Tag: Reflections

Ah, time to review the Goron Mines. I might recall incorrectly since I wasn’t really keeping track of Zelda news at the time, but I remember that during the pre-release buzz for Twilight Princess, Nintendo seemed to show this dungeon more than the others. Certainly, particular chambers of this dungeon, like the open room with the Bulblin Archers, and the dungeon boss were familiar sights for many before the game released. So in a way, that put more pressure on…

I’m finally kicking off this series with, of course, the first dungeon of Twilight Princess: The Forest Temple. Like the Woodfall Temple from Majora’s Mask, this dungeon is very basic in theme and has some challenging puzzle design instead of being a tutorial session. It’s not overly difficult, of course, but it definitely doesn’t waste time teaching you the game. And, unlike most first dungeons of the series, it manages to establish its own identity and style, forming its own…

Well, you’ve probably noticed that there’s been a delay in me writing this. It’s been four weeks since I reviewed Stone Tower Temple, and to be honest I wasn’t sure I was going to review Majora’s Mask’s mini-dungeons. Like I alluded to in my similar review for Ocarina of Time, some people consider certain areas in the Zelda games to be dungeons that I do not. For an area to really be a dungeon in a Zelda game, I believe…

This review is going to be really weird for me to write. Stone Tower Temple has long been my favorite dungeon of the Zelda series, even though I’ve never committed to saying it’s the best one. I’ve always loved the dungeon for its concept and style, but design-wise it probably isn’t the best. As with Great Bay Temple, my opinion about the game has matured during my last run through the dungeon: now Stone Tower Temple makes me feel both…

Ohhhh man, this one was a doozy for me. It always has been. As I said last time, the Snowhead Temple was the first dungeon in Majora’s Mask that I had to use a walkthrough to get through, but Great Bay Temple was even worse. In this dungeon, I very quickly ran into a wall and had to switch to navigating via walkthrough for pretty much the entire dungeon. That had never happened to me before, and it definitely damaged…

Moving on from Woodfall Temple, it’s time to review the Snowhead Temple. This is the game’s second dungeon, located in the northern mountain region. While I think Woodfall Temple is the most straightforward dungeon in Majora’s Mask, I think Snowhead Temple is the most forgettable, though not necessarily due to any real faults. Going into the dungeon, the player probably doesn’t know what to expect; I know I didn’t. The last full dungeon to have an ice theme throughout it…

Well, I asked you guys which game you wanted me to review the dungeons from next, and while it seemed like it was pretty close between Majora’s Mask and Twilight Princess, I figured I’d at least start Majora’s Mask for October and when I’m done move on to Twilight Princess. So first up is, as always, the first dungeon of the game: Woodfall Temple. Some of the Zelda games with the best opening dungeons are the ones where the player…

And now we bring the Ocarina of Time Dungeons series to a close with my review of Ganon’s Castle, the game’s final challenge. As I wrote when I talked about Skyward Sword’s Sky Keep way back, there are multiple different styles the Zelda series has used for its final dungeons. Ganon’s Castle uses roughly the same style as the Sky Keep: It’s a lengthy dungeon of full or nearly full size, made up of parts taken out of other dungeons….

We’re nearly done with the dungeon reviews for Ocarina of Time. The Spirit Temple is the last of the game’s main dungeons, located in the Desert Colossus past Gerudo Valley, the only locations in the game you’re never driven to visit until it’s time to handle their temple; every other region is visited earlier in the game as Child Link. This means that there is no sense of rediscovery with the Spirit Temple. You aren’t finding an important dungeon hidden…

Ah, the Shadow Temple. It’s now time to review this infamous dungeon. Now, mind you, it’s not nearly as infamous as the Water Temple. People complain about the Water Temple’s design and say it’s repetitive and overly confusing, whereas the Shadow Temple just scares people. Horror is meant to scare, and for some people that’s not fun, so some people won’t like the Shadow Temple (or the Bottom of the Well, by extension), but for others that’s the fun part!…