If there’s one thing the average Zelda game does right, it’s dungeon design. From A Link to the Past to Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess, The Legend of Zelda has no shortage of incredible video games dungeons. While Skyward Sword is often regarded as the black sheep of 3D Zelda, the game arguably has the best dungeons in the franchise.
At their best, Skyward Sword’s dungeons innovate on familiar mechanics while featuring dense set pieces and outstanding boss fights. For all of the game’s faults, Skyward Sword was the first 3D Zelda in years to feature an actual difficulty curve that didn’t plummet by the halfway – a fact very much reflects by the game’s dungeon design.
Edited on August 23, 2021, by Renan Fontes: Skyward Sword HD has breathed new life into what many consider one of the weakest games in the Zelda franchise. While flawed compared to masterpieces like A Link to the Past or Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword was never a bad game and its HD remake has ironed out enough kinks for audiences to recognize just how well designed SS’ dungeons and boss fights really were. Even at its worst, Skyward Sword still boasts what is arguably the single best set of dungeons to grace the Zelda series (Twilight Princess, eat your heart out).
7 Earth Temple
Despite being called the Earth Temple, this is essentially Skyward Sword’s fire dungeon. The second dungeon in the game, the Earth Temple can be found on Eldin Volcano. Narratively, the Earth Temple marks one of Link’s lowest points in the game. After taking too long in the dungeon, Link fails to intercept Zelda in time.
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Gameplay-wise, the Earth Temple’s dungeon item is a Bomb Bag. While Bombs aren’t anything special in The Legend of Zelda, players can pick up loose Bombs and place them back into their Bag in Skyward Sword. The Wiimote can also be aimed downwards to let players bowl their Bombs at up ahead enemies/obstacles. The dungeon boss, Scaldera, isn’t particularly challenging but makes for a tense and memorable fight.
6 Lanayru Mining Facility
The Lanayru Mining Facility is one of the longer dungeons in Skyward Sword, but it features interesting gimmicks where Link needs to shift between time periods while cross-referencing his map to get a better feel of the dungeon layout. The Lanayru Mining Facility is the kind of dungeon that rewards attentive players who know how to observe their surroundings.
The dungeon suffers a bit for featuring a particularly unexciting item (the Gust Bellows), but the atmosphere inside the Mining Facility is top-notch and the boss – Moldarach – offers one of the best sword fights in the game. The Lanayru Mining Facility isn’t Skyward Sword’s best dungeon, but there are plenty of highs to appreciate about it.
5 Fire Sanctuary
The second to last dungeon in Skyward Sword, the Fire Sanctuary is more of an earth temple than it is a fire temple. It’s also a narrative turning point for Link. After putting himself through hell to save Zelda and losing to Ghirahim earlier in the game, Link readies himself for a second rematch.
The Fire Sanctuary itself is a dense dungeon with great visuals, making use of a wide variety of LInk’s tool kit. Ghirahim’s second fight also stands out as one of the best boss fights in the game, with plenty of great puzzles leading up to the battle. Unfortunately, the Fire Sanctuary suffers thanks to the underwhelming Mole Mitts. They aren’t enough to hurt the dungeon, but they don’t add too much either.
4 Skyview Temple
Skyview Temple is one of the best first dungeons in a Zelda game, rivaling the likes of Majora’s Mask’s Woodfall Temple and Twilight Princess’ Forest Temple. Skyview Temple features thought-provoking puzzles designed around Link’s swordplay and its innovative dungeon item, the Beetle.
Players can aim the Beetle and control it mid-air, using it to pick up items and hit switches from afar. Skyview Temple innovates on the smallest aspects of 3D Zelda dungeon design, from puzzles to combat. Even the boss battle, Ghirahim, is one giant puzzle fight where players are forced to understand how to use their sword. Skyward Sword has a rough start, but it’s worth it just to get to Skyview.
3 Sandship
The Sandship is an incredibly novel dungeon in concept alone – a ship forgotten by time that players can shift between eras by hitting Timeshift Stones. The Sandship’s dungeon item is the Bow, offering Link a better alternative to his Slingshot that can snipe enemies from across the screen.
Although Skyward Sword’s motion controls aren’t as well implemented as Twilight Princess’ were, the Sandship makes great use of the item and always gives players enough time to position their shots. The dungeon itself is also one of the more thought-provoking in the game, forcing players to understand the layout and how it changes with Timeshift Stones. While Tentalus may be an easier fight, the sheer scope of the presentation makes it one of Skyward Sword’s most iconic.
2 Sky Keep
The Sky Keep is the final dungeon in Skyward Sword and doesn’t actually feature a dungeon item or a boss fight. All the same, it’s one of the most thought-provoking dungeons in the series and a genuinely intelligent display of level design on The Legend of Zelda’s part. Sky Keep features a sliding panel puzzle that completely changes the layout of the dungeon, requiring players to have an intimate understanding of the dungeon’s rooms and how they interact with one another.
The Sky Keep lifts its set pieces from every single dungeon in the game, making use of all the tools Link has acquired over the course of his adventure. In lieu of boss fights, the Sky Keep also makes use of extensive mini-bosses, including a particularly tense encounter where Link has to fight his way to the Triforce of Courage.
1 Ancient Cistern
The Ancient Cistern is a masterclass of level design and easily the best dungeon in Skyward Sword. The Whip is an incredible item that makes great use of the Wiimote and the puzzles inside the Cistern pull from most of Link’s tool kit up to that point. The fact Ancient Cistern is also directly inspired by “The Spider’s Thread,” a Japanese short story by Ryunosuke Akutagawa.
The Ancient Cistern’s beautiful presentation is only compounded by its variety, going through distinct visual stages as Link explores the dungeon. Best of all, the Ancient Cistern ends with the single best boss fight in the game. The battle against Koloktos is a tense sword fight where you need to aim your strikes carefully, eventually giving Link the opportunity to quite literally tear Koloktos apart.
