Ancient Cistern: Like No Water Temple Before

[Links Brother]

The Ancient Cistern was the Water dungeon for Skyward Sword. However it was not like any Water dungeon we have ever seen. Instead of swimming through long streams of water and diving down, going under water was something you did not do a lot. Instead you found yourself swinging with a whip and going under ground to a place filled with zombies. Did you like the Ancient Cistern? Or would you want it to be more like the traditional water dungeon.

 

[cmeks]

I felt the ancient cistern was a little too easy.. the only part i had trouble doing was trying to figure out the combination on the first locked door.

 

[MonkeyFightSquad]

i dont really consider this a water temple


it was my favorite zelda dungeon ever

 

[Red Baron]

Zelda has a maintained a disturbing correlation between water sources and the undead.

 

[Links Brother]

i dont really consider this a water temple


it was my favorite zelda dungeon ever

Because the dungeon used going under water for puzzles and the place was filled with water it is the Water Dungeon of Skyward Sword. It's just not like the ones were used to.

 

[ZeldaPokemon25]

Zelda has a maintained a disturbing correlation between water sources and the undead.

That's exactly what I was thinking and when I first got to the bottom part of the temple. I just found that wield that zombies were in a water temple and they were some how getting powered by it.

 

[Austin]

I don't think it's a water temple. There was water in it, yes, but not enough to warrant the label in my opinion.

 

[Red Baron]

That's exactly what I was thinking and when I first got to the bottom part of the temple. I just found that wield that zombies were in a water temple and they were some how getting powered by it.

I was more thinking of the undead's (or just the dead's) contamination of the water supply. I sure hope no one drank out of the Kakariko well in OoT. And I sure hope the zombified bokoblins showed up after the Ancient Cistern ceased to be used as a cistern.

 

[zeldafreak101]

I loved it because it felt like a whole new expierence compared to other water dungeons. My only real problem with it was it was to short.

 

[DinNayruFarore]

I didn't find it to be a Water temple, but more of a neutral dungeon with elements of the undead and swimming underwater. The boss isn't an aquatic monster, but has contaminated water that acts as its internal fluids since it is an enchanted automaton. Not all of the enemies in the Ancient Cistern were water-based. The hooktail phoenixes were aerial and fire based, and the Cursed Bokoblins were undead-based.
Really, this whole dungeon is just what happened when Miyamoto and Aounoma placed the Arbiter Grounds under the Water Temple.

 

[skybird11]

from what i read on wikipedia, a cistern is sort of a large well? but shallow? idk. the archetecture of the pictures on wiki were magnificent. so the ancient cistern did an amazing job because i think, at least the top part, fits into the style of a cistern. its an amazing dungeon!

idk, i dont know a whole lot about cisterns.

 

[Techyahndea]

I enjoyed the temple at first, I REALLY enjoyed it more after someone (I forget who, I think it was from this site or this forum) pointed out the correlation between this temple and the Buddhist story "The Spider Thread". After I read that story, I appreciated the temple even more. I am not a Buddhist, but I found it pretty awesome none the less.

 

[Wolf Sage]

I agree with others here that the Ancient Cistern was more of an undead-themed dungeon than a water dungeon. I predicted Skyward Sword would feature more original and unique dungeon designs than past titles. It would seem to me that some dungeon elements have been amalgamated. E.g. Water/undead

 

[MartDiamond]

This temple was far too easy when you have the secret combination it's a walk in the park. Although outdid provide a good original boss fight. Traditionally water temples belong to the more difficult half of the temples in a zelda game and I hope it returns to be a more traditional temple in the future.

 

[DeletedUser9]

I don't think it's a water temple. There was water in it, yes, but not enough to warrant the label in my opinion.

Yeah... It included water more thematically than it did in terms of gameplay; there was very little water to the gameplay of the dungeon. This isn't a case where you can strictly define it as being about water.



Anyway, the Ancient Cistern was a mixed bag for me. Conceptually, it was the best dungeon of the game. I loved the mix of totally different ideas in the dungeon to turn it into a totally unique concept, one not based or reliant entirely on each of its individual elements. And the creepy portions mark my favorite spooky area in any Zelda game. I also like how it's likely based on The Spider's Thread, as Matt pointed out to me on Skype. I don't know if they actually based it on the story or not, but the similarities are extremely striking, especially since the Cistern's underground does resemble a pretty standard Eastern concept of the underworld.

However, I thought that, aside from its boss and miniboss, the Ancient Cistern was the worst-designed dungeon of the game. Plenty of the puzzles were decent, but the ones with the whip, if they can even be called puzzles, were underwhelming. They did very little with the whip that was unique, and instead it acted as a basic item that was only useful because certain switches could only be interacted with using it. There were only a few creative uses of it in the dungeon, and after the dungeon it was almost useless. Worst item of the game, IMO, and the dungeon is hurt because of it.

The underground portion was also extremely underwhelming I thought. The Cursed Bokoblins were really no differently than a standard Bokoblin, visually. I guess they take a long time to die if you don't do the Ending Blow, but ultimately I still was able to fight them like any other enemy. They should have been endless or at least far more numerous and harder to kill. The underground portion also felt like an afterthought, because it was incredibly brief and seemed almost pointless in the grand scheme of the dungeon. Really, that brief portion where you're in the sewer overlooking the underground was more impressive in terms of presentation than actually being in that underground area. This area needed to be done better, and especially they needed to make it longer.

I'm gonna give the dungeon another chance on my Hero Mode playthrough, but I doubt my mind is going to change in regards to it being the worst designed dungeon of the game.