Top 10 most difficult Zelda Dungeons

If you've been playing Zelda for any period of time, you'd know quite well that there are some dungeons out there that will keep you scratching the old noggin for days, or even weeks, on end. I've been playing a lot of Zelda recently because I'm going to *attempt* to try and beat Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess all in 24 hours.

10. Spirit Temple - Ocarina of Time

First room in the Spirit Temple

This dungeon is one of my favourites in any game. The design and progression was actually quite straightforward and not too difficult to navigate, however puzzles in each individual room were big headscratchers. Not only that, this dungeon contained 3 mini-bosses, and one hit from an Iron Knuckle takes a good 1/3 of your entire health.

9. Arbiter's Grounds - Twilight Princess

Outside the Arbiter's Grounds

Not only does this game have a whopping nine dungeons, most of them are quite difficult to get through. Not necessarily confusing, just difficult rooms or portions. In the Arbiter's Grounds I distinctly remember having a hard time using the Spinner the first time I got it. You have to navigate these tracks really precisely, and there are always spikey things going back and forth. I've fallen off at least 40 times in that room alone. Not to mention, the Boss MUST be beat using the spinner.

8. Mermaid's Cave - Oracle of Ages

First room of Mermaid's Cave

The main theme of this game was going back in time and back to the present, over and over and over. Up until the 6th dungeon, you would never have to travel in time while actually trying to complete a dungeon. I hated this one, because once you had completed one small task in the present, you had to go out of the dungeon, find a warp point and go back in time. Then, you had to revisit the dungeon in the past, do a simple task, leave, find another warp point, go back to the present, into the dungeon, something changed, and you had to repeat the process over and over. I used so many AA Batteries trying to beat this one.

7. Shadow Temple - Ocarina of Time

Main room in the Shadow Temple

This dungeon was legitimately scary. From the mini-boss Dead Hand, which looks like some blood-stained, deformed, overweight, zombie pedophile, to the hallways where Skultulla's just jump out at you and seriously freak you out. It's horror theme made it feel like a tougher dungeon than it probably was, but it was still far from easy. Thank god for the Lens of Truth!

6. Wind Temple - Wind Waker

The main wind tunnel in the Wind Temple

This place was just plain confusing. Doors all over, 5 stories of where-the-hell-do-I-go-next, and you don't even get the hookshot till near the very end. Not to mention, you have to carry that pathetic sapling Makar around everywhere. At least he gets stuck in a jail cell early on and you don't have to worry about him.

5. Palace of Winds - The Minish Cap

Entrance to the Palace of Winds

I never actually beat this game, and this temple, the 2nd last one in the game, had me stopped dead in my tracks. The amount of enemies is absurd, and when you finally manage to get through, you have to complete puzzles that seem to have no solution. The frustration of dying countless times, in combination with unprecedented level design and challenge make this dungeon one of the hardest I've ever played.

4. Ice Palace - A Link to the Past

Somewhere in the Ice Palace

I believe this was one of the first instances in a Zelda game where the ice made you slide.  I don't remember too much of this dungeon from my childhood, except it was quite a nightmare to try and keep my footing. Even pushing blocks became extremely difficult on ice. I'm also sure this is the dungeon that turned me off from Zelda games for a few years.

3. Palace of Twilight - Twilight Princess

The courtyard of the Palace of Twilight

So, if anyone has played this dungeon, they know how frustrating those floating hands are. They are the single most frustrating enemies in any Zelda game I've ever played. The worst part is, they don't even hurt you. They just steal the light source that you need to take back to the main area out front. The enemies are also quite tough, and although this dungeon is extremely straightforward, it is one of the most frustrating, even if you know EXACTLY what to do and how to do it. Luckily, once you bring the two light sources back outside, your Master Sword becomes light infused, souped up beyond belief and One-Hit-K-O's every single enemy in that dungeon.

2. Stone Tower Temple - Majora's Mask

Inverted first room of the Stone Tower Temple

This was an amazing dungeon. You had to solve very difficult puzzles using all four of Link's forms, and you could flip the entire temple upside down! It was insanely fun to play through, very tough to navigate, and the theme of the temple was making fun of the goddesses of Hyrule and even the Triforce. Definitely one of the best dungeons in any Zelda game.

1. Water Temple - Ocarina of Time

Main hub of the Water Temple

For anyone that has played Ocarina, it shouldn't be surprising that this dungeon has made it to #1. It is the most confusing dungeon I've personally ever tackled in a Zelda game. There were so many directions and places to explore right from the beginning, and changing the water levels added about 3 more layers of complexity. Not only that, pausing to put on and taking off the Iron Boots really slowed down the pace from swimming slow to pausing-every-10-seconds slow. You could easily sink a good 15 hours in the place and still feel like you've gotten nowhere. You constantly feel like you are going in circles, and having to come back to the main room so often makes it feel like you have not made any progress. On top of that, in the original N64 version, it was possible to use a key on the *wrong* door, actually locking you out from beating the dungeon. Your only option was to reset and start a new game. And you'd better not lose to the mini-boss, Dark Link. An extremely difficult boss battle, and if you died, you are sent back to the beginning of the temple. Good luck finding out where to go again. What a nightmare.

If there are any dungeons i've missed, or you would like to discuss, feel free to post a comment!