Toughest Mario Level and why it's so hard

[ObieStar]

Any type of Mario level from any main series or spin-off game is allowed.

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

Oh look, a "I hate this Mario level thread"! I have so many levels I hate too! I can only imagine what stuff is going to get discussed here.

....

What's breathing down my neck?!???

Spoiler: !???!??!!?

 

[zel]

the goopy inferno

 

[Vivian]

Some of the Mario Party games where you have to mashing A and I just can't keep up with the COMs. I think there was a specific minigame about hammer pounding?

 

[JBX9001]

My dear boy, have you heard the legends of Champion's Road from Super Mario 3D World? Or how in order to technically 100% the game, you have to clear it five times? That s*** is brutal, and I consider myself an expert at the platformer Mario games!

 

[Borp]

The first problem with threads like this comes down to what is and is not considered a "level" between different kinds of games. Is a Mario Kart track a "level" in the same way a 2D platform course is a "level"? What about a Mario Party mini-game vs. a 3D platform world? Are chapters in the RPGs "levels"?

The second problem is: Even if you narrow it down to "hardest 2D level" or "hardest RPG chapter" or something like that, there's still a pretty large pool of potential reasons why they're so hard, to the point I'm not sure I can fairly pick one of each.

Sometimes a 2D level is hard because of a bullshit gimmick, sometimes it's hard because of one specific part, sometimes it's hard because it goes on for way too long. and sometimes it's hard because it actively goes against how the game works normally. Are all of these even on the same table?

 

[Flygon64]

Oh look, a "I hate this Mario level thread"! I have so many levels I hate too! I can only imagine what stuff is going to get discussed here.

....

What's breathing down my neck?!???

Spoiler: !???!??!!?

Hahaha you're going to be ranted abou-

 

[Ray Trace]

Valley Fortress is my favorite genuinely challenging level, especially near the end where you have to time your jumps very well, against the Skewers. The Skewers are more deadly in the original version of the game than the remake, but I still like how many Skewers this level has lol.

Yoshi's Island special levels are very challenging too. Yeah some of them are bullshit (I hate See Poochy Run from Yoshi's New Island) but I thought Ride the Blarrgwich and All Aboard the Terrain Train were fun levels despite being difficult to 100% in. All Aboard the Terrain Train does become significantly easier when you know where you can get the red coins however...and they fortunately did not put any red coins in the third part of the level excluding the Fly Guys carrying them if I recall correctly.

 

[Kerrigan]

This thread brings up an interesting question in my mind; people who like Sunshine always seem to disagree on whether the worst level is the Pachinko Machine or the Poison River. Personally, I'm more of a Pachinko Machine hater, but it's always interesting to see how many people think the Poison River is worse.

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

Pachinko Machine seems to be workable as long as you don't input anything when Mario gets launched from the trampoline, iirc. The poison river, though, the level itself is not too hard, it's just accessing it is a demonstration of stunning incompetent design. You had to board a slow boat due to Yoshi dissolving in water, and if you miss a red coin in the level itself and take the pipe exit, which warps you SOMEHOW not to the entrance of the stage but in the Isle Delfino main plaza, you have to do that whole process all over.

My own beloathed level is the roller coaster one because it requires precision aiming when the way that shooting is designed is far from precise. Sure, it works fine shooting crap at Mecha Bowser, but NOT with balloon targets. You also fail the mission, you die for some reason.

The Secret of the Dirty Lake red coins was just plain difficult but that may be just from my experience using the Rocket Nozzle. IDK.

 

[zel]

i havent really tried either pachinko or hte lilypad lmao but i will always repeat the goopy inferno was an absolute pain and made me cry (like many things in sunshine tbf

 

[Vivian]

Puzzle Panel from SM64DS. I don't understand it for the life of me

 

[Bugzzy]

I kept getting game overs in the Soda Jungle Ghost House and I could not find the real exit. Once I found it, I sped through everything else.

 

[MnSG]

• Grandmaster Galaxy - The Perfect Run: Take damage even once, and you have to start all over. And to add insult to injury, there are no checkpoints.
• Dark Side - Invisible Road: Rush!: You expect me to get that Power Moon without Cappy's aid?! No thank you!
• Impossible Pendulums: Welcome to a course that's so hard that not even Nabbit is guaranteed to get you through it in one piece. And it's all thanks to those Spinners.
• Kamek Kerfuffle: Oh my god, the final segment is just flat out ridiculous. You literally have to counter every single rocket to have any chance to damage Kamek, and that means being perfect with the Yoshi mech's punches. And when you're dealing with input lag, that's almost impossible to pull off. But wait, there's more, as after you've defeated Kamek the first time, you next have to do all of this within 2:50, AND without taking any damage, if you ever want to get the final costume in the game.
• Mummy-Me Maze Forever: This course is a perfect example of when RNG works against you. You've got 49 floors to endure, and trying to memorize them all is literally pointless, thanks to the maze layouts being completely random with each playthrough.

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

Dark Side - Invisible Road: Rush!

I actually don't 100% understand why people had trouble with the vanishing road in Odyssey. I just long jump + dash and roll jump spammed. Might take me some tries? But it wasn't anywhere near infuriating as I remembered it.

Now, the level I had a ton of trouble with?

This one killed me more than any other challenge in the game since the rocket flower is really hard to control and there's like 90 degree turns and spinning fire that just destroys all your momentum, so you kill yourself to have another try (I eventually just skipped the 90 degree turns by jumping over a gap and sharply turning left), and it took me more tries to get this one compared to the Jump Rope, the Volleyball, AND the Breakdown Road: Hurry! which those three tend to be the most infuriating Power Moons for other people, while I didn't have much trouble (though I expected a much tougher challenge from Breakdown Road).

 

[Bugzzy]

The Metal Sonic fight in Sonic Mania was incredibly hard, but with practice, it could be a fine challenge. With mods, adding Mario as a separate playable character, this fight would be a cinch.

 

[Ray Trace]

i mean you can turn Sonic Mania to a Mario game with mods if you're dedicated i guess

 

[Bugzzy]

i mean you can turn Sonic Mania to a Mario game with mods if you're dedicated i guess

They actually did that. They changed almost everything. The characters, enemies, bosses, and some of the music. They only changed the boss musics and the special stage music. Zone musics are the same.

 

[Ray Trace]

I mean mods still don't make it a Mario game otherwise playing the Parish Finale of Left 4 Dead 2 would qualify.

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

A load of Goomba dung. Cold Stream would like to have a word with you.

 

[Christmas Who?]

Out of all of the Mario levels people hate, why are none of them "Through the Meteor Storm" in SMG?

That mission can rightfully go dunk its ass in the Melty Molten Galaxy. I hate the Star Ball and I wish you didn't have to use the damn thing at the end.

 

[Ray Trace]

When people talk about difficult Melty Molten Galaxy stars, they usually talk about its Daredevil Comet.

 

[Christmas Who?]

It ain't no Daredevil Comet (thank god), but the second mission. It's so hard to tilt at the right speed and not fall off.

 

[zel]

i completely forgot what i thought about it so i had to look up if i mentioned it on a discord and apparently i actually DID like through the meteor storm
i do not remember why. i cant find why because this is all i said about it

hey through the meteor storm kinda slapped
i remember hearing from one person it was bad and yea it wasnt
melty molten galaxy music SO good

edit
on the topic of galaxy oh boy theres a few stars that i tried and then they convinced me that im not goin to be 100% this any time soon (is it worth noting ive 100% odyssey several times and im working on another 100% playthrough on and off)

snow cap galaxy. tried once. got confused on what to do and gave up forever. how was i supposed to know youer supposed to get some of the rabbits somewhere so they get stuck there and you dont have to chase ofne for the entire duration and then the rabbits just heckinf kill you
major burrows i already didnt like but now imagine that with a daredevil comet you have one hp have fun
several comets i tried with purple coins that have overly strict time limits that i just couldnt get anything in time even if it looks plausible. according to discord as well i tried the one in ghostly galaxy, several times, i awlays came close but still was like 3 short at the end and it was SUUUUPEr frustrating. i also tried the one in toy time galaxy and theres a time limit on top of having so many coins over death pits and lava like?
uh? dreadnoughts garbage dump? right? i felt like it required borderline tas level precision and timing. how was i supposed to know i should throw the bombs at the little lights so they work

um

i did like super mario galaxy

 

[Ray Trace]

i also tried the one in toy time galaxy and theres a time limit on top of having so many coins over death pits and lava like?

Luigi's Purple Coins is notoriously the hardest star to get in the game. There's also Battlerock and Dreadnought purple coins that will take a chunk off your lives as well.