10 Worst Opening Levels That Almost Ruined Great Video Games

5. Forsaken Fortress - The Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker

Nintendo
Nintendo

Dungeons in Zelda are a big deal. They're where the vast majority of the action throughout the series has always taken place. While dungeons might not usually be as pretty as areas like Hyrule Field, Lake Hylia, or the open seas of Wind Waker, they're meticulously designed labyrinths of puzzles and creatures that largely define the experience.

The Forsaken Fortress is the first dungeon in Wind Waker, and among the worst in the whole series. The fact that it's not technically a dungeon but a sky fort could be forgiven, if it wasn't for the tedious, stealth-oriented gameplay that's completely unbefitting of a Zelda game. There's a lot of back-and-forth movement through the fort, and each time you do this you need to crawl into barrels and sneak past guards with unpredictable lines of sight. If you get caught, you can't fight, and forcibly have to restart from a checkpoint.

Considering Wind Waker is the brightest, possibly best-looking Zelda game of all time, the Forsaken Fortress is a dull environment too - a bland grey keep with a design that manages to be basic yet confusing. You don't even get a boss fight at the end of it and, insultingly, you need to come back to it later in the game.

Contributor
Contributor

Gamer, Researcher of strange things. I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.