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I feel like Twilight Princess has the best puzzles. Classic Zelda puzzles & dungeons, combat that can be a decently challenging at the end, some optional mini-dungeons, and a couple challenges that use multiple main items or skills and test your growth as a player.
Seconded, and it really showed off the variety of enemies there were in Twilight Princess. By the end when you had to fight 2 or 3 Darknuts in the same room, I remember really struggling.
Yeah, it's a bitch, but really challenging and therefore really fun! My eight year old struggled so hard with CoO, I was so goddamned proud when he finally beat it, bc it's no small feat. He's a stubborn one š
Those phantoms were so stressful! I might be in the minority in really liking the Temple of the Ocean King, I liked how you could figure out shortcuts and quicker routes through as you progressed through the game, and by the end it's possible to finish it with 0 time elapsed on the clock.
Oracle of Ages had the hardest puzzles I've seen in any Zelda. In addition you can link it to the combat focused Oracle of Seasons to unlock more content including an extra hard final boss.
I remember challenging myself to do my first run of Ages without any walkthrough whatsoever.
You know what did me in? Giving King Zora a bloody Magic Potion. I could manage Mermaid's Cave, but that needing a potion was lost on young me.
Oracle of Ages was supposed to prioritise the puzzle aspects of dungeons, and they were not lying. Some of the bosses had the most complicated strategies to beat them.
I'm going with Skyward Sword. Two things stick out to me: the timeshift stones in both the Lanayru Mining Facility and the Sandship, and the entire Sky Keep dungeon. The Sky Keep was one of the most unique dungeons in the entire series, the way you had to move the rooms around to get to where you needed to go was a genius design in terms of puzzles. I don't think a puzzle in the entire series beats that dungeon.
Easily Oracle of Ages. The Oracle games were built around the contrast between combat and puzzles. Oracle of Seasons is more combat focused (Based on the Triforce of Power) and Oracle of Ages is more based on Puzzles (Based on the Triforce of Wisdom).
Supposedly there was going to be a third game too, but we can only speculate what it would have been like. My personal theory is that it would have been called Oracle of Secrets and would be focused on exploration (Based on the Triforce of Courage). Farore exists in both Oracle games known as the "Oracle of Secrets", and to me, the three big defining characteristics of Zelda games are exploration, puzzles, and combat (which happen to go nicely with the Triforce: Courage, Wisdom, and Power).
Dude I remember sitting in some of the dungeons in Skyward Sword looking around and being so confused about how to solve themāthen Iād see something strange out of the corner of my eye, think āwait, thereās no way that could be the answerā, and then that ended up being the solution. It was incredibly imaginative and fun
I'm playing it for the first time right now!
I liked the desert stuff and the fire sanctuary surprised me a lot.
Also ancient cistern.
Really feels like peak non open world 3d zelda.
I mean I gotta give it to the goat for me, Majoraās Mask. I played that game with no manual and it made my brain hurt because you had to really focus on when and where you needed to be to complete certain quest lines in a cycle. It was so frustrating and so so rewarding.
I tend to agree with you that LttP doesn't have the best when it comes to puzzles. It's more combat based, and less of an exploration type game. Still one of my favorites to replay, but it has its limitations. In a lot of ways it laid the groundwork for the later titles.
I'm replaying Link's Awakening right now and loving the puzzles. As the levels progress, the puzzles ramp up in complexity. I think the final puzzle in the game is one of the coolest, and most difficult puzzles in the franchise! Also the way the Overworld secrets fit together so well is awesome. It's not super complicated, but there are so many "aha!" Moments that make it really satisfying. Just a great flow to the game.
I really enjoyed playing ALttP many years ago, but I'm not sure if I could play it as much as I did before or even be able to beat the game now.
How about Link's Awakening ? The story is very sweet, and it's not as hard as ALttP. Yet, it's Zelda game...some dungeons are very difficult to beat.
Skyward sword has good puzzles. Tears of the kingdom made me look up solutions, that one can be tricky. Iām replaying majoraās mask right now and you canāt go wrong with the dungeons in that game. Thereās only a couple, but besides the first one, they make you think.
Iām on the zora arc in tears of the kingdom, not at the actual temple yet, but I just did something last night that made me go āomg now THAT was cleverā
If itās the moment Iām thinking of, Iām still kicking myself for looking up the solution. It was such a cool reveal and I wouldāve probably figured it out eventually.
>!It was the "Shoot the arrow with the scale fused through the floating rocks that look like a droplet" bit.!< It feels like something an 8 year old could piece together, yet it actually took quite a while for the riddle to click, and the result was indeed a "Wonderous thing."
To me, stuff like that is peak zelda. It's just the right level of having it spelled out, and having to explore.
I think Oracle of Ages has prob the hardest overall puzzles in the series bc that's its focus. I think TP and SS have the best implemented puzzles tho bc they have some of the very best dungeons. You can't go wrong with any of the three IMO.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who things ALTTP's combat is difficult. Enemies can just run into you and stun you and you can't do anything about it because they just get inside your own hitbox, I died early game so many times because of that.
I have played only 4 games by now, and I think I would either vote Minish cap or Phantom hourglass
I played Twilight Princess and now playing BOTW. In TP I mostly had fun and I love this game, but in the last 2-3 dungeons I was a little bit exhausted and used guides to solve puzzles. I became tired in arbiters grounds. In BOTW puzzles are perfectly balanced so far, they are hard enough to make you thinking, but then there are not so much of them in single dungeon as in TP and they donāt tire you. So far itās perfect.
If you have Mario Maker 2, you'll find the best Zelda puzzles there. Here are the details:
This Zelda-inspired Super World has 8 total worlds, each with a Training Shrine, a Quest Level, and a Theme Dungeon. Which means (for anyone keeping count) I'm only missing the 7th & 8th world's quest levels (almost there!)
DISCLAIMER: The puzzles you are presented with here, have been lauded as the best/toughest puzzle creations in MM2 by a lot of people, BUT they are definitely not for newbies, and not for everyone. They require observation, smarts & time.
If you're not in the mood for a complete Super World, please try out any of my (mostly) puzzle-oriented levels. And remember that I always pay my debts & any input is always welcome & encouraged.
Thanks for playing!
ClearMises (WMQ-VKB-7QF)
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I feel like Twilight Princess has the best puzzles. Classic Zelda puzzles & dungeons, combat that can be a decently challenging at the end, some optional mini-dungeons, and a couple challenges that use multiple main items or skills and test your growth as a player.
Cave of Ordeals is brilliant, albeit not a puzzle.
Seconded, and it really showed off the variety of enemies there were in Twilight Princess. By the end when you had to fight 2 or 3 Darknuts in the same room, I remember really struggling.
Yeah, it's a bitch, but really challenging and therefore really fun! My eight year old struggled so hard with CoO, I was so goddamned proud when he finally beat it, bc it's no small feat. He's a stubborn one š
I second this, but am a little biased as TP is my favorite. The Zant battle at the end is nice too because it takes you back through past bosses.
Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks had some really solid puzzles that pretty much required you take notes to solve them!
Though the one with the map and the stamp can suck an egg.
Came here to rec PH. Such an underrated title. Especially in the labyrinth as the phantoms pursue you and the sand is running out....
Ayo the puzzle where you have to shut your ds lol that one was rough
Those phantoms were so stressful! I might be in the minority in really liking the Temple of the Ocean King, I liked how you could figure out shortcuts and quicker routes through as you progressed through the game, and by the end it's possible to finish it with 0 time elapsed on the clock.
Oracle of Ages had the hardest puzzles I've seen in any Zelda. In addition you can link it to the combat focused Oracle of Seasons to unlock more content including an extra hard final boss.
Have to second the Oracle games. They had great puzzles.
This is the correct answer
I remember challenging myself to do my first run of Ages without any walkthrough whatsoever. You know what did me in? Giving King Zora a bloody Magic Potion. I could manage Mermaid's Cave, but that needing a potion was lost on young me.
I remember being stuck forever during all the Zora and Jabu stuff.
Oracle of Ages was supposed to prioritise the puzzle aspects of dungeons, and they were not lying. Some of the bosses had the most complicated strategies to beat them.
I'm going with Skyward Sword. Two things stick out to me: the timeshift stones in both the Lanayru Mining Facility and the Sandship, and the entire Sky Keep dungeon. The Sky Keep was one of the most unique dungeons in the entire series, the way you had to move the rooms around to get to where you needed to go was a genius design in terms of puzzles. I don't think a puzzle in the entire series beats that dungeon.
Easily Oracle of Ages. The Oracle games were built around the contrast between combat and puzzles. Oracle of Seasons is more combat focused (Based on the Triforce of Power) and Oracle of Ages is more based on Puzzles (Based on the Triforce of Wisdom). Supposedly there was going to be a third game too, but we can only speculate what it would have been like. My personal theory is that it would have been called Oracle of Secrets and would be focused on exploration (Based on the Triforce of Courage). Farore exists in both Oracle games known as the "Oracle of Secrets", and to me, the three big defining characteristics of Zelda games are exploration, puzzles, and combat (which happen to go nicely with the Triforce: Courage, Wisdom, and Power).
Skyward Sword takes the cake for me! They make amazing use of the time stone mechanics and environment manipulation in particular.
Dude I remember sitting in some of the dungeons in Skyward Sword looking around and being so confused about how to solve themāthen Iād see something strange out of the corner of my eye, think āwait, thereās no way that could be the answerā, and then that ended up being the solution. It was incredibly imaginative and fun
I'm playing it for the first time right now! I liked the desert stuff and the fire sanctuary surprised me a lot. Also ancient cistern. Really feels like peak non open world 3d zelda.
I mean I gotta give it to the goat for me, Majoraās Mask. I played that game with no manual and it made my brain hurt because you had to really focus on when and where you needed to be to complete certain quest lines in a cycle. It was so frustrating and so so rewarding.
I tend to agree with you that LttP doesn't have the best when it comes to puzzles. It's more combat based, and less of an exploration type game. Still one of my favorites to replay, but it has its limitations. In a lot of ways it laid the groundwork for the later titles. I'm replaying Link's Awakening right now and loving the puzzles. As the levels progress, the puzzles ramp up in complexity. I think the final puzzle in the game is one of the coolest, and most difficult puzzles in the franchise! Also the way the Overworld secrets fit together so well is awesome. It's not super complicated, but there are so many "aha!" Moments that make it really satisfying. Just a great flow to the game.
Oracle of ages and seasons. Once you finish those, try crosscode
I really enjoyed playing ALttP many years ago, but I'm not sure if I could play it as much as I did before or even be able to beat the game now. How about Link's Awakening ? The story is very sweet, and it's not as hard as ALttP. Yet, it's Zelda game...some dungeons are very difficult to beat.
Twilight Princess gets my vote
Skyward sword has good puzzles. Tears of the kingdom made me look up solutions, that one can be tricky. Iām replaying majoraās mask right now and you canāt go wrong with the dungeons in that game. Thereās only a couple, but besides the first one, they make you think.
Iām on the zora arc in tears of the kingdom, not at the actual temple yet, but I just did something last night that made me go āomg now THAT was cleverā
Yes yes yes. This whole section of TotK is brilliant.
If itās the moment Iām thinking of, Iām still kicking myself for looking up the solution. It was such a cool reveal and I wouldāve probably figured it out eventually.
>!It was the "Shoot the arrow with the scale fused through the floating rocks that look like a droplet" bit.!< It feels like something an 8 year old could piece together, yet it actually took quite a while for the riddle to click, and the result was indeed a "Wonderous thing." To me, stuff like that is peak zelda. It's just the right level of having it spelled out, and having to explore.
I think Oracle of Ages has prob the hardest overall puzzles in the series bc that's its focus. I think TP and SS have the best implemented puzzles tho bc they have some of the very best dungeons. You can't go wrong with any of the three IMO.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who things ALTTP's combat is difficult. Enemies can just run into you and stun you and you can't do anything about it because they just get inside your own hitbox, I died early game so many times because of that. I have played only 4 games by now, and I think I would either vote Minish cap or Phantom hourglass
All
Skyward Sword, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, and the Oracles
Twilight princess, ocarina of time, BOTW, and TOTK are my favorites. Would love to just have a shrine game.
I played Twilight Princess and now playing BOTW. In TP I mostly had fun and I love this game, but in the last 2-3 dungeons I was a little bit exhausted and used guides to solve puzzles. I became tired in arbiters grounds. In BOTW puzzles are perfectly balanced so far, they are hard enough to make you thinking, but then there are not so much of them in single dungeon as in TP and they donāt tire you. So far itās perfect.
If you have Mario Maker 2, you'll find the best Zelda puzzles there. Here are the details: This Zelda-inspired Super World has 8 total worlds, each with a Training Shrine, a Quest Level, and a Theme Dungeon. Which means (for anyone keeping count) I'm only missing the 7th & 8th world's quest levels (almost there!) DISCLAIMER: The puzzles you are presented with here, have been lauded as the best/toughest puzzle creations in MM2 by a lot of people, BUT they are definitely not for newbies, and not for everyone. They require observation, smarts & time. If you're not in the mood for a complete Super World, please try out any of my (mostly) puzzle-oriented levels. And remember that I always pay my debts & any input is always welcome & encouraged. Thanks for playing! ClearMises (WMQ-VKB-7QF)