Favorite Level Themes

Everybody has level themes they like or dislike, yeah? Some people absolutely hate water levels (such as Ocarina of Time's Water Temple or even Majora's Mask's Great Bay Temple), but some people really love, for example, desert levels (like Ocarina's Gerudo Valley, for example). Everyone has their likes and dislikes, but sometimes there's themes that either everyone is almost unanimously against or for. It depends on peoples' tastes. In this post, I'm going to go over my 5 favorite level themes. In case you're wondering, forest/grassland (think early Mario games) levels aren't here, because even though I like them a lot, they're like.. maybe 6 or 7, you know? Anyways, let's begin!

5. Space
By space, I generally mean being in outer space or it can even extend to being in another dimension, as long as it's remotely cosmic. You could argue that Mario Galaxy is one huge space level, but we all know that the galaxies, despite being in space, are their own environments, climates, themes, etc. But I generally love space levels. I love the atmosphere (ha, jokes), and I love the calm tone they usually go for. In some cases, it's more hectic or catchy, and I usually love the serene music that they go for (get ready to hear about music tastes a lot, just trust me on this). While I haven't played a ton of games that involve space, I do know that StarFox was a huge help for loving space-themed levels, they were always so exciting and fun (and that lovely N64 sound chip/soundfont/whatever you want to call it was always a pleasure to listen to).

4. Water
I don't really think Ocarina's Water Temple was that bad, nor do I think the Great Bay or Lakebed Temples were that bad either (I can just feel the anger and confusion from here). Usually I really enjoy water levels. Among my video game music choices, they're right in my top 3 virtually every time. I love the locations for water-themed areas (thanks a bunch to Mario Odyssey for Lake and Seaside Kingdoms for the wonderful environments and music) and I love how soothing and calm it usually is. Even tough levels typically have a nice music track to go with it. One of my favorite water level aesthetics is how the music changes between being underwater and on land. Banjo-Kazooie always did a nice job with that, and to date I believe that Clanker's Cavern was my first real experience with a water level I loved a lot (I call it a water level because you're swimming in water at least 80% of the time, and Rusty Bucket Bay has oily water that you're trying to avoid being in as much as possible).

3. Ice/Snow
To be honest, if it wasn't for Ice Cap Zone in Sonic 3, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed ice levels as much as I do now, and I know how much ice levels are, for some people, the bane of their existence. Another game that helped me appreciate icy/snowy levels was Snowboard Kids 2, which I still love playing now and then. Again, the music always sounds amazing and fun, and in other cases it sounds calm, inviting, and just pleasing to the ears. Need some calming snow music? Try looking for Cozy Cabin from Kirby's Epic Yarn, or even Frosty Wheel. I think it's also sort of funny that I'm discussing snow and I can look outside my window right now, and it's snowing out. But anyways, I know that some ice levels are tricky, due to a lack of traction, freezing mechanics (depending on the game, such as Breath of the Wild's body temperature mechanic), or even in-game snow hindering your ability to see ahead of you. Whatever the case may be, I always love seeing a nice ice level every now and then. And who doesn't like seeing cold things when it's the worst of summer, am I right?

2. Fire/Lava
You have no idea how hard it was to put this at 2, instead of 1. Now, in some cases, fire/lava levels are the final levels of the game (Best example? Bowser), and in those cases, the stakes are raised and everything is on the line. I think for me it's also the danger, like.. the thrill of having to avoid falling into lava, lest you die instantly or take a lot of damage. Magmoor Caverns from Metroid Prime really helped me enjoy lava levels, and several Mario games helped with that too. I would also point out Cyndaquil, but it's just a Fire type, but it IS my all-time favorite so... hmm... But anyways, I always get pumped when I encounter a fire/lava level and I'm always excited to see what cool or dangerous things will happen in the game!

1. Desert
Hands-down, I love any chance to go to a sandy/desert area in games. Gerudo Valley, Sandopolis Zone, the large desert in Breath of the Wild, and so many more. I love the mystery of the desert, I love the music (which tends to have accompanying sitars or even violins to go with it), and I just love how much there is to explore, even if the majority of it is just sand. Sure, in most cases, sand hinders your movement, and with quicksand, it's even worse, but there's no denying that I love me a good desert level quite often, and just like with fire/lava levels, I'm always super excited to encounter a new desert level to tackle, explore, and enjoy! There's still plenty of games I have to get to that have these themes. I'll definitely say, though, that the Prince of Persia Trilogy was also a big help in having me love desert-themed levels, too.

And that's it. I wasn't too sure on what to talk about today, but after seeing if I'd talked about my favorite levels/level themes, I decided to do a silly post on the topic. Thanks for reading, as always, and I'll see you again soon!

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Have a nice day!~