3D Platformer Analysis – Final Level Rank and Further Analysis

So over the last two days, I ranked all of the levels of each game from best to worst, with explanations why I liked them or didn’t like them, along with a favorite part, least favorite part, and the best and worst missions that involve collecting the power star, shine sprite, jiggy, or golden banana. Today, I’m gonna put them all in one full list.

For your information, there’s a reason why I color-coded both Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie red, Super Mario Sunshine and Banjo-Tooie green, and Super Mario Galaxy and Donkey Kong 64 blue. These games have some similarities. Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie defined the genre, but the data limitations hindered any development that would’ve made the games better. Super Mario Sunshine and Banjo-Tooie had a different story than the other games from each set, as the levels put more focus on worldbuilding. And Super Mario Galaxy and Donkey Kong 64 have a similar level-unlocking mechanic and better soundtrack.

Best to Worst Levels – Review:

So let’s do a review on what I think are the best and worst levels, but I’m gonna keep it concise, and maybe do a side ranking based on the overall missions and other stuff.

Super Mario 64:

As Tuesday’s entry pointed out, these are all the Super Mario 64 levels, ranked from best to worst:

1. Tick Tock Clock
2. Shifting Sand Land
3. Whomp’s Fortress
4. Snowman’s Land
5. Wet-Dry World
6. Tiny-Huge Island
7. Hazy Maze Cave
8. Bob-Omb Battlefield
9. Jolly Roger Bay
10. Rainbow Ride
11. Cool, Cool Mountain
12. Tall, Tall Mountain
13. Big Boo’s Haunt
14. Dire, Dire Docks
15. Lethal Lava Land

If I included the side levels and the hubs, here’s what it’s going to come out as. This time, the Bowser stages will be their own levels, but the other side levels will be part of Mushroom Castle.

1. Tick Tock Clock
2. Shifting Sand Land
3. Whomp’s Fortress
4. Snowman’s Land
5. Wet-Dry World
6. Tiny-Huge Island
7. Hazy Maze Cave
8. Bowser in the Dark World
9. Bowser in the Sky
10. Bob-Omb Battlefield
11. Mushroom Castle
12. Jolly Roger Bay
13. Rainbow Ride
14. Cool, Cool Mountain
15. Tall, Tall Mountain
16. Big Boo’s Haunt
17. Bowser in the Fire Sea
18. Dire, Dire Docks
19. Lethal Lava Land

The top three levels, they were Super Mario 64 at its best, as I really enjoyed them. The next three levels, the level gimmicks made them more interesting, as this shows that later levels are better than earlier levels. The middle three levels, are a mixed bag. While they have a few memorable moments, they also aren’t the best. The three levels after that, it’s a whole mix of frustrating missions and a few missions that are actually good. The last three levels, either they’re too small or too frustrating in a cheesy way. But once you throw in the hub world and the Bowser levels, the hub world is the least impressive of the three hub worlds from the Mario games, but the Bowser stages are a mixed bag. Bowser in the Dark World is an example of how the first entry wins, as it’s a good level introducing you to facing Bowser. Bowser in the Sky nearly holds up since it’s filled with more obstacles that are to test you to the limits. But Bowser in the Fire Sea is the least impressive as it is a small course.

Super Mario Sunshine:

As Tuesday’s entry pointed out, these are all the Super Mario Sunshine levels, ranked from best to worst:

1. Sirena Beach
2. Pinna Park
3. Noki Bay
4. Gelato Beach
5. Ricco Harbor
6. Bianco Hills
7. Pianta Village

If I were to rank by the soundtrack, it would go as Noki Bay > Pinna Park > Pianta Village > Sirena Beach > Ricco Harbor > Bianco Hills > Gelato Beach. If I were to rank by the episodes, it would go as Sirena Beach > Pinna Park > Ricco Harbor > Bianco Hills > Noki Bay > Pianta Village > Gelato Beach.

Throwing in the other levels, this is the best to worst levels:

1. Sirena Beach
2. Pinna Park
3. Noki Bay
4. Delfino Plaza
5. Gelato Beach
6. Ricco Harbor
7. Bianco Hills
8. Delfino Airstrip
9. Pianta Village
10. Corona Mountain

The hub world is the best of the hub worlds. Not only are the missions more interesting, but the hub design is much better. On the other hand, the final level is the worst of the last levels. Very rushed and difficult. It probably is the only level I would rank lower than Donkey Kong 64‘s Creepy Castle. Now the Delfino Airstrip is pretty nice start, but by the time you see the other levels, it’s not that impressive.

Super Mario Galaxy:

As Tuesday’s entry pointed out, these are all the Super Mario Galaxy levels, ranked from best to worst:

1. Freezeflame Galaxy
2. Beach Bowl Galaxy
3. Dusty Dune Galaxy
4. Gold Leaf Galaxy
5. Toy Time Galaxy
6. Gusty Garden Galaxy
7. Honeyhive Galaxy
8. Good Egg Galaxy
9. Melty Molten Galaxy
10. Ghostly Galaxy
11. Sea Slide Galaxy
12. Battlerock Galaxy
13. Deep Dark Galaxy
14. Space Junk Galaxy
15. Dreadnought Galaxy

If I were to rank by the soundtrack, it would go as Battlerock Galaxy/Dreadnought Galaxy > Beach Bowl Galaxy/Sea Slide Galaxy > Melty Molten Galaxy > Good Egg Galaxy > Gusty Garden Galaxy > Freezeflame Galaxy > Dusty Dune Galaxy > Ghostly Galaxy > Toy Time Galaxy > Honeyhive Galaxy/Gold Leaf Galaxy > Deep Dark Galaxy > Space Junk Galaxy. This is one area that the Dreadnought Galaxy, my least favorite galaxy, has the high ground. The levels are hard to rank by missions since the levels are so linear it’s hard to pay attention.

Throwing in the Bowser stages and the Comet Observatory (weighted by the other galaxies), this is the best to worst levels:

1. Freezeflame Galaxy
2. Beach Bowl Galaxy
3. Bowser’s Galaxy Reactor
4. Dusty Dune Galaxy
5. Gateway Galaxy
6. Gold Leaf Galaxy
7. Comet Observatory
8. Toy Time Galaxy
9. Gusty Garden Galaxy
10. Honeyhive Galaxy
11. Good Egg Galaxy
12. Bowser’s Star Reactor
13. Melty Molten Galaxy
14. Ghostly Galaxy
15. Bowser Jr.’s Robot Reactor
16. Bowser Jr.’s Airship Armada
17. Bowser’s Dark Matter Plant
18. Bowser Jr.’s Lava Reactor
19. Sea Slide Galaxy
20. Battlerock Galaxy
21. Deep Dark Galaxy
22. Space Junk Galaxy
23. Dreadnought Galaxy

The more “world-like” a level is, the better the level. That means, less platforms with the gravity mechanic, less linear, and more flexible. But that doesn’t always have to be the case. For instance, Dusty Dune Galaxy is like a series of platforms with the gravity mechanic, but it’s done better. Melty Molten Galaxy came off to be the better of the two lava levels between Lethal Lava Land and Melty Molten Galaxy, as Melty Molten Galaxy is the only galaxy from the “Gardens” galaxies that I liked. Going into the Bowser levels, they are all kinda close to each other due to them being one-star levels rather than with more development. But the outlier is Bowser’s Galaxy Reactor, which is the best of the last levels (especially since it has the best soundtrack in the game).

Banjo-Kazooie:

As yesterday’s entry pointed out, these are all the Banjo-Kazooie levels, ranked from best to worst:

1. Freezeezy Peak
2. Mumbo’s Mountain
3. Click Clock Wood
4. Bubblegloop Swamp
5. Mad Monster Mansion
6. Gobi’s Valley
7. Treasure Trove Cove
8. Rusty Bucket Bay
9. Clanker’s Cavern

Jiggy-wise, the rankings go as Bubblegloop Swamp > Treasure Trove Cove > Freezeezy Peak > Gobi’s Valley > Click Clock Wood > Gruntilda’s Lair > Mumbo’s Mountain > Mad Monster Mansion > Rusty Bucket Bay > Clanker’s Cavern. If I ranked by the moves you learn, it’s Treasure Trove Cove > Mumbo’s Mountain > Clanker’s Cavern > Gobi’s Valley > Bubblegloop Swamp > Freezeezy Peak. If I ranked by the Mumbo transformations, it goes as Click Clock Wood > Bubblegloop Swamp > Freezeezy Peak > Mad Monster Mansion > Mumbo’s Mountain.

The final ranked level list goes as:

1. Freezeezy Peak
2. Mumbo’s Mountain
3. Click Clock Wood
4. Bubblegloop Swamp
5. Mad Monster Mansion
6. Gobi’s Valley
7. Gruntilda’s Lair
8. Treasure Trove Cove
9. Spiral Mountain
10. Rusty Bucket Bay
11. Clanker’s Cavern
12. Gruntilda Final Battle

Banjo-Tooie:

As yesterday’s entry pointed out, these are all the Banjo-Tooie levels, ranked from best to worst:

1. Grunty Industries
2. Glitter Gulch Mine
3. Hailfire Peaks
4. Jolly Roger’s Lagoon
5. Witchyworld
6. Mayahem Temple
7. Cauldron Keep
8. Terrydactyland
9. Cloud Cuckooland

If I ranked by jiggies, it goes as Glitter Gulch Mine > Grunty Industries > Witchyworld > Hailfire Peaks > Mayahem Temple > Jolly Roger’s Lagoon > Terrydactyland > Cloud Cuckooland > Isle O’ Hags (particularly Jinjo Village). Ranked by moves, Grunty Industries > Isle O’ Hags > Hailfire Peaks > Terrydactyland > Glitter Gulch Mine > Mayahem Temple > Witchyworld > Jolly Roger’s Lagoon > Cloud Cuckooland. Ranked by Mumbo spells, Witchyworld > Glitter Gulch Mine > Grunty Industries > Terrydactyland > Cloud Cuckooland > Mayahem Temple > Isle O’ Hags > Jolly Roger’s Lagoon > Hailfire Peaks. Ranked by Wumba transformations, Hailfire Peaks > Witchyworld > Cloud Cuckooland > Jolly Roger’s Lagoon > Terrydactyland (Daddy T-Rex) > Terrydactyland (Baby T-Rex) > Grunty Industries > Glitter Gulch Mine > Mayahem Temple.

The final ranked level list goes as:

1. Grunty Industries
2. Glitter Gulch Mine
3. Hailfire Peaks
4. Jolly Roger’s Lagoon
5. Spiral Mountain (destroyed)
6. Witchyworld
7. Mayahem Temple
8. Isle O’Hags
9. Hag One
10. Cauldron Keep
11. Terrydactyland
12. Cloud Cuckooland

Donkey Kong 64:

As yesterday’s entry pointed out, these are all the Donkey Kong 64 levels, ranked from best to worst:

1. Gloomy Galleon
2. Hideout Helm
3. Fungi Forest
4. Angry Aztec
5. Jungle Japes
6. Frantic Factory
7. Crystal Caves
8. Creepy Castle

Regarding Donkey Kong’s golden bananas, Gloomy Galleon > Fungi Forest > Angry Aztec > Jungle Japes > Creepy Castle > DK Isles > Frantic Factory > Crystal Caves. Regarding Diddy Kong’s golden bananas, Crystal Caves > Jungle Japes > Angry Aztec > Frantic Factory > Creepy Castle > DK Isles > Fungi Forest > Gloomy Galleon. Regarding Lanky’s golden bananas, Gloomy Galleon > Frantic Factory > Angry Aztec > Jungle Japes > DK Isles > Fungi Forest > Creepy Castle > Crystal Caves. Regarding Tiny Kong’s golden bananas, Crystal Caves > Angry Aztec > Frantic Factory > DK Isles > Jungle Japes > Creepy Castle > Fungi Forest > Gloomy Galleon. Regarding Chunky Kong’s golden bananas, Gloomy Galleon > Crystal Caves > Angry Aztec > Frantic Factory > Jungle Japes > Creepy Castle > DK Isles > Fungi Forest.

The final ranked level list goes as:

1. Gloomy Galleon
2. Hideout Helm
3. Fungi Forest
4. Angry Aztec
5. Jungle Japes
6. Frantic Factory
7. Crystal Caves
8. DK Isles
9. K. Rool Battle
10. Creepy Castle

Grand Level Ranking:

Put all six games together and their ranked lists, while incorporating mini-levels as part of the hubs, here is the grand list:

1. Sirena Beach
2. Pinna Park
3. Tick Tock Clock
4. Noki Bay
5. Gloomy Galleon
6. Freezeezy Peak
7. Freezeflame Galaxy
8. Beach Bowl Galaxy
9. Bowser’s Galaxy Reactor
10. Grunty Industries
11. Glitter Gulch Mine
12. Mumbo’s Mountain
13. Hideout Helm
14. Fungi Forest
15. Click Clock Wood
16. Angry Aztec
17. Bubblegloop Swamp
18. Mad Monster Mansion
19. Gobi’s Valley
20. Shifting Sand Land
21. Whomp’s Fortress
22. Snowman’s Land
23. Dusty Dune Galaxy
24. Delfino Plaza
25. Hailfire Peaks
26. Jolly Roger’s Lagoon
27. Wet-Dry World
28. Tiny-Huge Island
29. Gelato Beach
30. Gruntilda’s Lair
31. Treasure Trove Cove
32. Gateway Galaxy
33. Gold Leaf Galaxy
34. Comet Observatory
35. Hazy Maze Cave
36. Spiral Mountain (destroyed)
37. Bowser in the Dark World
38. Jungle Japes
39. Frantic Factory
40. Crystal Caves
41. Toy Time Galaxy
42. Ricco Harbor
43. Bianco Hills
44. DK Isles
45. Isle O’ Hags
46. Spiral Mountain
47. Gusty Garden Galaxy
48. Honeyhive Galaxy
49. Good Egg Galaxy
50. Bowser in the Sky
51. Bowser’s Star Reactor
52. Bob-Omb Battlefield
53. Mushroom Castle
54. Hag One
55. Jolly Roger Bay
56. Rainbow Ride
57. Melty Molten Galaxy
58. Witchyworld
59. Mayahem Temple
60. Ghostly Galaxy
61. Delfino Airstrip
62. Cool, Cool Mountain
63. Tall, Tall Mountain
64. Pianta Village
65. Rusty Bucket Bay
66. Clanker’s Cavern
67. Bowser Jr.’s Robot Reactor
68. Bowser Jr.’s Airship Armada
69. Bowser’s Dark Matter Plant
70. Bowser Jr.’s Lava Reactor
71. Gruntilda Final Battle
72. Big Boo’s Haunt
73. K. Rool Battle
74. Sea Slide Galaxy
75. Battlerock Galaxy
76. Bowser in the Fire Sea
77. Cauldron Keep
78. Terrydactyland
79. Dire, Dire Docks
80. Deep Dark Galaxy
81. Space Junk Galaxy
82. Lethal Lava Land
83. Dreadnought Galaxy
84. Cloud Cuckooland
85. Creepy Castle
86. Corona Mountain

Now the level rank may be like comparing apples to oranges, but they’re still all coming from a 3D platformer. This time, anything in the bottom 10 of my list would get an F grade, while anything in by bottom 20 would get a D grade or lower. Of all the levels I would give a 7/10 or higher, Clanker’s Cavern is the worst. And the worst level that I would give a 2/10 is Dreadnought Galaxy, which I would give a 3/10. It took the Canary Mary races and the Pot O’ Gold mini-games, as well as the soundtrack, to sink Cloud Cuckooland way below the clouds. It took the abundant bottomless pit in a horror-themed level to do the same for Creepy Castle. And Corona Mountain is poorly-designed.

The Hub Worlds:

While I went into full details on the main levels over the last two days, I didn’t go over the hub worlds into more detail. Better missions (like smashing the egg in Bubblegloop Swamp and finding the pineapple for Yoshi in Sirena Beach) and better map design make better levels, and better levels make better games. But the hub world also affects the game. If you give it a lot more details and more interesting missions rather than make it the bare minimum needed for a hub world, that would also make a better game.

Comparing Mushroom Castle (also known as Peach’s Castle), Delfino Plaza, Comet Observatory, Gruntilda’s Lair, Isle O’ Hags, and DK Isles, the best of the hub worlds is Delfino Plaza. The level design is like a city with more details put into them, mixing Southeast Asian and Mediterranean influences. And if you don’t count the Pachinko level or the toxic lily pad level, Delfino Plaza’s missions are the best ones too. This is the same level where you can smash crates at a restaurant, get thrown into the bridge tower, break into one of the bell towers, clean the bells and the Shine Gate, and spray water at the yellow bird. Even if you think Super Mario Sunshine is the worst of the six games, you must admit that Delfino Plaza is the best of the hub worlds.

The next one is Gruntilda’s Lair. For the Side B games, Banjo-Kazooie has the best hub world. Sure that it’s linear, but what makes this level interesting is how the areas surrounding the levels (and sometimes, the jiggy podiums) follow the same theme as the levels themselves (for instance, Mad Monster Mansion’s level entry is set in a graveyard). Doors are locked by combined note scores. All of this makes Gruntilda’s Lair the best of the hub worlds in the Side B games. Not to mention, but each level also has a witch switch where if you hit them, jiggies will appear in the level, unlocking one more jiggy in Gruntilda’s Lair.

The Comet Observatory is a beautiful hub world set outer space, and I liked how each observatory (or level selection) is locked until you collect another grand star. However, every single power star is only earned in the side galaxies (like Sling Pod Galaxy, Buoy Base Galaxy etc.). And these levels can be a hit-or-miss situation. The Buoy Base Galaxy is the best in the game. It’s even better than the Freezeflame Galaxy. But any of the manta-surfing galaxies don’t fare well.

DK Isles and Isle O’ Hags are a close call, but if I had to give one the lead, I would go with the former. On one hand, Isle O’ Hags would be the better hub due to shortcuts, areas that require unlocking moves to access, and interesting level design, while DK Isles is just like two mountains in a grassland with nothing else. But I would like to say that the level lobbies are an interesting foreshadowing of what the levels are going to be about (while putting Frantic Factory, Gloomy Galleon, Creepy Castle, and Hideout Helm on K. Rool’s side seems more matching since these are what K. Rool is about). But on the other hand, DK Isles ultimately edged it out because it had more varied missions. Even though each golden banana is a test of one Kong’s move, plus a repeated scheme among all Kongs (one bonus barrel, one regular banana, one banana behind a gate, and one banana unlocked by playing an instrument), the only way you can earn jiggies in Isle O’ Hags is by collecting jinjos, where each family you finish earns one jiggy. For Donkey Kong 64, the many golden bananas seems extraneous given the level design. For Banjo-Tooie, the way to earn jiggies makes this a wasted potential.

Now Peach’s Castle isn’t a bad hub world, especially since this is the first time video games are going three-dimensional. But with how easy it is to earn some stars, how poorly-designed the side levels are, and with how newer games managed to make better hub worlds, Peach’s Castle is the hardest to rank as the best. At the time, it was good, for that it was a huge turning point for games to jump to 3D. Nowadays, it’s the bare minimum needed for a video game.

The Intro Levels:

Other than Super Mario 64, all of the games have a neat little intro level, where the game begins.

• Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie begin in Spiral Mountain, where Banjo lives. While I liked Banjo-Tooie‘s version better since you have extra areas to explore, Banjo-Kazooie gave the area more soul since that’s where all of the tutorials take place. Banjo-Tooie was made like “you should know the moves by now”.
• Donkey Kong 64 takes place in a jungle with DK’s hut. As a small level with two caves, a tunnel with the world exit, a lake, and the area with training, it’s not a bad starting level. Unfortunately, once you’re out, there isn’t any incentive to go back. Other than to burn those dirt piles, that is. For a game with tons of collecting, having nothing in the starting level seems pretty surprising.
• While the Delfino Airstrip is a good first level in Super Mario Sunshine, it’s the game’s smallest level with little or nothing to do once you get the first shine sprite. Aside to the starting level, the only other things you can get are the blue coin and the red coin shine sprite. Not counting Corona Mountain, there’s only one level I like less than this in the game.
• The two intro levels in Super Mario Galaxy (the Mushroom Kingdom and the Gateway Galaxy) are the best intro levels. Judging by the soundtrack alone, it looks like Super Mario Galaxy has the strongest opening out of all six games. You’ll eventually get to go back to the Gateway Galaxy once you have powered up the whole Comet Observatory, and once you 100% both Super Mario Galaxy and Super Luigi Galaxy, you can go back to the very beginning, which has an easy 100 purple coins and a letter congratulating you for making it this far.

The Final Bosses:

We’re going to end today’s entry with the review of the final bosses and their levels. Some games did the bosses right, others did it wrong.

• Super Mario 64 did it well for the time being. The first two times you had to battle Bowser, you only had to throw him once at a mine to defeat him, which is not that impressive. But when you battle him for the last time, you’ll have to do it three times. And when you’re on the last hit against him, he will smash the arena, giving you a smaller arena. While this can be pretty good, it’s good for the data limitations of the time.
• Super Mario Sunshine did a terrible job on the final boss. For how difficult the game is, and for how much effort Nintendo put into their other final bosses, this is an embarrassment to the Super Mario series and Nintendo as a whole. To defeat Bowser, you just need to boost high in the sky five times and ground pound each of the edges. You don’t even attack him with FLUDD. As my favorite game of the six, it’s really sad that it has the worst final boss (and worst final level to add insult to injury). So, the only real difficulty is getting all of the shine sprites in every level just to get to the Shadow Mario stage. This is like an easy pop quiz for a final exam to a class with really hard homework assignments.
• Super Mario Galaxy had it the best. It not just had the best last level (complete with a really good soundtrack), it also has the best of the final bosses. Bowser has become a three-stage boss where you have to hit him twice to go to the next stage. And this time, he’s tougher than before. Compared to Super Mario 64 and especially Super Mario Sunshine, this is a huge improvement.
• Although the Nintendo Switch’s emulation may have sped up Gruntilda’s attacks, I found battling her in Banjo-Kazooie to be difficult if you haven’t use any infinite cheats. What makes this battle better than the second time you battle her and the final time you battle K. Rool is how her attacks match battling a witch and how she was defeated. As the series went on, she became more dependent on technology. But in this game, she used only magical spells and flew on a broomstick like how witches do in folk stories. And this one, you’ll be using almost every move you learned from Bottles, including the wonderwing and beak bomb, two moves that have reduced focus in Banjo-Tooie.
• Aside to the new eggs and the first-person mode, battling Grunty in Banjo-Tooie seems more of a downgrade to battling her in the first game. What I did like about her this time around (as well as how it added a redeeming quality to a character that gotten more evil in the sequel) is how she will use slow attacks if you answer her questions correctly, and fast attacks if you answer them incorrectly. My favorite part of the battle is when you blow both batteries, forcing her to use only her spells to attack since the machine is out of commission.
• K. Rool may have to be my least favorite of the bosses. Even unlocking the boss is frustrating, since it requires completing both the DK Arcade game twice (which already has an amped-up difficulty) and Jetpac (which isn’t too bad). But when you battle him, you have to defeat him with all five Kongs. Here’s the deal, if you get defeated in one round, you have to start the whole battle all over again. For instance, you begin battling with Donkey Kong, but if you get to the stage with Tiny Kong, and you die as Tiny Kong, going back there will start at Donkey Kong. To make matters worse, if time runs out one round, your health isn’t reset back to normal. And K. Rool is much harder to fight as Diddy Kong and Lanky Kong. In other words, this is a hard boss with five stages stacked on top of each other, and losing one stage forces you to start all over.