Earth Temple, Dark Vibes and Puzzles Perfected - Dungeon Design in Zelda (Wind Waker HD)

[@orryip]

Earth Temple music is one of the BEST dungeon themes in the series. Idk what you're on about it being bad. The didgeridoo was a perfect instrument to use. I live in Australia and I can't even begin to describe the amazing sound didgeridoos can produce which sound so much better in person. Combine that with aboriginal singing, drums/rhythm sticks... its truly entrancing to sit and listen. The atonal synth strings in the dungeon theme sound horrible at first but I've come to appreciate them and can really find the eerie beauty that Koji kondo envisioned when he composed it.

[@RickRaptor105]

23:26 well it took me 20 years to realize that detail in Jalhalla's face...

[@VelociraptorAnimations]

The fact that this game is 20 years old is truly a surprise. Honestly thought this was like 10 or something. Also your videos are really good.

[@HyruleGamer]

Really well put together video Daniel! I sometimes struggle to keep up with my friends uploads but when I do manage to watch, it's always a banger! 😎👌

[@CaptBurgerson]

Thank you so much!! I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@ThatOneCodGuy]

@@CaptBurgerson yes this is who shouted you out and introduced me to your channel

[@1909knight]

he has I've noticed that he haven't shown/told where the tingle statues were

[@TriangleTrinity]

Harps in Zelda always be powerin’ up that sword man

[@TheGameCreator13]

Really does feel like the Wind and Earth dungeons being completable interchangeably was planned especially from the points You made. I always assumed that was the case when I played only to realize the game wouldn't let me. Considering Dungeons were cut from this game (and put into Twilight Princess) it wouldn't surprise me if this was a planned idea but was pushed to the side only for the deadline to be reached faster then expected

[@LinkMaster5555]

My favorite dungeon in WW the music the atmosphere the puzzles everything

[@TheGeekApprentice]

I was today years old when I learned those swirls were his cheeks……………

[@Banicorn_Lives]

Grazie, all'inizio non capivo i quiz del dungeon ma con questo video ho capito il meccanismo e son riuscito ad arrivare al boss.

[@ShadowWolfTJC]

Personally, I found the Earth Temple from Wind Waker to be, both thematically and gameplay-wise, more of a spiritual successor to Ocarina of Time's Spirit Temple than one to the Shadow Temple (only sharing the Shadow Temple's focus on undead-themed enemies). I also found that the music conveyed more of a sense of mystique and wonder, like the Spirit Temple, than one of menacingly-haunting dread, like the Shadow Temple. Anyways, if I were to have redesigned Wind Waker, I would've made Jalhalla a midboss for the Earth Temple instead of the main boss (replacing the Stalfos as the midboss), since I would've likewise found the boss to be comparatively uninteresting enough to warrant a new boss for the dungeon. Although the Jalhalla midboss fight would've played out largely the same, though possibly with the addition of a stronger wind attack that would've necessitated the player either using the Iron Boots, or grappling onto a nearby pole with the Grappling Hook, I would've changed how Jalhalla could've been defeated so that the player and Medli would've needed to work together to defeat the midboss, with there being these special Flash Bomb Flowers (with a blast effect similar to that of Light Arrows) that would've stunned Jalhalla long enough for Medli to get into position to reflect light towards the midboss, rendering it vulnerable to being tossed into the spiked walls by the player, and the individual Poes being destroyed afterwards. Defeating Jalhalla would've rewarded the player the Mirror Shield. Another Jalhalla midboss could've also been added to guard the boss key, only this one would've made use of the player's Mirror Shield, since the beams of light would've been located behind cover where Medli wouldn't have been able to reflect light onto Jalhalla directly, forcing Medli to reflect light outside of the cover, and forcing the player to reflect light shining off of Medli onto Jalhalla. This midboss fight would've otherwise been tackled identically to the other Jalhalla midboss fight. As for what would've been the new main boss of the Earth Temple, well, perhaps Death Sword, the midboss from the Arbiter Grounds from Twilight Princess, could've been turned into a full-fledged boss for this dungeon? Surely a sword-wielding poltergeist, or in other words, something akin to a flying spectral Darknut, would've offered a more exciting boss fight than big, fat, and lame Jalhalla, right? Upon the player and Medli entering the boss room, they would've found themselves inside of a circular arena with beams of light casting down onto the arena from the ceiling above, and like in Twilight Princess, they would've found an unsettling evil-looking sword embedded into the ground with paper charms tied to it, only this time, the sword would've been bathed in a shadowy shield that would've protected the paper charms from being tampered with. Medli would've needed to reflect the light onto the fiendish shadow-shrouded sword, bringing down its shadowy shield, and allowing the player to, like in Twilight Princess, cut the paper charms, causing the boss, Death Sword, to become freed, appearing out of the sword, pulling the sword out of the ground, then disappearing back into the sword, which would've now been floating, as if possessed by a poltergeist, kicking off the boss fight proper. This version of Death Sword would've had 2 main phases, with the 1st phase having 3 sub-phases. For the 1st phase's 1st sub-phase, the boss would've been possessing the sword that it's wielding, causing it to float, and the player would've needed to shine light onto the sword to drive the boss out of it. However, the player would've needed to wait for the sword to become embedded into the ground as it tried to slash at the player, so that Medli could've shined light onto the sword, though if the boss summoned forth a floating shield to block Medli's light from the boss, then Medli would've needed to shine a light off of the player's Mirror Shield, which would've needed to be shone onto the boss. Alternatively, the boss could've opted to chase after Medli instead of chasing after the player, causing Medli to automatically flee in terror from the boss, unable to be controlled by the player, but opening the boss up to the player using their Mirror Shield to drive the boss out of the sword. For the 1st phase's 2nd sub-phase, after being driven out of the sword that it was possessing, the boss would've then summoned forth a suit of Darknut-like plate armor to protect it from the light being shined upon it, forcing the player to chip the armor away with their attacks. Initially, like the Death Sword in Twilight Princess, this Death Sword boss would've tried floating out of reach of the player's sword strikes, creating ghostly fire that would've surrounded the player, forcing the player to perform a spin attack to avoid getting burnt by the ghostly fire. Once the player landed a hit on the boss using a ranged weapon, such as the bow, boomerang, grappling hook, hookshot, or bombs, the boss would've then swooped down to start engaging the player in a swordfight where, like the fights against Darknuts, the player would've needed to dodge out of the way of the boss's massive sword swings, and use reaction commands to perform special moves like the back slice and helm splitter. For the 1st phase's 3rd sub-phase, after the boss's armor had been chipped away, the player would've needed to have Medli shine light upon the boss, who would've been protected by a shadowy shield, in order to make the very sword that the boss was holding vulnerable to the player landing a plunging attack, causing the wicked blade to shatter and disintegrate into dark particles, preventing the boss from possessing it, and forcing the boss either to possess one of 2 other evil-looking swords embedded into the arena, thus restarting the 1st phase's 1st sub-phase, or if there were no more swords to possess, to possess Medli herself, starting the 2nd phase of the boss fight. For the 2nd phase, where the boss would've been possessing Medli herself, causing her to float in the air like a ghost, and arming her with a basic non-fiendish non-possessable sword for quickly attacking the player, along with a shield to protect the possessed Medli from the player shining light onto her, the player would've needed to find some way to get past the possessed Medli's shield in order to stun her, whether it's using bombs, the hammer, a reaction command where the player leaps up over the possessed Medli's sword strike and bonks Medli on the head with their shield, or a reaction command where the player dropkicks Medli on the head when Medli tries to pull her sword out of the ground after attempting to perform a plunging strike on the player from above. Afterwards, while the possessed Medli is stunned, the player could then try to either pick Medli up and carry her to the beam of light, or use the Mirror Shield to shine the light onto her, to drive the boss out of her. However, the first stunning attack on Medli wouldn't have lasted long enough for the player to have had any chance of grabbing her or shining light onto her, while Medli would've successfully broken free of the player's 1st attempt to grab onto and carry her to the light, and would've recovered just in time to use her shield to block the player from shining light onto her by the time they managed to reach the light for the 1st time. Thus, it would've taken at least 3 stunning attempts for the player to have been able to successfully cast light onto the possessed Medli, and drive the boss out of her. After being driven out of Medli, the boss would've then been left out in the open, with sword and shield still in hand, though would've still been invulnerable to damage until light would've been shone upon it. Here, both the player and a now-unpossessed Medli (after having spent some time recovering from the player's rough exorcism attempts) would've needed to shine light onto the boss from 2 separate directions, with the boss only being able to block one source of light. Once the boss would've been exposed to light, however, it would've been made vulnerable to the player's attacks as long as Medli continued to keep the boss stunned by shining light upon it. Once the player lands a single blow onto the boss with the Master Sword would the boss finally be defeated, it disintegrating into shadowy particles upon its demise, allowing the player and Medli to partially restore the Master Sword.

[@tetra1767]

Another great video, burger!! This dungeon is a great one. I actually like the music in here BECAUSE it's so fitting for the dungeon... But i agree that it pales in comparison to other themes in this game. I agree that the light puzzles are fun in this one and i remember how much trouble they gave me as a kid! 😝 I absolutely love the tag team mechanic and earnestly hope we get to do something similar with Zelda in botw2 if she isn't fully playable!! I also agree that the boss is underwhelming here... He's also quite comical, which i felt was incongruent with the rest of the dungeon. Great analysis as always!! 💚👍🏼

[@gerbilcannon]

This channel is one of my favorites

[@NayruYT]

I always thought it was SO COOL to be able to control another character other than Link in a Zelda game. As a kid it felt almost like I was doing something forbidden, and I'd spend a long time just messing around as Medli before moving on.

[@clarkside4493]

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." So, too, is the Earth Temple, housing what we shall all become eventually: ashes and dust. The first Final Fantasy takes a similar approach with it's earth dungeon. Lots of undead enemies and it's boss is a lich.

[@darklinklonklanklunkloinkl3060]

Nice video! Tho I disagree about Jalhalla, I love his design and his boss fight! Oh and Jalhalla’s theme is one of my favourites in the game

[@LunaP1]

The theme for this temple is so amazingly spooky and fitting. I was thing one of the instruments has to be a didgeridoo (an Australian instrument).

[@theloruleanhistorian]

This. This is gonna be BIG!

[@CaptBurgerson]

Would love to hear your thoughts on this one too my friend!

[@theloruleanhistorian]

@@CaptBurgerson so nostalgic. Absolutely love the drab, moody, cryptic ambience with the Earth Temple~ It also just screams "Zonai" or "Sheikah" to me from the get-go, which I also genuinely love.

[@hambartha]

Great video as usual, Daniel. This dungeon was definitely the darkest dungeon in the game and it seemed to me to be a mixture of The Shadow and Spirit Temples from OoT particularly in the overall dungeon aesthetic and specifically to the mirror puzzle room you draw attention to in your video. The serpent symbolism feels very reminiscent to The Spirit Temple Entrance if you recall the two large stone cobras with written inscriptions on them. I really love how they expanded on the mirror puzzles in this game as they are really fun in my opinion. I really enjoyed the narrative info when returning below The Tower of the Gods and the King of Hyrule revealing himself to you (presumably the King of Hyrule from The OoT Era that you never see in OoT). I also enjoy once again how the series has taken inspiration from the mythology of 'Atlantis' as there appears to be an underwater civilisation (Hyrule) that was flooded by the gods as explained in the game's introductory story and it appears quite vast thanks to some people who have done a boundary break kzbin.info/door/HTnEwQKNwm49CQeCVZogMw. Getting important quest items outside of traditional dungeons and utilising overworld exploration over a large sea was an excellent choice of gameplay and I hope it's something that's expanded upon in future Zelda Games with more item variety and practicality. The freedom to explore more of the Great Sea at this point could have been done earlier but it's definitely something that could be improved upon in future instalments without such vigorous limitations on 'where to go next.' There is an odd choice of instrument (a didgeridoo) in this dungeon and it is unusual and definitely more suited to 'ambient dungeon sound effects' rather than memorable 'dungeon music.' Despite the odd combination of sounds, it works well but hearing a 'didgeridoo' seems a bit out of context for this dungeon as I associate the instrument with 'Australia' which of course is a 'hot country' so I would think it would have worked better in a fire or a hot desert themed dungeon? Having the main character be accompanied by a 'playable future sage' in a dungeon is totally revolutionary in the series at this point and I also enjoy how both are used to open musical doors throughout the dungeons as well as solving puzzles that obviously take a team effort. Most Zelda Dungeons tend to feel like a solitary experience for the player with the odd few exceptions (Darunia in The Fire Temple, Princess Ruto in The Water Temple and Nabooru in The Spirit Temple as a child). This gives me hope for the sequel of BotW 2 and hopefully this is greatly expanded upon in dungeons that are hopefully more traditional in their approach so that 'playable accompanying characters' are not just 'awaiting commands by the player via a song' but can take on their own consciousness and self-awareness as you control them as a player if that makes sense. The macabre symbolism (various skulls on doors as mentioned) works really well with the dungeon's aesthetic as well as the 'cursed mist' and undead enemies. The mini-boss was a cool re-doing of the Stalfos with the addition of a spiked club. The dungeon item 'The Mirror Shield' was very well utilised in this dungeon in combination with Medli's harp. The breakable statues and walls with a swirl pattern are a really nice touch to a well used mechanic in the series. The dungeon boss was more fun than serious but not really threatening at all and as you already said, the boss is just a bigger version of a Poe. Perhaps the most fun aspect about this boss is stunning him with sunlight off your mirror shield to then being able to throw him against a spikey wall and the rest is just repetition... Not a bad Zelda Boss but certainly not the best. The same boss room is then required to power up the master sword and that's a cool scene in itself and gives a good sense of purpose after taking on the dungeon.

[@rivhard]

Another great video!

[@brendatarrabain9899]

really well explained. Contemplating playing this Zelda game!

[@skc4188]

I definitely agree that the boss is the low point of this dungeon. Especially when they could instead have given us a big ReDead or something. =( Oh well, the Earth Temple is still a great dungeon, definitely among the best in the game.

[@auragleaf02]

this is my all time favorite dungeon of this entire game. though when i was a kid, i was so terrified of the Stalfos mid boss. the first phase was so difficult nut when it was revealed there were two more to fight i was so frustrated XD. gawd i miss this game, i really want this for the switch

[@natsu9594]

i love these videos! keep up the good work!

[@95reide]

So, in Ocarina of Time, the dungeons were corrupted by Ganondorf, and likely were designed initially to defend against that, which to me gives them a feel of quiet defiance, with design elements placed by two entities in an adversarial relationship. It feels like that design decision continues with this dungeon in an unspoken "In case of emergency, break rock" If I don't keep this philosophy in mind, it becomes very strange that certain design elements are non-reseting traps. (Odd that the traps are non-resetting if they feel abandoned, begging the question of who set them.)

[@joelcomer]

I just got to the place where jabuu is I forget where I haven’t played in like three days lol but so far it’s fun

[@mattfry6716]

Now that my phone is fully charged I can watch the rest of the video.

[@Brockbuiltmore]

i think i said this on the WW compilation video but the reason why you have to do the earth and then wind temple in that order is because the hookshot is the wind temples item. and the game pushes you to do the triforce quest last and theres the ghost ship chart and the final combat challenge in the island on the very northeast corner of the map. if the game let you do either in either order, youd be able to bypass saving Medli and doing the earth temple and the game clearly doesnt want you to do that. thats the reason ive at least believe. now, are there ways they still couldve given you the freedom to do either temple first? yeah, they could gate you from getting into hyrule after you save both medli and makar and restore your master sword. they couldve added goodies behind the other items. like if you went to the earth temple first they could leave hookshot targets that lead to goodies or a sun panel/light puzzle in the wind temple for the mirror shield for a silver rupee or something. similar to how TP remake did the stamps. but yeah, it sounds stupid on paper, the only reason i can think of why they would do it that way is to not trivialize the triforce quest.

[@CaptBurgerson]

The thing is that you can start into and do most of the triforce quest before the wind temple, though yes you do need the hookshot to complete it. A simpler solution would be to double down on that. Some triforce pieces already require the hookshot. Make at LEAST one require the mirror shield as well. Then both earth and wind temples need to be completed. Easy

[@Brockbuiltmore]

when you think about how the earth and wind temples are in the gamecube version AND the Wii U version, the temples have nothing to do with each other. they probably couldve made tweaks like that in the wii U version but in the original, maybe it was the same thing as to why we have 2 less dungeons, maybe the time constraints kept the team from finding ways to let you stream line the temples and the quest. they at least made the triforce quest more tolerable in the Wii U version but we can only wonder the what ifs

[@Brockbuiltmore]

@@CaptBurgerson yeah, outside of the earth temple, the only other use i can think of you get out of it is in the earth temple part of gannons tower and in the labyrinth. its a shame because the last puzzle in the earth temple is iconic otherwise, the mirror shield is basically the wind wakers Spinner...but the piece that stands out most to me with the mirror shield is the one on outset. once you reach the chart the only thing you need the shield for is if you want the heroes charm. but thats just me.

[@Brockbuiltmore]

i think its unfortunate that Wind waker has only one particular puzzle that makes you stop and think being the one in the earth temple. it just doesnt have satisfaction when you solve its puzzles the same way MM BOTW TOTK or TP does. and im sure thats the weakness it had when at the time it was trying to be accessible to new fans with its gameplay and art style. i feel WW couldve been a harder game or at least not as easy if we got those missing dungeons or if they did fix the cohesion between the last 2 temples and the triforce quest. but what can you do...

[@WFierce]

The thing that bugs me most is that the King of Red Lions calls the Deku Tree "the spirit of the earth', but Makar isn't the Sage of Earth.

[@shonkyhonker9347]

I love the earth temple i jaut wish it wasn’t the earth temple. It’s the third death themed temple for a sage. Like I just wish the elements of forest and earth were more represented in their temples puzzle wise

[@AERO8718]

You can actually play the wind temple first. Once you get the warp song, get bracelets, fire/ice arrows, and iron boots. Player choice

[@CaptBurgerson]

Incorrect. For whatever reason the game won’t trigger for Fado to show up before you complete the earth temple, meaning you HAVE to do it in the intended order. It has been tried by many before me, it will not work.

[@michaelwx1]

I've never heard anyone pronounce 'southern' the way you do.

[@shiroamakusa8075]

Who gets to administer the earth temple? Maybe one of those big, rocky dudes that dwell underground in the mountains and eat rocks? Nah, let's give it to a fish person who now has to live in a giant and completely dry graveyard! And who gets to be the successor? Maybe that sapient plant person with a close connection to the earth? Nah, give it to the bird girl, the plant person can have the wind temple instead. I guess internal consistency became a victim of the game's rushed development too.

[@ChickenPerm]

Capt only made it through this puzzle ridden temple and praises it bc there were no ice block puzzles to completely halt him in the game 🤡😘

[@PokeMaster22222]

Ah, The Wind Waker - the second-last fantastic 3D Zelda, as unfortunate as that is, with the final one being Twilight Princess. Nintendo has never quite reached the peak of 3D Zelda game design after the GameCube, which is truly sad; Skyward Sword was plagued with a myriad of stupid game design decisions (mandatory dysfunctional motion controls, limited stamina, the tiny Pouch, repetitive visits to the same three areas, slow flying, etc.), and BotW/TotK...just aren't Zelda games. An empty open-world with minimal map markers, limited stamina again, omnipresent weapon/shield fragility, and the worst betrayal of all - PATHETIC DUNGEONS. None of the Divine Beasts or Temples match up to any previous, properly-designed dungeon, in terms of originality, complexity, or entertainment value - there's no minibosses, no dungeon items, no map or compass, no differing goals. No matter the Beast, the goal is to activate terminals to unlock the themed Blight boss; no matter the Temple (aside from the underground one), the goal is to guide the regional Champion to devices they can activate with their special moves, to unlock the (at least more varied) boss. And Shrines...they feel incredibly copy-and-pasted, with the exact same decor, and only having a small variety of objectives. They aren't proper replacements. Legend of Zelda hasn't had a proper, new entry since 2013's A Link Between Worlds; ever since, we've gotten remasters of The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, and the godawful TriForce Heroes, Skyward Sword port, and BotW/TotK - and none of those four games are worth buying or playing. The series is, sadly, in decline, so far as overall quality and enjoyability are concerned.

[@joelcomer]

:D)