game look more like zombies, and I almost had a heart attack. Medli is also a great escort partner to have, unlike Princess Ruto in OOT, who does nothing and belittles you. I swear, the Command Melody is put to some interesting use here.

This dungeon is definitely in my top 10, as it generates a lot of memories (and PTSD).

It's a fine dungeon with some fun long-range combat after getting the bow.

The switching of the Iron Boots was annoying, but the 3DS version fixed all of that for me! It has a great atmosphere, very good puzzles that are hard, a great mini-boss and boss, the LONGSHOT, and the music. It's challenging in general. It isn't as terrible as others think!

The Water Temple has a lot going for it if you look past its flaws. For example, the music sets a mysterious tone for the dungeon, the Dark Link battle is amazing, and the Longshot is a pretty cool item.

The Iron Boots changing was annoying, but you fight the most memorable miniboss, get the Longshot, and fight what might be the most suggestive Zelda boss. What more is there to ask for?

I could see where the inspiration for all the "creepy" dungeons in the following 3D Zelda games came from. The Shadow Temple uses torture chamber aesthetics very well. When I first played Ocarina of Time, I literally thought I was in Hell due to the atmosphere.

The main boss, Bongo Bongo (as a Steve Miller Band fan, I cannot take the name seriously), is also a pretty challenging boss once you think about it. Reflexes are key to avoid sudden hand movements or to know when to shoot your arrows.

This, plus the sense of dread and confusion you get from this dungeon, is what makes it so enjoyable.

Honestly, I thought this would be way lower. I was pleasantly surprised! Where to start? The atmosphere was great, and the music really made it awesome. To me, the water looked beautiful in Twilight Princess, and it seems to look even better here. Speaking of water, unlike the Water Temple, once the water is raised, it stays raised and doesn't block off any paths. I also really liked how raising the water on one side of the dungeon affected the other side in a good way!

Lakebed Temple was also one of the hardest 3D Zelda dungeons, and I loved that. Using the staircase to get you and the water around was pure genius. I just hope that Skyward Sword's (I haven't played it yet) Ancient Cistern will be as good a water dungeon as this was!

This one had an awesome concept, cool puzzles, and a strange but fitting soundtrack (although some find it very annoying, which I can understand).

The only complaint I have is that it's too long. It is probably the longest dungeon in Twilight Princess (objectively, if you get really stuck on another one, then it will take more time).

Hands down the best dungeon in the game for me. Everyone seems to think it's too hard, but honestly, that's what I like about it.

As a veteran Zelda player, it's pretty rare to come across a dungeon that actually puzzles me and forces me to think outside the box. Also, double clawshots are awesome.

This temple is amazing. My favorite colors are in there, the boss, Volvagia, was amazing, the Megaton Hammer was a pretty cool item, and the music, even without the Muslim chant, sounded awesome!

This dungeon is amazing and so underrated.

This is the coolest dungeon in Skyward Sword. The timeshift stones alone make this amazing, but the overall creepy feel of the dungeon is astounding, even if the boss is a letdown.

Man, Skyward just has rad dungeons. It's a shame that none of them are that long and that there aren't that many of them.

This dungeon is cool with the machinery and all, but I thought the puzzles were boring.

The difficulty and puzzle-solving make it the best in the series.

That was an awesome temple. I just wondered how you get in the locked room next to the boss door.

Great atmosphere, and a sort of side quest for the treasure room key.

One of the best moments in OOT is when you are climbing the stairs and you hear Ganondorf's theme music playing. When you reach his chamber, you find out that he is playing his own theme music on the organ.

This dungeon was awesome! I loved how it combined so many cool elements from the other amazing temples that came before it.

Then you go up the stairs and get to fight tons of awesome enemies before a climactic final battle with Ganondorf and then Ganon.

This temple was pretty amazing. I loved how they added all the elements from previous dungeons.

Ok, I understand why people dislike this dungeon, with the easy puzzles and linear design, but if you look past that, what you get is a really fun dungeon! It has some fantastically atmospheric music! I also loved the statue puzzles, especially the one where Link has to stand on a switch to make a bridge for the statue, but then he has to use the grappling hook!

The Hero's Bow is also a staple item to the series and sees its first use in Wind Waker here! The boss Gohdan, although easy, had some super catchy music and was quite a fun battle. And swinging on the bell was probably the best way to end this dungeon!

Currently my third favorite dungeon (second is Spirit Temple and first is Stone Tower Temple), and the pros definitely outweigh the cons in my book!

Loved this one. When you time travel, it feels like you go back to your childhood playing Ocarina of Time. The temple you loved so much is now only in your memories. It's beautiful.

I love how the Dominion Rod, once a majestic-looking item, became a rusty piece of junk after you clear it. People are afraid of the cruel passage of time, but this one made you feel joy.

Hands down the best dungeon ever. You can control stone statues with your rod and make them fight for you. There's a spider boss (SPOILERS). Overall, it's the best-looking dungeon I've seen.

Okay, actually, I will give it props for having a pretty impressive but easy boss.

It can be entered from any direction at any time. Need I say more? It is filled with many secrets, amazing music, powerful and challenging enemies, a disturbing boss, a detailed interior, and numerous Easter eggs and references.

It is probably the most real-feeling dungeon not only in BotW but in any Zelda game ever made. With design like this, I wish that Nintendo would create an OoT remake with a Forest Temple inspired by the freedom of this dungeon combined with the puzzles of the original Forest Temple. If only...

Zora swimming, clever puzzles, and more Zora swimming.