Best & Worst Levels in Gaming

I was thinking of this because of Andy when talking about Halo in which Combat Evolved has one of my all time favourite levels in gaming

The 4th level of 10 in the game which is The Silent Cartographer


That island based level has everything that makes Halo great, epic soundtrack, enemy variety from Grunts to Hunters, vehicle usage, use of various weapons and locations from outside of the island to inside ancient alien structures also mind blowing graphics for the time.

When I read "best level" I instantly thought of Facility from GoldenEye. Both in single player and multiplayer. Starting in the vents, either running down the front stairs guns blazing or sneaking around the back corridors (no euphemism) , then failing the level by gunning down the civilian scientists. Every time.

Block Fort: Mario Kart 64.


Me and a friend literally spent one whole summer battling each other in this level one year, way back. Good times.

A flying galleon, a giant house in the sky, magic carpets on rainbows: an absolute dream, at least back in the day.



Because you get to be Spiderman with a sword.

Mostly because of the music!

Sky Temple was a corker of a level! The boss even more so.

may I put a vote in for Melty Molten Galaxy? Great music! Volcano! A one-hit challenge that will piss you right off yet was ace to finally best!

I was trying to separate myself from the music when I was giving my levels, because I'm sure you're all sick of me banging on about videogame music by now.  But you two have opened the floodgates!  Good tunes both, although I wouldn't go for Melty Molten: it had a very dull Purple Coin challenge, and there are other levels from Galaxy which I prefer.

Such as this:

Also this:

But mostly this (that Pokéball moment):

Here's one from the sequel:

And this one had a very clever concept, in addition to great music:

But a good tune can't always disguise a duff level:

Balladeer wrote:

I was trying to separate myself from the music when I was giving my levels, because I'm sure you're all sick of me banging on about videogame music by now.  But you two have opened the floodgates!  Good tunes both, although I wouldn't go for Melty Molten: it had a very dull Purple Coin challenge, and there are other levels from Galaxy which I prefer.

I didn't mind Melty Molten Galaxy's purple coin challenge, it offered a nice change of pace. I also didn't mind it in Freezeflame Galaxy, apart from that ruddy peak jump which was stupidly easy to miss one of the coins during your freefall.

Is it too obvious to go for Super Mario Bros.'s 1-1? If so, I'm in! What a statement it must have been to games of the time.

Here's my talkthrough of it (and the rest of World 1) from the now defunct 3DS Tribe:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YYlwDvMSed8

(I am on my mobile - hope that still works!)

Stu_the_great wrote:

Block Fort: Mario Kart 64.


Me and a friend literally spent one whole summer battling each other in this level one year, way back. Good times.

Block Fort has never been bettered when it comes to Battle Stages.

On topic and on the subject of MK64 I'd nominate Wario Stadium as one of gamings best levels. That jump and the sort-of-cheaty wall jumping short cuts always made for crazy fun races.

I never liked Wario Stadium. Too brown, too long, too dull, and the lightning-over-the-jump seemed more unfair than fun.

Block Fort is class though.

Balladeer wrote:

I never liked Wario Stadium.  Too brown, too long, too dull, and the lightning-over-the-jump seemed more unfair than fun.

Permission to defend Wario Stadium? Never got tired of seeing folk fall to their relegation over that lightning jump.

I vote for the Amazon, from DuckTales:


I still love getting into all the various nooks and crannies in this one, even if I know the location of each hidden chest by heart. <3

Balladeer wrote:

I never liked Wario Stadium.  Too brown, too long, too dull, and the lightning-over-the-jump seemed more unfair than fun.  

Block Fort is class though.

I can only assume you were never playing it correctly. It's not that long when making use of the wall jumps and likewise not dull when you have 4 players all attempting to do just that. That level, that game.

I don't think that either I or the people I played with were good enough to make it consistently.

Having finished Metroid Prime, I have to say the Frigate was amazing. Probably the best re-use of an environment in a game ever, up there with the whole past/future light/dark world stuff Zelda does. So it's the ship you're on at the start of the game, which eventually crash-lands onto Talon IV. 8 or so hours later, and you're trekking back through the thing en route to Phendrana Drifts. It's submerged underwater, the lights and power are out, and there's some suitably magical underwater music playing in the background.

Just wow. That game certainly has an amazing sense of "being there".

Dead Lemon wrote:

Balladeer wrote:

I never liked Wario Stadium.  Too brown, too long, too dull, and the lightning-over-the-jump seemed more unfair than fun.  

Block Fort is class though.

I can only assume you were never playing it correctly. It's not that long when making use of the wall jumps and likewise not dull when you have 4 players all attempting to do just that. That level, that game.

I'm with Balla, maybe I ought to revisit it and mess about a bit more.

On the Ninties, you can't go wrong with the forest temple from OOT:

So much clever inside that door. It's got vines, and ghosts, and twisty dimension shifting...

Outside of the Ninties, the Milkman Conspiracy from Psychonauts. If you haven't played it... you should. As for this level... "I am a road mender. Here is my stop sign."


I'd also like to include Grunty Industries from Banjo Tooie and a Best and Worst. I don't know how big it is, but it seems to be a massive sprawling complex, much bigger than the average Banjo level. On one hand, atmospheric and relate-able (?). On the other, twisty and unnecessarily confusing.


Worst level in a great game? Any oblivion bit from Oblivion.


The Labyrinth Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog is currently sitting in the category of NOPE

Jimbob wrote:

The Labyrinth Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog is currently sitting in the category of NOPE

Has any water level from any Sonic game ever been a good idea? NOPE.

Quote some internet nerd: what were they thinking?!

Jimbob wrote:

Worst level in a great game? Any oblivion bit from Oblivion.

Ugh, right there with you. The worst part is they make you do it multiple times during the game.

I love the bouncy slime & lava mechanic in the mole knight stage of Shovel Knight such a great twist on an overused theme in platformers.