Favourite Level Types

We all know of the level tropes in platform games - grass world, ice world, desert world, water world and so on. Which is your favourite type, and why?

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Desert worlds are usually my favourites. The sun in Super Mario Bros. 3 and the joy of Yoshi swallowing Pokeys made this happen. To you!

Not so much a favourite level as much as a least, I hate ice levels in almost every game ever. Pokemon's stupid ice pzzles have been done to death, the stupid slippery floor is a nightmare and in platformers the platforming often suffers for it.

Overall though there isn't a standout best type, it varies from game to game.

Fire levels, because pretty colours overload!   Honestly this is something I wish I'd see more in games made by western developers, more colourful and out there levels like fire levels. I love it when I have a level set inside a volcano, nice hazards and gameplay options and it looks mighty nice to boot.

Balladeer's Level Type Review: Desert

Aesthetics: Not all that if I'm honest.  Occasionally you'll get some nicely coloured cacti, or a flash of Mayan red, but it's mostly dusty brown. 2/10
Music: Brilliant!  If it's not sitars and Egyptian chords, it's Mexican guitar (see Gerudo Desert).  Often a real highlight.  9/10
Level furniture: Pyramids and sphinxes are staples, but the occasional "ethnic" statue (often with multiple arms, Hindu deity-like) is good too.  And then there are annoying sandy expanses with no landmarks whatsoever.  Highly variable.  6/10
Enemies: I always feel that more could be done with this.  We get the mummies and the scorpions and the sentient cacti and the odd snake, but where are the fennec foxes or the frilled lizards?  Sand golem-type things are highlights when they appear.  5/10
Gameplay: Urgh no.  It's either avoiding insta-suck-you-under quicksand, or trudging through slowly-suck-you-under quicksand.  Did you know that quicksand won't actually suck you under?  It'll just leave you stuck until you die of dehydration.  2/10

Overall: 3/10  Not my favourite level archetype, but the music's usually good.

As to what is my favourite, as Andyman says it varies a lot from game to game.  I genuinely enjoy space and sky-themed levels, and dislike desert, ice, fire and water for varying reasons, but my favourites often don't fit into any real theme.  NSMBU had a level that took place on a giant beanstalk which I really enjoyed, for example: is that "green", "sky", or somewhere in between?

Spirit.

Thinking about this... I actually like the grass levels. Because that's the designated "normal" world, there aren't so many gimmicks in the way.


(No, NOT because they're traditionally easy)

I think it might be ice, mainly due to how pretty they are, some of my besy memories of games always seem to be the ice ones.

Could it be...? Yes! It's another...

Balladeer's Level Type Review: Space

Aesthetics: Pretty great. Games nowadays don't restrict themselves to black space and white stars: it's nebulae, alien planets, futuristic cities and all sorts. 8/10
Music: Space: The Final Epic Music Frontier. 10/10
Level furniture: Usually, not much. The odd crater, maybe a space base; but mostly it's dodging falling stars and barren but atmospheric landscapes. Level furniture isn't the point of the space world. 3/10
Enemies: Robots tend to populate these, with the occasional weird alien.  The weirder the better, but not usually a game highlight. 4/10
Gameplay: Apart from the slow hovery levels (looking at you, SML2), pretty good. These levels often take place towards the endgame, so it's challenging enemies/jumps/obstacles, and the occasional spaceship or robot to pilot. 7/10

Overall: 8/10  This may be unfair, due to the masterful job the Mario Galaxies did, but even taking them aside and looking at Kirby's Epic Yarn, Paper Mario: TTYD's X-Naut base or SML2's STAR MAZE, space levels are usually able to make me smile.

Never liked water worlds - swimming is usually the worst part of many games, and a world centered around it is a bad idea.

Agreed, but Jolly Roger Bay's music goes a long way towards redeeming it in my eyes.

Water worlds stink, as far as I'm concerned, particularly ones where oxygen is an issue. *looks SEGA-wards* Even when it's not, I feel it breaks up the flow (no!) of most games that have one. Having said that, the Mario levels where the platforms rise and fall and there's a massive Cheep Cheep chasing you in the water are good fun.

I say water worlds in anything besides the Galaxy games need to be incinerated!

Wait, that's not really the best term for this subject. Frozen, that's it! They need to be completely frozen over and all turned in to Ice themed levels!

Yes. Water worlds where a restrictive control scheme is thrust upon the player along with additional conditions to be met, ie "GET OXYGEN BEFORE YOU DIE" are hateful.

Super Mario World, 64 and Galaxy got the swimming right. Mario 1, 3 and Sunshine were a bit bleh.

Sonic was a damn nightmare. " *5* Ooh an air bubble, I'll *4* just stand over it, cos an air bubble *3* is sure to appear... Right? *2* Um. Hello. Perhaps I should look for *1* another *runs off* there's gotta be one over here *previous air bubble shoots out life giving bubble* OH WHAT THE HELL *DIES*"

Just two examples, though.

I tend to dislike lava-y ones, the one hit insta-kill thing for a burnt arse is an annoyance - Mario 64 had the right idea.

Anyway  that's my two-penneth.

I like the Ice / Snow levels. Simple as that