Dungeons- How Big is Too Big?

[Spirit]

for many gamers the true meat of a Zelda game are the dungeons (unless you're like me and prefer overworld hijinx/missions) and the series has seen some classics in ranging sizes. for example the first two dungeons of Skyward Sword were very short, whereas the first dungeon in Twilight Princess felt like a lengthy process where even speed running makes you feel like you've been in there ages...

for me, being stuck in a dungeon for too long depresses me, i prefer playing Zelda when i can be out in the world and i don't enjoy dungeons all that much unless they have an open top and even then dungeons like the second fire temple in SS didnt cut it for me (game based claustrophobia? is that a thing?)

So, how long is too long for you where dungeons are concerned?
Do you like your dungeons to be long arduous trials in a dark dank/interesting place?
Or do you prefer your dungeons to be quick drop in and outs like the first two Skyward Sword dungeons?

 

[DarkestLink]

No such thing as too long.

 

[JuicieJ]

I like variety. Seeing both is nice, and that's just one of the many reasons I liked SS so much. Some dungeons were quick, but thrilling experiences (Earth Temple). Others were long and mentally-draining experiences (Lanayru Mining Facility). Having just one or the other is pretty one-dimensional. A mix of both is ideal if you ask me.

 

[Ventus]

Like DarkestLink, I believe there is no such thing as "too long" nor "too big". This heavily ties into dungeon difficulty, however that isn't the only thing. When I think of the word Dungeon, I don't think of its formal definition (which, by the way, is a strong, dark prison or cell, usually underground, as in a medieval castle. btw thanks to Dungeon | Define Dungeon at Dictionary.com ). What I think of is a behemoth of a trial that will basically be the undoing of anyone who looks for a jaunt and nothing more.

So yes, keep dungeons huge! Minidungeons, the likes of Ice Cavern in Ocarina of Time, can be the shorter ones and honestly need to appear more in the series anyway.

 

[Burning Beast]

A dungeon that never ends. Anything else, go for it.

No seriously, I think that dungeons in Zelda could stand to be a bit/lot bigger. I mean SS's dungeons had a lot of depth IMO, but they were painfully short all the same, So I say take what SS did and make it as big as OOT's Forest Temple. That's a good size.

 

[Egregious]

This is a tough call because it really depends on my individual reaction to each dungeon whether or not I want it to be longer or shorter. For example, I absolutely loathed the City in the Sky dungeon because I ended up having to back-track through the entire thing to get something that I missed. But I don't mind a longer dungeon if it has nice scenery or the puzzles are difficult without being needlessly difficult. The Goron Mines are an example of a dungeon that I felt was way too short... it took me very little time to complete on the first try, but I would have liked to see more of it.

In general, I guess I would say that more is better as long as the quality doesn't suffer!

 

[HyruleHistory10]

I like all kinds of dungeons. I depends on how they are intergrated into the plot, but going back to your question.... I like my dungeons to puzzle me, so if I am in there for a couple of hours or more I am happy. I dont like dungeons like Anglers cave (LA) where on my virgin run I beat it in like 10 mins.... I was so dissapointed..... but I also do not like 'empty' dungeons like a lot of the newer ones in TP and even SS, They maybe eye appealling (or not) but to me it is just wasted space they could have put more puzzles or enemies in. For an example the Forest temple on TP come to mind. It is just too open to me and I feel it is just to empty rather than the Arbiters grounds which was tighter and filled with traps and enemies. I felt the same way of The SandShip and the Fire Sanctuary in SS. I thought that there just was not enough in them compared to The Lanayru Mines which seemed like a big trap. (sorry for the rant lol)

As for over world exploration I love WWs overworld but I also like the puzzle world of the handhelds and SS. So over all I guess I just love the game to be one big continuous puzzle

 

[Awesome]

I mean most dungeons can't drag on for too long otherwise it'll just start to feel like you are doing the same thing over and over again. Take Snow head from Majora's Mask, if the dungeon had needed to be taller just to make it longer, it wouldn't have added more to the dungeon..... Just tedious boredom.

I really don't know how to answer this question. I guess I'd rather have a dungeon that was shorter, but that I spent a lot of time in because the puzzles and combat were difficult/tricky.

 

[Justac00lguy]

The bigger the Dungeons the better imo!

When I think of a Zelda game I generally think of Dungeons, this is where all the gameplay elements together amd test you to the limit or a dungeon should test you to the limit! Having a seemingly never ending dungeon that the size straight away intimidates the player is what makes a dungeon a dungeon! This is why some of my fav dungeons are the Forest Temple from OoT, Stone Tower Temple, City in the Sky and The Wind Temple from WW....All these dungeons have similar traits, they are all challenging, puzzling, greta atmosphere and are big in size and the time it takes to complete

So I think no dungeon can be too big I would happily have a 3 or 4 hour dungeon if it was a good dungoen

 

[RegalBryant]

Keep it under 500 rooms.

 

[Ninja YoungLink]

Make sure I don't spend 1000 hours on it and I'm fine with the length.

 

[Evan]

I like my dungeons medium-sized with puzzles that dont make you want to throw down the controller but make you think.

 

[gerudo_gal]

I personally prefer medium sized dungeons the majority of the time. Though, I will say that I felt like the majority of the dungeons in Twilight Princess were too short. I wish the Temple of Time and Hyrule Castle especially would have been extended. In Skyward Sword, so far, none of the dungeons have seemed too short for me because I've struggled so much with the controls that it's taken me forever to beat the game already (got it in November). Over all, I think the majority of Zelda games need longer dungeons; I just enjoy all of the content so much that I never want it to end >.<

 

[PokaLink]

In most cases i agree, having a large dungeon is nice, plenty of places to explore, and more places to test new items on, but honestly if the dungeon is to long and tedious it gets annoying, and makes me desperatly want to get outside, if you make it to long you might as well split into two diffrent ones with a small outside interaction inbetween.

 

[Dio]

I like a mixture of long and short dungeons. Of course it depends upon the dungeon itself as to whether I actually want to be in there for a long time. The creepy shadow temple would have been better if it were only a few seconds long where as the delightful earth temple from SS I could have spent two hours in.