Dungeons are the butter to the bread that is The Legend Of Zelda. Ever since the original well-aged classic for the Nintendo Entertainment System, dungeons have remained a staple for progression in-game. As the series went on, the dungeons became more thematic, usually based on some element.

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One of the biggest staples was the water-based dungeons. These dungeons became the subject of as much joy from fans as they are a subject of dread due to their unique and stunning design mixed with infuriating puzzles. There are many water dungeons across the franchise and some are more difficult than others.

Mermaid Cave - Oracle Of Ages

Link swimming as a merman in the Mermaid Cave in The Legend Of Zelda: Oracle Of Ages

Fitting with the overall style of Oracle Of Ages, Mermaid Cave is fun but far from a challenge. Like all the dungeons, once the player understands the dungeon's gimmick, it's easy to solve all the puzzles and beat complete the cave.

It excels in having the Mermaid Suit that turns Link into a merman, allowing him to swim through water segments faster. It's one of many reasons why Oracle Of Ages and many other Zelda games deserve a remaster on the Switch.

Jabu Jabu's Belly - Oracle Of Ages

Link activating a water switch in Jabu-Jabu's Belly in The Legend Of Zelda: Oracle Of Ages

Oracle Of Ages is one of the few games in The Legend Of Zelda series to feature two water-based dungeons. Inside Jabu-Jabu's Belly would act as the predecessor to another water dungeon, forcing the player to backtrack in order to raise and lower the water levels.

Though not nearly as difficult as what would come later on, Jabu-Jabu's Belly still provides some confusion for most who play Oracle Of Ages for the first time.

Link swimming through the trench of the Swamp Palace in The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past

The Swamp Palace from A Link To The Past - a game available for the SNES as well as on the Switch - gets credit for being one of the first water dungeons to cause frustrations due to its maze-like design. Enemies are rather challenging and the main boss fight can make the player restart a few times.

The main frustration comes from the many and rather easy ways to die in the dungeon. However, it was with The Swamp Palace that fans were first introduced to the Hookshot, an item that would return in many shapes and forms throughout the series.

Divine Beast Vah Ruta - Breath Of The Wild

Link running through the insides of the Divine Beast Vah Ruta in The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild

The latest water dungeon is a rather unique one; it is a giant mechanical mammoth-like beast that is so massive that its insides are a dungeon. Not only does it live in the middle of a lake but Link can control the beast's trunks to raise and lower the levels of water.

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While the dungeon was praised for the size and scope of the dungeon being impressive, many fans agreed that this dungeon should have been a gauntlet. Instead, it was one of the easiest dungeons in all of Breath Of The Wild with simplistic puzzles and a rather straightforward progression. Many fans are hoping that the upcoming Breath Of The Wild sequel will improve upon the dungeons.

Jabu-Jabu's Belly - Ocarina Of Time

Link holding up Ruto in Jabu-Jabu's Belly in The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time

This dungeon was given quite the revamp in Ocarina Of Time in every way, from the visuals to disturbing monsters and hazards, along with a far from a straightforward structure. For the third dungeon in the whole game, Jabu-Jabu's Belly can be a confusing maze to navigate.

It doesn't help that for a frustrating portion of the dungeon, Link is forced to carry and escort Princess Ruto while defending her from enemies. This dungeon also features quite the spike in difficulty when it comes to the final boss.

Temple Of Droplets - The Minish Cap

Link standing on an icy platform in the Temple Of Droplets in The Legend Of Zelda The Minish Cap

Water and ice, two of the most feared location types in any video game. The Minish Cap manages to provide a hybrid dungeon of water and ice, creating as many frustrations as possible. Link sliding across the ice makes it taxing to make precise movements and a lot of verticalities that can make it easy to get lost.

The Temple Of Droplets also boasts a lot of beautiful visuals, which is common praise about The Minish Cap due to the shrinking and growing mechanics. Overall, it is a balanced dungeon: it can be a challenge but it is never to the point of wanting to throw the GameBoy Advance.

Lakebed Temple - Twilight Princess

Link battling Morpheel in the Lakebed Temple in The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Since Ocarina Of Time left scars on so many players (more on that later), Nintendo decided to streamline and simplify the water dungeon for Twilight Princess. The Lakebed Temple features water levels but the player only has to change it once and keep moving.

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Most of the challenge in the Lakebed Temple comes from the confusing layout that can take a while to learn. The Lakebed Temple, as per usual with water dungeons, also features two bosses. The mini-boss is a bit tedious while the main boss can test the nerves while still providing a unique fight.

The Water Temple - Ocarina Of Time

Link s wimming in the Water Temple level in Zelda Ocarina Of Time

Easily the most infamous of the water dungeons, The Water Temple from Ocarina Of Time took the raising and lowering of water levels to solve puzzles to the extreme. The player has to constantly swap between normal and heavy boots and play on the ocarina many times.

It leads to the Water Temple taking so much longer than any other in the beloved Nintendo 64 game. However, the Water Temple's infamous status is slightly overexaggerated. Most of the frustration comes from first-time players but after one or two playthroughs, it's not that hard to memorize the dungeon. It still earns its spot as a taxing dungeon with two of the best boss fights in the game.

Ancient Cistern - Skyward Sword

Koloktos boss fight in The Legend Of Zelda Skyward Sword HD

In Skyward Sword, exploring the Ancient Cistern is like experiencing Atlantis at first. The scope of the dungeon is massive with gorgeous architecture that will enchant the players. However, the deeper into the cistern Link goes, the more terrorizing it gets due to toxic water, harder puzzles, scarier visuals, and more.

It's a good deception with the Ancient Cistern becoming more of a gauntlet as it goes on. It even features the Koloktos: a rather difficult boss and one of the most nightmare-inducing enemies of the series. The Ancient Cistern is definitely one of the most genuinely challenging dungeons.

Great Bay Temple - Majora's Mask

Interior of the Great Bay Temple from The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Where the Ancient Cistern provided a genuine challenge, the Great Bay Temple is rage-inducing. Majora's Mask is already stressful to 100% complete due to its time constraint and now the Great Bay Temple takes up the most time of all the dungeons. Unless the player times things to nearly 100% perfection, the Great Bay Temple will likely take a few time resets in order to properly beat it.

This is because of the water current mechanics, which have infuriated players for over twenty years. The Great Bay Temple is also a maze from top to bottom and the Nintendo 64 physics can be plagued by glitches, forcing the player to restart an already long portion of the temple.

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