I’ll start by defending an oft-criticized level. Map courtesy o’ KingKuros The Video Game Atlas. So let’s balance that out with a good level. Technically, I already did that with my hyperbolic article ’bout that terrible level, C-3 o’ Lost Levels, eons ago. Thus, I’m cadging a chip from some random YouTuber & just writing ’bout particular levels worth writing ’bout, ’cept with words ’stead o’… words o’er video, ’cause video-editing is ’bout as palatable as having my wisdom teeth yanked out. ¿What’s there to say ’bout that 2nd tank level in Super Mario Bros 3.? Mainly ’cause, honestly, most levels in every game aren’t worth writing ’bout. The problem is, whenever I try to make some grand series appraising every level o’ a game, I can ne’er finish it. Most just say their favorite or least favorite levels & leave it that others give shallow reasons like “too hard / too easy”. I don’t mean that they have bad opinions - that their conclusions are “wrong” - but that they don’t bother to go into detail on the “why” - the most important part. It’s not focused on as much by most reviewers as what seems to me much mo’ shallow elements o’ a game, such as story or aesthetics ( ne’er mind the fact that the average video game praised for its story comes nowhere close to the storytelling quality o’ great literature, while literature can’t come close to doing what well-designed levels can ).Ī lot o’ the work I find online is, not to poison the well to make my own pitiful work look good, not good. Levels were always my favorite part o’ video games & level design was the part o’ game development that interested me the most. I’ve always been interested in appraising level design for various reasons:

Super mario bros 3 world 6 secrets