What do YOU think? Top 3 3D Zelda Temples
Posted on February 7, 2010 by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Features
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For those of you that aren’t able to watch, or don’t feel like watching a video, I’ve written up a brief “script” of it so you won’t be left in the dark!
Top 3 3D Zelda Dungeons
There are more than 50 dungeons in the Legend of Zelda series, and it’s hard to think of one that’s really not fun to play. No, the water temple doesn’t count. Out of those 50 temples, there are a select few that people will consider just a step above the rest, and for me there are three that really stand out when it comes to this; the Great Bay Temple, the Lakebed Temple, and the Stone Tower Temple. Each one has its own upsides and downsides (the Stone Tower Temple especially!) but overall they really show how the great Zelda dungeons are separated from the good, so without further ado, here are my personal top 3 temples from the Legend of Zelda series.
Number 3, the Great Bay Temple
While Majora’s Mask may have been considered a low point to the Legend of Zelda series by many, it’s hard to argue that amidst its tradition breaking story and time-based gameplay, it didn’t have some of the best temples the series had to offer. One of the best temples from the game is the Great Bay temple, which offers a unique progression on many fronts. Firstly, the method of using zora link for movement through the water was a vast improvement over eqiuipping and unequipping the iron boots in Ocarina of Time, but secondly, it was arguably the hardest temple in Majora’s Mask; a game notorious for its difficulty. It had everything from atmosphere to enemy design, and it all flowed (no pun intended!) flawlessly from room to room. Following the colored pipes also added a sense of urgency since the whole temple had to be completed in 3 days. Due to this heart wrenching difficulty and an unforgiving boss battle, The Great Bay Temples clocks in at number 3.
Number 2, The Lakebed Temple
The lakebed temple in Twilight Princess is a temple that is of near-perfect design. The puzzles of directing the water throughout the entire temple were great, performing a cross-room puzzle solving style that hadn’t been in previous Zelda games. The clawshot you receive is an upgrade to one of the cooler items from past Zelda games (the hookshot), and it set the stage for the coolest item from Twilight Princess, the double clawshot. Additionally, the manner in which you get to the temple is by far my favorite from any Zelda game, traveling deep to the bottom of a massive lake and blowing open the entrance. As far as I’m concerned, the entire area of Lake Hylia from Twilight Princess is arguably the most beautiful location in any Zelda game, 2D or 3D. Lastly, the entire experience is topped off with a fantastic, massive boss that not only pushed the limits of the gamecube, but pushed the limits for the Zelda series in general by providing the biggest boss yet and an epic finish to a puzzling temple.
Number 1, The Stone Tower Temple
Another temple from Majora’s Mask, The Stone Tower Temple is one of the most innovative temples in the entire Zelda series, and my personal favorite dungeon of all time. The entire gimmick of the temple is that it can be flipped upside down, and it offers some amazing puzzles that are completely unique to the game. The Stone Tower Temple also offered 3 total bosses, rather than the standard 2, and it also required the player to use all 3 transformations, the zora, the deku, and the goron, to get through it. Similar to the lakebed temple, the stone tower temple also had a groundbreaking boss battle in the twin snakes, and providing yet another satisfying end to another fantastic Zelda temple.
So the question this week is which Zelda temples are your favorite? Why do you like them? Also, we’d like to know what you think about the idea for video features in the future. This week was just a short little test of the waters, but if you guys think the idea is promising I’d love to continue. Send your questions and answers to the comments sections below, and I’ll see you back here again next week.
