5 replies to this topic

[anikom15]

What's the largest dungeon you've played through? Describe it. What's your preferred length for a dungeon? Do you prefer lots of little dungeons over a few big ones? How do you like multilevel dungeons?

[Avaro]

What a weird topic. I don't think that the size of a dungeon defines how good a quest is, but still, I personally have some preferences regarding the lenght of dungeons. First of all, there's nothing special about multileveled dungeons, as a lot of quests and official zelda games use them.

Anyways, the largest dungeon I've played through was definetly Level 9 in Time After. The dungeon took me about 9 hours in total to go through. Now, you might think that this would be tedious, no? It wasn't. The dungeon was unique all the time. The dungeon is build around the mansion of the evil. The cool thing of this dungeon is that it takes place on various different parts. The yard, the attic, the roof terrace, the cellar, the cave system under the cellar and the mansion itself, which is split up into the 2 (or was it more?) main floors, the library and more. All different parts of the dungeon had it's own music and story and theme. It was all interconnected. This dungeon played like it was a quest for itself, and it had it's own background story going on.

Dungeons should only be overly big and large if it's unique and different at any time. (And yes, I know, I break my own rule). That being said, I like larger dungeons.

Edited by Avataro, 23 February 2014 - 07:27 AM.

[Eddy]

My own quest had a really long dungeon with 8 floors, each being quite big. Took me 2 hours to get through making it the longest dungeon I've been through. After that dungeon though, long dungeons aren't really my thing. I don't mind them, as long as they're unique and have interesting concepts, however if they are boring and tedious, I usually rant on it.

[KingPridenia]

I haven't played too many people's quests, but I personally am more for the medium and large dungeons. In my eyes, on the basis of an NES style quest, here is what I consider to be each dungeon size:

 

Tiny: 15 or fewer rooms

Small: 16-25 rooms, inclusive

Medium: 26-40 rooms, inclusive

Large: 41-60 rooms, inclusive

Huge: 61+ rooms

 

I won't lie, I do watch a lot of people LP various quests and over the years I kind of came to prefer dungeons that fit into my scale's medium and large sizes. It also depends on the dungeon number and if it's a main dungeon or some side dungeon. For both mandatory and optional side dungeons I tend to prefer more around the small/medium size. Also early on, I feel that smaller dungeons help get you into the groove a bit easier than having some 60 room 3 floor fortress.

 

I do tend to like the dungeons to get larger and more complex as the game goes on, although sometimes you don't need a large dungeon for it to be complex and enjoyable. Another thing I like is when say level 2 introduces a gimmick, such as needing to use the Stepladder to solve a block puzzle, you run into a similar puzzle again in level 6, only this time you need the 4-Way Stepladder to solve it. Or have a mini-boss you fought in level 4 come back in level 7 only now there are conveyor belts and spikes to make an otherwise joke of a boss an actual threat, especially if you're near death.

 

I like multi-tier dungeons because it adds more exploration into the game and you can make puzzles more interesting. Like maybe you need the feather to jump a pit so you land on the opposite side of a block barricade so you can get to the other side. Or you have to keep a few rooms in mind you need the dungeon item in. One example is the Sword & Shield Dungeon of Oracle of Seasons. There is a spot with three eyes you have to hit at once, but until you get the Hyper Slingshot, you can't solve that puzzle. Of course, there is nothing wrong with a single floor dungeon, but I like it to have branching paths, maybe a dead-end or two, maybe a troll room where you're trapped and your only option is to use the staircase that kicks you out to the dungeon's start.

 

Also, for single floor dungeons, I like neat designs for the maps, not bland 8x8 blocks. It doesn't necessarily have to be any shape, although I personally try to make everything have a shape. Even if it's just a bunch of random rooms, as long as it's not a boring design like a box, it's okay in my eyes. Zelda 1's dungeons mostly fit that bill, although I'm not really fond of the 2nd quest's boring swirls for levels 7 and 8.

[Demonlink]

Back in my newb ZC days, the toughest dungeon I faced was Pineconn's Chamber of Horror in Link to the Heavens. Took me around 3 days to get the damn thing finished. Today in my rookie days (really now? ), the longest dungeon I played through was... hmmm, I think it was DFW's Bhalstok Castle in Lost Isle and the Plague Fortress. Other than that, I can't seem to remember any other one :/

 

As for how long I prefer dungeons, it depends on what level you are currently at. For example, you don't want to put a 5 floor dungeon with 10 rooms each in Level 1 would you? I prefer around a 2 floor dungeon to a 5 floor dungeon (except when you're making a tower )

[Yloh]

I've experienced some very large dungeons in my questing.

 

The largest one I've experienced recently is Sunken Basin from Isle of Rebirth. That beast of the dungeon has four floors that cover most of the 8x8 map for each floor. Not only that, but it is easy to miss a key or two. This dungeon also has many themes going inside of it. It just can't make up its mind. The top floor is a watery ruin, the second floor is 2D, the third and forth floors are filled with lava. It was a very interesting dungeon indeed.

 

Another huge dungeon I've experience is the final level in The Quest of Beings 2: The Sonic Shift. The final dungeon is four floors that cover most of the 8x8 map for each floor. This dungeon truly threw everything at you to try and stop you. The first room, I believe, had the same design as the final dungeon in the original quest. The second floor, I believe, had another skull shape to it. The final battle threw everything at you to try and stop you.

 

The final dungeon in Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge - Director's Cut was also massive. You start off going up a tower and end up on a fortress in space (I believe it was in a meteor) . My memory isn't too clear on the details, but I think the tower was five to six floors high and each floor was not small. The base in the meteor was also a decent size. Pretty much, that dungeon was a combination of at least two or more dungeons. 

 

The final dungeon in Castle Haunt 2 was also a large dungeon. Not as large as the others, but it was two floors of level 9 of the original quest if my memory serves me right. 

 

As for what size dungeon I prefer, it just depends on the quest. If the dungeons are interesting, I don't mind them being very large. If the dungeons are boring, having a very long dungeon will take away from the game.

 

I also noticed, maybe it is just me, when dungeons don't have the typical Zelda NES style design, they tend to be much larger dungeons.