Note that my top 5 Overworlds are down below the top 10 levels. First, let's start off with my many Honorable Mentions. Note that some of these I don't know the actual names: Hot Top Volcano (with hovercraft) - Diddy Kong Racing, Snow Level - Metroid Prime, Level in the City's Ruins - Medal of Honor, Chicago - Perfect Dark, Cradle - Goldeneye, We've Got Hostiles - Half-Life, Wario's Stadium - Mariokart 64, Rainbow Road - Mariokart 64, DK's Jungle - Mariokart 64, Double Deck - Mariokart 64, Block Fort - Mariokart 64, Ord Metal Junkyard - Shadows of the Empire, Ando Prime - Star Wars: Episode I Podracer, The Loop - NBA Street, Level 1-1 - Super Mario Bros., Casino - Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Treasure Trove Cove - Banjo Kazooie, Freezeezy Peak - Banjo Kazooie, Bob-omb Battlefield - Super Mario 64, Cool, Cool Mountain - Super Mario 64, Kalamari Desert - Mariokart 64, Notre Dame - Timesplitters 2, The Water Temple - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (and all the other temples), Tree level - Kirby's Dreamworld, New York City - Spiderman 2, Overworld - Zelda: Windwaker, South America - Little Big Planet, Normandy - Call of Duty: World at War, The Dam - Goldeneye and Timesplitters 2, Robot Factory - Timesplitters 2, Caverns - Goldeneye, Chicago 1920s(?) - Timesplitters 2, Atom Smasher - Timesplitters 2, Overworld - Super Mario Sunshine
Top 10 Levels:
10. Battle of Hoth - Rogue Squadron
9. Dragon Cove - 1080 Snowboarding
8. Canada - Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3
7. Mexican Mission - Timesplitters 2
6. Hazy Maze Cave - Super Mario 64
5. The Silent Cartographer - Halo: Combat Evolved
4. The Second Island of Liberty City - Grand Theft Auto III
3. Garibaldi - SSX Tricky
2. Click Clock Wood - Banjo Kazooie
1. Facility - Goldeneye
Top 5 Overworlds:
5. Diddy Kong Racing 64
4. Grand Theft Auto 3
3. Banjo Kazooie
2. Super Mario 64
1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
One day I almost want to put together a list like your honorable mentions of all the levels I love, but I could never make it into a ranked list. It'd be too hard. And I would have hundreds and hundreds of levels. Good to see Facility getting some love. It's pretty obvious that I have fondness for and we've both played all of the levels on your list together endlessly.
ReplyDeleteOverworlds...I'm going to guess you included this since we were talking about our love of overworlds yesterday. Obviously all of these are great (a little surprised to see Mario beating out Banjo-Kazooie, but I'll keep my mouth shut...perhaps someone really did love that endless stair-climb a little too much). I feel like there are lots of other great overworlds too, but I can't think of them. Give me some time here. I have never played SSX 3, but I heard that has an overworld which is one huge mountain that you snowboard down--interesting idea that I'm sure you know more about. I wonder if we can consider GTA III's Liberty City (or Vice City or any of the other GTA locales) an overworld, since that is all the game is (part of the reason why it was so brilliant...fuck, I need to start a new file--the missions I'm on in both Vice City and GTA III are absolute bitches to beat, I will show you sometime).
Basically I'm a sucker for almost all game levels. I think me and you love levels specifically because we always had big imaginations growing up, and we like the idea of being lost in another world (hence the fascination with the guy who lives in virtual reality in Psi-Ops, which also had some notable levels). I always loved that aspect of video games growing up: the idea of being lost in an alternate reality. Platformers all have great levels, because even as they fulfill stereotypes and cliches, they have some sort of elemental appeal to them that makes them so easy to get lost in. Love levels!
Let me give some shout-outs to a couple Shadows of the Empire levels (although the one Daniel listed, where you jump train to train, is certainly the most iconic): Gall Spaceport (the biggest level in the game, I'm always a sucker for pure size), the sewer level, the swoop bike level with a sarlacc, and finally Xizor's Palace.
ReplyDeleteAs another tribute to levels, you have to see Inception. That movie was made for this type of talk.
ReplyDeleteYou saw it already? You always see movies fast in the theaters.
ReplyDeleteRie and I were home with nothing to do on Sunday. These things are appealing.
ReplyDeleteOne day I will see it.
ReplyDeleteAlso note that even though Mario's overworld was higher than Banjo (come on, it's the gigantic castle and surrounding area, it's huge!), Banjo's levels were far more poignant in my mind.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, "poignant." And yes, I would imagine all would agree with you. Mario was great, but Banjo's levels were completely epic. I was sad to see no mention of the "Titanic" level on here. Too challenging, eh?
ReplyDeleteRusty Bucket Bay? Yeah, a great level, but very painful if you were trying to get all 100 notes. Those few by the propellers in the bowels of the ship, good LORD.
ReplyDeleteThat was perhaps the only level where I didn't get all 100 notes I think. I'm sure I could do it now (overconfidence much?), but yeah, it was obscenely difficult back then from my memory. Epic level. I loved it, and it was perhaps the one I remembered most from the game.
ReplyDelete