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Am I the only one who finds traditional Zelda dungeons and Persona palaces extremely extremely extremely boring and annoying?

Dungeons? Palaces?

  • I can't stand dungeons, palaces or whatever the fuck in any game, waste of time

    Votes: 27 18.6%
  • They are alright i guess, don't love em, don't hate em

    Votes: 24 16.6%
  • I love dungeons

    Votes: 32 22.1%
  • I love dungeons, you are an idiot

    Votes: 62 42.8%

  • Total voters
    145
Zelda doesn't want to cross the rpg line so it will always have the outdated form of dungeon and gameplay design, which are linked. They are just two of the faces of evil you have to deal with when playing the franchise, and you can't wave the wand to make Zelda's adventure better. Sorry op. That's why most people would rather stay in a gameplay hotel with mario than zelda, they are tired of being burnt in the burn cycle.
 

TIGERCOOL

Member
truthfully I'm never excited to enter a Zelda dungeon but I appreciate the element that it brings to the series, especially when there's a great narrative payoff and it feels like the stakes are high which OoT and MM perfected. Persona/SMT dungeons on the other hand can fuck off.
 

Larxia

Member
I feel the same way, but it's not really because of the puzzles for me I think, it's more of an environment problem.

Like for example, if the game is open world and I'm looking for some secret / collectibles I missed, going back to an open area and searching for these secrets is fine, but if it's in an interior like cave, dungeon, maze or whatever, I absolutely hate it.

There's just something about "dungeons", dark interiors, that kind of repulse me if I have to stay too long in them, even more if they are labyrinthine. When I'm done with an area like this, I immediatly want to get out, and when I'm out I feel a lot better and never want to go back in, they kind of give me anxiety.

Puzzle in outsides, open environments are fine though, so it's really the dull repetitive design of dungeons in general, and their claustrophobic feeling, that doesn't work with me as far as I'm concerned.

I also hate how games never allow you to fast travel out of interiors like this.
Like I've been playing Biomutant recently, and as always, if you are in the undergrounds and open the map, it will say "you can't fast travel from here", so you have to walk all the way back to the surface manually. I don't understand why, it's not even like if it added a challenge or anything, I already killed all the ennemies, so it's just tedious, you can fast travel anywhere from anywhere, except from "dungeons" (or sewers in this case, same thing), it's annoying, tedious, and makes me hate these type of areas even more. And it's been like this in every games since forever.
 

Batiman

Banned
I do find some Zelda dungeons a little dreadful but they’re mostly great and well done. It’s finishing a dungeon and stepping outside of it after collecting its stone or whatever that feels so rewarding in most zeldas. I still remember beating death mountain when I was younger in OOT as young link. For some reason that memory defines why I like Zelda. It’s not even a major part or hard. But getting out of that dark dungeon and collecting the stone and travelling down the mountain back towards kakariko village with the sun shining and the lighthearted music kicks in It just feels great.
 

TheInfamousKira

Reseterror Resettler
In most Zelda games, the overworld feels like filler to me. The GB games are the exception, as there's a lot of item usage and puzzle solving and shortcut making to keep engaging, but most of the time, it just feels like lite RPG mechanics.

I guess Majora's Mask is an exception, too, given that the majority of the game is side questing to the point that it blurs the line much like Mass Effect 2.

But the dungeons in Zelda have always been my favorite element.
 

Robb

Gold Member
I disagree. I really missed the big dungeons in BotW and hope they return in some capacity in BotW2.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
I'm with you OP.

Dungeons always felt like the developers were punishing the player by removing choice (fun) from the next hour or two. Puzzles felt gimmicky and the lack of meaningful story meant I never felt compelled to push through them.

I did like BotW though.
 
Man wtf ...


Edit: best zelda dungeon ever

Games just don’t do music and dungeons like this anymore and it’s sad. Everything about this game was perfection to me and this dungeon is up there with the best.

The music, the layout and design, the fucking creepy hands that come from the ceiling, the twisting corridors and the paintings…

Still the best game ever made, no dispute for me.
 
I agree with you OP. I hate Zelda so can't say much. But I love Persona. One of my favorite franchises in gaming. I don't hate the dungeons/palaces but it's the most boring part of the game for me (which is a shame cause I love the combat).
 
The only person in the world who loves dungeons more than me is this guy.

stichtagaprildreizehn120~_v-gseapremiumxl.jpg
 

TonyK

Member
If Zelda dungeons are a waste of time for you, I can't imagine your opinion about modern open world games secondary missions, activities and collectibles.
 

cireza

Member
Zelda is extremely monotonous. The thought process of finding what you have to do is extremely fast (because it is pretty simple) but the execution takes ages because the character is slow, changing rooms in slow etc... So it gets really boring.

In Persona, the dungeons are boring by design, and battles as well. You are navigating through corridors that look the same, and spamming weaknesses in battles. It gets old really quick.

These games don't have very engaging dungeons in the end.
 

DGrayson

Mod Team and Bat Team
Staff Member
Zelda traditional dungeons are great. Even Skyward Sword who most dont like had great dungeons.
 

Griffon

Member
Zelda dungeons are fun.

Persona palaces are a slog of constant slow turn-based battles, it has a nice visual flair and a bit of puzzle and exploration, but the over-reliance on battles upon battles in turn-based JRPGs is just tiresome and boring to me. I'm gonna say it downright: that sort of game is more fun to watch as Let's Plays than to actually play.
 
Last edited:
the answer to pretty much every question that starts with "am i the only one..." is always no
At this point I treat phrases such as "Am I the only one? Does anyone else? (DAE)" as figures of speech and don't take them literally.

There are definitely better ways of writing a similar title without the rhetorical question but it's still a much better title than "I did not enjoy the dungeons in Zelda and Persona, here's why. Reason #2 will shock you!".
 
Stop justifying these attention seeking questions as anything more than that.
I used to get irritated at those phrases years ago but unfortunately for you I haven't been stuck in a time capsule and my perspective on it has matured.

When's your turn?
 

R6Rider

Gold Member
The shrines in BotW weren't that good honestly. Fenyx Rising did them better.

As far as Persona dungeons go the ones before 5 were garbage. That being said I never finished Persona 5 either as it became a chore to play despite the improved dungeons/palaces.
 
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EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Zelda games hold every high score imaginable because of traditional dungeons like the forest temple in Twilight Princess or Lanaryu in Skyward Sword.

The temple design is an all time achievement in those games, it's about upgrading your sword, collecting weapons, finding keys to open doors and basically going through environments where you get to traditionally solve puzzles to advance and
shrines have tarnished Zelda's legacy.
 
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