Every Super Mario 64 Level RANKED 

Big Boo's Haunt is also the only stage in this game that doesn't share its music with any other

Today I learned my tastes in Mario 64 worlds are very different from the majority, I suppose. The Snowman world was always one of my favorites because it’s relatively compact and you don’t have to spend a ton of time simply running/swimming to get to the challenge for the star. Also you can shell surf. It’s far more fun than Cool Cool World IMO. Also Rainbow Ride has a special place in Hell.

Tall, Tall Mountain at #14? _Whaaaat?_ That's, like, my favorite. 😲

It really says something about the game when you never say that a level is outright terrible or bad. Despite being one of the earliest 3D platformers, to this day none of the levels are subpar.

I don't agree with every pick here but I'm happy to see I'm not the only one who loves Lethal Lava Land. It's a blast to tear through. And your description of it kind of being a symbol of how you have evolved as a gamer was fantastic, it was the exact same for me in the exact same order of events lol. Nailed everything I love about the level.

I actually really like TTM! It may be repetitive to scale the mountain, but I also really enjoy scaling the mountain lol - it reminds me of house music: repetitive, but enjoyable. I always look forward to it when I play through this game

Good list. I like that you were able to criticize your least favorite levels without straight up trashing them. It is very easy to praise the good stuff in games, but much harder to properly criticize the bad stuff.

Why do they call that song "Dire Dire Docks" anyway? They clearly should call it "Jolly Roger Bay." Not only is it just a better and more fitting name, but Jolly Roger Bay is actually the first level to use the song anyway!

I think Shifting Sand Land is the point where difficulty ramps up and this could be why you rate it lower than you feel it deserves. Compared to the lava in the world before the insta-kill quicksand and being crushed under the boxes plus the ability to loose your hat to the vulture means you can't be as care-free as before while it is still quite a bit to the end-game levels without floors.

This was a great video and I agree with a lot of the points that you mentioned regarding the respective level designs. I also appreciated the variety of game footage shown. Too often with video essays like this on other channels, it's the same gameplay loop repeated over and over while points are being made. That amount of work that you put in does not go unnoticed.

Literally everyone ranks hazy maze cave so low despite it being so vast and full of mysteries. I think a lot of levels are ranked high based om nostalgia, not level design/gameplay

Definitely agree with your #1 pick, the openess of the level truly lets you play it however you want! My suggestion for a future ranking video would be ranking all of the levels in DK64 :)

15: Dire Dire Docks (Ugh! More boring water levels?! NEXT!!!) 14: Jolly Roger Bay (Great music and atmosphere, terrible level) 13: Rainbow Ride (Infuriatingly difficult final challenge!) 12: Snowman’s Land (Blends in with the superior Cool Cool Mountain) 11: Wet Dry Land (I like it, but I certainly do not love it) 10: Tall Tall Mountain (Fairly forgettable aside from the slide) 9: Shifting Sand Land (Surprisingly solid for a desert stage) 8: Tiny Huge Island (This concept is iconic at this point) 7: Tick Tock Clock (One of the most innovative stage ideas) 6: Leathal Lava Land (It’s cursed that lava is Course 7) 5: Bob-Omb Battlefield (A perfect tutorial level!) 4: Hazy Maze Cave (Notable for getting me lost as a kid) 3: Whomp’s Fortress (The gold standard of platforming in this game) 2: Big Boo’s Haunt (This level scared many back in the day) 1: Cool Cool Mountain (From the slide to the ice to the baby penguin! Wow!)

Did you seriously just imply that anyone in the course of history has played Shocking Arrow Lifts as intended?

Tick tock clock is #1 for me. It's always been my favorite level because it's challenging. It take everything you've learned from the previous levels to test your skill. You can also use the different clock speeds to explore the level better if needed. TTC is 3D platforming at its finest. My other favorites are Big Boo's Haunt, Wet Dry World, and Bob-omb Battlefield. Tall Tall Mountain is dead last to me. It was a pretty stale, and wasn't memorable compared to the others. The two main water levels (DDD and JRB) are also at the bottom of my list.

Dire dire docks booting you outside the castle entirely if you swim through that opening though was great

I agree to the most part but honestly Hazy Maze Cave coin star doesn't feel like a drawback to me. Yeah, you can randomly die, but if you're careful it didn't happen, and the whole level being so huge made it really feel like a long journey to the coin star. As a kid I loved it. I've not revisited it since admittedly but it felt very rewarding doing such a long level.

19:26 Personal guess on why most of us did this: There's a surprised realization that the game will actually *let* you throw the baby off the ledge. It's clearly not what you're supposed to do, but you can. And it clashes so heavily with the tone of the game that the fact you can do it is kind of hilarious. At least as children (and this instinct doesn't fully go away) there's a desire to explore boundaries and to playfully transgress those boundaries. We can just barely hear a voice from beyond say "You silly, that's not what you're supposed to do" Or, to put it another way: It was our way of trolling Miyamoto even if he couldn't literally see us.

I agree with the placements on this list more than any other list I’ve seen. Might quibble a place or two up or down for some of the levels in the middle of the pack, but bottom 5 and top 5 are 100% agree.

For me, from best to worst, it's... 1 Hazy Maze Cave 2 Snowman's Land 3 Tall, Tall Mountain 4 Wet-Dry World 5 Cool, Cool Mountain 6 Dire, Dire Docks 7 Lethal Lava Land 8 Jolly Roger Bay 9 Big Boo's Haunt 10 Bob-omb Battlefield 11 Tick Tock Clock 12 Shifting Sand Land 13 Whomp's Fortess 14 Rainbow Ride 16 Tiny-Huge Island

My favorite course in the game would have to be Hazy Maze Cave due to the amount of secrets the course has along with the various enemies, not to mention the amount of nostalgia I had trying to find Waluigi in the DS version here.

I think one of these would be great for Sunshine! Loved your breakdown

Great video and a list similar to my taste! Touching on the beginning of your video, I think that SM64 is still almost universally loved for the fact that it is and always will be one of the most revolutionary games ever made. There's a definitive "before and after" SM64 and for all of us who are old enough to have first played on the NES and/ or SNES, seeing Mario in 3D, jumping, running and kicking it was mind boggling. That very first impression of seeing the castle and Mario from all angles is a feeling that will never fade away. When thinking about it, I still remember being 6 years old and not believing what I'm looking at.

This channel is rad as hell. I have an itch to watch level/world/dungeon rankings and this is a brilliant scratch

Good and fun to watch, thanks for this! I also enjoyed your BK and BT video. Keep up the good work!

Lethal Lava Land is pretty low on my list, if I had to rank them myself. It just feels so... cobbled together and incoherent. It's still really fun, as are all the levels in this ICONIC game, but I never found myself looking forward to specifically LLL

Excellent video and a nice nostalgia trip. Obviously I won't agree with every single placement, but I like how you gave credit to some underrated stages such as Lethal Lava Land, which is my #2 after Cool Cool Mountain (with Wet Dry World being my #3). Lethal Lava Land is the ultimate "the floor is lava" playground, it's so much fun and versatile. Even the 100 coin mission is great.

Excellent video, you're a great writer and it shows in your script. Nice job!

This was a good video with some interesting takes! Most other videos I've seen ranked Rainbow Ride and Tick Tock Clock much lower so it was good to hear your analysis on those two in particular!

Super Mario 64 was one of the very first video games I ever played as a child and Big Boo's Haunt has always been my favorite so I'm thrilled to see it ranking so high!

Lovely video. Interesting list. I always loved Lethal Lava Land and the Boo level as well. That eel scared the heck outta me when I first got the game, though. Easily scarier than anything the Boos had to throw at me.

This is such a great video, well done, truly. The structure of all of your points and arguments are just beautiful and easy to follow. I also agree with all of it

Great work on this! Good to see another video from you. Are you familiar with Danganronpa? I'm a bit of a Danganronpa fan (been writing fanfiction for it for several years now) and if possible, I'd love to see you rank the Class Trials in DR 1, 2, and V3 (whether all at once or separated by game is up to you of course). Hope you like my suggestion, and regardless of what it is, I'll be excited to see your next video!

i love these kinds of videos from you. such a fun watch

This was a really great video. Even though I've never really gotten along with Super Mario 64 that well, I somehow still agree with all your points. Except Lethal Lava Land, I've died so many times in that damn volcano 😭 For a ranking video, I'd love to see all the Galaxies or Kingdoms ranked from Galaxy or odyssey respectively

I really appreciate the list!! You did a great job of explaining yourself! I was laughing because when u explained your list I was almost at an alter ego warrior phase because that was one of my least favorite levels! Also I loved what you said about Jolly Roger bay a lot of hype and potential especially for the aquatic level but didn’t have the aura of the other levels! Keep me posted with what u think about the Mario movie!!

14:08 Wow! I played the game since 2000 And I never knew that you could warp right up next to the cannon like that !

My three favourites: . Dire Dire Docks - great name, beautiful music, a SHARK. . Wet Dry World - has a mildly creepy vibe because it’s an abandoned town, and the height that you jump in equaling the water-level is pure genius! Big Boo’s Haunt - ghost house. Honorary Mentions: . Tall, Tall Mountain - I just LOVED the slide! . Tiny-Huge Island - lots of fun. Best Power-Star Names: . The Big House In The Sky . Stop Time For Red Coins . Can The Eel Come Out To Play? . Tricky Triangles! . Wall Kicks Will Work . Scary ‘Shrooms, Red Coins . Metal-Head Mario Can Move! . Go To Town For Red Coins

Bro I got 120 stars as a kid and again when the all star game came out and I never realized wet-dry world would change based on how you enter. Crazy

Really great video! Pretty much agree with the whole top 5.

Interesting list! I always considered Rainbow Ride a pretty atrocious level that I always dread having to play, meanwhile I never really minded Dire Dire Docks.

Really, BombOmb Battlefield and Rainbow Ride are the two greatest testimonies of the game's success. BB is very simple and fun to play. It introduces the player to almost every aspect of the game perfectly, and having to wait until you unlock the wing-cap forces you to come back to this course at a later time, helping it be more memorable. It really is the perfect introduction level, -up there with Super Mario Bros 1-1. RR is the perfect end-game challenge that pushes you on almost every aspect of the game, while also requiring you to have patience, and yet quick reaction time. Every detail of the level is designed to punish you for carelessness, with a few opportunities for lucky landings when you do mess up. Each star is unique and has you explore a different part of a well designed level. The way these two stages jux-oppose each other highlights the progress you've made throughout the game.

i've been watching you for almost 2 years now. keep it up :)

Came across this video when looking for SM64 iceberg videos, and I gotta say, I love this list! I agree for the most part, though CCM will always be my #1. If I may make a suggestion for a future ranking, perhaps Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess? I watched your OoT ranking, so I figured I'd see if you'd consider other Zelda games as well!

I just wanted to say first off. I love ur videos man definitely keep making ones like this it’s great content I found u last year binged ur ranking videos ( which are my favorites ) and then didn’t see u for a while until today I saw this video I like ur style and I can feel ur passion for the same games I grew up with so I like to cook a good meal and watch a video of yours keep up the good work . As regards to this specific video I predicted u would put bomb bomb battlefield in number 1 but to my shock it’s lethal lava land I was like NOOOO But when you said what you said I kind of agreed even going far back to when I was a kid I always admired the many different ways you can run around that map getting Mario’s ass burned countless times I think my number 1 is cool cool mountain bc I’m a junkie for winter levels in games and that level in particular is just so fun to slide everywhere. I didn’t expect to type this much but I been wanting to say most of this for a while not sure if you will see this but thank you I have officially subscribed!!!!

I don't agree with his picks entirely, but this video was well thought-out and entertaining. I'm glad I subbed. Can't wait to see what videos he'll make next

Dang, I couldn’t agree with a single position lmao I think Lethal Lava Land as no 1 is insane, specially considering how low Shifting Sand Land is, when that course is way more interesting and does all of the things LLL does and more.

All-in-all, a very good list. I agree with pretty much all the placements except I would put Jolly Roger Bay above Tall Tall Mountain, I'd swap Shifting Sands Land and Tick Tock Clock, and I'd put Hazy Maze Cave as my #1 pick. (but then, HMC is my personal favourite so I'm biased!)

Excited to see your Super Mario Sunshine levels ranked video!

I love that I was going through your ranking with a speedrunner mentality and some of the levels you called slow, are very high paced in speedruns (HMC 100 and SSL). But I totally agree that from a casual gameplay perspective some levels are more tedious.

Therapist: Cbum Mario isn’t real he can’t hurt you Cbum Mario: 1:25

Great list! I don't agree with many of these but man, this was a fun list.

I was watching your video on the worst Zelda heart piece and went "Manda, I sure hope he has other good videos" and then I realized I've watched like 3 of your videos Can't wait for the next one dude

Oh? What's that? You accidentally barely touched the sand? Aww. Too bad, you're dead. What's that? You only had a few coins to go for the 100 mission? And what else? You say that it's your 20th attempt? You got killed by an invisible barrier that instantly sucked you into the sand while FLYING? It came out of nowhere? The turtle shell broke by tapping the edge of nothing, causing you to get sucked into the sand again? What's that? The cap literally disappeared after getting it back from the vulture's talons? Gone? Guess you gotta restart the game, because it isn't there when you restart the level? And you were so close to the 100-coin mission again. What's that? You JUST missed one of the secrets and have to climb back up again? It's your 15th time? You stood on top of all four pillars and attempted it three more times, and the entrance still won't open? What's that? One of the tornados took you and threw you in the sand again? Well too bad! Deal with the poor glitches and level design. On top of that, watch someone rate it much higher than it should be. Sorry. I just DESPISE that level. I hate it with every ounce of my being.

Really been enjoying your content. I saw some clips from Metroid dread, I’d love to see your take on that game.

Just discovered your channel! Love the content!! May I suggest ranking the Diddy Kong Racing stages??

When I first played this game I misread Shifting Sand Land as "Sniffing The Sand Land" for 2 years.

It was refreshing to see a Mario 64 level ranking that didn't put Rainbow Ride at the bottom or second to last placement. Ive always had a soft spot for that course

Bob-bomb Battlefield is by far the best level, one of the best intros in gaming history!

As the 1# fan of Bob omb battlefield,I’m so happy you put it high on the list

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

I like for what you considered low and high ranked levels by the factor of freedom, creativity and unique level design. I also think these are great factors for me too, and I always have thought that the place of a level was understandable.

2:16 I don't even know if I remember this at this point but this still made me groan in frustration 😂

I'd argue that Mario 64 is more popular now than when it first came out. Even back then with the launch of the N64 I've never heard it talked about so much.

Hmm...cool video but I'd have to disagree personally...I love Dire Dire Docks...did then, still do now. The music is amazing and it adds to the coolness of the atmosphere of Mario 64...it's got it's own mood/vibe and I love what Dire Dire Docks adds to it. It has it's own kind of pace. Solid video though.

Honestly i would've put snowmans land in last. It was the only stage in the game that i felt wasn't finished. Even as a kid i never really liked it, which I can't say about any of the others aside from rainbow ride and hazy maze cave (which i only disliked because i wasn't a fan of the "hard" stages in the game). I always remember skipping those stages to get to final bowser, lol.

Everyone always mentions the eel in Jolly Roger Bay as their nightmare inducing enemy as a kid (only taking Mario, cause let's be honest, Zelda's dead hand and floormasters were the true op), but nah we all collectively chose to forget about the piano in Big Boo's Haunt. The adrenaline rush I specifically remembered getting as a kid when you brought up that thing up... I know I was terrified of that thing n I chose to forget that dang thing

> Bob-omb Battlefield - Tiny-huge Island Whomp's Fortress - Tall, Tall Mountain Jolly Roger Bay - Dire Dire Docks Cool, Cool Mountain - Snowman's Land Lethal Lava Land - Shifting Sand Land (the opposites) Wing Mario to the 8 Red coins - Rainbow Ride

addicted to this videos

I loooooove Tall, Tall Mountain! It felt like a real place as a kid. Hard to rank this behind the one I hate the most...the glitch-fest that is Tiny Huge Island.

good video king

Lethal Lava Land at 1???? What??? It’s my absolutely least favorite level by a mile!

this is the content i NEED

I understand some levels had to be ranked lower, but you made a comment about tall tall mountain not introducing anything special (may not have been your actual words) but I love the fact that the slide is located within the mountain and there are a lot of mushrooms and the monkey! Personally it's one of my top 7 at least! 😊

Solely my opinion, based on the DS port: 15. Rainbow Ride 14. Dire Dire Docks 13. Jolly Roger Bay 12. Snowman's Land 11. Hazy Maze Cave 10. Big Boo's Haunt 9. Cool Cool Mountain 8. Wet Dry World 7. Tiny Huge Island 6. Tall Tall Mountain 5. Lethal Lava Land 4. Bob Bomb Battlefield 3. Shifting Sand Land 2. Tik Tok Clock 1. Whomp's Fortress

There's something I appreciate about the low-poly geometry of this game. It makes the movement system predictable in a way modern games just can't replicate with their grass and branches that block your every move at random

Before watching this video, here's my ranking. I feel like I was more biased towards levels that just breathed atmosphere when I was younger. I remember this game being pretty darn difficult, too. I'm very curious how my ranking is gonna differ 'cause each of the levels all have their own unique gameplay mechanics. Even the worst ones have some cool things going on. I hated Wet-Dry World, but I can appreciate the fact that I was blown away discovering that there's a SECRET hidden city in the corner of the map. 15. Dire, Dire Docks 14. Wet-Dry World 13. Tiny-Huge Island 12. Tall, Tall Mountain 11. Tick Tock Clock 10. Big Boo's Haunt 9. Rainbow Ride 8. Jolly Roger Bay 7. Cool, Cool Mountain 6. Lethal Lava Land 5. Snowman's Land 4. Bob-omb's Battlefield 3. Shifting Sand Land 2. Hazy Maze Cave 1. Whomp's Fortress

Very interesting list. I hate the Wet-Dry World, but you have a valid point there for being #7. I guess my top 3 would be something of Tick Tock Clock, Bob-Omb Battlefield and maybe Whomps Fortress.

Not sure how I'd rank every level, but my top 5 favorites are (in no order): Bom-Omb Battlefield (where it all started), Jolly Roger Bay, Shifting Sand Land, Hazy Maze Cave, and Big Boo's Haunt. Next up is a combination of Lethal Lava Land (my brothers and I used to call this place Hell, while Bowser 2 was my personal Hell), Whomp's Fortress, Wet/Dry World, and Snowman's Land.

Every level of this game was such a great time, but definitely the boo mansion is my favorite

The number of people that have trouble with star 1 on JRB always baffles me. The way it works is you go down to the ship so the eel sees you, then swim up and away from the ship (usually simultaneously to come up for air) and that lures him out.

I'd never put lethal lava land that high but I'd put Boo's Haunt at #1 always look forward to unlocking that level since you can't fall to your death in a void or lava unlike many other levels.

Cool list! I love this game, and have been playing it for years. It's always fun to see how others feel about the levels! Personally I don't think there's a bad one in the bunch. Here's my ranking! 15: Tiny Huge Island 14: Lethal Lava Land 13: Hazy Maze Cave 12: Shifting Sands Land 11: Big Boo's Haunt 10: Dire Dire Docks 9: Wet Dry World 8: Cool Cool Mountain 7: Jolly Roger Bay 6: Snowman's Land 5: Tall Tall Mountain 4: Bobomb Battlefield 3: Rainbow Ride 2: Tick Tock Clock 1: Whomp's Fortress

Super Mario 64 as an elite bodybuilder is the greatest comparison ever.

Dire Dire Docks is my favorite. I've been playing SM64 since I was 3. Meaning I'm going on 23 years with it this year. I think Dire Dire Docks is the best once you get comfortable with it. It's great. I wouldn't die on the hill of it being the best, but it's certainly my favorite

I remember rainbow ride feeling like a fantasy. That would've been my top pick

May be controversial, but Dire Dire Docks is my favorite level in SM64. I personally like it because of the feeling it gives me. I'm not quite sure how to describe it but it has always stood out to me for some reason. Maybe I'm just crazy but, hey aren't we all?

in no possible way is wet dry world better than tall tall mountain

I was always way more afraid of Boss Bass in Tiny Huge Island than I was creeped out by anything atmospheric in the other levels. Big Boo's Haunt gave me the exact right amount of haunted house tension with its music and the ghosts taunting you, but I always found Wet Dry World extremely _fun_ like it was a collection of random platforms the way Super Mario Bros 3 levels typically were, but in 3D. And even weirder than be being afraid of being killed by Boss Bass, I read the sign in Hazy Maze Cave saying that Dory might eat you and _actively trying to_ get her to eat Mario by pounding her back and jumping in the water near her mouth. I guess she only eats bad guys.

The eel'is the bane of my existence 😢 even after having watched Pannenkoek's video "seeing the invisible" (i think) I still have a hard time. And speaking of wet dry world. Thanks to the decompilation project, I learnt that ALL painting are separated into 3 parts, where they all do the same thing (except for wdw), so I made a hack to test where each painting sends you to a different world based on the height of enter. 😅

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

Big Boo's Haunt is my favorite level only because Boos are my favorite enemies. Also because the music gives me a Joy Division vibe. The main theme music. Not the carousel music. Also on an unrelated to levels note, the Piranha Lullaby deserves love as a piece of music.

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

"You will either love or hate Wet Dry World" I love this level and it is the level I will constantly go to if I just want to platform around and have fun doing nothing in SM64. #1 for me for sure for pure fun, best level ever. Admittedly tho, other than the underwater town, aesthetically its very generic and more of a playground than something extremely cohesive. So I can understand why people can rank it low.

My rankings: 15. Dire Dire Docks 14. Tiny-Huge Island (I like the gimmick but the stars in the level are pretty annoying) 13. Rainbow Ride (lots of riding on the carpets, but the Triangles and red coins are fun) 12. Jolly Roger Bay 11. Snowman's Land 10. Tall Tall Mountain 9. Cool Cool Mountain 8. Whomp's Fortress 7. Bob-omb Battlefield 6. Shifting Sand Land 5. Big Boo's Haunt 4. Lethal Lava Land 3. Tick Tock Clock 2. Hazy Maze Cave 1. Wet-Dry World

Not a huge fan of lethal lava land but that's my favourite 100 coin star to get.

Here are my ranking of each level from best to worst. 1: Tick Tok Clock 2: Rainbow Ride 3: Lethal Lava Land 4: Bob-omb Battlefield 5: Tall Tall Mountain 6: Cool Cool Mountain 7: Hazy Maze Cave 8: Shifting Sand Land 9: Big Boo's Hunt 10: Jolly Roger Bay 11: Wet Dry World 12: Whoomp's Fortress 13: Tiny Huge Island 14: Snowman's Land 15: Dire Dire Docks

Can you make another video in which you are rating the courses again but in the DS version? The gimmicks of multiple characters may shuffle some of the courses around

The HD visuals in this video are nice.

*-Cries in Jolly Roger Bay being my favorite level(s) as a kid-* ;u;