Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
Now if they could only be bothered to ape NSMBU's Challenge Mode next time around, then we'd really have a complete package.
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Hardest Mario Level? [explain your answer, ModBot is watching...]
- Thread starter maxcriden
- Start date
Challenge Mode is amazing. I would be thrilled to see that included in any future release. NES Remix is basically NES Challenge Mode, that's a big part of the reason I've been enjoying it as much as I have.
Of those I've played, Tubular is the obvious one to pick out - controlling the balloon is done infrequently enough in the rest of the game that you need to become *extremely* good at something that's quite a challenging control scheme very quickly to get through. It's also interesting that it's a level that can't easily be cheesed with a Blue Yoshi, just for good measure.
That said, there's also one in Sunshine - where it's not the *level* that I recall being hard (indeed, I don't actually remember what level it is at all!) - but the process of getting to there, hopping Yoshi from boat to boat without being able to touch the water, just to get (IIRC) one shot at the level, and if you fail having to do *that* again.
That said... is that hard, or just irritating?
That said, there's also one in Sunshine - where it's not the *level* that I recall being hard (indeed, I don't actually remember what level it is at all!) - but the process of getting to there, hopping Yoshi from boat to boat without being able to touch the water, just to get (IIRC) one shot at the level, and if you fail having to do *that* again.
That said... is that hard, or just irritating?
I don't remember any levels in particular being infuriatingly hard, but I do know that for as much as I love Sunshine, I lack the patience for anything involving a Yoshi and making platforms with the spit.
There's also a couple of objectives in the theme park zone that were tough, I always had trouble with the giant swing area, and the one where you need to execute wall jumps with fences or something? I just remember the camera not being able to go where I needed it to, when it wasn't a problem for me anywhere else in the game.
There's also a couple of objectives in the theme park zone that were tough, I always had trouble with the giant swing area, and the one where you need to execute wall jumps with fences or something? I just remember the camera not being able to go where I needed it to, when it wasn't a problem for me anywhere else in the game.
I don't recall Tubular being THAT hard but then again I had the player's guide, maybe that helped. Well, I also grew up playing R-Type, Tubular is nothing compared to Baldo Gardens (which is what the GB version called its stage 4, that's stage 6 in the arcade version). Large, moving blocks of death whose path you can only learn through trial and error and no room to dodge if they go down the corridor you're in? Fun! They didn't even need a stage boss, they just locked you in a room with a bunch of those bastards.
Those Tubular mentions are strange...I haven't played SMW since I was a kid, but none of the stages took more than a few hours of tries and there were platformers I couldn't beat back then that are perfectly doable these days.
The toughest special route stage for lil muddream was the one with the centipedes or the one with all the koopas in the halfpipe. It makes sense that a weird stage like tubular would cause speedrunners problems, but I remember it being more annoying than challenging.
The toughest special route stage for lil muddream was the one with the centipedes or the one with all the koopas in the halfpipe. It makes sense that a weird stage like tubular would cause speedrunners problems, but I remember it being more annoying than challenging.
Agreed with this, found it very tough as a kid.
NameGenerated
Who paid you to grab Dr. Pavel?
My memory is pretty bad when it comes to this series as I haven't played a lot of them in a long time.
But I gotta say Super Mario 3D Land's S8-Crown without the raccoon suit.
It requires a ton of precision jumping and has almost every single stage element in the game shoved in your face where a single mistake either out right kills you or can screw you over and when you get near the end of it shadow mario comes out and starts to chase you during it all.
Raccoon suit does make it a million times easier though which is a damn shame.
So for me this is the hardest mario level in recent memory at least.
Edit: I haven't played Mario 3D World yet but from the sounds of it Champion's Road is even worse. Avoiding seeing it as much as I can though I like to be surprised
Wtf you can just run over those brown blocks. I feel like AVGN during Ninja Turtles. I always tried to jump and failed to have the momentum for the long jump. Made it a few times, but mostly it pissed me off.
Sixfortyfive
He who pursues two rabbits gets two rabbits.
That mechanic is a callback to SMB1, too. You only had to do it for one specific jump in that game IIRC, but it was useful throughout the whole game.
Wow, can't believe no one is saying the Impossible Pack DCL from New2. Guessing no one has played it. Its fairly tough, don't know if it's the hardest but it is certainly the most fun "hardest" level in a Mario game I've played. Why?
1. Its three hard levels on one run (the first one having three distinct sub levels within it).
2. There is a fair amount of subtle variation in all the moving parts that really screws up just hard memorizing the best path. So much so, that if you find a good run through the levels, you are probably looking at someone who got a favorable "roll".
3, The second stage is a ascending path of really odd rotating platforms. Once you figure out the right path its manageable but until then figuring it out is almost puzzle like.
4. The third stage in a jerk and goes for mix-ups to screw you out out of your Big Mario buffer you worked so hard for.
1. Its three hard levels on one run (the first one having three distinct sub levels within it).
2. There is a fair amount of subtle variation in all the moving parts that really screws up just hard memorizing the best path. So much so, that if you find a good run through the levels, you are probably looking at someone who got a favorable "roll".
3, The second stage is a ascending path of really odd rotating platforms. Once you figure out the right path its manageable but until then figuring it out is almost puzzle like.
4. The third stage in a jerk and goes for mix-ups to screw you out out of your Big Mario buffer you worked so hard for.
HisshouBuraiKen
Member
8-3 and Outrageous come to mind. Even to this day, no matter how weak they are now, thanks to 8-3 I always have an instant of fear the first time I see the Hammer Bros. in a new Mario game.
In Yoshi's Island, you get to unlock a secret level if you finish the game at 100% completion. I think it was called "The Impossible? Maze", & from pushing the crate in the wrong direction to navigating through a convoluted maze (that requires A LOT of backtracking), discovering the right path was a simple matter of trial and error.
While it isn't a problem nowadays, it was down right maddening, and it nearly soured my experience with an otherwise fun platformer.
While it isn't a problem nowadays, it was down right maddening, and it nearly soured my experience with an otherwise fun platformer.
giant_frying_pan
Member
You play as Mario in it. It's a Mario game.
Freeza Under The Shower
Member
I'm going to have to go with tubular as well, but that NSMB Wii ice level and getting the coins was straight up BALLS.
can't say I distinctly remember any Mario level as 'too damn difficult' though. Yes, beating awesome took a long time for my kid version, but it was doable and once you know how, it tends to become routine.
can't say I distinctly remember any Mario level as 'too damn difficult' though. Yes, beating awesome took a long time for my kid version, but it was doable and once you know how, it tends to become routine.
Dorsal Axe
Member
Oh god, this level. I think it was the only level I never beat in that game (I never owned Sunshine, only borrowed). I kept losing my patience, since it takes so freaking long to get the warp pipe. Once inside, it's just torture. Horrible.
I know this is from a spin-off, but fuck everything about this. My palms hate this game.
TheRedSnifit
Member
Okay, I just got to Champion's Road, and what the fuck. WHAT. THE. FUCK.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Holy shit I just watched another video of Champions Road where a guy deals with the laser rings on the boost pads by doing Ground Pounds in order to gain like a quarter second of extra air time from the animation. Ridiculous.
Super Mario Galaxy 2's The Perfect Run for me. Take the already difficult Grandmaster Galaxy, and then make it even harder by having 1 hit killing the player. It required absolute precision and perfection of the level. I give an honorable mention to 3D World's finale, but I feel like The Perfect Run forced the player's to take upon its challenge while Champion's Road can be finished much more easily due to Tanooki suits as well as being able to take multiple hits whereas The Perfect Run could only be made easier by saving up Cloud Mario's clouds.
The Perfect Run from Galaxy 2 and Champions Road from 3D World is in a completely different league from most other levels mentioned here. Tubular, Outrageous, any of the Mario 1, Land 2 and Mario 3 levels, the Sunshine levels etc. Nothing comes close to those two.
Okay, if you don't play it with power ups it becomes considerably harder than the perfect run.
Doctor_Thomas
Member
Tubular comes out of nowhere. The rest of the special stages in SMW are levels where you have honed skills, they offer slightly more challenge and you feel good.
Then Tubular. The P-Bags appear in one (or two?) other levels, but never with the danger element that Tubular has and don't require any of the same timing, it's also, I'm certain, entirely possible to miss the other levels.
Tubular just sucks. It's not fun but it's also not particularly hard, it just doesn't give you a practice run of any kind,
I agree its a much harder level the moment you go in without a suit (or Peach) due entirely to the speed pad section at the end and the long path to it. However, the hardest Mario level should be one where even if you take all the shortcuts you can, it is still a giant pain to complete. The fact that Champion's Road becomes much easier the moment Peach or a Tanooki suit is involved makes me think that Perfect Run is harder simply because it is always constant in difficultly with the only advantage a player can get is through smart use of the cloud suit.
TLDR: A player can choose to suffer on Champions Road. A player WILL suffer on Perfect Run.
so you haven't actually played it, right?
There is also a video of Vanquish Challenge 6 on youtube, where it looks really easy. But it isn't.
RurouniZel
Asks questions so Ezalc doesn't have to
This level, right here. Luigi's Purple Coin Challenge.
The number of lives I've lost to this level is probably greater than every other Mario game I've ever played combined. D:
The number of lives I've lost to this level is probably greater than every other Mario game I've ever played combined. D:
secretanchitman
Member
This fucking level! Holy shit I hate this level so much. Every other level in Super Mario World is easy except for this one. Why does this have to be so hard? The damn baseball guys, the flying koopa troopas and the inconveniently placed blocks/fire flower things/what-have-you are such a pain in the ass when you're balloon Mario.
I did manage to beat it once (and ONLY once) 2-3 years ago. By sheer luck I had timed the jumps right and somehow barely managed to get to the finish without falling below. I think I screamed in amazement that I actually beat this level and didn't take the easy way out.
Speaking of the easy way out, my friend "cheated" on this level by getting a blue Yoshi, holding a koopa troopa in it's mouth and flew strategically to the end of the level. Nice because it sure saved him a lot of frustration.
Okay, replying to my own OP here:
SMB3:
I just played SMB3 for the first time recently and pretty much this whole world was a brutal trial. I loved it. I really love playing through Mario levels and the point at which they become obscenely difficult and I get to lose tons of lives making my way through levels is a true delight to me. It prolongs the game in a totally reasonable way and I just know when I will beat such a level it'll be extremely satisfying. Pretty much all of World 8 was like this to me. The levels are pretty bite-size so I feel comfortable calling this all one massive level.
Super Mario Galaxy: Dreadnought's Purple Coins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyE9Tl4qTNE
This is the level I remember having difficulty with more than pretty much any other Mario level ever. There are definitely more frustrating Mario levels, where it feels like you can't accomplish what you're trying to pull off. There was no such problem with this level, it was designed smoothly and controls great. It took me forever to get the hang of it, though. I kept my wife up until like 3 or 4 AM trying to beat this darn level. When I finally did it felt amazing. The gravity mechanics really require all of the knowledge and skill of the previous levels in the game, they really prepare you for the challenge excellently. Just a terrific, challenging level.
SMG2: Cosmic Clone Wall-Jumpers and Hot-Stepping Dash Pepper
CCWJ is a hilariously difficult, chaotic level. Multiple cosmic clones relentlessly pursue you and at the end you have to wall jump while carefully spin jumping in between wall jumps at the right moment. Just a great, clever level and really tough. I don't think HSDP is quite as tough, but I do think it's pretty hard, and it did take a ton of lives to complete and requires very precise movements with Dash Pepper Yoshi, and I found it to be an extremely fun level.
NSMBU: Run For It and Pendulum Castle
Not too much to say about these. The titles both say it all. Both levels, especially Run For It, had me burning through lives and heading back to Soda Jungle to get more. Just great challenges, which brings me to:
NSMBU: Challenge Mode
Best ever bonus mode in a Mario game, no question. I really hope they include this feature in future Mario games. I still have a lot of challenges to complete. I would like if you could jump back into each one just a tad more quickly when you lose a life, but that's a minor complaint about an amazing mode. Pictured above is a challenge I found particularly satisfying to complete. Racing under Flipruses, and sailing between a snowball and a Fliprus, are such good feelings.
NSLU: Fire Bar Sprint and Impossible Pendulums
Both of these levels are just awesomely difficult. You have to be expert in every move you make, especially in FBS. NSLU is DLC done right and is essentially a great full Mario game in its own right.
BTW, I have not played any of the super-tough levels in SMW or SMW2, nor The Perfect Run or Champion's Road. I do plan to play all of these, though.
SMB3:
I just played SMB3 for the first time recently and pretty much this whole world was a brutal trial. I loved it. I really love playing through Mario levels and the point at which they become obscenely difficult and I get to lose tons of lives making my way through levels is a true delight to me. It prolongs the game in a totally reasonable way and I just know when I will beat such a level it'll be extremely satisfying. Pretty much all of World 8 was like this to me. The levels are pretty bite-size so I feel comfortable calling this all one massive level.
Super Mario Galaxy: Dreadnought's Purple Coins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyE9Tl4qTNE
This is the level I remember having difficulty with more than pretty much any other Mario level ever. There are definitely more frustrating Mario levels, where it feels like you can't accomplish what you're trying to pull off. There was no such problem with this level, it was designed smoothly and controls great. It took me forever to get the hang of it, though. I kept my wife up until like 3 or 4 AM trying to beat this darn level. When I finally did it felt amazing. The gravity mechanics really require all of the knowledge and skill of the previous levels in the game, they really prepare you for the challenge excellently. Just a terrific, challenging level.
SMG2: Cosmic Clone Wall-Jumpers and Hot-Stepping Dash Pepper
CCWJ is a hilariously difficult, chaotic level. Multiple cosmic clones relentlessly pursue you and at the end you have to wall jump while carefully spin jumping in between wall jumps at the right moment. Just a great, clever level and really tough. I don't think HSDP is quite as tough, but I do think it's pretty hard, and it did take a ton of lives to complete and requires very precise movements with Dash Pepper Yoshi, and I found it to be an extremely fun level.
NSMBU: Run For It and Pendulum Castle
Not too much to say about these. The titles both say it all. Both levels, especially Run For It, had me burning through lives and heading back to Soda Jungle to get more. Just great challenges, which brings me to:
NSMBU: Challenge Mode
Best ever bonus mode in a Mario game, no question. I really hope they include this feature in future Mario games. I still have a lot of challenges to complete. I would like if you could jump back into each one just a tad more quickly when you lose a life, but that's a minor complaint about an amazing mode. Pictured above is a challenge I found particularly satisfying to complete. Racing under Flipruses, and sailing between a snowball and a Fliprus, are such good feelings.
NSLU: Fire Bar Sprint and Impossible Pendulums
Both of these levels are just awesomely difficult. You have to be expert in every move you make, especially in FBS. NSLU is DLC done right and is essentially a great full Mario game in its own right.
BTW, I have not played any of the super-tough levels in SMW or SMW2, nor The Perfect Run or Champion's Road. I do plan to play all of these, though.
Megatron
Member
I didn't have an answer for this until today as I was playing through Super Mario Land 2: The Six Golden Coins for the Gameboy (via the 3DS without save states) The game is mostly pretty easy, but the last level in Wario's Castle is amazingly difficult. I went through 45 guys today before I got it. It took me forever just to learn the stage and get to the point where I could get through it reliably, and then I had 3 boss fights to deal with before it was over, and every death requires you to start the whole level over.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Without having put that much thought into it this would probably be my answer. So many runs where I missed just one single coin near the end.
Professor Renegade
Banned
Super Mario World - Tubular.
It's set up so precisely that you cannot afford to miss one P-Balloon. It was the only Special World level that I couldn't beat for a long time.
It's set up so precisely that you cannot afford to miss one P-Balloon. It was the only Special World level that I couldn't beat for a long time.
entremet
Member
Keep trying. You'll get it.
It does seem hopeless at times. There are only two super hard sections. The rest you should be able to get on autopilot after practice.
I feel stupid for nominating Poochy Ain't Stupid from Yoshi's Island, since nobody else mentioned it. This level is a humongous pain in the ass, because it's full of autoscrolling over instant death lava where you have to ride a dog that runs a whole lot faster than the screen.
What I did to get past the slope was just jump in the air everytime the block was about to disappear. It wasn't as fast but it was safer since it's easy to predict when the blocks are going to disappear. I didn't play in multiplayer though, that'd have made things a lot harder.
Just beat it today, but I think Champion's Road is the hardest Mario level I've ever played. Easily lost 150+ lives, and I had to use the unlockable character to do it. I love these final stages, just like in SMG2 and SM3DL. So damn rewarding!
Ooooh... good one. The leaf disintegrating, Sunshine's camera, etc. just make it one of the most frustrating levels ever. Doesn't even rank as fun or fair to me.
I had to really use the Tanooki a lot on this level to make it through. Like you, I did it in single player. Not eager to do it again on a no powerup run...that's going to be tough.
tiggerkiddo
Member
One of the latter levels in Lost Levels...I think it had some invisible blocks you HAD to smash to get through but it was a nightmare trying to find them...ugh. Nothing made me burn lives faster than LL. Sunshine was pretty easy to me all things considered.
XANDER CAGE
Member
Fuck Sunshine.
Yeah, this level nearly broke me when I was 13 or whatever. I'd always overshoot.
Champion's Road in Super Mario 3D World.
The majority of the level isn't too bad when compared to other really hard Mario levels like The Perfect Run or S8-Crown in Mario 3D Land, but the ending is the stuff of nightmares. You have to run around a large platform covered in speed boosters so you can't stop with shock waves being shot out robots around it. This wouldn't be too bad except the camera is out to screw you over and you routinely get hit by shock waves from off screen. That part is the only thing stopping me from doing a perfect run with small Mario.
The majority of the level isn't too bad when compared to other really hard Mario levels like The Perfect Run or S8-Crown in Mario 3D Land, but the ending is the stuff of nightmares. You have to run around a large platform covered in speed boosters so you can't stop with shock waves being shot out robots around it. This wouldn't be too bad except the camera is out to screw you over and you routinely get hit by shock waves from off screen. That part is the only thing stopping me from doing a perfect run with small Mario.
I'm not quite there yet, but from everything I've heard it sounds like an insanely difficult level. I'm really looking forward to playing it.
Metaternal
Member
Same here, considering I didn't find The Perfect Run to be that hard.
RobFox64tm
Member
I'm with ya bro.
perfectchaos007
Member
Getting the last star in SMG2 was a headache. It's a long level, with no checkpoints, and one hit you are dead. Took me a couple hours to finally get through it.
edit: it's the perfect run
edit: it's the perfect run
Mr. Poolman
Member
I was going the say Tubular from SMW but after seeing this I'm not sure anymore... that level looks insane!
uncleslappy
nethack is my favorite dark souls clone
I'd like to throw in Luigi's Purple Coins from Galaxy. Once you know the proper route, it becomes much easier, but until then it seems completely impossibrue.
I don't see how the camera ia "out to screw you over" in that part. Its at a 45 degree angle, and you can adjust the camera to make it so you're running forward/upward into the screen, or to the right.
still really hard though. allows very little error in your jumps
Ah yeah, I should have put that into my post as well. Insanely hard level when you first try it. It's a great level because it's one where practice really does make perfect. I remember feeling so accomplished when I beat it!