One of the positive changes The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom brought to the table that most fans can agree on is the inclusion of dungeons. Although not fully traditional compared to old-school Zelda titles, these dungeons have more of a theme and identity than the Divine Beasts in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. With that being said, not all can be winners. How would you rank the Wind, Fire, Lightning, and Water Temple from TOTK?
I could write a thesis on my ranking, but for the sake of this banter, I will keep mine short. (Note: For the sake of brevity, my list below only looks at the four main temples that are part of the Regional Phenomena Main Quest, but feel free to include Hyrule Castle and the Spirit Temple/Construct Factory when sharing your thoughts!)
4. The Water Temple: Just because this was at the bottom of my ranking doesn’t mean I disliked it. The Water Temple had a nice aesthetic, and the low gravity made traversing the sky island fun. However, the layout leaned more toward a Divine Beast than traditional Zelda dungeon. You must locate and turn on four valves on this island then battle Mucktorok. The puzzles to get to the valves are fun, but again, it was much more in line with the Divine Beast (something we’ve seen before). Mucktorok was a decent battle, but there were far more fun bosses ahead… I think overall, it is a solid temple. As I say to my friends, something ranked low in Zelda is still better than other highly ranked things in other franchises.
3. The Wind Temple: What a whirlwind, no pun intended. This temple is bookended by an amazing ascent to the Wind Temple and boss battle. While I am not sure why this flying ship is called the Wind Temple, it was fun and reminded me a little bit of the Sand Ship from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword in that you weren’t in a traditional building. Your goal is to unlock five gears throughout the ship, which can be done in any order and reminded me of the Divine Beasts again. The boss, Colgera, is hands down one of the most fun bosses of the game.
2. The Lightning Temple: I loved the Lightning Temple for its look and feel like a traditional Zelda dungeon while still lending to the open-ended aspect of puzzle solving. The puzzles with the mirrors were intriguing and a blast to figure out. It was very atmospheric, and I enjoyed working alongside Riju.
1 . The Fire Temple: I was blown away by this dungeon. First of all, you need to dive into Death Mountain. It felt epic as I descended into the Depths and uncovered a massive building amongst lava. Although there are five locks to undo, Tears of the Kingdom hints at a particular order, and on top of that, you do traverse a good deal of real estate, so it felt like I was exploring a legit dungeon. The use of mine carts were a blast, with puzzles that were reminiscent of old-school Zelda. Marbled Gohma is a fantastic boss–it harkens to a traditional oldie but goodie, and the arena allows you to launch Yunobo up and around the smash it to oblivion. The music also is a strong point, reminding me a little of the Fire Temple in Ocarina of Time while remixing Vah Rudania and Daruk’s theme.
How would you rank the dungeons in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and why? Please share your thoughts with us on our Boss Rush Facebook Group or our Boss Rush Discord.
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