Worst Water Level

[What's His Face]

Water levels. We all know them. Some, like in the Super Mario games, typically range from fairly innocuous to great. Some, like in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (not 3D) are fantastic. Some, like in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time & Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, are infamous - deservedly or not.

But what game has the WORST water level of all time? And what is that level?
I will open with Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge and Storm's levels, which I brought-up recently in another thread. Imagine an underwater maze full of robotic fish, exploding jellyfish, scuba divers, laser machines, valves to raise the water level, metal flood doors that do nothing but inhibit your movement for a moment...and your health is your air supply which is constantly draining unless you're at the waters' surface (which Storm can't fly out of for reasons) or sucking air-bubbles.
Or, watch this video!

So, what's your vote for WORST water level of all time?

 

[Octopus]

I will open with Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge and Storm's levels

Yeah that was some truly atrocious garbage. She also shoots lasers out of her eyes in it? Which is obviously a little strange.

There's the famous NES TMNT level that comes to mind.

 

[Num]

am i the only one befuddle by the fact that water levels are supposedly just a universal thing you talk about with video games

 

[RageBurner]

The 8-bit version of Labyrinth Zone. For all the flak the Mega Drive version gets, the Master System version is even more difficult.

 

[bjork]

Ocarina water temple was enough to make me put the game down once I finally finished the dungeon. So I guess I'll always go back to that.

 

[Korova]

I can think of the level Down the tubes of Earthworm Jim. Especially the "glass submarine" part.

 

[Klonoa7]

The water levels in Tomb Raider 2 were atrocious. I liked the game but holy hell.

 

[SoulSlappy]

It might be my personal favourite game, but I'll never understand why Mother 3, of all games, decided to have a water level. It's the worst kind, too: Your air meter drains so fast its basically assured you'll have to repeat the same areas over and over to learn the proper route towards the 'oxygen machines' (who's animations are funny the first couple times but incredibly tedious after it wares off...). Couple that with sluggish control that lack any sort of animation (seriously, you and your party just bob up and down like it's a placeholder for something else) and enemy encounters that only serve to disorient or waste your time and you've got a real slog of a level to get through. I've seen multiple players drop the game at this point, which is a real shame, because one of the game's very best moments comes right after!

 

[ciro64]

Banjo Tooie's Jolly Roger's Lagoon is pretty but is also kind of a slog to navigate through

I wouldn't call it the worst though, to be fair I haven't played enough games with a truly bad water level

 

[RageBurner]

Another pick, though pretty subdued is Pulseman. There's not a whole lot of water in the game, but Pulseman gets depowered by it, which makes it very bad.

 

[ExeExe]

Does all the water in Hoenn count? Seriously, the only reason to like the newer pokemon games, is the fact they got rid of HMs.

Other than that, going to have to give another vote for Tomb Raider 2, screw the Maria Doria for all it's worth. Which is a bit surprising, considering that was a generation where I felt that water levels didn't all have to suck, at least on the playstation side; the ones in crash and spyro were good, even.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

am i the only one befuddle by the fact that water levels are supposedly just a universal thing you talk about with video games

Kinda like sewer levels... for some reason.

It's like... come on, guys! Imagination is truly the limit. Why are you all literally going to the gutter? XD

 

[RageBurner]

Well, sewers have water, so there's some overlap? haha.

 

[Ikagura]

Well, sewers have water, so there's some overlap? haha.

Gmanlives is happy haha!

I cannot tell if it counts since it has no water controls but Seabed (Upper and Lower level) from Phantasy Star Online's second episode is just tedious for many reasons (between invisible robots that could freeze you, charging monsters, annoying squids that lock you in, creatures that cast an insta kill technique or even the morphos with their lasers) makes it even more annoying than Subterranean Desert from Episode 4...

 

[MasterEn]

practically every water level and anything adjacent to it [snow/ice/sewer] sucks. the only good part is usually the music.
there is onloy one good water lever ever in any game.
Aquas from Star Fox 64.

 

[fake-kun]

practically every water level and anything adjacent to it [snow/ice/sewer] sucks. the only good part is usually the music.
there is onloy one good water lever ever in any game.
Aquas from Star Fox 64.

Not sure if you're joking or being serious.

 

[Ikagura]

Aquas from Star Fox 64.

On the real hardware it lags but this is a good one yeah.

 

[JamminJelly009]

I will forever be traumatized by the water section of MGS2 when you had to swim with Emma on your back through the flooded corridors of the plant. My young brain just couldn't grasp the concept of swimming in a 3D space with inverted controls with a fixed game camera.

 

[Stingy Perry]

That water level on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 on NES.

 

[MasterEn]

Not sure if you're joking or being serious.

On the real hardware it lags but this is a good one yeah.

it's basically the other levels in the game, just with a water theme.
there's no oxygen meter, no ammo limit, you move forward at a steady pace, slow down only occurs once; when the rocks start falling from above near the end of the valley section if i remember correctly. the boss is interesting, a giant clam with an eye inside of it. you don't accidently shoot your wingmen.
pretty solid compared to water temples in zelda, swimming in ape escape, mario, all water hazards in pikmin and so on.

 

[Ikagura]

it's basically the other levels in the game, just with a water theme.
there's no oxygen meter, no ammo limit, you move forward at a steady pace, slow down only occurs once; when the rocks start falling from above near the end of the valley section if i remember correctly. the boss is interesting, a giant clam with an eye inside of it. you don't accidently shoot your wingmen.
pretty solid compared to water temples in zelda, swimming in ape escape, mario, all water hazards in pikmin and so on.

So isn't it a bit cheating?

Phendrana Drift is a good ice level but has barely any ice physics.

 

[RanmyakuIchi's iconRanmyakuIchi]

Do sewer levels that involve heavy water traversal count? If so, than the third level from Star Wars Dark Forces, Anoat City.

You have to navigate a maze of sewage in complete darkness, raising the water level just right to progress while being hounded by countless monsters hiding in the water. The level design is beyond confusing for a first timer going in blind after the more straightforward levels preceding it, and god help you if you run out of battery power for your night vision/headlamp.

 

[fake-kun]

So isn't it a bit cheating?

Phendrana Drift is a good ice level but has barely any ice physics.

I don't think an ice level needs ice physics to qualify.

 

[MasterEn]

So isn't it a bit cheating?

Phendrana Drift is a good ice level but has barely any ice physics.

it would depend primarily on what you mean by cheating. in other games, you are on foot, so you have to deal with drawbacks like oxygen, shorter vision, delayed physics and other things.
star fox 64 is a rail shooter with 2 primary level layouts, straight forward flying and all range mode. it also brings over some arcade like mechanics like the hi-score table and a few secret paths to go through for variety. there is an on foot mode, but its only in the multiplayer mode. there might not have been enough time or resources to implement a more traditional like water level. it might have been interesting to see what that would have been like.
metroid prime is a good game, it knows not to include bullshit in a game where you run around jumping and shooting at crazy alien life forms. it can do stuff in other categories to induce rage.

Post automatically merged: Feb 8, 2025

I don't think an ice level needs ice physics to qualify.

the good ice and snow levels don't need them, like in paper mario and ace attorney.
ice physics are bull shit especially in mario 64 and mega man x6.

 

[Viviana Santos]

The Great Bay Temple from Majora's Mask is just as bad as the Water Temple from Ocarina of Time, and I think it's even worse because Majora's has a time limit.