Best Levels in Gaming History - Volume 22

Spring has sprung, and with it a new season featuring more of the Best Levels in Gaming History! We've reached the 22nd volume (wow!), and there's no signs of stopping. Whether they be actual levels, missions, maps, or even this time around, golf courses, these sectioned-off portions of games are some of the greatest ever. We've got a packed list of franchises represented this time around--we start with Spider-Man, move on to Sackboy, Crash Bandicoot, and Yooka-Laylee for some platforming fun, and end things by checking in on our backswing with some Mario Golf. 

If you have some time to spare or are simply yearning for more great gaming levels, then no look further than every installment of Best Levels in Gaming History right here with these convenient links:

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

Hold onto your web-shooters - Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (PS5, PS4)

Our opening Best Level in Gaming History is also the adrenaline-pumping opening to Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, "Hold onto your web-shooters". After the events of the original Spider-Man game from Insomniac, Miles Morales has taken on the mantle as a second Spider-Man and has the original Spider-Man as his mentor. The two are entangled in a mission to oversee the transport of a convoy of R.A.F.T. prisoners who had escaped in the previous game. A helicopter malfunction results in a crash and the escape of several prisoners, including one rambunctious member of Spidey's rogue's gallery, Rhino.

While Spidey takes on Rhino, Miles focuses on the brawn that are the more manageable prisoners. Here, players learn the ins and outs of the most basic of combat: punches, kicks, web-shooting, evading attacks--that sort of thing. After two mobs of enemies, with the second batch having long-range weaponry in the form of guns, Spider-Man wrestles with Rhino, as the latter charges through the city, with Miles pursuing. 

Eventually, the three make it into a mall, where Miles takes over the Rhino-riding duties, weaving through stores, displays, and avoiding taking damage. The fun goes from the top floor straight to the bottom floor, and the rampage continues, even blasting through J. Jonah Jameson's Christmas-themed podcast set, much to Jonah's dismay and utter rage. 

The chase continues through the city streets, causing much more unintended collateral damage, but it ends when Rhino smashes himself, with Spidey and Miles in tow, into a flammable tank, which explodes upon impact. After Miles takes care of some crowd control of the escaped prisoner kind, Spidey #1 finds himself on the receiving end of Rhino's offense, leaving him unable to move. It's Miles' turn to shine, armed with an unknown and mysterious new electrical power that courses through his body, Venom Power, Miles does battle with Rhino, ultimately defeating him.

Between the amazing set pieces on display, whether it's the carnage on the streets or the rampage through the mall, the intense action, great and amusing dialogue, or how seamlessly everything happens (whether on PS4 or PS5), the opening mission in Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales starts the game on an insanely impressive note. And the entertaining ride only gets more enjoyable from there.

Flossed in Space - Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PS5, PS4)

Let's move on from one PlayStation Studios game to another, this time with Sackboy: A Big Adventure, a game that was runner-up on SPC's Games of 2020 list. For good reason, too, as the Sackboy's Super Mario 3D World-like platforming adventure was a masterclass of wonderful design, enjoyable and accessible platforming, and abundant imagination. So many of the levels could be selected from the game and represented for this type of article series, but if you've played Sackboy: A Big Adventure, then you probably already know what level type is most worthwhile.

This obvious pick is any one of the music levels featured in the game. These levels take a licensed track from popular music, such as Britney Spears' Toxic or Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk, and almost seamlessly syncs the running and jumping action on screen with the music. It's similar to Rayman Legends' lovely music levels, though these in Sackboy are not levels you just run like there's no tomorrow. No, in Sackboy, you play these levels at your own pace. 

Really, any of the five or so music levels featured in Sackboy: A Big Adventure could easily be selected for this volume of Best Levels in Gaming History, but I'll pick my personal favorite, featuring Foster the People's Houdini. The level Flossed in Space, an obvious but still clever riff off of Lost in Space, features a copious amount of portals that warp Sackboy to and from destinations, moving platforms, and a stupendous intergalactic space theme that is all complemented beautifully by the backing music. Part of my love for this level stems from the actual song, which is quite the bop, and another part is just how well executed the transitions between portions of the song are. It's an overall incredibly fun, sensationally original level that oozes with personality, much like the overall adventure of Sackboy itself.

Off Beat - Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (Multi)

On the subject of 3D platformers, let's turn our focus to a much more difficult game. While I didn't necessarily love Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time for several reasons--as you can read in my review--there is no question or hint of denial on my end that a multitude of levels within the game are abundantly packed with creativity and genius. My pick for my favorite level within Crash 4 comes from the New Orleans-inspired music level Off Beat.

Off Beat starts out innocently enough with a vertical climb of boxes and platforms to the rooftops, and this is where the real fun begins. Complete with rising and lowering block platforms with mischievous faces painted on them, ghosts that bugle out and drop painful-to-the-touch notes from their trumpets, helpful bipedal cannons that assist Crash by blasting him across the city skyline with ease, and even a parade featuring familiar Crash characters and even a Spyro the Dragon appearance, Off Beat is a level that is hardly one-note. It's fun to run through, features limited "gotcha" moments that I felt plagued this game throughout its adventure, and is just jam-packed with creativity.

Cliffside Quest - Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (Multi)

From 3D platforming to 2.5D platforming, we turn to the wildly charming, clever, and well executed Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair from Playtonic Games. While Yooka-Laylee was a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie that didn't quite stick the landing, with Impossible Lair, Playtonic successfully nailed its take on the Donkey Kong Country-style with some insanely ingenious additions as well.

The levels in Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair are pretty much all wonderfully well done, but nearly all of them are somewhat linear affairs. That's what makes the Cliffside Quest level so unique in Impossible Lair. The premise is simple: Yooka and Laylee are greeted with a statue of villain Capital B., and inside a protected shield is a bee, essentially the "goal" of the level. However, in a "so close, yet so far" type of scenario, Yooka and Laylee need to track down six gems that are scattered on all corners of this nonlinear level in order to unlock the shield and complete the level.

Whether in its springtime version or its frozen variant, Cliffside Quest has myriad platforming challenges to take on, and most of these are relegated to specific rooms and chambers. There are climbing challenges, where Yooka and Laylee must avoid killer lasers as they climb, there are enemy gauntlets, swimming situations, and much more to track down all six gems to satisfy the conditions of clearing the level. It's a scavenger hunt of sorts, and one that is enjoyable in either variant of this atypical, untraditional level in Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair.

Mario's Star - Mario Golf (N64), Mario Golf: World Tour (3DS)

We wrap up this 22nd volume of Best Levels in Gaming History with a first. Yes, in the 21 previous installments of Best Levels in Gaming History, we've never seen a golf course ever represented. Time to give the game of golf its proper due with some representation, and why not with Mario Golf: Super Rush for the Nintendo Switch fast approaching!

One of the most creatively designed courses in Mario Golf history comes from the very first Mario Golf for the Nintendo 64. Mario's Star is the ultimate course in that game, and what makes it so creative in its design is how each hole is essentially art of famous Mario characters and enemies comprised of things like bunkers, water hazards, rock, fairways, greens, and more. As you can see in the attached photos, the noble and honorable Princess Peach gets immortalized in this course with a striking portrait (and one hard hole of golf, might I add!).

It's more than a gimmick, though, which is much appreciated. The designs lend themselves well to a challenging round of golf, but one that is ultimately fair in its difficulty. Mario's Star would reappear as one of the six downloadable courses in Mario Golf: World Tour for the Nintendo 3DS. In fact, every course in the aforementioned DLC are courses from Mario Golf for the N64 that have been remixed, remade, and mostly renamed for World Tour.

Best Levels in Gaming History - Volume 21

With Halloween fast approaching, SuperPhillip Central scares up five more excellently crafted video game levels. Not strictly limited to the traditional definition of the word "level", Best Levels in Gaming History delves into the best areas, tracks, and segments of some of the best and occasionally the lesser talked about games in our hobby and industry. This time we're looking at a lot of remakes this go around, but truth be told, many of these levels have never looked (or played) better. On this edition, we have games like Resident Evil 2, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, and Paper Mario: The Origami King, to name just a few.

If you want to set aside some time to check out past installments of Best Levels in Gaming History, look no further than these links:

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

The R.P.D. - Resident Evil 2 (PS4, XB1, PC)

What better way to start off a Best Levels in Gaming History article in October than with one of the most masterful sections in any Resident Evil game? It's the starting area of the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2, the Raccoon City Police Department, or R.P.D. for short. The area is a three-floor building that is otherwise simple enough in its layout, but locked doors requiring playing card suit-themed keys and puzzles needing solving make for a labyrinthine hellscape for players. It's one that's literally crawling with all manner of grotesque creatures, notably the undead kind. 

But, there's one specific monstrosity that makes the creepy corridors and rooms of the R.P.D. especially spooky. Mr. X is a bioweapon, a Tyrant whose strong footsteps signal his eventual approach. Essentially indestructible and particularly dangerous, Mr. X stalks his prey with ruthless efficiency. When those footsteps are heard, the hairs on one's neck are sure to stand up, because Mr. X's arrival means certain trouble at best and certain doom at worst. Attempting to make progress in the R.P.D., whether it be reaching a certain room, or solving a specific puzzle, can be a nightmare with Mr. X breathing down your neck. It makes an intense area of the game even more so, and makes the R.P.D. in the Resident Evil 2 remake an especially strong start for the game. 

The R.P.D. nails its atmosphere with incredibly claustrophobic environments, dark and dreary halls that can only be illuminated by either the "dead" of night or the player's flashlight. Rounding a corner or opening a door to another room is always a frightful experience due to the risk of a zombie or other undead creature being on the other side. In harder difficulties, the fear is very real with said undead being able to tear into your flesh and kill you with ease. The R.P.D. is a puzzle-filled, undead-infested hell of a first impression for Resident Evil 2 players that is a pleasure to explore and even better if you survive it!

School - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 (PS4, XB1, PC)

Of the levels and skate parks in the recently released remake of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and Pro Skater 2, one of my favorites of the bunch would have to be the School level of the first game. Wide open and ready for skating class to be back in session, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1's School is pumped and primed with opportunities to make insane combos and ample amounts of areas to skate around in and score big. 

There's the starting section where one can skate down the awning, the rooftop of the gymnasium, the bridges that cross the canals, and the two large and empty pools perfect for long grinds or high-stakes vert tricks, School allows for so many possibilities to pull off insane tricks and scores alike. 

The various goals in School are rather enjoyable to shoot for as well, from wallriding school bells and grinding tables, to trekking down the awning to nab the Secret Tape or comb the level for the almighty S-K-A-T-E letters. The School level as part of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 makes for a well done introduction to more wide open levels in the game, far more than the opening Warehouse level, which is an already awesome level by itself.

Shogun Studios - Paper Mario: The Origami King (NSW)

We now "flip" over to Paper Mario: The Origami King, the latest game in the series. Shogun Studios is a Japanese-style amusement park home to numerous intriguing points of interest. When Mario initially stumbles upon the theme park, he finds it overrun with King Olly's origami goons. Through acquiring the Master Key, he's able to enter the theatre where the boss Rubber Band has forced an audience of Toads to watch his various performances. 

Shogun Studios overflows with passageways, buildings, and secrets to uncover. The attractions inside offer a great amount of longevity even after Rubber Band has been bounced out of the theme park. There's an engaging shuriken-throwing mini-game available, where Mario uses his Hammer to strike shuriken launchers to chuck them into various numbered point targets. There is also a ninja house where the goal is to find as many--if not all of the--hidden ninja located all over the grounds of the attraction. 

The boss segment of Shogun Studios itself is just as entertaining as exploring the amusement park. Before battling Rubber Band, Mario must play in various performance scenarios on each of the three preceding floors of the Big Sho' Theatre. One involves a spaghetti Western where Mario must engage in a shootout-style duel against a trio of paper mache enemies. Another involves dodging dancing paper mache Shy Guys. The final floor features the battle against Rubber Band itself, the culprit behind all of the Shogun Studios shenanigans. Between the fun attractions of the amusement park and the culminating final showdown with Rubber Band, Shogun Studios is one of Paper Mario: The Origami King's strongest sections in a game full of amazing areas.

Cloud Temples - Spyro Reignited Trilogy (PS4, XB1, NSW, PC)

Let's continue with the oriental motif with a level from Spyro Reignited Trilogy, specifically from Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage. It's Cloud Temples, set atop mountains to make for one super majestic and ultra impressive level. Here, a clash between wizards and warlocks takes place, and it's up to Spyro to lend the wizards that call these temples their home some much needed help. 

Apart from the breathtaking views, elaborate architecture, and dazzling heights that Cloud Temples contains, there are a trio of enjoyable objectives to complete in order to acquire orbs. The most general of goals is to make it from the start of the level, outside the temple gates, to the inside where the finish is, defeating warlocks and charging rams along the way. Then, there's an objective where Spyro must defeat enough enemies to activate the Superfreeze power, enabling him to freeze foes to serve as platforms to reach Cloud Temples' bells in order to ring them. Finally, Spyro needs to closely follow the lovable but decidedly dimwitted Agent Zero to his secret hideout without being noticed. 

From the gorgeous views and fun platforming that the level possesses, to the engaging tasks that are asked of Spyro to complete, Cloud Temples is one of the highlights of the excellent Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage as seen--and as are part of--the even more excellent Spyro Reignted Trilogy.

Cortex Castle - Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled (PS4, XB1, NSW)

We just can't seem to get away from remakes apart from Paper Mario: The Origami King on this edition of Best Levels of Gaming History, can we? That's okay, though, when these levels are so stellar, does it really matter? Cortex Castle is one of the trickiest, most technical courses in Crash Team Racing and its remake Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled. That's due to the fact that the track features myriad sharp corners that serve as the castle's turns. 

From racing on the upper ramparts of Cortex's castle to blasting through the super-tricky turns inside Cortex's courtyard, this track isn't for the feint of heart. The shortcut in the tower section of the track requires precise timing to make a timely leap from an incline, over a chasm, and onto the wooden ramp bypassing an otherwise windy and lengthy path up the tower. 

The final stretch sees a massive, "N. Sane" jump off of a boost ramp from a tower above, all the way to the last section of track, two turns that are home to two bothersome spiders that can spin a costly web to steal some seconds from your lap time. Cortex Castle, like Mario Kart 64's Bowser Castle, is one of my favorite tracks from this era of kart racer--part by virtue of being a castle gauntlet course, and part because it's immensely challenging to master. The visual and graphical renovations only make Cortex Castle an even more impressive sight to behold and track to race on.

Best Levels in Gaming History - Volume Twenty

Best Levels in Gaming History, like SuperPhillip Central, took a bit of a hiatus, but now it's back for a historic volume number twenty! This time around this long-running segment of SuperPhillip Central returns with some blockbuster games like God of War, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and more.

Take a look at all 19 past entries of Best Levels in Gaming History with these helpful links:

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

Lake of Nine - God of War (PS4)

SuperPhillip Central's Game of 2018, God of War features some truly impressive level design (well, technically, area design), but nothing most fascinated and impressed me than the area positioned right smack dab in the middle of the game's map, the Lake of Nine.

Other than the tremendous scope of the Lake of Nine--which to itself is a monumental and mind-blowing feat--the aspect of this aquatic area that I love the most is how it evolves over the course of Kratos and Atreus's adventure. This is seen as the water level drops more and more throughout the game, revealing not only new locations to explore on the lake, but also new entrances to previously accessed areas.

The Lake of Nine itself is littered with appealing points of interest, places to scour for treasure, areas to uncover and complete side quests, and so much more. Just how astonishingly expansive the Lake of Nine grows from its already amazing size and scope when Kratos and Atreus first arrive at the location to the end of the game makes for superb execution of smart, well planned out level design. That makes the Lake of Nine a tremendous location in one of the best games of this generation of gaming platforms.

Hyrule Castle - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (NSW, Wii U)

Going from SuperPhillip Central's Game of 2018 to SuperPhillip Central's Game of 2017, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has too much greatness in it to mention just one section of the game, but if I had to choose my personal favorite, it would have to be infiltrating Hyrule Castle in order to defeat Calamity Ganon.

Hyrule Castle can famously be visited at any point in Link's adventure--even after getting off the tutorial area of Breath of the Wild, the Great Plateau. Of course, reaching the throne room where Calamity Ganon resides is considerably no easy task, much more even surviving the several boss battles foolhardy players would encounter if they went directly to Hyrule Castle. Nonetheless, it is very much possible (though incredibly difficult) to beat the game as soon as Link exits the Great Plateau.

And that's what makes The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild so great--the freedom of the game. Much like the overall structure of Breath of the Wild, Hyrule Castle is completely open to explore, and you can reach the throne room a myriad of ways--whether it's meandering around the perimeter, around the outside and indoors of the castle, to simply calling upon Revali's Gale a couple of times to reach the castle's top and do battle with Calamity Ganon immediately. The tense music only further drives home how absolutely dire the situation at the castle is and how much is at stake.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's Hyrule Castle is a complex and sensational final destination for players, and the many ways one can go about taking it on is in the sensational spirit of freedom within the overall game.

New Donk City Festival - Super Mario Odyssey (NSW)

After all of the hubbub from Bowser's unwelcome arrival and subsequent assault on Super Mario Odyssey's New Donk City, Mayor Pauline asks of Mario to round up the members of her band for a special performance. This performance is a cherry on top of one of the best levels within Super Mario Odyssey, and creates a magical Super Mario experience all in one. It's the New Donk City Festival.

Here, fireworks explode in the bright, festive nighttime background of New Donk City as Mario takes a nostalgic trip back in time to his Donkey Kong-defeating days, as the citizens he saved in the city cheer him on. This is all the while the super-catchy "Jump Up, Super Star!" plays, the main theme of Super Mario Odyssey.

In a delightful display, Mario enters a warp pipe and finds him from his three-dimensional self into his old 2D form. The goal of this level is to make it through each 2D room--some of which wrap around the sides of New Donk City's skyscrapers--and reach Pauline at the very top to be rewarded with a Grand Moon for all of Mario's efforts. It's a perfect presentation and display of just how special Super Mario Odyssey can be. Even after multiple play-throughs of this specific section of Super Mario Odyssey, I find myself smiling from ear to ear while platforming through the New Donk City Festival.

Tomb Wader - Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy (PS4, XB1, NSW, PC)

We go to a game series that was once a bitter rival to Mario, and that's Crash Bandicoot. It's just absolutely wild that the original PlayStation trilogy's remakes were brought to the Switch for Nintendo fans to play. I absolutely could not imagine that growing up during the "Listen up, plumber boy" days of Nintendo vs. PlayStation.

Regardless, coming from Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped within the Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy is the Tomb Wader level, a clever pun on Lara Croft's series. Speaking of things that are clever, Tomb Wader as a level itself presents Crash with a temple trial with rising and lowering water at specific intervals at specific parts of the level, requiring Crash to stay safely above the water or else drown. There are also doors to be opened by performing a spin maneuver into wooden wheels, enemies with shields that must be defeated with a slide or else they're otherwise impenetrable, and even possesses a Death Path for those who survive until the halfway point of the level.

Tomb Wader is an exceptionally fun and creative level within Crash Bandicoot 3 that brings a clever mechanic that doesn't overstay its welcome. While a punishing level for those who wish to rush through it, Tomb Wader makes for a wild and wet ride from beginning to end.

Fly Me to the Moon - LEGO City Undercover (NSW, PS4, XB1, PC, Wii U)

The final mission of LEGO City Undercover, the game I easily place on my list of best LEGO games, Fly Me to the Moon is an interstellar missions that takes place in outer space--more specifically, the moon and a space base.

What can you say about a level that has you platforming and solving puzzles in low gravity, doing battle in Aliens-style mech suits against Rex Fury, facing off against said boss on top of a gigantic piece of falling space debris that slowly rips asunder as it approaches the earth, and ending in an epic free-fall towards Earth with haunting choir music playing? Is this a LEGO game or Mass Effect here!? Anyhoo--I know what you can say about a level that has all of this awesomeness in it--it's absolutely astounding.

Fly Me to the Moon is a memorable mission that hyped me from beginning to end, and it was a exciting exclamation point to a solid open world game in LEGO City Undercover. If you're looking for a great, original LEGO game, LEGO City Undercover is such a game--and is at the top of its heap.

Best Levels in Gaming History - Volume Nineteen

Best Levels in Gaming History skipped an entire season (spring, if you're interested), but now this long-running series is back with Volume Nineteen, showcasing some of the most enjoyable, well thought out, intricately designed, and just plain fun levels in gaming's past and present. Due to a certain plumber having a seriously good-looking game coming out in a few months, we begin this volume with a double dose of Super Mario before checking out some other platforming mascots like Sonic the Hedgehog and Donkey Kong, all mainstays here at Best Levels in Gaming History. So sit tight, read up, and enjoy.

Before that, however, take a look at all past volumes of this article series with the following links!

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

Delfino Plaza - Super Mario Sunshine (GCN)

Since this is the first new volume of Best Levels in Gaming History since the summer season started, let's take a closeup look at one of my favorite gaming hubs in a 3D platformer, the sunny shores of Delfino Plaza. Of course, things don't start out so bright and cheery, as there is an ominous shadow stretched over the tropical town, but as Mario cleans up the city streets alongside the help of FLUDD and collect Shine Sprites, Deflino Plaza's murkiness clears up.

Part of what many players cherish about Super Mario Sunshine is its wonderful feeling of summer, no matter what season you play it in. This theme might limit the amount of level types and tropes available to Mario's GameCube adventure, but it creates a nice and pleasant cohesiveness to the entire game.

Delfino Plaza encapsulates the feeling of summer so well, and it's neither much too big nor much too small. It houses plenty of secrets, too, most enjoyable to seek out with just a tiny fraction being obnoxious (e.g. getting Yoshi, jumping from boat to boat to reach an island that contains the worst bonus level in Sunshine in a game that already sports plenty bad bonus levels).

Also, the amount of flexibility there is to Mario's moveset with FLUDD allows for a lot of different platforming options and means to get around town. Whether it's wall jumps, a backwards somersault into a rising burst from FLUDD, or simply a launch via FLUDD's hover nozzle, you're hardly limited in what you can do and how you can go about reaching your desired location. For all these reasons, I find Delfino Plaza to be exquisite as a hub level in a less than strong Mario outing.

Bob-Omb Battlefield - Super Mario 64 (N64)

With Super Mario Odyssey returning Mario to a sandbox style platformer with his 3D installments, there's no better time than to bring up the game that started this platformer structure to begin with -- Super Mario 64!

It seems almost like gaming sacrilege to have a Best Levels in Gaming History series of articles and not bring up the first world of Super Mario 64 until volume freaking nineteen! Maybe it was so obvious that I assumed I had already done it ages ago, but looking back, it appears I hadn't!

To correct this egregious error on my part, let's talk about Bob-Omb Battlefield! This mountain and surrounding areas that are home to the Bob-Omb clan is a perfect playground for getting used to the controls of Super Mario 64 in more complex and complicated situations than merely leaping around the grounds of Peach's Castle. There's danger in Bob-Omb Battlefield, but a minor amount that makes it relatively safe to learn how to go about playing the game, honing how to control Mario, interacting with enemies in a 3D space, and doing more sophisticated platforming. There's a safety net here with no bottomless pits, and few ways to immediately reach high ground and falling from such a height that Mario takes severe damage.

Bob-Omb Battlefield's central mountain is where King Bob-Omb looks over his subjects. Reaching the mountain is a platforming obstacle course in itself with a path requiring Mario to run along a clearly marked path (but of course, most players will want to explore off the beaten path) with some hazards like a Chain Chomp that the majority of new players won't want to mess with immediately, falling bubbles from the sky as well as charging Bob-Omb enemies directly in the path to King Bob-Omb, and a spiraling climb up to King Bob-Omb's roost.

Of course, like any early game boss he's a bit of a pushover. If he wants to throw his weight around, Mario can help him with that -- literally, by picking the boss up from behind and chucking him on his backside to inflict damage. Three goes at this and King Bob-Omb is defeated with explosive consequences to him.

Following that, Bob-Omb Battlefield opens up, offering a race with a friendly Koopa Troopa, cannon rides across the level, and when the Wing Cap is unlocked, a safe haven for some fast and fun flying through the sky. It all makes for a great introductory level in Bob-Omb Battlefield to what is a revolutionary game in Super Mario 64.

Sky Sanctuary Zone - Sonic & Knuckles (GEN) / Sonic Generations (PS3, 360, PC)

We move from Mario to his once-rival Sonic the Hedgehog. The original Sonic the Hedgehog games on the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive are without question classics, and I fail to understand the mindset that these games were "never good." That's hedge-hogwash in my opinion. No question my favorite of the Genesis Sonic games, like many, is Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles. Together, they're fantastic, but it's sort of cheating to combine them both like that. While I prefer Sonic 3 to Sonic & Knuckles, the latter game contains some really sweet zones that I have cherished memories of.

An important locale and zone within Angel Island in Sonic & Knuckles is Sky Sanctuary, a smattering of ancient ruins hovering among the clouds. It's central to the game's plot and climax while also being a beaut to look at and fun to play. There are multitudes of ramps, steady and breakable, as well as many of Robotnik's Egg Robos for Sonic to concern his bad, blue self with. The background is bright and blue while the architecture of the ruins is astonishing with its details and colors.

Sky Sanctuary is such a popular zone in importance to the series and fans that it was completely remade in Sonic Generations, a game celebrating Sonic's past and present. The two levels, one for Modern Sonic and one for Classic Sonic, looked absolutely stunning in full 3D, though not as colorful as what was offered in the pallet with the Genesis original. Nonetheless, the multiple pathways and secret areas to uncover in both Modern and Classic iterations made for a plentiful amount of replays for me, something I hadn't want to face in a Sonic game for a long while.

Sonic Generations wouldn't be the last time Sky Sanctuary would be represented in a Sonic-related game either. A part-land and part-sky race track in the multiplatform arcade racer Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed represented this glorious Sonic & Knuckles zone. All hail the echidnas!

Frantic Fields - Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U) 

Really, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze has so many excellently and expertly crafted levels that it's hard to choose what are the top levels within the game to feature on such a list like this. Regardless, you can be sure I won't be done perusing Tropical Freeze's lineup of luscious levels for future installments of Best Levels in Gaming History anyway.

For now, we take a look at Frantic Fields, a grassland level under stormy skies and hazardous conditions, much like a severe weather storm here in Central City. What starts out as a calm level though with a foreboding grey sky, as the Kongs progress, things get dicier with platforms tipping from left to right in the breeze, miniature twisters requiring the Kongs to pick up enough speed to push through them, deathly lightning strikes, and burning debris being blown from the background to the foreground -- requiring careful timing and dodges.

Then, it all culminates with the amazing ending section. I takes the idea of strong wind and storms and puts you directly in the heart of it all, a tremendously terrorizing and powerful tornado that has you hopping along the loose, undulating and uneasy platforms flying around inside it as obstacles, enemies, and even some goodies are swept across the screen by the howling winds. It's an astonishing section of level that really shows how well the level designers at Retro were able to escalate the stakes in the level, something they consistently did throughout Tropical Freeze's designs. Those who played the game and enjoyed it don't mince words when they call it one of the best 2D platformers of all time.

Stage 3 - Contra III: The Alien Wars (SNES)

Let's conclude this volume of Best Levels in Gaming History with a trip to a futuristic steel mill, featuring challenging platform, rigorous climbing, plenty of verticality, and some cool boss battles all thrown into the mix for one stellar stage. It's Stage 3 of Contra III: The Alien Wars on the Super Nintendo.

Bugs and soldiers serve as the main enemies in the opening area of the stage, where the goal is to make careful jumps while avoiding some truly tricky enemy placements. There are hanging girders to climb along, requiring precision shooting and competent evasion to avoid the flying bugs ready to end your perfect run in a jiffy. Outside of the girders are rotating arms that can held on to.

The middle of the level presents a vertical section where you must make a steady, straight-up climb while avoiding the attacks of various enemies, including a mid-boss. Then, you enter a moonlit sky far above the pollution previously seen in the level and take on one more mid-boss, but this time in a horizontal section of the level. Finally, you head indoors for some vertical platforming challenges, including evading enemy fire was leaping from platform to platform and hanging from ledge to ledge.

This all concludes with the destruction of a barrier door leading to two Terminator-inspired robots to take on, and then one awesome battle against a gigantic, fire-spewing one that rips through the background shutter to take you on. All in all, a well-conceived action packed stage that takes plenty of practice to survive, much more master.