Aquatic Dungeons

[TheHerbivoreWaffle]

So I've been wondering about this for a long time. The Water Temple, the Great Bay Temple, and the Lakebed Temple have all been regarded as some of the hardest and most annoying temples in all of Zelda. As for me, all three were very enjoyable and reach my top 10 3D Zelda dungeons.
I liked the Water Temple because it was a challenge. Each of the three main floors brought something different to the table, and manipulating the water to the right level was an interesting puzzle concept. The iron boots didn't bother me at all when I played the 64 version of OoT, but since I play the 3DS version more often where the iron boots are a button, that doesn't matter to me anyway. The 3DS version makes this temple look BEAUTIFUL by the way.
As for the Great Bay Temple, I thought it had an interesting concept from the moment I stepped into it to when I beat Gyorg. I liked the pipes you manipulate to change current and flow of the water. I also liked the steampunk design of it, and I think that an entire steampunk Zelda would be interesting. The Zora mask is also my guilty pleasure mask, and it had borderline perfect swimming controls. (3DS version)
When it comes to the Lakebed Temple, I think that it is easily the hardest of the "unholy trio." But it was also the first I played, and it did not disappoint. I liked the staircase, I loved the item, the controls of the Zora tunic were good, and since it was the third 3D Zelda dungeon I played ever, I thought it was a step up from the Forest Temple and Goron Mines. Not to mention, once again, the temple is beautiful.
I was wondering what people think of these three dungeons nowadays and if common complaints are still around. (I didn't bother mention the Ancient Cistern, because I like it and everyone else does as well.) It would inform me a bit better.

 

[ZeldaFan80]

I always found The Water Temple to be a walk in the park.

 

[Soul]

Great Bay Temple may be the most confusing out of those, since it took me ages to actually figure out what I had to do. I was pretty much randomly activating switches until then. I like all of those, Ocarina's Water Temple probably being my favourite. I think the main problem with these that many people have is that they just hate swimming in 3D games. I personally never had a problem with that, but that may be because I grew up with Jump & Run games like Rayman 2, so my "platformer skills" may be more honed than others'.

 

[mαrkαsscoρ]

i personally feel people way over-exaggerate the difficulty of the water temple,b/c i remember during my initial playthrough that i didn't find it too hard at all
i mean sure it took a bit of time but it was no where near as difficult as people make it out to be

the great bay facility [temple my arse] was just annoying,can't recall vividly but i think i had to restart time at least twice trying to beat that dungeon
and to me me,gyorg remains the cheapest boss in the entire franchise

lakebed temple is simply the bane of my existence
not gonna lie,i haven't properly beaten that temple in years b/c ever since i discovered this glitch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRWZ8xwd4ww, it's been the method i use to beat that dungeon from then on; i'd rather tolerate the stress of trying to pull off that glitch than actually trying to properly beat it

 

[snakeoiltanker]

I think the main reason that Aquatic Dungeons are so annoying or difficult come simply from controlling the flow of water. I just played through the Lakebed Temple from TP a couple days ago. I am realizing that though Twilight Princess is one of my Favorite Zelda games, I am realizing from this playthrough that Twilight Princess is still very new too me cuz I have only played it 1 1/2 times (started wii version but couldn't do it for obvious reasons).

Anyways while the Lakebed Temple was frustrating too me due too going back and forth from side to side to progress in the game, only to find out that I simply missed something and that it wasnt the design of the dungeon that was really difficult, it was my own ignorance. So it was actually a pretty standard dungeon with the frustrating "water flow" mechanic tied too it.

I have only played Majora's Mask once...officially. I had tried time and time again, but the mask thing caught me off guard by not being a conventional Zelda game, the Three day cycle, and the stress on side quest and keeping track of peoples schedules was just a really heavy concept for me to handle when I was young. Now that I have finally played past Woodfall Temple, and completing the game, I really didnt find the Great Bay Temple that difficult. I got through it in a pretty decent time, or at least at a steady pace, not really getting stuck or frustrated in it. At least nothing compared to the Stone Tower Temple.

As far as the Water Temple in OoT goes. I have noticed that in earlier playthroughs I really had no trouble with this dungeon. But the more I play it the more confused I get, I think it is cuz I know all the little puzzles in the dungeons. I just have a hard time remembering which order they go it. So by playing it more I confuse myself more. I also notice that upon playing the Master Quest version of the game, that returning to the Original Quest was a little confusing for me. As long as I have been playing the Zelda Franchise, and as many times as I have played the games, they are just starting to run together for me.

I am not exaggerating when I say that I am at all times playing through a Zelda game. Especially now that I have so many different platforms to play them on. Between the 3DS, my Wii that I have modded to play the Gamecube, NES and SNES games on (didnt mention the Wii game cuz now that I have played it twice... I doubt I play it again). I modded my PSP to play all the hand held games. So yeah, I always have at least have one of the games going, even if I am playing other games. I think that is why I seem too be breezing through Twilight Princess right now cuz I had only played it one other time and I'm not stuck on what I think I know, and just taking the game in for the greatness that it is. Sorry I got off topic there. Just thought it would help explain why I think the way I do.

 

[AncientPoe]

I think the main thing that seems to set water dungeons apart isn't necessarily that they all involve controlling the flow or level of water exactly, but that they all involve forcing the player to regard the dungeon as a whole instead of as a series of rooms. It's just that water mechanics seem to be great facilitators of such puzzle design. They also tend to come at the point in the game near the middle, where difficulty is supposed to be ramping up on the player. Honestly, they tend to be the ones I look forward to most. I loved Water Temple and Great Bay, Lakebed Temple was… well it was alright but it didn't quite match my expectations. Still good though.

 

[Spirit]

Water temples are beautiful. I've never had a problem with OoTs water temple but Great Bay confused me and Lakebed took me forever. They are all beautiful to look at though which is why I'd rather be stuck in a water dungeon than any other.

Really looking forward to seeing what zeldaU's water temple/dungeons are.

 

[Dio]

The water temple and Great bay were difficult temples however Great Bay is much worse, it is very tedious and no enjoyment can be found within it. I don't outright hate the Water temple like I do Great Bay.
Lakebed temple was ok, it's not my favourite though I really enjoyed its boss.

 

[Farore's Chosen]

I don't hate all water dungeons in Zelda. Both Swamp Palaces and the Ancient Cistern are some of my favorites.

Lakebed Temple-Twilight Princess was my first 3D Zelda. The dungeon itself is beautiful, but that is not enough to make up for an obnoxious dungeon. It took me nearly all day to find my way through, which isnt bad, considering I've been stuck for weeks in others. (aka I ragequit and refused to touch the game for a while, then would pick it up and ragequit again) and I always experience a sour feeling whenever I go through it. I like the boss fight.

Water Temple-I heard it was bad. But I was sure people may have been exaggerating just a little. I was very wrong and should have listened to those who went before me. In my foolishness I said duh huh huh! Imma go through this like there is no walkthrough. Two weeks I was stuck in there! I only asked for help once and I hate the damn dungeon! Thanks to it, I also now hate Zelda's Lullaby and Morpha is a crappy boss.

Great Bay Temple-My initial reaction to the place was Whoa! This place is cool! If it weren't for the moon nearly crashing on me twice and the fact that I was trying to snag all the fairies, I would have eventually found my own way. Never found it frustrating. I finally grabbed a fairy walkthrough and beat it. I actually really like this dungeon. It's not a favorite, but it is very fun. I also don't think the boss fight is bad either.

 

[TheHerbivoreWaffle]

Really looking forward to seeing what zeldaU's water temple/dungeons are

Totally. I think Zelda Wii U has lots of dungeon potential, especially since I think the best part about modern Zelda games are the dungeons.

 

[Jeffers]

I don't think the Water Temple deserves its reputation. It's probably the most difficult dungeon in Ocarina of Time, but there are definitely harder ones out there. I didn't really think that they needed to add the glowing pathways in the 3DS remake; it wasn't really that awful.

In my opinion the thing about the Great Bay Temple isn't that it's hard per se, but that missing some small task and then continuing on can really cause you a huge headache and require a lot of backtracking. I guess you could say that of the other water dungeons too, but I feel like this is a lot more likely to happen in the Great Bay Temple. At least for me this has historically been the case.

I'm always surprised to hear people talk about the Lakebed Temple being difficult; I definitely consider it the easiest on this list. When playing Twilight Princess I never tend to think of it as being especially harder than any of the other dungeons in that game.

The Ancient Cistern wasn't that hard and wasn't anything special gameplay-wise, but in terms of aesthetics/atmosphere I'd definitely rank it as one of the most impressive dungeons in the series. The place is gorgeous.

 

[NintendoCN]

I tend to sequence break Zelda games for fun, a perfect example is I skip lakebed temple by getting the master sword early, which I hope they fix because I REALLY hate being able to skip dungeons.

 

[Jeffers]

I tend to sequence break Zelda games for fun, a perfect example is I skip lakebed temple by getting the master sword early, which I hope they fix because I REALLY hate being able to skip dungeons.

I read somewhere that using that glitch somehow renders the game unbeatable, is that true?

 

[Soul]

Why would you do it when you hate it though?

 

[NintendoCN]

I read somewhere that using that glitch somehow renders the game unbeatable, is that true?

Only if you perform it wrong, or have Zant put the twilight rock in your head, if you already have the master sword, you can't become human, which means it's unwinnable.