History ThatOneLevel / TheLegendOfZelda

** Special mention goes to ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime's'' incarnation. It probably says something that in the Master Quest mode of the [[VideoGameRemake 3DS remake]], which upped the difficulty of the dungeons enormously, the Water Temple inexplicably became ''easier''. In fact, ''Ocarina'''s director [[http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2009/11/29/aonuma-apologizes-for-water-temple.aspx has officially apologized for the Water Temple.]] He's also stated that he will fix several of its problems in the upcoming 3DS remake. Specifically, he mentioned how annoying it was to constantly pause the game in order to put on or remove the Iron Boots and that the remake wouldn't use a mechanic like that. If anything, it would make the game much less time-consuming.

** The ''Ocarina of Time'' equivalent was no slouch either. Almost all enemies will electrocute you if you attack them, so most of them are either very difficult to bring down or outright unkillable until you get the boomerang.[[note]] The Zora princess herself can be thrown at the jellyfish, bubbles etc to kill them with little risk to you. When thrown, she giggles; she's immune to damage. One of the few times you can directly use an NPC *as a weapon*, and she seems to enjoy the experience.[[/note]] And also the Zora princess yells at you if you leave her, even though under certain circumstances, she'll vanish all on her own.

** A rare non-dungeon example in the series comes later: the EscortMission at Eldin Volcano. Basically, you have to escort a robot up ''the entire volcano'', which is now swarming with Bokoblin Archers capable of hitting said robot from afar. (they also have an annoying tendancy of hitting you in the face with a point-blank shot ''just as you kill them'') I hope you've mastered the Bow, because you're going to need it here. And even then, prepared to pull your hair out in frustration as you get through a tough area only to have Scrapper shot down by an off-screen archer when you could have sworn you killed them all. Several times. And it gets worse once you reach the Summit. Think fighting two [[DemonicSpiders Lizalfos]] is hard? Try fighting two ''while keeping them away from Scrapper!'' Oh, did I mention that he [[StopHelpingMe annoyingly persters you when he's under attack]] and mocks you when you fail?? Even worse, plot-wise, WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis is Scrapper hadn't pulled a LeeroyJenkins. Yeah, after this mission, you'll be starting to think he deserves a [[TheScrappy different, but similar sounding name.]] [[AntiFrustrationFeatures Thankfully, enemies don't respawn when you are forced to restart]].
** Luckily there is one way to bypass his idiocy for the latter half of the level. Get up to the wind tunnel and take a ride up. He'll complain that about not being able to go up with you and about you leaving him alone, but he'll be safe and out of the way while you can take out all the enemies from behind.

* The Lanayru Mining Facility from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword''. As if GETTING to the damn place wasn't bad enough, the enemies are EXTREMELY annoying, (Dear GOD, the Beamos!) the time-shifting puzzles are very tedious, and it's all accompanied with some [[HellIsThatNoise rather freaky music]]. Even more frustrating is that this is the temple after the Earth Temple, and the boss of this temple is a joke, making Scaldera seem tough in comparison.
** It doesn't help that two of the other enemies there, Beamos and Sentrobes, while being fairly managable normally, become nightmarishly intense on a [[SelfImposedChallenge No-Shield playthrough.]] Oh, and LMF is actually ''longer'' than the next dungeon, and probably the one after that too. It really says something when this game's water dungeon actually inverts this trope and becomes a BreatherLevel from LMF.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', the Great Bay Temple features a complicated series of switches, currents, waterfalls that must be frozen and thawed, etc. The crowning evil of this dungeon would be that in the second room there are three switches. Pressing the wrong ones reverses the current in the entire level, making it impossible for you to proceed until you return to hit them again. Also of note is the fact that almost the entire level is based around hitting switches that are blocking barely visible water flow through multicoloured pipes, and you must follow the pipes to find the next switch, despite their aggravating habit of exiting through doors that can't be opened from this side. The real kicker for the Great Bay Temple (and whole game) is that you have a ''time limit''[[note]] which can be doubled by playing the Song of Time backwards, resulting in the "Inverted Song of Time" that slows timeflow considerably[[/note]]. In the other games, you could just keep bashing things in different ways all night long until you got past.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', the Great Bay Temple features a complicated series of switches, currents, waterfalls that must be frozen and thawed, etc. The crowning evil of this dungeon would be that in the second room there are three switches. Pressing the wrong ones reverses the current in the entire level, making it impossible for you to proceed until you return to hit them again. Also of note is the fact that almost the entire level is based around hitting switches that are blocking barely visible water flow through multicoloured pipes, and you must follow the pipes to find the next switch, despite their aggravating habit of exiting through doors that can't be opened from this side. The real kicker for the Great Bay Temple (and whole game) is that you have a ''time limit''. In the other games, you could just keep bashing things in different ways all night long until you got past.

** The ''Ocarina of Time'' equivalent was no slouch either. Almost all enemies will electrocute you if you attack them, so most of them are either very difficult to bring down or outright unkillable until you get the boomerang.[[note]] The Zora princess herself can be thrown at the jellyfish to kill them though; just be careful with your aim. One of the few times you can directly use an NPC *as a weapon*.[[/note]] And also the Zora princess yells at you if you leave her, even though under certain circumstances, she'll vanish all on her own.

** The ''Ocarina of Time'' equivalent was no slouch either. Almost all enemies will electrocute you if you attack them, so most of them are either very difficult to bring down or outright unkillable until you get the boomerang. And also the Zora princess yells at you if you leave her, even though under certain circumstances, she'll vanish all on her own.

[[quoteright:350: [[TheLegendOfZelda http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Water-Temple_small_740.JPG]]]]

** The map is rendered pretty much useless due to most rooms being made up of discrete sections. Nothing worse than finally getting halfway down correctly, then remembering that warping to the beginning of the level flipped the [[PrecisionFStrike FUCKING]] red/blue switches.

* The defending of the caravan in ''Twilight Princess''. A combination of the Gale Boomerang, needed to put out fires, having next to no range, fast-moving targets, pterosaurs dropping bombs on everything and the fact that Epona handles like she's drunk makes it impossible to beat. It's even harder on the Wii due to the lack of a precise targeting system.

* [[FanNickname Solmasters]]. You have to carry a glowing orb through three rooms. A giant hand is chasing you, and if it gets too close, it will snatch the orb back, and unless you want to do the whole damn thing over, you have to grab it out with the clawshot. Thus requires good aim, and if there are any monsters around, you have to either kill them first or do the targeting really, really quickly. You have to put the orb in certain spots to raise platforms or stairs so that you can get to the other door, which involves leaving it unattended for the hand to grab before you can reach solid ground and clawshot it back up. Enemies can knock it out of your grip, and it likes to roll, so you have to chase it down, and most likely do the whole room over. Oh, and there's two of those orbs, each with their own giant hand. Have fun!
** While that's all true, you can also shoot the hands with the bow a couple times to stun them or make them drop the orb. That said, the stun doesn't last long and you'd better make sure you have enough arrows.

** Also from ''Twilight Princess'' is the City in the Sky. Just getting to it is annoying enough, since it requires a huge FetchQuest just to start another FetchQuest. It's far too easy to fall to your death, and the level requires precise Clawshotting in order to survive.

** Also from Twilight Princess is the City in the Sky. With all that falling and precise grappling, it was even worse than Snowpeak in my opinion.

** The main reason for the Water Temple being so hard is because of the fact that after some time exploring the temple, you will get a key that ''must'' go to a certain door, but this door is not the first locked door that you encounter and you will undoubtedly use the key on the wrong door. If you do mess up, it takes much longer [[hottip:*:One very persistent rumor is that it's possible to use the keys in the wrong order, and [[UnwinnableByMistake fail the whole temple. That's right, many players still believe you can actually permanently screw up the Water Temple. And what does that mean? Restart your file! To be fair, you ''can'' get into situations where it ''seems'' like this is the case -- you can actually still solve it if you take the right course of action, but if you can't manage to find that action, it seems like you're stuck forever.]]. As if it weren't bad enough, it's possible to miss the item that makes it nearly tolerable. That's right: [[SelfImposedChallenge somebody did the whole Water Temple without the blue tunic.]] Another reason is the miniboss [[MirrorMatch Dark Link]], which due to a quirk of programming, takes much less time to beat on a three-heart run.

* The Swamp Palace in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' isn't too bad. The Ice Palace, however, can become seizure-inducing due to the tougher bestiary, obstacles and maze-like layout. Luckily, having the [[SequenceBreaking Cane of Somaria]] makes it much easier. There is a block you're supposed to push down a hole and once down that hole, you can push it on the switch. So yeah it definitely fits in this category. In fact, until the UpdatedRerelease, it was almost ''assumed'' that any player would do the dungeons out of order so that they could tackle the Ice Palace with the Cane of Somaria. When your dungeon is so hard it drives normal players to SequenceBreaking, you've definitely got a ScrappyLevel on your hands.
** It wasn't so much the block puzzles, but the map being rendered pretty much useless due to most rooms being made up of discrete sections. Nothing worse than finally getting halfway down correctly, then remembering that warping to the beginning of the level flipped the [[PrecisionFStrike FUCKING]] red/blue switches.

** Stone Tower Temple, also from ''Majora's Mask''. The two worst parts of it are [[ThatOneSidequest collecting the stray fairies]] [[hottip:+:For one or two of them, you have to do something deep in the temple, then go outside and flip it upside down, then do something else in the same room, then go outside again and turn it right side up just so you can get the fairy. And if you want the AwesomeButImpractical reward, you need all 15 of them]], which, unlike the last three temples, doesn't even get you a good reward [[hottip:+ :In the other temples you get the advanced spin attack, the longer magic meter, and double defense, but the Stone Tower Temple reward is a C-item sword that does little more damage than the Gilded Sword]]. There's also a room before you get the Light Arrows that involves a LightAndMirrorsPuzzle... except that the mirrors actually absorb light when you shine it on them, and you're supposed to use that and your Mirror Shield to reflect the light from your light source to one mirror, then to another mirror, then to a block in your way that disappears when light is shone on it. This wouldn't be so hard if not for the GoddamnedBats that respawn in the room, often messing up your aim at the mirrors. And if you stop shining light on one mirror for even half a second, you have to wait until the mirror has used up all its light before you can recharge it again. There's a GuideDangIt solution that makes it a little bit easier, but it's almost impossible without said solution.
** What about the Goron Maze on the Moon? You have to go high speed on extremely narrow ledges, have to bounce off objects at the perfect angle to hop onto another platform, with little room for error.
*** Except that this section becomes a joke when you realize that the way to properly do it is by not moving the control stick at all. If you just roll straight, Link will bounce perfectly off the treasure chests for the vast majority of the level.

** A rare non-dungeon example in the series comes later: the EscortMission at Eldin Volcano. Basically, you have to escort a robot up ''the entire volcano'', which is now swarming with Bokoblin Archers capable of hitting said robot from afar. (they also have an annoying tendancy of hitting you in the face with a point-blank shot ''just as you kill them'') I hope you've mastered the Bow, because you're going to need it here. And even then, prepared to pull your hair out in frustration as you get through a tough area only to have Scrapper shot down by an off-screen archer when you could have sworn you killed them all. Several times. And it gets worse once you reach the Summit. Think fighting two [[DemonicSpiders Lizalfos]] is hard? Try fighting two ''while keeping them away from Scrapper!'' Oh, did I mention that he [[StopHelpingMe annoyingly persters you when he's under attack]] and mocks you wnen you fail?? Even worse, plot-wise, WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis is Scrapper hadn't pulled a LeeroyJenkins. Yeah, after this mission, you'll be starting to think he deserves a [[TheScrappy different, but similar sounding name.]]

It's not a secret to everybody that [[ThatOneLevel these levels]] will test even the best of [[TheLegendOfZelda legendary heroes]].

* Every Water Temple in every ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' (except Skyward Sword's, mainly because of fewer water puzzles. Link to the Past had a pretty easy water dungeon, but the Ice Palace qualifies.):

* The Swamp Palace in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'' isn't too bad. The Ice Palace, however, can become seizure-inducing due to the tougher bestiary, obstacles and maze-like layout. Luckily, having the [[SequenceBreaking Cane of Somaria]] makes it much easier. There is a block you're supposed to push down a hole and once down that hole, you can push it on the switch. So yeah it definitely fits in this category. In fact, until the UpdatedRerelease, it was almost ''assumed'' that any player would do the dungeons out of order so that they could tackle the Ice Palace with the Cane of Somaria. When your dungeon is so hard it drives normal players to SequenceBreaking, you've definitely got a ScrappyLevel on your hands.

* The Lanryu Mining Facility from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword''. As if GETTING to the damn place wasn't bad enough, the enemies are EXTREMELY annoying, (Dear GOD, the Armos!) the time-shifting puzzles are very tedious, and it's all accompanied with some [[HellIsThatNoise rather freaky music]]. Even more frustrating is that this is the temple after the Earth Temple, and the boss of this temple is a joke, making Scaldera seem tough in comparison.

** Even later, Lanayru Gorge has a case of That One Room. It's filled with Technoblins, Beamos and Sentrobes, all of them either GoddamnedBats or DemonicSpiders, and you have to follow a Timeshift Stone in a moving mining cart to avoid falling in [[QuicksandSucks sinksand.]] Fall in, and you don't take damage, but you'll be returned to the start of the room ''WITH ALL ENEMIES RESPAWNED!'' Attempting to put an arrow in a Beamos' eye, missing by millimeters and proceeding to get knocked into the sinksand by its beam... pretty much speaks for itself. What makes this place truly maddening is that its situated after five or so ''incredibly easy'' rooms... but [[CheckpointStarvation there are no checkpoints between them.]] Trust me, having to go back through those easy rooms again ''every time you die'' will drive you insane.