This is Level-Headded, where I look at the best levels/temples/boards/areas in gaming. Games are all about setting, and it's gonna be my job to show you the best games to utilize setting. The first level I'd like to talk about is one that I talked about in this forum topic, the Temple of Ice from The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass.


Aww...isn't he precious?

Now for those of you that have played the game, you might be wondering why I'm not talking about the grand-daddy temple in the game, the Temple of The Sea King. With it's many levels, constant changes, and interesting puzzles, it is one of the most impressive temples in any Zelda game.

But, it just gets fucking boring.

The constant repetition of levels gets to me every time, and, rather than continue the game, I'll just go out on sea and try and finish my list of boat pieces. Now the Temple of Ice, that's a whole different story. This level becomes the most important (and fun) in the game for one BIG GODDAMN reason: you get the grappling hook here.


the only thing in life that matters.

Let's be honest: ever since you picked up the hookshot for the first time in A Link to The Past, you've been waiting to get a piece of that hook-attached-to-a-chain-or-rope glory in every game. Well, in PH, the Temple of Ice holds this amazing device. PH had the distinction of giving the hookshot (here called a grappling hook) new abilities, such as using it to make a tightrope when strung between 2 posts.


Yeah, it IS that fucking awesome.
Aside from that, the grappling hook opens up a shit-ton more game for you, as a bunch of the secret areas in the game are only reachable with the weapon. But, that's beside the point. As you move through the dungeon, fighting of spiders with removable faces and bunnies you have to literally scream at to kill, you eventually come upon the most inventive boss battle in the game, Gleeok, the 2-Headed Dragon.


2 heads filled with tear-your-hair-out difficulty.

I don't want to give away a lot with this battle, because it's just to damn awesome. All I can say is this: using your grappling hook in new, inventive ways (slingshotting his atacks back at him!?!?! dragging his face into a platform by grappling his tongue?!?!?), this is just the perfect cap on the perfect level. If you haven't played this game, go do so now, if only to play what I believe to be one of the best Zelda dungeons ever.