Dungeon II: Dondongo's Cavern

So all right, this dungeon is just like the last one, only themed in fire instead of wood.  The object is to get to the boss room and rid the cave of the dodongo problem, so as the Gorons can feast on their favorite food.  All of the rooms, including the boss area, is based off a central hub, and it's Link's purpose to visit all extensions of the hub in order to advance to the boss and put an end to his reign of terror...or something like that!  Either way, this dungeon is pretty easy (though the puzzles are starting to become more apparent...this dungeon wasn't as straightforward as the last, but it was fairly close) and King Dodongo is a joke.  You are invulnerable from him if you stand close to the lava, and much like the dodongos of previous games, you toss a bomb in his mouth and he's vulnerable.  Three jump attacks and he was toast...not very hearty for a boss, ne?

Either way, when we exit this dungeon, Darunia crashes down the mountain, proclaims he likes us, and makes us his sworn brother.  Looks like we have a bromance!  To make it even more intense, every Goron now aspires for nothing more, it seems, than to be a little more like Link.  And all he did was a little favor.  I guess when you avert a disaster like hunger people are grateful!  Our quest must continue, we can't spend forever wallowing in the glory.

Master Quest Notes - This dungeon is quite a bit different than its original counterpart.  While the general layout is quite similar and the rooms in the same general location (though items are not, it takes us far longer to get to the bombs and to open up the first floor); this is really where Master Quest begins to live up to its name and its threat at the title screen (only masters dare enter these dungeons).  The puzzles in this dungeon start to demand perfection in their execution, and while some puzzles are very similar (for example, the tower lowered by bombs) the proper execution has changed considerably to make it more irritating and to make the player think more about what he or she has to do (while it is obvious because of playing the game before, success is harder to achieve in these puzzles). 

There is a little step-up in the action, as you encounter harder enemies in greater numbers (such as the dodongos and armos knights) but other action sequences remain as painfully simple as they were before (the lizalfos duels and your encounter with King Dodongo, the simplest boss in Zelda lore.)

Again, Goron City, as part of the overworld, has not changed at all.  The characters have all remained the same and all say the same things.  This was something they could have done, though I do suppose that the dungeons were more important and also more difficult to change and increase difficulty.