To this day the two Legend of Zelda titles for the Nintendo 64 rank among the greatest games of all time. A big reason is because of tremendous level design for the temples that make up each game’s core. But which ones are the best? Here it is, a ranking of each of the main Nintendo 64 Legend of Zelda dungeons. To be clear, there are no side dungeons on here, which means no Ice Cavern, no Bottom of the Well etc.
- Great Bay Temple – Majora’s Mask
For the record, I only dislike two of the N64 main temples, and here is one of them. While I appreciate Great Bay Temple’s difficulty, it’s a pure pain to get through with its strong water currents. There are times that if you miss a certain jump, you’ll have to swim around just to get back to where you need to be. The music surprisingly misses as well, with a mechanical, mysterious theme that feels out of place. Definitely the weakest part of Majora’s Mask. The boss, Gyrog, is pretty cool but feels pretty cheap as well. I believe they changed the battle for the 3DS version as a result.
- Inside Jabu Jabu’s Belly – OOT
Jabu Jabu’s Belly has one thing going for it, you get the boomerang here. Otherwise this is probably the most boring temple in the N64 era. Most of the time you’re just hitting tentacles with the boomerang. You’re also carrying Princess Ruto around and that’s quite annoying as well. The sub-boss here isn’t designed well, as you need to run in a circle to avoid a big Octorok, but you have to avoid some spikes in the middle. Barinade is an okay boss though.
- Inside the Deku Tree – OOT
Ten good dungeons out of twelve isn’t bad. Inside the Deku Tree is a fun opening temple that allows players to get used to all of Link’s brand new 3D controls. The puzzles are simple, yet rewarding. Queen Gohma is an iconic boss, easy as she is. While playing this, you had to know OOT was going to be a great game.
- Woodfall Temple – Majora’s Mask
Woodfall ‘s difficulty quickly shows that Majora’s Mask is probably going to be a tougher game than Ocarina of Time. Admittedly Woodfall is a bit plain, but I think it does a great job establishing the tone we’re going to get in Majora’s Mask. It’s darker, it’s creepier. You hear the spirits in the theme song that probably belong to Odolwa. There’s a lot to like here.
- Fire Temple – OOT
The Fire Temple is a standard straight forward dungeon, but it has a great sub and main boss. The Flare Dancer is an interesting sub-boss that might not do a whole not, but it’s better than a random Lizalfo (although we get that too). Volvagia is awesome as a main boss of course. There’s a nice story in the Fire Temple as well, as you’re looking to rescue all of the Gorons imprisoned. Megaton Hammer is a great item pick-up as well, even if it’s underused throughout the game.
- Shadow Temple – OOT
Unfortunately for the Shadow Temple, the creepiness vibe that it gives off pales in comparison to the Forest Temple. It’s still a good dungeon in its own right. It uses the Lens of Truth well and the end with the ship and the maze of Wall Masters is pretty cool. Bongo Bongo is quite the let down as far as bosses go though.
- Water Temple – OOT
As a kid, the Water Temple halted my progress for months because of one key. While it’s not really that difficult looking back at it, the challenge it can provide new gamers is a major plus and I remember being very disappointed with the Master Quest version as a result. The Water Temple has probably the worst boss in OOT though in Morphia. Even more puzzling is that it has probably the best sub-boss as well: Dark Link. So the question here is…why wasn’t Dark Link the main boss? The Water Temple also has an awesome theme.
- Snowhead Temple – Majora’s Mask
A really fun dungeon that goes upwards, which was a nice touch that we only saw in the Fire Temple in OOT. Snowhead does it a lot better though. There’s a lot of Fire Arrow action, a lot of Goron Link action and just a good time to be had all around. Wizzrobe is also a fun sub-boss, and Snowhead’s main boss, Goht, may be the most fun N64 Zelda boss of them all. Unless you do it the Fire Arrow way…
- Dodongo’s Cavern – OOT
There’s no bad part of Dodongo’s Cavern really. It’s just a straight up get through this dungeon and have fun doing it kind of experience. Beat down some dodongos, light some torches, blow up some statues and just have a good time. It also has a great main boss too in King Dodongo, a boss that is a heck of a lot easier with the Hylian Shield (one of the two times that whole “get the Hylian Shield” thing actually mattered). Dodongo’s Cavern also does a couple of things really well. First, it teases the boss really early on with that really cool dragon (dodongo) head in the main room, and it uses the item you get in the dungeon, bombs, very well. Bonus points for the need to come back here as an adult to get some extras.
- Spirit Temple – OOT
It’s time for the top tier of Zelda 64 Temples. The Spirit Temple I do think is a distant third, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s pretty awesome. It has the second best boss in the game in Twinrova (we are getting there), has a really cool story (Child Link meets Nabooru, saves her seven years later) and is really fun to get through. We get to face off with a couple Iron Knuckles as well. To top it off, the music is absolutely awesome as well. Really gets bonus points for having a child and adult section and connecting them well.
- Stone Tower – Majora’s Mask
What a tough choice between the top two! I would have sworn that the Stone Tower would have been number one, but there was one deciding factor which I’ll get to. Anyway, the Stone Tower owns in pretty much every way. To even get to the main part of the tower you need to figure out some puzzles with the Elegy of Emptiness. Once you get to the top, you enter the main part of the Tower which is where the fun really begins. The creepiness of Majora’s Mask really sets in when in the Stone Tower, as the music, in my opinion the best Zelda has to offer, really sets the mood and tone. The best part about the Stone Tower is that you have to use all your forms at some point, which is a great trait for a final Temple. You also have a bunch of mini-bosses you’ll have to contend with: Wizzrobe, the Garo Master and Gomess. Light Arrows and the Giant’s Mask are also acquired here. By the way, once you get through it…you’ll have to spin the Tower upside-down and climb through it again. It’s awesome how a treasure chest you found when it’s right-side up turns out to be a crucial hookshot spot later! Awesome design. It’s too bad the main boss kinda sucks.
- Forest Temple – OOT
While there were a few moments beforehand, to me the Forest Temple is the part of OOT that says “okay, now it’s time to take things seriously”. Before as a child you had Zelda talking some nonsense about an evil man and a prophecy. Now? Now she’s disappeared and all the places that were full of fun as a kid have turned into places full of monsters. What’s the first thing you do as an adult? Call Saria and find out where she is. It’s a brilliant storyline and a perfect set-up. Suddenly, the temple right next to your home may be the creepiest place you’ll ever go, with ghosts, twisting hallways, wallmasters and wolves everywhere. Skulltulas climb the vines. The Forest Temple does such a tremendous job at being creepy that it unintentionally undermines the Shadow Temple later. The music is fantastic, the deisgn is fantastic, and in the deciding choice between this and the Stone Tower…the main boss is the best in all of Zelda 64. Phantom Ganon is awesome. Amazing all around.