If you’re a non-gamer here reading this, we’ve got some shocking news for you. A thing in the industry is a lot of gamers… don’t like water levels. In fact, they get pretty angry about them.

This has always baffled us as we love them. They’ve been a big part of our gaming life since the late 1980s on the NES. It got us thinking about the very best water levels, why we love them, and why others hate them. Thus, let’s delve into this world for a wibbly wobbly time of it.

The Joys of Water Levels in Gaming

That is Dire Dire Docks from the iconic Super Mario 64 (1996). For us playing that in March 1997 for the first time it was a magical experience. Even our mother, Mrs. Wapojif, was impressed by the water levels and remarked they were her favourites.

It’s a blissful time of it. Plunging into the depths to make for the most sedate and considered experience in the game. Arguably, it’s the best bit of the whole game.

Then there’s the music to add to whole excellence of the experience.

Now, we’re here to celebrate these sorts of levels. But to do so, first we must pontificate over why they are so hated. So despised, So loathed across society to the extent there have been RIOTS due to a notorious temple in an otherwise legendary game.

Now, join us as we tear down the watery barriers of perception and perceive, before us, the horror.

Where the HATRED for Video Game Water Levels Flows From

To get some understanding into this we posed this question online to gamers. The general reaction we got was it slowed down the overall experience. As in, the flow of the game is spoiled due to the more slow-paced, sometimes intricate requirements of a water level.

Think of the Water Temple in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998).  You can hear below with this player’s video from 14 years ago… the frustration.

It’s notorious for slowing everything up, being overly complicated, and demanding annoying requirements from gamers. That’s an exception for us, though, and a rare misstep for the developer.

We remember back in 1998 our mate Phil and his dad telling us they’d drawn out detailed maps on paper to try and get their brains around the irritating complexity of the temple.

The frustration was such that on the handheld 3Ds remake of the game, Nintendo made adjustments to the temple to make it easier. But it does seem like the Water Temple from Ocarina of Time has cast this negative reputation over similar areas in gaming worlds. Even if Nintendo worked on it for Twilight Princess (2006) to land an inspired update six years on.

To be fair, it’s not just Nintendo’s effort. The NES era wet stages from various platformers caused many issues, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989).

But that game is notorious in general for being stupidly difficult, so it’s not right to suggest the game was amazeballs until the wet stuff turned up.

Regardless of modern progress, the contempt for water stages continues. Researching for this feature and we found endless hate and complaints across websites and forums.

Take this feature from Comic Book Resources (CBR) titled 10 Games That Actually Have Awesome Water Levels.

“The ubiquitous water level can be frustrating and tedious, often involving the lowering and raising of water levels, making the player feel more like a plumber than a video game hero or heroine. But water levels can also be fun, unique, and memorable.”

Then we found another on Dual Shockers.

“Water levels have notoriously been some of the worst levels to be included in video games. This is mainly because the mechanics in these levels take away the mechanics the player is used to and downgrade them. In platformers, the underwater levels can feel clunky as players usually have fluid movement outside the water and then go into it and are much slower with fewer movement options.”

That feature does go on to acknowledge modern games are better at this, but in a jumbled way. One that doesn’t qualify that lots of retro games have great water levels. And we’re still a bit unclear why gamers continue to get so irate about this.

A consistent complaint we came up against was one of “cumbersome controls” and “bad physics”.

In some instances that may be the case, but we have to acknowledge that a big sect of gamers are notorious for being impatient and quick to fly into caustic rages. The slow-paced requirements of a water level can trigger that impatience, which places the levels at an unfair disadvantage when in consideration of enjoyment.

The Case for Water Stages

For us, these levels have so often been wonderful. We think of the landmark (graphically, anyway) Donkey Kong Country (1994), about to celebrate its 30th anniversary, and what it did prior to even Super Mario 64.

It turned these levels into an artform!

That’s Coral Capers, but most people think of it as Aquatic Ambiance (a nod to composer David Wise’s outstanding score for this level).

Retro Studios went a step further in 2014 with Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. A modern masterpiece, we realised just how amazing it is precisely during the epic, sprawling water stages.

In 2017, video game magazine Destructoid hailed Irate Eight as the greatest water level ever. Whilst, as usual, lamenting how terrible these sorts of levels (apparently) are, the writer flagged up this.

“The race to escape Squiddicus unwinds over three parts: the initial chase, dodging its tentacles as you swim towards safety and one final chase where it literally brings down the stage to stop you. Just thinking about it right now makes me want to stop writing this and go play that level again.”

Irate Eight really did it for us, too, an absolute masterclass in platforming excellence.

Again, it continues to strike us as odd so many have an issue with these types of stages. We’re just used to the above type of thing all the time and high-quality level design. We’re not quite sure what other people have been playing to get so negative about all of this.

Now, we’re focussed quite heavily on Nintendo so far. They’ve done some amazing water levels, is why, but you can look to many other develops for quality work.

The wonderful indie game ABZU (2016), a title set entirely underwater (oh my gawd, I feel temper rising already!!!) has beautiful moments such as this.

Another worth flagging up is the innovative 7th Colossus from Shadow of the Colossus. Others, off the top of our heads, include the likes of:

• Wavetale
• INSIDE
• Zelda BOTW and TOTK
• Zelda Wind Waker
  • The Zelda series has a long history of getting wet levels right, just getting Ocarina of Time’s temple a bit wrong
• Dave the Diver
• Loot River
• FAR: Changing Tides
• Various Metroid games
• Every Super Mario game we can think of
• Sonic the Hedgehog titles
• Banjo-Kazooie
• Spiritfarer
• Sea of Solitude

Okay, you get the idea there. But we must nod to the mighty INSIDE (2016) as one of the best indie games ever. Its various water sections are horrifying (in a horror genre sense). Judged to perfection.

And then there’s the masterpiece that is Ori and the Will of the Wisps (2020). Luma Pools is a marvel, a dreamy world of effervescent colours and phenomenal music from composer Gareth Coker.

Again, you get the idea. We’re waffling, but we’re allowed to so we can make our point.

This is because we’re building to a crescendo. Making our case with what, for us, remain our all-time favourite water stages. The ones that showcase just how enthralling, even magical, this level design can be.

Closing With Rayman Origins’ Water Level Perfection

In 2011 it was the incredible Rayman Origins that brought us joyfully back into the world of gaming. We’d spent a few years away, largely just engrossed in WOW (or playing little else). One of its big peak moments remains with the outstanding water levels. They’re gorgeous—Swimming With Stars above is a total masterpiece of a level.

It’s all magnificent and developer Ubisoft nailed it.

There’s the tense, dark, menacing opening minute that gives way to the soothing, contemplative second section signalling a brighter future ahead. French composer Christophe Héral’s sublime Rayman Origins soundtrack is a constant delight throughout the game. But it’s pretty much at its best on those water levels.

These are all from the Sea of Serendipity chapter, where there are other gems such as Beware of Mini-Murray. Here you’ve got a sense of dramatic urgency, followed a lapse into a type of ’50s Disney singsong charm offensive.

That’s something we’ve noted throughout this feature so far—water level music! On every stage we’ve flagged up, the music has been incredible. A magical experience, which highlights one of our big loves for this type of level.

You’re immersed in solitude. Water levels are peaceful. You’re often encouraged to take your time and explore, consider situations, be aware you’re more vulnerable than environments.

The flow of gameplay, beautiful music, sense of solitude, and need for caution. It’s a beautiful merger of everything right and uplifting about video games.