The best part, when you reach the end, you get a heartwarming “thank you” message for your dedication.Ĥ. Like the part where you take control of a Podoboo and have to jump from lava pool to lava pool while trying to avoid getting hit b spiked balls, or the bit where you’re a Pokio and have to fling yourself from one platform to the next with your nose or who could ever forget the lead up to the finale where you control Bowser himself and go on a rampage, crashing through everything in your path. It’s a 10-minute long marathon that not only throws traditionally fun platforming challenges at you, but also is a sampling of all the best mechanics that are unique to Mario Odyssey. Darker Side - Super Mario OdysseyDarker Side of the Moon is not just the hardest level of Super Mario Odyssey, it’s a celebration of the game itself. Its clever architecture, attention to detail, and sheer personality makes Bianco Hills a wonderful summation of everything that made Mario Sunshine such a brave and delightful adventure. What's more, its topography changes from episode to episode as different structures, paint splats, and enemies re-shape the village. There's a town side and a lakeside, ground areas, water, and aerial bouncing wires that allow you to just climb and climb and climb.
This believable, pleasant little Pianta town invites the player to test out their new FLUDD capabilities throughout its multiple layers. Bianco Hills is easily the most iconic of these, especially as it’s the first level you visit. Bianco Hills - Super Mario SunshineSuper Mario Sunshine, unlike so many other Mario games, made a daring choice with its setting: a tropical island divided into individually themed biomes, all centered around a relaxing vacation gone wrong.
It has the same precise and satisfying Mario gameplay, but in a creative new package that can make even the most veteran players crack a smile. What's great about Giant Land, though, is the strength of all great Mario levels: it offers a perfect combination of surprise and delight. The first time you play this level, you probably had no idea the game could even do this. You're still regular-sized Mario, but the world you've entered is shockingly huge. In this level, the enemies, blocks, pipes, and clouds are just enormous, about four times bigger than usual. Perhaps the biggest surprise (pun intended) occurs the moment you enter world 4-1.
3 are full of clever ideas and fun surprises. You’d be hard pressed to find a better introduction to a final boss’s secret lair. Though somewhat short, its vast hordes of underwater Boos that literally fill the screen make for a lasting impact, as does the subtle storytelling of falling down a seemingly bottomless void with no traditional goalpost in sight to raise the gaping jaws of a giant stone bowser up from the depths. 3’s airships - which have been noticeably absent in this world. Sitting isolated in the waters at the center of Dinosaur Island, the stage combines the foreboding atmosphere of Super Mario World’s ghost houses with clever references to Super Mario Bros. Sunken Ghost Ship - Super Mario WorldAnother from Super Mario World, the Sunken Ghost Ship is no normal level by any means.
There are more complex levels in Super Mario World, for sure, but Donut Plains One is a shining example of a game teaching you its own rules and how to break them. Mix this with the catchy steel drums and tuba soundtrack, secret exits, and bonus block puzzles and you've got a template for not only the rest of Super Mario World, but a great evolution of the structure of a Mario level.
Grabbing that first feather and realizing that the cape would let you FLY was nothing short of revelatory, and turned everything we thought we knew about Mario on its ear. Donut Plains 1 - Super Mario WorldWhen we think of the Mario franchise, the first thing that comes to mind is Donut Plains 1. It feels like the “next big thing" for Mario, and while it’s true that games like Sunshine, Odyssey, and even 64 have been described as open-world, this is on a whole new level. One part new school, 3D exploration-based Mario adventure, and one part old school Mario platforming charm dropped onto one giant map where you seamlessly migrate between levels and challenges.