Bonus Dungeons

Imagine this: You just beat the latest Zelda game, but you don't want it to be over. You think that it went by too fast and you don't want to have to wait for the next one. Here's my solution: put in bonus dungeons!

A bonus dungeon would be a lot like an ordinary dungeon. It would be just as long, if not longer, and it would have a miniboss and boss. A bonus dungeon would also have a useful dungeon item. They would have puzzles, enemies, and perhaps even background stories. These dungeons would be harder, but not required. Also, you would be able to fight the bosses as many times as you wanted! These would not be mini-dungeons like the ones seen in the triforce quest in WW. They would be more complete!

Some of the more challenging features that could go into bonus dungeons would be a time limit, tougher enemies, less health restoring items like hearts and fairies as rewards, and tougher puzzles. A heart container would probably be rewarded for defeating the boss the first time, and these dungeons would probably have many different path ways that would lead to pieces of heart. These dungeons could be involved in side quests too. Maybe, hidden in a dungeon, would be a key item that you needed to find and give to another character. This key item would be difficult to find though.

So for all of those who want the next Zelda game to have more replay value, a couple of bonus dungeons will be very awesome.

Nice idea, as long as the dungeons had a plot/storyline to go with them.

Well take the 40 rooms side quest in twilight princess in the desert area. Didn't have no plot or stroyline to them. So change it to a dungeon. Maybe it's purpose could just to rescue some magical creature and get a little reward for doing so. Like a fun item.
They had a mini-like dungeon in OOT to get some ice arrows except it lacked bosses.

Yeah, great idea, its good to add dungeons to play in after beating the main game, like they arent required to beat the main game.

Yeah, these dungeons would come with the full experience. They'd have a story, puzzles, enemies, minibosses, bosses and length. They would be harder since only core gamers would want to play through them anyway. They wouldn't steal ideas from other dungeons in the game. Instead, they'd be more unique. Most of these dungeons would have you using most of your items. I think that if you beat all of these dungeons, then you should get a secret ending when you beat the final boss. These should come with rewards after all.

I think that would be a great addition.

If nothing else it would give some incentive to keep playing the game after finishing the main story, for example

I think that the dungeons should come with evidence that theorists could use. For example: let's say that this game takes place in Termina and there wasn't any room in the story to give some background to the origin's of the FD that fans want. Well in this dungeon, which is also in Termina, are wall paintings that tell the story. Theorists would be all over this. It would be like a department store for new facts.

Originally Posted by Sage_of_Stars

Yeah, these dungeons would come with the full experience. They'd have a story, puzzles, enemies, minibosses, bosses and length. They would be harder since only core gamers would want to play through them anyway. They wouldn't steal ideas from other dungeons in the game. Instead, they'd be more unique. Most of these dungeons would have you using most of your items. I think that if you beat all of these dungeons, then you should get a secret ending when you beat the final boss. These should come with rewards after all.

Yeah, making the extra dungeons more harder than the main dungeons in the game is a great idea. And a secret ending would be awesome too after beating the bonus dungeons.

Originally Posted by dark-hero

Yeah, making the extra dungeons more harder than the main dungeons in the game is a great idea. And a secret ending would be awesome too after beating the bonus dungeons.

It's an awesome compromise between casual and core gamers. The casual gamer gets the easier main game (which let's face it is going to happen) while the core gamer gets the extra challenges. I think that Nintendo would be willing to do this. Not all of the stars were easy to get. Some of them were really hard. But getting all of the stars gave you special rewards like unlocking Luigi and getting a secret ending and victory photos.

Maybe there could be about 10 bonus dungeons, each one you get a key at the end. When you have all the keys you could go to the temple of time and insert them into a statue of some sort. Then maybe you could get a really cool item, (like a sword that can kill in one hit, except for bosses) or a code to use in the next game to unlock somehting cool. You like??

Originally Posted by TriforceWisdom

Maybe there could be about 10 bonus dungeons, each one you get a key at the end. When you have all the keys you could go to the temple of time and insert them into a statue of some sort. Then maybe you could get a really cool item, (like a sword that can kill in one hit, except for bosses) or a code to use in the next game to unlock somehting cool. You like??

That...idea...is...AWESOME! I support it as long as the keys looked cool. Like maybe they could all have strange symbols on them or something. The cool thing should probably be a really difficult dungeon that takes place in the sacred realm or is just really old. After Link fights that boss, he might get the triforce or something else as a reward.

These dungeons would be good for experimentation. For example: If this was in a 3-D game, then one of the dungeons might be in a top-down perspective like it was a 2-D game. The required dungeons probably wouldn't have something like that. Another could have a time limit, but Link would not be helpless like in the Temple of the Ocean King in PH. Another might have time that flows faster. Both enemies and Link would be extra fast. The player needs to have good reflexes.

Yeah, I think this proposition has already been put into action a couple of times. For example, 'The Color Dungeon' from the remade 'Link's Awakening'. Also 'The Palace of the Four Sword' in the GBA version of 'Link to the Past'. But, having said that, the whole 'collecting the ten keys for some awesome bonus weapon' sounds pretty neat.

Imagine this, you have just beaten the toughest bonus dungeon in the game, and received a sword of slaying (+5) that is made out of pure epicness and laser. Now, what would you do with it? It's obsolete, you can't really do anything useful with it anymore. Just beat the regular last boss more easily, even though the bonus boss was harder. I mean, what would be the point to get the best weapon in the game by beating the hardest opponent? This problem seems to be common in JRPG:s.

I still think bonus dungeons are a great idea, if there's also a 'ultimate bonus dungeon'. So basically, when going through the hard bonus dungeons, you'd gather information of a badass dungeon filled with dragons that fart fire or something. You'd have to complete all of the bonus dungeons to get the secret location of the badass dungeon (I'll just call it badass dungeon from now on because it's so badass, you know) and maybe some items that are necessary in completing the said badass dungeon.

The badass dungeon would be at some hard-to-reach place, it would be filled with the most mind-blowing puzzles and the most fire farting enemies. Now you should be thinking "oh, that's cool, but what's the reward of beating this badass dungeon, oh sexy Otuz". Well, the boss wouldn't be any normal bonus boss that gives you a heart or something, it would be an alternate final boss.

For an example, let's say Ganondorf went all Davy Jonesy and ripped out his heart because his loved one died. Then he sealed his heart to an ancient temple of boom, filled the corridors with the nastiest monsters and deadliest traps, and bound an eternal daemon to guard his heart. Then he locked the castle with a giant bone-lock, and fed the key to a huge killer piranha and warlock-punched it to another sea.

So, Ganondorf would be the normal final boss of the game, and you wouldn't even learn about his dark heart locked away, unless you'd beat the normal bonus dungeons. Then, if you do a series of mini-quests, beat the bonus dungeons and beat the badass dungeon, you'd face the alternate (and very hard) final boss. It could be the ancient daemon, it could be Ganondorf, or maybe both. After beating it, the game would end normally, but you'd get an alternative ending. It would differ from the normal ending, maybe the normal ending would be sadder and the other one happier. It would really feel like you achieved something. And there could be other prizes too.

An alternate ending might mess timeline theorists up. Completing the bonus dungeon should just add to the regular ending.

All of these bonus dungeons would be re-playable, and I think that beating the ultimate one should unlock an ultimate difficulty. Having an ultimate sword won't necessarily make things easier. For example, like other swords, it wouldn't be able to pierce through shields. the player would still need to have the skill to get through openings.

Originally Posted by Sage_of_Stars

An alternate ending might mess timeline theorists up. Completing the bonus dungeon should just add to the regular ending.

I don't really give a poo about the timeline when I'm thinking of some future Zelda game in my head. However, I know that some people do, and I think that the alternate ending could be done so it doesn't scramble the timeline. For example, let's say that person A dies on the other end, and doesn't on the other. Now, a few hundred years later, why would the death of person A mess things up? I mean sure, if she was Zelda, but if it would have been some other cute girl that Link met, would it really make a difference?

Originally Posted by Sage_of_Stars

All of these bonus dungeons would be re-playable, and I think that beating the ultimate one should unlock an ultimate difficulty.

And after beating everything on the ultimate level, you'd get what? That's why the alternate last boss is such a fine and sexy idea.

Originally Posted by Sage_of_Stars

Having an ultimate sword won't necessarily make things easier.

Uhm, having the ultimate sword makes things easier compared to having an ordinary sword. And again, what's the point in beating the ultimate enemy for the ultimate sword? I'd rather beat the alternate last boss with the ultimate sword.

I'm all for a super-boss in the last bonus dungeon. A game's replay value will run out eventually so it probably is best to give Link the ultimate sword before fighting the ultimate boss.

i like that one hit kill sword idea
it could look like the great fairies sword but shining and more multicolored, with a cool laser on the side OR maybe it could be like some variant of fierce deity sword!? it would have to take amounts of magic with each killing hit. and there would have to be enemies that are very hard, like darknuts or something, roaming the fields or other commonly traveled places. I agree with what Otuz said about it being obsolete. so yeah moar enemies.

I wouldn't mind bonus dungeons. LA DX had the optional Color Dungeon.

Except the Color Dungeon was way, way, waaaaaaay too easy. It was probably easier than TP and TMC combined. >_>

I think that these bonus dungeons should make allusions to games that should have come before it. For example: one of these dungeons could have a Minish Legend depicted on a wall. Another could have a vase or something that has on it painted Link fighting his shadow like at the end of AoL. Players would feel like archeologists as they got their view into Hylian history. This sort of thing could appear in the required dungeons, but it might be out of place for some reason. This has been done before. There's a statue of an adult Link in Hyrule Castle in WW.

Bonus dungeons sound great! You know what else sounds great (to me at least)? Having an unlockable secret altar or something, unlocked using a code gotten by defeating an alternate final boss. The altar that I'm thinking of could be one that cleanses the heart and mind of evil, but when you stand on the altar, something goes wrong and Link is plunged into the depths of his own mind. There, he realizes that the altar must have brought his dark side (Dark Link, of course) out of a dormant state or something. Link and Dark Link meet, and Dark Link would allow Link to use his power, though depending on the programming it could be the easy way or the hard way. Once Dark Link's power is in Link's possession, you are given the option to 'save clear data' alongside of normal saving from the pause menu. If you 'save clear data', you are returned to the title sequence once the save process it complete. When you load your file, which has been sent to the beginning of the game, you are able to switch between Link and Dark Link at will, and it won't be just a palette swap, Dark Link could be stronger and faster, or he could be the same as Link in those aspects, but his sword is producing so much dark magic that it's flowing out of it through the tip. This dark sword allows Dark Link to have his own version of any and all sword attacks Link has, even the basic ones. For example, the stab could fire a small ball of magic that flew forward, slashes could create sword beams, the spin attack could be enhanced, and any special sword skills could be made even more devestating. For example, if TP's ending blow was in the game, it could be turned into the ending shock. Dark Link performs the ending blow, but if you press the button or whatever again (sorry never played the Wii TP so I don't know what's what) within a certain timing range, he tightens his grip on his sword and push it deeper into the ground, unleashing a shockwave of dark magic across the ground for a certain radius that severely damages all ground enemies it flows beneath. Something like that.

Whew, that was a long-winded explanation of what I had in mind.