Best Levels in Gaming History - Volume 23

It's been over four years since we've last seen this special series of posts, so why don't we gently ease it back out of hibernation and its hiatus with an all-new entry? Best Levels in Gaming History certainly is a subjective list that holds some of the most enjoyable, entertaining, and exhilarating video game levels, areas, racetracks, and missions for me within gaming's illustrious history.

We've built quite the collection together of levels, and no doubt you may require a refresher or maybe you would like to fondly stroll down memory lane. Fortunately, you can easily do both with these following 22 (wow!) volumes:

Volume One
Volume Two
Volume Three
Volume Four
Volume Five
Volume Six
Volume Seven
Volume Eight
Volume Nine
Volume Ten
Volume Eleven
Volume Twelve
Volume Thirteen
Volume Fourteen
Volume Fifteen
Volume Sixteen
Volume Seventeen
Volume Eighteen
Volume Nineteen
Volume Twenty
Volume Twenty-One
Volume Twenty-Two

Now, let's begin Volume 23 of Best Levels in Gaming History!

Downsize Surprise - Astro Bot (PS5)

Let's begin with something big... or small... or both, really! Astro Bot was without question my favorite game of the ones I played in 2024, and it reminded me so much of Super Mario Galaxy in how the game constantly brought new, fresh mechanics and ideas into each level it presented players. Much like with Galaxy, it took lots of willpower to stop myself from playing marathon sessions in Astro Bot, as I wanted to play "just one more level" to see what wild and wacky concept Team Asobi would showcase for the next level.

So, we've settled on the fact that for me, Astro Bot is oozing with creativity in its levels, but what is one of the levels that best presents this? Well, me listing the level name above and spoiling that answer notwithstanding, one of the most impressive levels within Astro Bot's story comes within the second major cluster of levels.

Downsize Surprise is unassuming enough at first. Nothing really stands out apart from the massive building in front of Astro. It's only until our hero slams open a block of cheese that he finds himself seemingly stuck within a cage! Curses--a trap! However, a chest inside said cage reveals the solution and the main, crafty mechanic of this stage. Forming mouse ears from the special item in the chest, players can shift into tiny mouse size to pass through the bars of the cage. What is revealed, then, is that players are able to switch between small Astro and regular-size Astro at will. 

This, as you can imagine, opens up incredibly clever level mechanics and creates situations where Astro must switch sizes to pass certain platforming obstacles and challenges. A door to small for regular-sized Astro? Switch to teeny, tiny Astro! If it's a matter of not being able to reach a platform as small Astro, switch to his bigger self! 

The fact that all of this is done seamlessly without any discernible loading is just awe-inducing. How the level is built to take advantage of this mechanic and how said mechanic wouldn't really be possible without major sacrifices on lesser hardware than the PlayStation 5, really makes for an incredibly impressive technical feat of a level. And heck, it's also--like so many other levels in Astro Bot--just a dang pleasure to play through in general!

Piranha Plants on Parade - Super Mario Bros. Wonder (NSW)

I brought up Mario earlier, but rather than speak of the 3D games, we're delving into the most recent 2D entry of Mario, and the one that brought back some much-needed freshness to the franchise. Well, at least that of the 2D Mario games. 

The "Wonder" in Super Mario Bros. Wonder refers to each and almost every level possessing a Wonder Flower that turns the level into quite a trip. Some levels result in an abrupt freefall, another turns Mario and our playable cast of characters into different enemy types, while another transforms pipes from being stagnant and resting to ones that bend and inch along the ground as if they're doing "the worm"!

However, at least early in the game, nothing comes close to the sudden surprise of the second level's Wonder Flower transformation. Piranha Plants on Parade is the name, and it sort of tricks you into thinking with the first Piranha Plant that you see in the level, that that is the stage's gimmick. This Piranha Plant doesn't stay stationary in its pipe. Instead, it pops out and marches along. 

Of course, this isn't actually what the level name references. Upon touching the required Wonder Flower soon after, the real fun begins. Piranha Plants from their various colored combo of pipes pop out and begin singing. Some march, some just peek out to say hello, but they all do so in rhythm to the new song that plays. It's almost a fever dream--seeing this sort of ode to Little Shop of Horrors in the Flower Kingdom happen. All the same, it's a darn enjoyable fever dream!

This transformation sets the scene for Super Mario Bros. Wonder's campaign and essentially tells players, "expect the unexpected" for the rest of the adventure. While future levels and their Wonder effects may surpass the craziness and awesomeness of Piranha Plants on Parade's effect, it's this very level that sets the expectations--or lack thereof--for the entirety of the game, being quite memorable and a fantastic early highlight of Wonder in the process.

Kingdom Valley Act 1 - Sonic X Shadow Generations (Multi)

This next level comes from a recent release from last year: Sonic X Shadow Generations, chiefly the entirely brand-new Shadow Generations portion of the game. Like Sonic Generations, Shadow's half of the game sees the brooding hedgehog play through various levels, old haunts, and highlights from his gaming career. There's the Space Colony Ark from Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes' Rail Canyon, and yes, even a stage from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)--that of Kingdom Valley.

To say 2006's Sonic game was rough around the edges (ow, the edge) would be an understatement and underserving just how much of a radical trainwreck the game was. That said, Shadow Generations takes Sonic 2006's stage representative and much like every other past stage it references in the game, it improves upon it in pretty much every way.

Kingdom Valley (specifically Act 1, which stands as my favorite of the two acts in Shadow Generations) takes much of its references from the original Sonic '06 level, including the eagle that Shadow can cling onto to take him to higher areas, smashing his way through pane glass windows of castle towers, speeding through the water whirlwind tunnel where Sonic's Mach speed section from the 2006 game took place, and also adds new touches, too. One of these is introducing a new Doom Power to Shadow, that of Doom Surf, allowing Shadow to automatically bust out a surfboard made of Doom energy to coast along watery channels and corridors within the level. 

It says a lot about a game with mostly stellar designed stages that one could easily pick any of them to represent Shadow Generations, but for me, my highlight for Shadow the Hedgehog's half of Sonic X Shadow Generations no doubt had to be Kingdom Valley. Proof that you can polish what I considered in 2006 to be a turd into something truly magnificent when enough TLC has been put into it.

The Raging Sea - Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (Multi)

From riding the waves as Shadow the Hedgehog to walking the waves as the Prince, the Raging Sea is one of the most impressive areas within Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown's amazing Metroidvania world. The concept of the area is that it's completely frozen in time, so the Prince can literally run along the top of the water itself. Within the sea is a series of ships, a fleet, frozen solid, where the Prince can enter into the various vessels and explore. Lightning strikes, too, are forever documented as snapshots of the weather phenomenon, but also quite painful to the touch and resulted in frozen fires burning as well.

While the area itself is rather flat, the map reveals itself as essentially one straight horizontal line from left to right, there is a fair amount of variety to be found. The aforementioned ship fleet lends itself to having plenty of places to perform proficient platforming, enemy types are numerous, and secrets abound indeed. The boss fight that takes place at the far right edge of the map also brings the heat and is quite challenging for unprepared players. Hell, even seasoned action-platforming vets may find themselves having to redo this fight multiple times.

All in all, it's not every day that an area or zone from the Metroidvania genre delights and delivers in concept and execution. Nowadays, the genre is a dime a dozen seemingly, but Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown made its case for one of the top titles in the genre last year--and just one of the best games of 2024 as well.

A Trip to Alivel Mall - Kirby and the Forgotten Land (NSW)

Let's shift away from dark, stormy, and brooding with something more cute and cuddly to wrap up this volume of Best Levels in Gaming History. Kirby and the Forgotten Land brought the long-running Nintendo / HAL Laboratory franchise into full 3D, and the experiment was an absolute success. 

One of the early levels of the game remains one of my favorites within the entire campaign--that being A Trip to Alivel Mall. Kirby and Forgotten Land, as the name implies, features Kirby running and jumping through a dilapidated land, once bustling and teeming with life. It's decidedly reminiscent of a world humans left behind, and this concept is no clearer early on in the game than Alivel Mall.

With a quaint and cozy theme, Kirby runs up escalators, enters the food court, and passes by abandoned, shuttered stores in this once-thriving and happening location. Though, it's far from lacking occupants inside, of course, as enemies and caged-up Waddle Dees have taken up residence--the latter against their will. 

It's a setting that we don't see too much in games--that of a mall, sure, but also one that's been virtually abandoned and allowed itself to be eroded by the sands of time. Between solving puzzles on which hall to enter based off of cleverly-hidden signs as hints, and battling the pink puffball's way through the bright and bouncy level, A Trip to Alivel Mall is a standout early stage within Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

BAKERU (NSW, PC) Review

This Sunday evening review closes this weekend out on a positive note. We do love a positive review here, don't we? That said, I shouldn't say any more, as I don't want to entirely spoil why BAKERU is such a good game! Instead, I'll let the actual SuperPhillip Central review do that!

Drumming up some big time fun

Otogi Katsugeki Mameda no Bakeru: Oracle Saitarou no Sainan!! is developer Good-Feel's latest independent game project. For those who might not be familiar with the developer, Good-Feel is best known for its work with Nintendo as a development partner, working on such games as Kirby's Epic Yarn, Wario Land: Shake It!, Yoshi's Woolly World, and most recently, Princess Peach: Showtime!

While those aforementioned games used Nintendo's help and support to make and publish them, Mameda no Bakeru was a self-published game at least in Japan, which begged the question if anyone would pick up the proverbial slack to publish it outside of the Land of the Rising Sun. For someone like myself who loves platformers and feels the gaming world needs more of the 3D variety at any point in time, I eagerly anticipated any news towards a proper localization.

Well, needless to say, the game finally was brought over to the West in due time (specifically, almost a year wait) and in North America by none other than Spike Chunsoft. Now simply titled BAKERU in the West, the game saw its release last year and most recently, a physical Nintendo Switch version two months ago. Was the wait of myself and others (there were more than dozens of us, I'm sure!) really worth it?

A little girl from the Issun Clan named Sun stumbles upon a tanuki boy named Bakeru while being chased by the evil Oracle Saitaro's troops. After being saved by Bakeru, Sun relays information about the Oracle, expressing that Saitaro's scheme of turning all of Japan into a giant dance party is underway. In order to stop this, Sun suggests that together, her and Bakeru should head to and get the aid from various legendary Japanese heroes to thwart Oracle Saitaro's master plan. What follows is a charming, cute, and crazy (in the best ways) adventure that takes Bakeru and Sun all across and over fairytale Japan.

Oracle Saitaro's troops are all over Japan causing a ruckus,
so it's up to Bakeru and Sun to crash their party!

BAKERU is a 3D platformer with lots of heart and lots of drumming, too. Bakeru's main form of attacking is with his two taiko drumsticks, one in his left hand and one in his right, using the left and right bumpers respectively. Both can be used together or alternated to strike enemies or one or both bumpers can be held down to unleash more powerful attacks. The drumsticks aren't just for warding off and beating down foes, either. They're used for drumming on gears and other mechanisms to spin platforms, open doors, and much more. 

Here, Bakeru strikes these gears with his drumsticks in order to move this green platform along its attached rail.

Early on in his journey, Bakeru learns various Henge powers, four to be exact across the adventure. Each one possesses unique abilities and has contextual uses for when they're best used. One allows Bakeru to shrink to fun-size, Sun's size, entering into small alcoves, doors, and passageways that he otherwise wouldn't be able to fit into. Another is an absolute powerhouse of a Henge ability, offering immense strength in exchange for the Henge meter depleting at a super swift pace. The final two Henge powers grant fishing lines that can rapidly attacks foes with light strikes from faraway, while the other allows Bakeru to skate around while firing off pellets from a pair of guns. Switching between forms is as simple as holding down the shoulder button and selecting from the menu with the corresponding face button for the Henge power you want. Returning to normal Bakeru form is easy peasy--a tap of both shoulder buttons at once.

In this Henge form, Bakeru wants his enemies to talk to his hands, because the drum does not understand!

One of the most impressive aspects to me of BAKERU is that the game is constantly throwing new gameplay ideas and mechanics at the player, all the while spreading itself across over 60 levels. There is of course your standard 3D action-platforming where Bakeru runs, jumps, and drums through areas, beating down enemies, evading obstacles, and exploring the relatively lengthy levels for collectibles. More on those in a little bit. However, there are also races, literal dogfights in the air (if only because your vessel is a block-shaped pupper of a dog), and even giant mecha robot boss battles, apart from the typical on-foot-as-Bakeru boss fights. 

These epic mecha robot battles play out similarly to boxing matches--complete with knockout counts!

Each level contains eight collectibles players can opt to find, and these are rather rewarding. Not just because they encourage exploration and are sometimes in some truly tricky spots, but also because they provide information and trivia to the player. Five of these collectibles are Scoop's trivia. Scoop is character, also a member of the Issun clan that when found in levels, provides interesting trivia and imparts his knowledge onto the player. From learning aspects of Japanese geography and culture, to learning the difference between "clouds and fog" or better yet, where farts go (yes, really), Scoop is fountain of fun information. Other than the five "scoops" from Scoop in each level, there are three Souvenirs based on the areas and prefectures of Japan that each level in BAKERU are based off.

Don't worry, Bakeru. That's no piece of poop--that's none other than Scoop!

The platforming stages within BAKERU have a wide amount of variety all in themselves. There are verdant forests, bright beaches, lush gardens, bustling cities, chaotic construction sites, tall mountains, fiery volcanoes, snowy slopes, underwater amusement parks, gigantic bridges, traditional Japanese temples, and so much more within the game to discover and platform through. 

The amount of enemies in BAKERU is impressive, as well, offering lots of unique foes to take on, some requiring skillful dodging, evading, or better yet, timing in order to parry their attacks to leave them wide open to an offensive onslaught of Bakeru's own. No doubt a skill check early on within the game are the enemies dressed in armor and wielding kendo sticks. Trying to take them on as Bakeru with but simple drumstick strikes is a fool's errand. They'll simply block each and every attempt to attack them. And then there's when their eyes light up bright red, ready to make their move, dash forth, and strike Bakeru. These enemies gave me quite a bit of trouble starting off in the game when they were introduced, but as Bakeru learns additional Henge powers, they go down with relative ease as more and more tools and tricks are learned.

Bakeru hasn't exactly gone fishin', but he does "cast" some lines of pain onto these projectile-firing foes!

One of these tools is that of helpful items from the tanuki shopkeeper Uriko, who frequents levels at checkpoints throughout the game. For an amount of gold found readily throughout levels, not only does she sell food that can instantly heal Bakeru when needed, but passive, temporary buffs like increased speed or attack, as well as items that can be saved for a rainy day (or in BAKERU's case, a difficult boss or challenging level) like an item that instantly replenishes Bakeru's Henge energy, or even a shield that guards against any and all attacks for 30 seconds. There are also premium items like crackers in the shape of hearts that permanently boost Bakeru's maximum health. Truly helpful in the long term.

While BAKERU is by no means the most arduous adventure around, it does have some challenging points to it, whether when Bakeru faces more-fiendish boss battles, trickier platforming trials, or even searching for hidden Tanuki disguised as objects in some stages, where only feint occasional movement or a tanuki stamp reveals their locations. That said, it's overall a relatively breezy experience if you're a seasoned gamer, but at the same time, BAKERU as a game is not something you can simply sleepwalk through and expect to easily complete it. Finding all 200+ Scoops, all 150+ Souvenirs, all 20-something hidden Tanuki, and securing all the game's achievements will certainly take some effort. For me, this process to 100% the game took about 20 hours.

In most sections of BAKERU, you'll have fully free 360 degree
camera movement available to you. ...Not exactly here, though.

BAKERU is a gorgeous game, and depending on the platform you play it on, it will be more or less a technically sound experience. While the lesser-powered Nintendo Switch does sometimes simply struggle to hold a steady framerate--this is most apparent in the hot springs level--it does an admirable job of running well. The Steam version is understandably more capable and consistent in performance, seldom showing signs of FPS drops. Both versions I did not encounter much in the way of bugs nor glitches, which really impressed me, as when a game has over 60 levels, I would think something would have to give somewhere. This is thankfully not the case with BAKERU. The game features voice acting, though this is Japanese-only, which works for the game since it's set in Japan and stays authentic. 

Time for some construction destruction, courtesy of Bakeru!

If you're looking for another charming and well-designed game from Good-Feel, well, you certainly have one with BAKERU. The developer once again shows with BAKERU that it doesn't necessarily need Nintendo's supervision in order to create a fantastic game. That's not to discredit either Good-Feel or Nintendo here, of course, as together, they do create some awesome gaming experiences. Between BAKERU's colorful and engaging levels to explore--each based off a Japanese prefecture--a multitude of secrets housed within these said levels, an astonishing amount of gameplay variety, entertaining boss battles, cute and charming humor, and gorgeous graphics, BAKERU marches to the beat of its own drum and is a great, original game for doing so.

[SPC Says: A-]

SUPERPHILLIP PLAYS: This Past Week's Episodes

Hello, Central City! Time for your end-of-week update from yours truly with regard to new videos on my YouTube channel: SuperPhillip Plays!

Monday's episode of our Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds playthrough saw us explore in and around Thieves' Town and Lorule, playing some Rupee Rush and Octoball Derby in the process for some memorable moments! 

Wednesday's episode saw us enter our first Lorule dungeon to rescue our first Sage: the Thieves' Hideout, where we took on an undead familiar foe from A Link to the Past!

Friday's episode featured the Desert Palace and surrounding areas. From sand to swamp, we explored both expansive areas thoroughly before saving our second Sage!

Finally, Thursday and Saturday received the beginning of an on-again/off-again video series, showcasing my dungeon work in Quest Master, a Zelda Maker, so very fitting of our week of videos!

SuperPhillip Central is now on Bluesky!

Happy weekend, everyone! It's with great excitement that I announce that SuperPhillip Central now has its own Bluesky account. Currently, it is its only social media account, but still!

I hope you'll consider following for updates on new posts, reviews, articles, editorials, and even BTS content you might not see otherwise!

SuperPhillip Central on Bluesky