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Water Logged

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gstaff

Member
I wish games would stop having the levels with rising/lowering water, or awkward swimming altogether. They always get put in games, and they are usually the worst levels.

That's right, I am looking at you Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, and Ninja Gaiden.
 
I agree completely, underwater segments are the antithesis of fun. Crap like the part of MGS2 where you drag that stupid girl under the water while zipping from oxygen point to oxygen point. So unbelievably stupid.
 
For me, the water level in OoT was the best designed level of the bunch. It didn't have the atmosphere of the forest temple, but it was fun imo.

Conker wasn't the same scope as the water temple. You just throw blades at moving wires and it's over pretty quick.
 
At least the psychonauts level doesn't require you to actually swim, just manuever the environment fast enough to avoid the water.
 
My biggest problem is how it just shows up in a game after not having water parts, and the controls seem so foreign from the rest of the game. Total buzz kill in Gaiden. I can give OoT credit for level design, I just didnt like it.
 
demi said:
It's also the worst level you could possibly play in a platformer.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about the meat circus or the lung fish chase? The lung fish chase was brilliant, whereas the meatcircus bit was kinda weak but quick and easy.
 
There was a Knuckles water stage like this in Sonic Adventure 2. What you were supposed to do was find an air mask that let you breathe underwater, then traverse through the water. I had no idea about an air mask, so I died like fifty times in a row trying to get through the water part. Finally (almost unbelievably), I knew the stage so well, made perfect turns to shave off tenths of a second, and made it through that part of the stage without drowning. Can you believe that? I don't think Sonic Team intended for that to happen :lol
 
Haha, that reminds me of that Metroid Prime vid where the guy makes it through Magmoor Caverns to the Phendrana Drifts without the Varia Suit to protect him from constant burning (with only 3 health blocks no less) and therefore beat the game without facing one of the bosses. Good work, I always liked trying to beat things in the most complicated way.
 
Since I never owned an N64, I played OoT years later through emulated means! But the Water Dungeon simply resulted in me stopping playing. The slow dull pushing block puzzles...this wasn't fun to me anymore, no matter how many people online told me "the cool shit is just on the horizon! don't give up!". I had other games to play that weren't punishing me and making me want to die.

Also, I vaguely remember stumbling downstairs at 3am to find my flatmate still playing KOTOR and wearing some ridiculous 'diving suit' or something that meant his running speed had been more than halved and he was on some kind of fetch quest.

I know you games marketer's want that coveted "60+ HOURS OF BULLSHIT!" tag, but can we try doing it with actual content and not dropping us in the ocean with METAL FUCKING BOOTS ON.
 
Ponn01 said:
The water level/dam in the original TMNT for NES where you have to disarm the bombs. Hate that level.
Click to expand...
This is one of the defining, archetypal bad water levels.

I tried to stay out of the water as much as possible in the Genesis Sonic games because it was such a pain.
 
Schafer said:
Are you talking about the meat circus or the lung fish chase? The lung fish chase was brilliant, whereas the meatcircus bit was kinda weak but quick and easy.
Click to expand...

The meat circus gave me endless trouble on the PC. I don't know what I was doing wrong but... yeah, torment.
 
Wraith said:
The meat circus gave me endless trouble on the PC. I don't know what I was doing wrong but... yeah, torment.
Click to expand...

I found the parts prior to the water bit (where you are racing to keep that stupid kid from dying while getting his rabbit) to be very frustrating, but the section with the rising water was cake.
 
I could not agree more, I have for years and continue to this day to hate underwater levels, especially in 3D games. Then if they put a limit on your breathing under water that just adds agony to frustration.
 
Yeah, water levels generally SUCK. Controls (along with camera) are often worse, you usually move slower and have limited supply of oxygen.
 
Also, I vaguely remember stumbling downstairs at 3am to find my flatmate still playing KOTOR and wearing some ridiculous 'diving suit' or something that meant his running speed had been more than halved and he was on some kind of fetch quest.
Click to expand...
Actually, that's one of my favorite parts of the game. There's no fetch quest, there's a part of the main quest located down there and there is also a major decision that you have to make before reaching the Star Map. You can either poison the Kolto Harvester or shut it down by solving an algorithim. It's actually good stuff and they only problem with this area is that you walk slowly. The overall area is small so it doesn't take all that long.
 
Schafer said:
I found the parts prior to the water bit (where you are racing to keep that stupid kid from dying while getting his rabbit) to be very frustrating
Click to expand...

I took a chunk out of my xbox controller by throwing it at the floor, is how much I hated this section. If you're going to auto-correct jump landings to make Raz come off as a well trained acrobat, MAKE SURE IT WORKS EVERY TIME. Otherwise I don't feel like it's my fault, you know?

Weakest part of the otherwise incredible game.

OH and also. I don't know WHO thought it would be a great idea to also repeat the same 3 voice clips from the boy at full volume during this sequence, but rest assured that a good idea is what it was NOT.

BUN BUN BUN! BU~U~U~UNN~N~N~N~YYY! OW! THAT HURTS!

ps - psychonauts rules.

pps - even worse than plain ol' water levels are constantly-scrolling water levels with juts of rock that can trap and kill you.
 
Ironic that water stages generally suck, because their music is usually some of my favorite. Yes, i'm looking at you Bubbleman BGM.
 
Theres a stage in Shinobi(PS2) where you have to constantly run/platform to higher walls while fighting ninjas,all while the water continues to rise. Jesus Christ was that ever hard.
 
schafer said:
I found the parts prior to the water bit (where you are racing to keep that stupid kid from dying while getting his rabbit) to be very frustrating, but the section with the rising water was cake.
Click to expand...

I had trouble in the second section only at the part with the ladder. For some reason I just couldn't manage to grab a hold of the damn thing and start climbing. I died so many times there because Raz wouldn't grab on to the ladder!

brandonnn said:
OH and also. I don't know WHO thought it would be a great idea to also repeat the same 3 voice clips from the boy at full volume during this sequence, but rest assured that a good idea is what it was NOT.

BUN BUN BUN! BU~U~U~UNN~N~N~N~YYY! OW! THAT HURTS!
Click to expand...

I turned the volume off after the umpteenth time that I missed a jump by a fraction and had to listen to that voice all through the next try.

Psychonauts was still amazing, though. :D
 
Ponn01 said:
The water level/dam in the original TMNT for NES where you have to disarm the bombs. Hate that level.
Click to expand...

Why does everyone say this? I had no problems and I am far from being a brilliant game player.
 
The water temple in OOT rocked. The enemies in that level were far more annoying than the puzzles. And CONSTANTLY having to switch your boots. Even the infamous water level in TMNT didn't give me problems.

What I hate is when developers put in stuff that plays nothing like the main game that's too hard and requires you to complete it.
 
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