Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros.
Every area/dungeon feels so long but the last world, before Bowser's castle, is infinite.
Every area/dungeon feels so long but the last world, before Bowser's castle, is infinite.
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Really long levels
- Thread starter Phediuk
- Start date
Metal Slug 3's final stage is amazing! It really feels like a dramatic end to the series. It always feels really special to play through with two players.
I quit the game once I got there. Didn't enjoy the combat much at all the entire game, and had gotten the gist of the story by that point, so going through that endless, sparce area fighting robots non-stop was just too much.
Any of the Flood-crawls in Halo are good nominations, thought if I had to pick it's between Quarantine Zone and Sacred Icon.
Pretty much all of Banjo Tooie's levels are needlessly gigantic.
Probably the worst was Grunty's Factory (or whatever it's called). It's floor after floor and room after room of bland metal factory environment.
Even worse is when you find a new ability mole hill, but it turns out it's a move for Banjo OR Kazooie individually, so you have to backtrack to a split platform, and retrace your steps to the mole hill, but since you're Banjo or Kazooie (and not both of them) you might need to find a completely different route.
If/when I ever play that game again I'm going to do it with a guide the whole way through. Getting stuck in those huge levels just isn't fun in any way.
Probably the worst was Grunty's Factory (or whatever it's called). It's floor after floor and room after room of bland metal factory environment.
Even worse is when you find a new ability mole hill, but it turns out it's a move for Banjo OR Kazooie individually, so you have to backtrack to a split platform, and retrace your steps to the mole hill, but since you're Banjo or Kazooie (and not both of them) you might need to find a completely different route.
If/when I ever play that game again I'm going to do it with a guide the whole way through. Getting stuck in those huge levels just isn't fun in any way.
Ah Grunty Industries. That's the bit that broke me. I mean, you had the Jurrassic world that was massive already, and some of the earlier levels had slightly more involved puzzles, but Grunty Industries is just a level I can't get my head round, even after playing it through once and replaying it on 360... Its a cool concept for a level, but navigating it is a complete nightmare. I could never enjoy Tooie as much as the first game due to its size, its impressive for an N64 game for sure, but not a game I look forward to replaying!
I don't get why developers have to make stages of games entirely long in the first place. It's not fun & they get tedious, especially when there's no checkpoints.
Longer stages, dungeons, etc. should only be done when it's really necessary.
Longer stages, dungeons, etc. should only be done when it's really necessary.
Those later scrolling levels in Super Mario Bros. 3 world 8 take so long and punish you a lot if you die.
Never beat them before? Good luck.
Never beat them before? Good luck.
I actually like grunty industries ... it's almost like a mini Metroidvania. You have to figure out how to progress to the next floor ... even entering the stage itself was a puzzle ; in fact, the way it's structured made it one of the easier levels for me to wrap my head around because it's divided into sections. I think if the rest of the game followed a similar formula it would have faired a lot better.
I will admit that it is ridiculously large and some areas do look very similar, but the general aesthetic and design make it my favorite stage in the game.
The bit in Shenmue 2 where you have to get to the roof of the 40 story building. Also the bit where you run to the village. I know these sections and others like it are trying to communicate the hardships and insurmountable odds Ryo faces on his journey to find his father's killer, but making the player feel exhausted, frustrated and confused was as dumb a concept 20 years ago as it is today.
Shenmue 2 : the final section in Kowloon and the final part of the game. Funny story, I finished Kowloon on Dec. 31 last year and told my GF I'll probably have some cutscenes and then we could go to the NYE party we were invited to. I finally finished the game, she still wasn't ready.
Final Fantasy XIII: I think it's chapter 9 or so, when you're on the ship or whatever. This went on for ages and I hated every second of it.
FFXIV: not quite "level" in the typical sense, but ever major main story quest arc from the base game was pure bullshit. We gotta save the world, but first let's find wine for the party! And don't even get me started on 2.x patches...
FFXV: I think it was chapter 13? That chapter really drains you, at least pre-patch.
Persona 5: most dungeons overstay their welcome by almost a third of their length, some even more. Especially the part with the safe you have to open multiple times.
Kingdom Hearts 3: Arendelle. Holy crap was that bad. Most other Disney Worlds had also some issues, but the ice cave was the worst.
Yakuza 0: some of those "dungeons" were really long. I almost forgot that I was actually playing an open world game at some points.
Nier Automata: that prologue. Also, it's a really difficult level imo for someone who isn't used to action games like this.
Those are the first games I can remember, but I'm certain there are a lot more that tested the little patience I have.
Final Fantasy XIII: I think it's chapter 9 or so, when you're on the ship or whatever. This went on for ages and I hated every second of it.
FFXIV: not quite "level" in the typical sense, but ever major main story quest arc from the base game was pure bullshit. We gotta save the world, but first let's find wine for the party! And don't even get me started on 2.x patches...
FFXV: I think it was chapter 13? That chapter really drains you, at least pre-patch.
Persona 5: most dungeons overstay their welcome by almost a third of their length, some even more. Especially the part with the safe you have to open multiple times.
Kingdom Hearts 3: Arendelle. Holy crap was that bad. Most other Disney Worlds had also some issues, but the ice cave was the worst.
Yakuza 0: some of those "dungeons" were really long. I almost forgot that I was actually playing an open world game at some points.
Nier Automata: that prologue. Also, it's a really difficult level imo for someone who isn't used to action games like this.
Those are the first games I can remember, but I'm certain there are a lot more that tested the little patience I have.
This level in the original version is pure hell. It is lengthy, but also incredibly confusing once you hit the underwater cave navigation - the new version in the remaster helped by simplifying it, but it is still just a genuinely bad level.
I like length in some game levels, but TUrok 2's most lengthy levels are not good at all :(
I've said in the past that I don't really regard Darm Tower as 'levels' as such; I just view it as the location for the second half of the game. If we must split Ys Book I into levels (and I'm not hugely fond of that idea, the design feels less rigid than that) then I'd divide it in terms of gaps between bosses, and there's several separate bosses in Darm Tower.
Yeah, same principle, although I think I'd say Castle Strangerock is more like 35%ish. Or maybe I just spent a ton of time exploring and farming outside of it.
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At least you can open up a shortcut in that one, it's effectively two massive dungeons in the same locale. Now if we were to talk original-flavour Sunken Temple...
I think you're thinking of Assault of the Control Room. Which is long, but isn't a bad level...
...although I do draw the line when they make you do it again backwards later on (Two Betrayals)
Midgar.
If locations in FF games were basically levels then Midgar wins. It went on for so long I didn't expect an open world. I thought it was just going to be like Final Fantasy X but hot damn when you finally escape and the whole world opens before you I felt like I just beat FFVII and immediately jumped into a sequel.
The realisation that when one adventure ends, a larger one begins kind of view my mind and might be the most memorable scene for me, equal to that scene and boss from the end of disc 1.
If locations in FF games were basically levels then Midgar wins. It went on for so long I didn't expect an open world. I thought it was just going to be like Final Fantasy X but hot damn when you finally escape and the whole world opens before you I felt like I just beat FFVII and immediately jumped into a sequel.
The realisation that when one adventure ends, a larger one begins kind of view my mind and might be the most memorable scene for me, equal to that scene and boss from the end of disc 1.
My actual nomination hasn't been mentioned, which is a bit of a surprise, but maybe most people haven't played it, or maybe it's being overlooked because I'm talking about the game as a whole rather than individual levels, but:
All the story dungeons in The Elder Scrolls: Arena.
The randomly-generated dungeons are of a perfectly reasonable size, but the story dungeons are a testament to excess.
That is the first story dungeon. Of eighteen. And some have multiple floors.
And the thing is, other than the occasional door-that-requires-a-riddle, they're just mazes. Wandering round killing the same enemies with the same weapons until you stumble on the key item you need. Rinse and repeat.
There's often not even much you can use in the architecture to make educated guesses about where to explore. The entrance to this dungeon is the green square in the centre of the topmost edge. Where do you think the key item (a parchment) is hidden?
Here's an annotated map:
It's on an island right next to the entrance! But also, just look at how little content there is there that's worth exploring to find.
I once commented about Ultima 2 is that it's an RPG that felt like they didn't come up with enough game to fill in the world. Arena's story dungeons are much the same, in my eyes.
All the story dungeons in The Elder Scrolls: Arena.
The randomly-generated dungeons are of a perfectly reasonable size, but the story dungeons are a testament to excess.
That is the first story dungeon. Of eighteen. And some have multiple floors.
And the thing is, other than the occasional door-that-requires-a-riddle, they're just mazes. Wandering round killing the same enemies with the same weapons until you stumble on the key item you need. Rinse and repeat.
There's often not even much you can use in the architecture to make educated guesses about where to explore. The entrance to this dungeon is the green square in the centre of the topmost edge. Where do you think the key item (a parchment) is hidden?
Here's an annotated map:
It's on an island right next to the entrance! But also, just look at how little content there is there that's worth exploring to find.
I once commented about Ultima 2 is that it's an RPG that felt like they didn't come up with enough game to fill in the world. Arena's story dungeons are much the same, in my eyes.
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I just started FF XII. I'm sure the worst has yet to come but the first legit dungeon you get yourself thrown into was a good deal longer than I expected. I nearly got my ass handed to me since I'm too stubborn to make basche or fran a white mage. Loving it! Looking forward to barely making it thru the even longer dungeons!
Alien Isolation felt a few hours too long. Just when the tension builds and it feels like it's ending, it gives you another objective over on the other side of the station. I loved the game, but I wanted it to end way before it did.
I'm feeling the same way at the moment with Days Gone. It just keeps giving me fetch quest after fetch quest after fetch quest. Just end already.
I'm feeling the same way at the moment with Days Gone. It just keeps giving me fetch quest after fetch quest after fetch quest. Just end already.
Yeah, that does have the arrow rooms, but is much more varied than I recall. Maybe those rooms just really stick with me for some reason. It also doesn't have the water section I remember so maybe I'm mixing up two levels.
Its just a testamount to how much tighter/better paced kazooie is compared to tooie. Ive beaten banjo kazooie 3 times to completion, and in that time ive also been slowly chipping at tooie and it just feels like a huge, difficult to navigate slog. Compare those huge worlds to the charming, tight, easy to navigate, and content filled worlds of the first game and its easy to see why the first game is superior. (Well except for clankers cavern, and grunty's quiz show)
Id also throw alan wake in for consideration. Each mission takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour to beat
Resident Evil 6:
Leon Chapter 1
Chris Chapter 4
Ada Chapter 2
Uncharted Lost Legacy:
Chapter 4
Resident Evil 5:
Chapter 5-3 (literally what on earth?)
Leon Chapter 1
Chris Chapter 4
Ada Chapter 2
Uncharted Lost Legacy:
Chapter 4
Resident Evil 5:
Chapter 5-3 (literally what on earth?)
One other retro level that springs to mind, as I'm playing through some old Capcom games - Final Fight, level 6. The first 4 or so levels are pretty short really, perfect length for a brawler. Stage 5 is slightly longer, but still an ok length. Then you have stage 6, which is bloody huge. Feels like it takes twice as long to finish as any other level plus thanks to its length and enemy count, its bastard hard. Just thinking of replaying it on the Mega CD port sends shivers down my spine...
