• Welcome to ZD Forums! You must create an account and log in to see and participate in the Shoutbox chat on this main index page.

Spoiler Dungeons, Easy or Hard?

sailormars109

Finding Love by the Moon
Joined
May 28, 2012
Location
Macy, Indiana
Seeing as the dungeons in Skyward Sword certainly had a lot more puzzles than I expected, the question is, were they easier or harder than the other dungeons in previous Zelda games?

Take Skyview Temple for example, being the first dungeon in the game, it was challenging in some places. The monsters that were in the dungeon certainly turned out to be a pain in the butt for the first time playing the game (or for Hero Mode). However, Ghirahim as the boss for the first time battle turned out to make the dungeon seem a lot easier than it was in the mini-boss battle.

For the comparison though, it wasn't nearly as easy as the Forest Temple in Twilight Princess. The mini-boss battle was super easy seeing as all you basically had to do was roll into the totum pole the baboon was on and then whip his butt with your sword. And the boss battle with Twilit Parasite Diabada was easy seeing as you just used the bug bombs to hit Diabada and wipe out its eye tounge with your sword.

Toward the end of Skyward Sword, Sky Keep certainly was challenging with bringing back the old foes and dungeon settings. To top it off, the room puzzle was kind of challeging if you already have trouble reading a map. However, it was easy seeing as it was a basic rerun of the dungeons that you had already conquered.

In comparison, Sky Keep certainly was easier than Ganon's Castle in both the Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker. In the Ocarina of Time the rooms of the previous dungeons, they seemed a little harder than the dungeon the room was based off of itself (especially the Shadow Temple room in my opinion). In Wind Waker, going through what basically was mmini-dungeon reruns and then reliving the boss battle, was kind of hard in my opinion, especially if you barely made it through the battle in the first place.

So, to conclude this post, I found the dungeons an equal balance of both being easy and hard. What do you think?
 

MW7

Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Location
Ohio
Yeah I basically agree- Skyward Sword's dungeons had reasonable amount of difficulty. I felt like the puzzles were slightly easier than in previous Zelda games, but the harder combat (regular enemies, minibosses, bosses) made things at least as challenging as the other 3d games for the most part. I'm basing the puzzles being easier on the fact that some other Zelda games had at least one or two dungeons that truly made me think hard about how to proceed through them. The Sand Ship and Sky Keep made me think a little, but I don't find them nearly as mentally challenging as dungeons like the Great Bay Temple of Majora's Mask or the City in the Sky of Twilight Princess (and that's including the fact that I've played through those dungeons before- for instance me playing through the City in the Sky for the third time was still harder than my first playthrough of Sky Keep). I wish the puzzles were harder across all Zelda games and the only games that I appreciated the level of puzzle difficulty in were A Link to the Past, Oracle of Ages, and Majora's Mask. Skyward Sword's harder combat was nice, but I'd prefer to be challenged by puzzles more so than the enemies.
 

JuicieJ

SHOW ME YA MOVES!
Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Location
On the midnight Spirit Train going anywhere
Skyward Sword's dungeons had the ideal difficulty level for Zelda if you ask me. As with pretty much everything in the game, the puzzles weren't too hard, but they weren't too easy. They had just the right balance to force you to think but not rack your brain. This allowed for comfy pacing the whole time, as well as very few frustrating moments (if any at all). That's what Zelda should be. Nintendo nailed it with the dungeon difficulty in this game, and I sure hope it stays that way.
 
Last edited:

MiniMouseofPyru

The Notorious M.O.P.
Joined
Mar 8, 2012
Location
Canada
To me the dungeons in Skyward Sword weren't very difficult. Some of the puzzles were interesting and a bit challenging, but nothing like some other Zelda games. The bosses weren't very hard for me either, though I think some of the mini-bosses were much more difficult than in other games. Stalmaster, for example was pretty difficult. In fact, he was difficult enough to be featured in the final dungeon of the game.

I think Nintendo made the dungeons reasonable, not too difficult, like Ocarina of Time, but not too easy, like Twilight Princess. It was balanced pretty well. Most puzzles in the dungeons were easier than in previous games, but there are some puzzles that a really like. The dungeons weren't frustrating at all, contrary to the Water Temple from Ocarina of Time. Nintendo did a great job making the dungeons enjoyable.
 

Ventus

Mad haters lmao
Joined
May 26, 2010
Location
Akkala
Gender
Hylian Champion
Easier by too many degrees. Even without the veteran's expertise, Skyward Sword was far too easy for a typical Zelda game, I'd say almost easier than Twilight Princess. The dungeons I'd say were easier than Twilight Princess' as a whole (here I'm talking strictly environmental puzzles, not defeat the enemy puzzles) -- everything you needed was pointed out in the most obvious fashion, or would quickly be caught onto since you more than likely gathered that required item before entering the dungeon rather than inside as is standard Zelda fare.

Counting in the swordplay, I'd bump the difficulty to about Wind Waker level (TWW was moderately challenging for me -- easy in some places, medium in others) for a player not exactly accustomed to the 1:1 gameplay. If you've mastered 1:1 gameplay, SS is nothing more than a cakewalk.
 
Joined
May 3, 2012
I have finished every dungeon except the last one. None of them are hard, but there were a few times when I was scratching my head, Mining Facility, Cistern, and Sand Ship had some head scratching moments. The first battle with Ghirahim was hard for me because I was getting used to the 1:1 and had a hard time getting it to do what I wanted it to do (I still have some trouble). Overall the dungeons were fun and I never got too frustrated.
 
I didn't like the dungeons in SS at all, saving the Lanayru Mining Facility and the Sandship all of the dungeons felt very samey, sometimes there was a little bit of water, or vines or lava to set the apart but that was really it. They all felt like large open rooms with too little to do to make good use of anything other than the beetle. Even in TP i got hung up Snowpeak and in OoT i got stuck in the forest temple. almost every Zelda game has caught me out with at least one dungeon (TPmore than most), but in SS it felt as if i had finished as soon as i had started. i didn't ever die or take any great damage, i didn't have to survey the room or scout ahead with the beetle to see what needed to be done. ll in all i was really disappointed with the dungeons in SS, aside form the sandship being the only one that i could really tell apart from the others I saw nothing of interest and even the Sandships puzzles were insultingly easy, much like the rest of the game and every single side quest.
 

LavaAnon

The Forever Gamer
Joined
Nov 26, 2011
Location
Koholint Island
I think the puzzles we're evenly balanced even outside of the dungeons. The only problem was if you had a hard time with a certain part of a dungeon, you didn't really have to figure it out like other Zelda titles, you could just walk on over to the Sheikah Stone in Skyloft. :)
 

Braivety

FPT | Breb
Joined
Nov 28, 2011
Location
Maricopa, Arizona
Gender
Boi
I liked all the dungeons. My only complaint was that there wasn't enough fighting. There was to much puzzle solving and thinking. Don't get me wrong I love the puzzles, but Zelda needs a little more battle. My only exception I think is the Tower where you get the Triforce. That was awesome.
 
Joined
Apr 6, 2012
Location
Brazil
The sky keep wasn't that difficult,I actually think it was the easiest dungeon of SS.On overall I like all of the dungeons,except the pirate ship,the dungeons on SS where perfect and well balanced,not too easy,not too hard.
 
Joined
Dec 19, 2011
Location
Where the forest meets the sea
I didn't think they were too bad.. I'm also the kind of person who wants to become immersed in a dungeons difficulty. So much that when you beat the boss and finish it when returning back to the mainland (hyrule field) you almost feel like you just went on a whole seperate adventure.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top Bottom