What Is Your Favourite Zelda Wii Game Final Dungeon?

[papermaz]

What is your favourite final dungeon in the current two Wii Zelda games, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword?

Obviously you have to choose between Hyrule Castle in Twilight Princess or Sky Keep in Skyward Sword, with Hyrule Castle's first half outside riding boars through fences, knocking down watch towers, moving owl statues, then inside clawshotting across chandeliers, finding your way across a room where some of the floor is missing using your senses and spinnering up to the room with lots of treasure chests. (Disregard the epic five stage battle with Ganondorf).

Or you can pick Sky Keep with it's eight square room tile sliding structure, the dark room with more battles against moblins, bokoblins, stalfoses, another Stalmaster, the Dreadfuse plank room and the lava river room to name a few.

My favourite is Sky Keep because of the different rooms, Dreadfuse, Stalmaster, and the fact that you have to move the rooms around to get to certain ones.

 

[Dragoncat]

Sky Keep. I like how it has rooms that represent all the other dungeons, right down to the music.

 

[The Wanderer]

In terms of functionality, I prefer the Sky Keep. It's probably the most original dungeon in the series, and it took me a fair while to solve the first time through. The whole thing is one big puzzle, and the first room you enter really makes you think this is an ancient, sacred place housing the ultimate power. Of course, the subsequent rooms kind of took me out of that illusion....

Which is why I prefer Hyrule Castle in terms of atmosphere. While not terribly original or very long, it constantly gives you the impression that this is a good place overrun by an intelligent evil watching your every move. You can gain the first key to the castle by either going left or right; the left is pure combat while the right is mostly puzzles. Obtaining both keys allows you to access a treasure room near the top of the castle, which is a pretty sweet motivator for replay value. The music is well-done and haunting, and the closer to the final door you get, the more prominent Ganondorf's theme becomes.

All that said, I voted the Sky Keep, as I prefer it in terms of gameplay. Hyrule Castle makes a close second with its atmosphere, puzzles, and tough enemies, but I give the Sky Keep the edge.

 

[r2d93]

Sky Keep by a LONG SHOT.

Hyrule Castle was poorly executed IMO. It was far too short and easy for a final dungeon. While I did love the entire atmosphere, and the outside portions, they made the massive ominous castle too easy. Once you got inside the dungeon was very straight forward and a bit boring.

Sky keep was a great dungeon, and one of the most creative in Zelda history (and i've been whining about how we need more creative dungeons for awhile now). A dungeon where you get to slide the rooms in literally a giant puzzle to advance? who couldn't like that? It made you think of how to get to where you wanted to go. Not only this, but the rooms themselves were actually challenging. The room where you get the triforce of courage, that little trial thing took me quite awhile. Plus the concept of the dungeon is fantastic. A puzzle hidden in the Isle of the Goddess to test those who enter for the triforce. The only thing i lik more about Hyrule castle was that the theme was great and well put together. Sky keep had multiple rooms with different themes we've seen in the game which isnt "bad", but it sacrifices the dungeon's own unique theme

 

[Big Octo]

Sky Keep. I count TP as a GameCube game anyway. :bleh:

But for the sake of the thread, I'll acknowledge the Wii version to compare. Hyrule castle was a gauntlet of many enemies, mixed in with a good amount of puzzle. The executed well, at times it felt boring and repetitive. Sky Keep, however, was a much different and unique experience, with the big puzzle that controls the entire dungeon. Also, the enemies surely weren't lacking in this dungeon, something I appreciated. Furthermore, returning the themes from previous dungeon was a good move, and also reminiscent of OoT's Ganon's Castle. An excellent dungeon in my book.

 

[willsfairysword]

skykeep i've played TP before with my friend and we got from his file (far in the game) and we got to hyrule castle and we didn't like it at all

 

[Kupsacker]

I like Hyrule Castle better solely because of its atmosphere. It doesn't really feel like a dungeon, it feels like Hyrule Castle, and, in my opinion, more appropriate for leading up to the final boss. Don't get me wrong, Sky Keep's design was brilliant, I just don't think it's best suited as a "final" dungeon.

 

[You-Know-Who]

Sky Keep is great and all, but I prefer Hyrule Castle, mostly, at least for me, it actually feels like a legit dungeon. I think TP and MC are the only one like that, other games are great but there is always something missing. Plus, Sky Keep technically doesn't have a boss.

 

[Spirit]

Hyrule Castle every time, i didn't try to be a dungeon, it just wanted to hammer home the epic feel, which like the rest of the game, it did. The interior was awesome and looked magnificent, the puzzles weren't too challenging but that didn't matter, Link was a man on a mission and the layout of the castle really helped reflect that.

If the graveyard were to be counted too then that is just more reason to like it.


both dungeons were a 'best of' of puzzles through the game, just Hyrule Castle did it better and felt more natural and realistic than a block puzzle with element based rooms as seen in Skykeep where you were forced to fight some of the same enemies (including a familiar mini boss) and crawl through the same puzzles you'd seen before, Skykeep's rooms flet like rooms that had been cut from previous dungeons just to make the last one, at least in Hyrule Castle the piuzzles were short and sweet yet satisfying on your way to your goal, and Skykeep doesn't even have a boss, it was just another way for SS to pad itself out.

 

[Pancake Wizard]

When I get to the last dungeon, I kind of want to relax a bit, and Hyrule Castle lets me do that. But Skykeep is definitely the better dungeon, but Hyrule Castle is the one I like better. Does that make sense?

 

[zeldalink]

I loved hyrule castle, but i found the out side part not that fun. i loved skykeep but it freaked me out when you go to get the triforce piece you look like your in another silent realm so meep freak out.

 

[Ventus]

Twilight Princess' Hyrule Castle wins for me. I love the architecture, the way it plays out, everything! I loved the multiple-enemy wave battles, I loved the Darknut that had that Mace thingy, I loved Ganondorf...gosh,I want Nintendo to do a repeat of Hyrule Castle once more.

 

[A Link In Time]

Sky Keep every time. Hyrule Castle was the same mundane final area from Ocarina of Time with a few optional areas of its own tossed in. Sky Keep, on the other hand, presented a wholistic view of every previous dungeons with an area modeled after each one and introduced an intriguing gimmick of its own by having to later the layout of the various rooms. Moreover, the area had especial story significance as the abode Hylia chose to house the Triforce from Demise's clutches.

My favorite part of the dungeon was the underground area resembling that of the Ancient Cistern where enemies like Stalfos, Bokoblin Archers, and Cursed Bokoblins teamed up to wreak havoc. This was the greatest enemy challenge the game offered and it was done well. My sole gripe was the area's reusing of the miniboss from the Fire Sanctuary although I didn't mind too much because it was an original battle.

 

[SpiritGerudo]

TP surprised me by having a final dungeon that wasn't a compilation of previous dungeon themes. They kind of did that with the Zant fight, but frankly, that fight was pathetic. However, I loved Hyrule Castle and I thought it was brilliant. It had a nice combination of combat and puzzle while the Sky Keep seemed more puzzle-oriented. I also absolutely loved the little bit of story that they threw into Hyrule Castle when the people who had helped you all came back again (I'm drawing a blank on their names). Twilight Princess overall had a more active story line and more interactions with characters, and this doesn't fail to present itself in the final dungeon. The music was also fantastic, hearing the dynamic (I'm using that as an adjective there, not a musical term, just to avoid confusion) changes in the music's dynamics and style, and the thunderstorm in the background really set the tone and I loved every bit of it. I know OoT did this also, but I honestly didn't even notice until that last staircase, and the graphical and art changes in TP got the effect better. While the Sky Keep was a great dungeon and I liked it, I just don't think it was as much of a fitting and satisfactory way to end the game as Hyrule Castle was.

 

[The Wanderer]

Hyrule Castle every time, i didn't try to be a dungeon, it just wanted to hammer home the epic feel, which like the rest of the game, it did. The interior was awesome and looked magnificent, the puzzles weren't too challenging but that didn't matter, Link was a man on a mission and the layout of the castle really helped reflect that.

This is one area where I definitely agree with you. A final dungeon is presumably the last step before challenging the great evil of the story, and players are normally pretty pumped for the occasion. The last thing I want is to be stuck on some brain-busting puzzle for an hour when I feel like I should be cutting through the hordes of darkness and saving the world. It's a wet blanket, and a very big one at that. It's my belief (but probably not carried by the entire Zelda fanbase) that a final dungeon should be a test of your skills and a prelude that amps up your already-high adrenaline rush. Ocarina of Time did this pretty well by having six barriers to dispel by solving relatively simple but clever puzzles, then charging up Ganon's Tower and taking on the toughest enemies of the game while the scenery becomes more ominous and Ganondorf's theme plays louder and louder.

Skyward Sword, on the other hand, suffers from perhaps the largest amount of unnecessary filler in the series. After learning the true nature of the final boss and getting all pumped up to wipe the floor with his butt, I get all the way to the sky and discover I need to go on a painfully long filler quest (for NO REAL REASON, it should be added) to get what I need to get more of what I need to get more of what I need to enter the Sky Keep to get what I need. The ending was still epic for me, but this was not the right way to go to build anticipation. If not acted upon, anticipation fades with time. The Sky Keep itself was also not the greatest in terms of atmosphere, as each room but the first resembles something you've already seen. The nonlinear nature somewhat clouds your short-term goals. Clouded short-term goals, again, bring down the anticipation because you don't have a clear end result to focus on besides assembling the Triforce and hoping something good happens. At least it did for me. Again, this is not something that applies to everyone.

In Twilight Princess's Hyrule Castle, you know exactly what you're getting into and how it will end - with your sword firmly lodged in Ganondorf's torso. In the Sky Keep, you don't have a clear idea of what's going to happen, and the segmented atmosphere doesn't aim to build the suspense much. The latter is still my favorite in terms of gameplay, but story-wise, Hyrule Castle is probably the superior final dungeon.

When I get to the last dungeon, I kind of want to relax a bit, and Hyrule Castle lets me do that. But Skykeep is definitely the better dungeon, but Hyrule Castle is the one I like better. Does that make sense?

Yeah, actually. It's one thing to have a game appeal to you more personally, and another to acknowledge that another game is more expertly created. Very natural.