Dungeon

Since the release of the original The Legend of Zelda in 1986, Nintendo has produced fourteen canon titles in the series to date. During that time, the series has also become one of Nintendo's flagship video game franchises, ranking high with the likes of Mario and Donkey Kong. A major reason for this is the complexity, challenge, and evolution of the many dungeons that have come and gone over more than 20 years.

Nearly every Zelda game involves locating and exploring dungeons, which are locations in which much of the action in the games takes place; they are generally underground labyrinths that contain various types of enemies and puzzles, usually with a boss at the end, and often a mini-boss near the middle. Each dungeon generally has one or two special items hidden inside which are often required to complete that dungeon, and the items are often of use later in the game. Many of these items are found in several Zelda installments, while others are exclusive to a single game. Dungeons usually have some sort of theme that governs the types of puzzles are contained therein. Most of the time, the solutions to the puzzles require using the item(s) that are acquired within the dungeon. In the later games in the series, the item(s) found in each dungeon are usually used to fight that dungeon's boss.

Dungeons have been an essential component of the Zelda series beginning with the original Legend of Zelda. These dungeons were rather complex for their time, as they challenged the adventurer with puzzles, traps, and enemies, the likes of which had not previously been seen in video games. Enemies occasionally re-spawn to attack adventurers, and a room may be "reset" (in the sense that everything returns to its starting point) when Link exits and reenters a room.

The Legend of Zelda
In The Legend of Zelda, the dungeons retained the same format as the rest of the game: the player, as Link, maneuvers each area from a top-down perspective, facing everything from dead ends to invincible and annoying enemies to complex traps, puzzles, and maze-like passages. The first installment in the Zelda series is one of but a few in the franchise to feature a special second quest after the challenges of the first one are overcome, or by the player entering "ZELDA" as the file name. In either case, the second quest proves more challenging, offering nine dungeons similar to those in the original quest. However, not only are some of the dungeons' locations mixed up in the second quest, but they are generally more difficult, with a different layout and the items hidden more carefully and stronger enemies and bosses introduced sooner. The general layout of Hyrule remains the same, but the locations of items scattered across the overworld are also hidden in different places. It should be noted that Stone Statues are found in every dungeon in the game.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
The Adventure of Link saw a major change in the original Zelda concept, in that, though the top-down perspective remains, it only does so when Link is wandering the Overworld. Most of the action takes place in a side-scrolling format, adding other platforming elements (i.e. this is the only Zelda title to date in which the player can press one button to make Link "jump" without the aid of items or special moves). The side-scrolling element adds difficulty to the overall game (and the dungeons especially), in that certain enemies are much more difficult to defeat than they were in the strictly top-down perspective offered in The Legend of Zelda. On the other hand, the addition of certain abilities—most notably the downthrust technique, which is one that allows Link to jump up in the air and come down sword first—make effective tools in Link's fighting repertoire. Recurring themes appear in all palaces such as statues of Iron Knuckles (Bird Knights in the Great Palace) or movable Elevators. Many of themes teams and the overall layout were used in the Temple stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Link's Awakening
A Link to the Past returned to the fully top-down perspective, going back to the series' roots, thus removing the platform and side-scrolling elements that featured heavily in The Adventure of Link. Link's Awakening also retains the same format.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask
After a five-year absence on the market, the Zelda series returned with its fifth installment, titled Ocarina of Time. Its series-new 3D graphics allow the game's dungeons to be far more individual, and more unusual settings are used, such as the humongous insides of both a tree and a giant fish. The game also introduces another first in the series: an optional dungeon, the Gerudo Training Ground, in which, if he completes the challenges therein, Link will obtain the Ice Arrows; however, the Ice Arrows are not necessary for completion of his quest.

Though not included in the original release of the game for the Nintendo 64, the GameCube release of Ocarina of Time carries a Master Quest, which is a similar revisiting of the game to that of the second quest from the original Legend of Zelda. One major difference of note between the second quest and the "Master Quest" (from Zelda and Ocarina of Time, respectively) is that, in the second quest from The Legend of Zelda, both the overworld and dungeons undergo radical changes, but in Ocarina of Time Master Quest, only the dungeons change, offering new puzzles and traps, as well as different locations for the items within and stronger enemies introduced sooner.

Majora's Mask employs the same game engine used for Ocarina of Time, but so far has not offered a second quest. However, the use of masks, which transform Link into either a Deku, a Goron, or a Zora, provide a more challenging aspect to the dungeons.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages are played in top-down perspective, although the side-scrolling function is used multiple times throughout the games. There are eight required dungeons in each game.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures
Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures brought back the top-down perspective, but introduced into the gameplay another first in the series: the first and so far only multi-player Zelda adventures, making for more varied and interesting puzzles and gameplay.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The series' next installment, The Wind Waker, saw more breakthroughs in graphics and changes to the way the game is played through the dungeons. While many people were neither pleased nor impressed at first with series' creator Shigeru Miyamoto's more "child-friendly" approach—Miyamoto's idea was actually to appeal to all ages with the advent of cel shading, not necessarily just a younger audience—the game retains in spades the same basic puzzle and other elements that have made the Zelda franchise so popular. In this installment, the dungeon idea got another renovation: as new items are introduced in the game, The Wind Waker proves once again that a new spin on an old idea can work. With every item Link obtains throughout the dungeons, new abilities become available, but the puzzles change more than ever to conform to the usability of the items, and the series has continued more this way since. This game also introduces the ability to manipulate other crucial characters and inanimate objects (such as statues), adding another layer to the gameplay and challenging puzzle elements that are hallmarks of the series.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
The Minish Cap once again uses the top-down perspective of many of its predecessors, and the overall plot is to tell the backstory to Four Swords and Four Swords Adventures. Although Link once again gains the ability to split himself into up to four Links (as in the other two games), this game does not feature a multi-player mode, but the complexity of the dungeons once again takes a turn and keeps the player on his/her toes. Adding a new layer of puzzle challenge to the game is the Minish Cap, which allows Link to shrink to the tiny size of the Picori who inhabit most of Hyrule. This item and ability combination grants Link access to places he could never have gone before, such as inside certain enemies and into the homes of the Picori, who live in everything from mouse holes to shoes to tree stumps. However, this newfound freedom to go where he wants is replete with new dangers, too, from cats to giant ChuChus, which become deadly enemies when Link is only the size of the Picori. Most of the dungeons Link visits in this game require him to be this size—or require that he shrink at certain places while he traverses the dungeons—to either enter the dungeons or access otherwise inaccessible areas.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Legend of Zelda series is well known for its innovations in gameplay and advances in computer graphics technology, always stretching the limits of all that is currently known. Twilight Princess returns the player to the 3D perspective, but adds a new element of puzzle and gameplay: the ability Link gains to turn himself into a wolf. Certain puzzles can only be solved and obstacles overcome by Link when he is in wolf or human form. The items play a heavy role in puzzle specifications once again. Statue manipulation also returns to stretch the player's abilities and test his/her puzzle-solving skills.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
This sequel to The Wind Waker once again uses cel-shading and similar puzzle elements. A new addition to the series with this game is the almost-exclusive use of the stylus. This game hardly makes use of the D-pad or the buttons of the Nintendo DS; the stylus is therefore used for everything: movement, swordplay, using items, picking items up, etc. For instance, the player can now use the stylus to control the movement of Link's Boomerang, to plot his path through dungeons, and highlight dungeon items (i.e. the dungeon map, Compass, etc.). Traditional Zelda elements remain, but are significantly altered by the extensive use of the stylus, adding challenging features that are another first in the series.

Phantom Hourglass also contains a "master dungeon" &mdash; the Temple of the Ocean King. This master dungeon is rather large, and Link must visit it between regular dungeons to acquire sea charts; he then uses the sea charts to guide him to previously unexplored areas. The Temple of the Ocean King is filled with fog, which limits the amount of time which Link can spend in the dungeon to the amount of sand remaining in the titular Phantom Hourglass. The dungeon itself contains Phantom Guardians, which are enemies that Link cannot defeat until he acquires the Phantom Sword. Both the time limit and the Phantom Guardians are nullified by the various Safe Zones throughout the dungeon.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
The dungeon style of Spirit Tracks is the same as Phantom Hourglass, along with the inclusion of a "master dungeon", the Tower of Spirits. However, there are several differences, such as the use of a Phantom to access some places, and the lack of replaying through the Tower of Spirits, as well as the lack of a timer. Replaying through some of the dungeons after their completion will allow access to previously unavailable treasures, rooms or a Stamp Station.