Top Ten Video Game Water Levels 

I really hope You start a whole "theme levels" section. Lava levels, spooky levels, swamp levels, snow levels, space levels, circus levels, food levels.... You are the right man to do it.

Two things: 1. This video is coming out on my birthday! 2. A water level countdown on the first day of the Year of the Water Rabbit. Don't know if that was intentional or not.

Um, the ancient Cistern doesn't start with the Tadtones part, that happens later in the game when you need to get the music notes from each of the Dragons, but the Ancient Cistern is earlier when you need to upgrade the Goddess Blade into the Master Sword by using 3 flames from 3 separate dungeons. Just felt like that needed to be pointed out.

Fun fact, the original version of this countdown was what got me to play Sonic Colors, which is to date still my favorite Sonic game. Curious to see where Aquarium Park lands this time around.

I know you've done plenty of themed months before like Monster Month, Patreon Month, and the always classic Weapons Month. But after this, can we have a levels themed month, because this was a fun countdown with quite the varied selection this time around, both old and new.

Zelda games frequently struggled with this sort of level. But I do believe the Ancient Cistern is one of the best. Possibly one of the shining temples in Skyward Sword. Having an amazing boss at the end of it and swimming controls that work well certainly helps in that regard.

Man I’ve been looking forward to this one for a long time! I remember watching your original one when it popped up in my recommendations probably like 10 years ago. I remember that video specifically inspired me to make my own channel and make my own countdowns! Although I’ve moved on from countdowns, I’ll never forget the impact that original video left on me Thank you Green Scorpion

"Revenge is a dish best served cold and it tastes like takoyaki." That is _the_ best line I have ever heard come out of anyone's mouth! I love it! 😆😆😆

Honestly shocked Aquarium Park was dethroned, but the reason was just perfect. Rayman deserves much more respect

I love Mansion of the Deep. The ambience and music of the stage feels that you are infiltrating in a secret base, going in the different rooms back and forth to destroy power generators, so you can enter places which are blocked by eletricity, while defeating the guards.The rooms themselves are rich of details with a old style, making you feel that you are in a classic spy movie.

As someone who has watched all the original versions of these remakes I am very excited for this one

Always nice to see Water Levels done right! Let's see what swims and what sinks, shall we? #10: Metroid has always had its... Struggles with water levels. But I agree, once you get the Gravity Suit, it's SOOO much better. #9: Whoa, Ristar- that's a curveball and a half! Also, yeah, Sonic's water levels stink. Glad ONE of Sega's rogue's gallery got it right... #8: AAAAAAH!!! SO MUCH NOSTALGIA!! New Snap taking the water level full-bore is a nice suprise, though. Also, FLYING BLASTOISE, WHAT THE HECK. #7: I have yet to play Skyward Sword(mostly 'cause of the whole right-handed bias **grumblegrumble**). But if I ever DO, something tells me this'll be one to look forward to. #6: ...You'd think yarn and water wouldn't mix, but this one proves that wrong. #5: I mean, you WOULD think a game company called "YACHT Club" would get a water level right. And you'd be right. #4: Ahh, good ol' Mario. Hard to go wrong with him, even WITH a Water Level. #3: DK is one series that has a good relationship with water levels- hard to go wrong here. #2: Sonic and water NORMALLY don't mix. This stage is the exception. #1: Good to see Rayman coming back to relevance ASIDE from the whole Rabbids thing. Kinda wish they'd KEPT IT THAT WAY... Though the Rabbids CAN be fun as their own thing. Oooh, time to knuckle down(or would that be "knuckle up"?) for the next one!

Oscar is making a big Splash opening this 2023 countdowns with Water Levels. I'll be giving my thought as usual as we deep dive thru the Aquatic Arenas. 10: Ah, Sector 4. AQA is right after dealing with a X infested Sea Snake it's almost tranquail. 9: Sega's Stretchy Starman swims to the list. 8: New Pokemon Snap? I passed on it, due to lack of funds, but it's good to see the sea has great depth. 7: By the great heavenly Buddha! It's time to go thru the story of the Spider's thread! 6: A knitted little slice of Kirby half way thru the list. 5: Sir Big Daddy and his Iron Whale! This level was fun. 4: A carbinated ocean to relax in the middle of your quest to the Moon. 3: DKC, time to get some Calamari! 2: UNLIMITED COLORS! 1: A Stealth and Water Level that's good? Nice!

Still have lots of love for #7 and #2 all these years later. #3 was pretty good, too. Felt like a relaxing break from all the adventuring beforehand. I'd like to see more these level-theme lists, too. You might have a new Weapons Month-esque or mini-series hit on your hands. Also, ABZU as an honorable mention works.

Happy to see Dolphin Kirby is (still) on here. Those were the most satisfying swim controls I've ever experienced. And Kirby's Epic Yarn is just a great game, period.

Love, love, LOVE Rayman Legends!! That last room in Mansion of the Deep is my favorite to run through without stopping❤

I’m glad that Rayman origins and legends gets more attention. Rayman needs more games like these, and not just another mobile game

Comparing this countdown to your previous one, really shows how much water levels have progressed.

So for Link to swim he used flippers, zora clothes with iron boots, turning into zora, zora armor, a mermaids tail, but a dragon scale is all he needed to improve swimming.

I’m betting Fawful’s minion is silently cursing you 😂

You probably still haven't played the game Oscar, but my favourite water level is actually two: Ship Rex and Rex Marks the Spot from TY the Tasmanian Tiger. OH! These levels rock! The swimming mechanics in the game are so fluent to control and navigating the wide-ocean areas feels so good. And the weirdest thing is that even though their is an air mechanic, you hardly even notice it because it goes down so slowly. Long of short: these levels are just fun to run/swim around for the hell of it!

I wonder which levels could reappear on this list? Will the Ancient Cistern and Aquarium Park hold up or will a new water level take their place?

Awesome picks my dude. Water levels get a lot of crap but it's one of my favourite themes for levels in games, I adore the atmosphere of the deep ocean. I share a few of your choices, but I think my favourite water levels of all time in no particular order are Aquarium Park from Sonic Colors, the Sage Shrine from Okamiden, Great Bay Temple in Majora's Mask (yes I actually like this dungeon, screw Gyorg on 3DS but other than that I don't find it all that confusing and I love it), the Ancient Cistern, Page 5 from Yoshi's Story, Seaside Kingdom from Mario Odyssey, and the Submerged Castle from Pikmin 2. Personally my pick for the Metroid series is a tough one. My first thought is Torvus Bog, but Sector 4 is contender too for just how damn pretty the reef section is. The water area in Dread is brilliantly atmospheric too, and probably has my favourite backgrounds in the entire series. In the end though, I think I'd go with the latter if only for how much I adore the aesthetic.

Now this takes me back to when I discovered your channel. It was after you have completed your first weapons month so thanks for the updates on classic lists 😊

It always warms my heart to see the criminally underated Endless Ocean series get some recognition, reguardless of how breif it might be!

Fun Fact: The eels from Super Mario 64 make an appearance in Seaside Kingdom under their current name, Maw-Ray. They are redesigned to have more detailed appearance with realistic anatomy as well as menacing, glowing eyes. They attack by lunging out of their nesting spots at a high rate of speed before snapping their enormous jaws and receding, and can be positioned either horizontally or vertically.

Honorable mentions: Splash and Aqua Garden from the respective NiGHTS into Dreams, and NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams. Both are aquatic-themed levels in their individual games, with Aqua Garden having more undersea areas like the one where you play as Helen to try and find NiGHTS after the two are separated due to Wizeman's meddling.

That intro is LEGENDARY love it. Respect and keep up the epic work.

Rehydrating an older countdown with a fresh tank of entries and cleaner environs. #10: As the mainstay aquatic area, you can't even get wet at first since it's electrified! Once you have your Gravity Suit, though, it's a fun romp. #9: Sonic's predecessor clearly has better sea legs in his case....and strong arms to boot. Ruins before butting heads with a Hammerhead. #8: Snap's sequel has more areas, and this one has you taking photo ops above and below the waves. #7: A water dungeon that is one of the most popular and enlightening... #6: When you're yarn, water is seamless....pun intended. #5: An underwater quest to infiltrate the Iron Whale and take on the Nautical Big Daddy, Treasure Knight! #4: Welcome to the Seaside Kingdom! Enjoy the champagne waters, explore the coral reefs below, and enjoy the beachside view. #3: A deep dive into the depths of ancient ruins....and soon runs into a GIANT KRAKEN! #2: The winner of the previous iteration, and still a strong contender. Aesthetics, movement, and effects are all in balance. Also, Dragon Palace is awesome...just don't eat the fish bucket they serve #1: Rayman clearly swam away with the win there....while being chased by a sea dragon after infiltrating the bad guy's base.

Well time for another remake. Water levels have come a long way with how hated they are but lately there's been a lot that end up actually pretty great.

I really like the way you describe the styles of underwater movement. I feel like going in depth on that could be a video in its own right. Also very happy to Rayman legends on this list, 100% deserves its spot.

Correction, the flooding of Faron Woods occurs at the end of the game, where you’re collecting pieces of the Song of the Hero, aka long AFTER you go through the Ancient Cistern. Other than that, everything else about that entry is pretty solid to me.

I instantly recognized Endless Ocean. I grew up playing that a ton

I jsut want to give a shout-out to the Ginso Tree level in Ori and the Blind Forest. It starts as a regular tree level where you ascend the insides of a massive tree, except when you think you're completing with the level you're actually flooding the tree, leading to a mad dash to the top of the tree to escape the rushing waters. The escape sequence is known for being extremely hard but also absolutely amazing once you get it right, with possibly the best level music in the entire game. I'd recommend watching a playthrough of it on this platform.

Here are some honorable mentions Whale Bay (Rayman 2) Dire Dire Docks (Super Mario 64) Vah Ruta (Breath of the Wild) Lost World (Sonic Adventure) Absolute Zero (Vectorman) Coral Capers (Donkey Kong Country) Via Purifico part 2 (Final Fantasy X)

Well made list! A couple newer water levels that are also worth looking into sometime are Tidal Gate and Gravity Bubble from Freedom Planet 2.

I've always been that weird guy who unironically likes most if not all the water levels in games, even the Water Temple so needless to say I'm hyped for this one!

Man this needs more views. Great video!

I love that your still here! I used to watch these videos when I was like middle school, now I'm in college xD

10:18 go go power blastoise

Technically, the “goblins” from Rayman Legends are toads. Only these roads are more advanced than the ones from the second world, Toad Story.

I recall the original video of this being the one that introduced me to your channel. This comes full circle for me!

wow I actually never noticed that Shovel Knight level detail while playing. Infiltrating the submarine is such a cool idea!

FINALLY, someone who realizes that Rayman has PEAK water controls

Honorable mention here: Gloomy Galleon. That level is an aquaphob's nightmare mainly cause of just what you don't know of what expect down there. Sure you have sunken ships with starfish hounding you and the fact that it's dark as hell at night in there makes it more stressful not as stressful as when that FREAKING ROBOT FISH SHOWS UP. Man I did not look forward to that junk especially since I was still recently recovering from my encounter with snacker in Banjo-kazooie (the game that made me fear going in video game water for the rest of the late 90's) but I knew a gold banana was in that thing so with some support I got that banana and bolted. Pufftoss wasn't too bad of a boss fight but screw that timer.

holy crap, i remember watching your punchout countdown ages ago. i always thought you were such a youtube, and i'm glad to see you're still around and kicking, keep up the good work lmao

I don't think I've heard of those underwater level styles before. That's pretty interesting. I know that the underwater levels from the original Super Mario Bros. were originally from how Balloon Fight controls.

the Metroid Tradition of making the player slog through water before getting the gravity suit upgrade should be called The Abyss Run, since they are typically running underwater.

When you said Pokemon my first thought was Pokemon Ranger Shadows of Almia, but I was equally happy to see praise for Pokemon Snap. I LOVE that game so much and I think Maricopia is my favorite area. Also, I'm glad to see someone else that likes the Lakebed Temple.

10 years ago I subscribe watching the "Top Ten Games You've Probably Never Played...Yet" now I am back

I only have one thing to say about this list..... GLOO! GLOO!

Sweet sweat sweet traditional type 10's never let me go

There's something so serene about water levels so I love it when they're done well.

This is going to be a good countdown.

Please do more top list like this more often!

The closest the mainline Pokémon games ever got to "Fun Water Level" was treasure hunting with dive in gen 3, and the closest any other game came was timed ruin maze explorations in gen 4 before Dive never appeared again followed by HMs disappearing entirely.

a lil something on #10: wasn't Burenia in Dread the only area without an EMMI zone. I mean there was an underwater EMMI zone, but it wasn't in Burenia. it still was a nightmare to get through and took my Dad and I days to figure out due to the stress of that EMMI killing you constantly. Also regarding shovel knight's odd underwater logic about not needing air underwater. I think there was a theory that shovel knight is a catfish under that armor? (how the other knights do it though who knows)

Appreciate the best take on Underwater being Rayman Legends :D Rather than just swimming down the ocean the whole time we get to enter some Nouveau Steampunk underwater base and suddenly it becomes Mission Impossible! That must be the best way to do a Water Level so far! And worth pointing out the boss theme for the 20.000 lums fucking SLAAAAPS! It's called "A Madman's Creation" and I encourage anyone to listen to it.

Oooooh, this will definitely be worth the wait! :D

You used a Transformers Prime clip. I officially love you Oscar. (Platonically)

Interesting you used some Spongebob clips for this video about water themed levels because in one of the Spongebob games, specifically the GBA port of the game based off the first movie, since Spongebob already mainly takes place underwater, Shell City, the reverse water world of that game, will have Spongebob and Patrick eventually dying from a lack of WATER unless they activate one of the many sprinkler systems.

My tant can make me breath under water for 15 minutes.

Whoo boy, a storm is coming. These seas may be unforgiving, but let's set sail. 10: Sad that the first example that we see is that it sucks at first, then gets better later. In other words, we don't have 10 candidates that don't suck all the way through, which is sad. I like water levels. (Sector 4 [AQA] (Metroid Fusion)) 9: Sega is not the best on crediting its old games unless it's Sonic. (Planet Undertow (Ristar)) 8: Probably my favorite part of the game, exploring these courses. This game makes me happy. Though I will say that the encounter with Milotic is my preferred water Illumina Pokemon. Wishiwashi is intimidating, while Milotic is majestic. (Maricopia (New Pokemon Snap)) 7: Now THIS is something that I could get behind. (Ancient Cistern (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)) 6: Ah, yes, back in the days where not every one of Kirby's games involved some sort of eldritch abomination. (Water Land (Kirby's Epic Yarn)) 5: I am bad at Shovel Knight, but I do have to appreciate how well Yacht Club games managed to make a water level. (The Iron Whale (Shovel Knight)) 4: I need to finish this game. (Seaside Kingdom (Super Mario Odyssey)) 3: I just hope that if they make another Donkey Kong Country game, they remember to bring in K. Rool proper. Hasn't he been absent from most of them, with his one return being in Smash Bros. Ultimate? (Irate Eight (Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze)) 2: Imagine if they brought the Wisps back for Sonic Frontiers. Seeing power-ups in a 3D environment. (Aquarium Park (Sonic Colors)) 1: I LOVE Rayman Legends, and I LOVE 20,000 Lums Under the Sea, but getting their princesses through the Ninja Challenges were SOOO annoying. And they're my favorite characters to play, too! (20,000 Lums Under the Sea (Rayman Legends))

I remember back when my DS lite was still working I would be constantly try to beat my record on any of the Aquarium Park levels.

Fighting games list next! Nice! Thanks for giving me the push to get into the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm games, by the way! A blast!

For all intents and purposes Nightmare is the second water boss. It's not aesthetically water themed but it comes at the end of the hell swim, and its gravity warping powers work the same as water physics wise. And it grants the gravity suit for the victory lap through deep sector 4.

Inactive Lava Zone, Subnautica 1. Who knew wide open areas with lots of visibility could be so fucking terrifying? This place is brutal and takes a lotta prep to get to, but you really feel accomplishment when you get to the end of the area, like it was all worth it. That the hardest part of the game is finally over and all that’s left is the finale Crystal Caves, Subnautica: Below Zero. Tight spaces, too many giant man-eating fish

Personally my favorite would be wrath from Ultrakill. It’s already unusual to have one in a first-person shooter, but boi they execute it in the best way, allowing for far greater mobility when combined with the grapple arm you get right before this! Each level there feels different from the caverns focusing on water combat (and a bonkers optional challenge of NOT touching water), to navigating the stormy seas by boardwalk, ending with a really cool mini boss, to raiding a giant ship, which sinks after getting the rocket launcher with the power of ZA WARULDO! Not to mention the epic boss fight at the end.

Right from the start I was asking myself if Rayman Legends made it in... I was not disappointed.

2: Most of the levels in the game is great and this is one of them 4: One of the best levels in the game. 7: One of the best levels in the game, but also one of the best Zelda levels (I also l dislike Great Bay temple more than Water temple, Water temple was fine). 8: It looks nice, but I'm not so much into Pokémon Snap as I used to be before. 10: I don't know if I'm in this level. I try to explore it and get through the level Nice list. Some water levels I like are Jolly Roger's Lagoon from Banjo Tooie, and the ones in Yoshi's Island

The key to a good water level is to add speed. No idea who arbitrarily determined they had to be slow paced.

20000 lums under the sea from rayman legends is my favorite!

I'm so happy that Rayman legends and sonic colours ended up as high as they did! They definitely deserve their places

I doubt these will be listed (well maybe a few), but here's my fav water levels (in no particular order)- Noki Bay from Super Mario Sunshine (2nd place goes to Seaside Kingdom from Odyssey because it has the better swimming environment), Swamp Palace from LoZ: Link Between Worlds (love the water slides!), Lake Kazai from Skies of Arcadia (love the environment and has one of my fav boss battles), The Carribean from KH3 (best exploration in the game for me personally). I also love games that take place in or on the water too like Endless Ocean: Blue World, Abzu, Spiritfarer, etc. Latest gaming obsession is a farming sim with a diving section because you're cleaning up a coral reef. Game is called Coral Island.

Happy birthday!

24:23 Shovel Knight is canonically a fish.

*sees Seaside Kingdom* Gushons, dude. Gushons.

Number 10 was the simulated ocean environment of Sector 4 (AQA). I despise that section if I don't get the Gravity Suit first. Edit: 13:35: Throws in a clip from TFP. Edit 2: Good jab at Josh.

10:19 is that the freaking power rangers theme?! My dude!

I also rather liked the water temple from OoT, and feel it gets undeserved criticism. Though I also gave a soft spot for the water dungeon in A Link to the Past, usually one of the first dungeons I complete in the dark world for that useful hookshot.

i played skyward sword on the wii when i was like... 8 years old. The ancient cistern gave nightmares for weeks, ESPECIALLY the rope section.

I was thinking Prime 2 would be my choice for Water Areas/Levels. And my two personal favorites being Launch Octopus and Bubble Crab from Mega Man X and Mega Man X2. I feel like these have that "attacking the enemy base" vibe that you'd get from your number 1 pick. And they have great music and a couple of set pieces and neat secrets.

24:29 fun fact about that, he can breathe underwater because he’s a fish. More specifically he has the head of a catfish when his helmet is off. This is explicitly shown in rivals of aether and is implied in the original game by a passerby npc who has the same armor as shovel knight and the head of a catfish. Ever since I was cursed with this knowledge I’ve wondered if plague knight was secretly a crow or raven.

I actually like water levels when they're done right.

Oh please oh please do a top ten spooky levels for Halloween pretty please?

Granted, those "goblins" are actually frogs.. and I think 5678’s song is from Kill Bill, with the princesses based on The Bride.

UNDER THE SEA! UNDER THE SEA! THERE'S SOME GOOD OONES, IS THAT GYORG, ARE YOU KIDDING MEEEEEE~! Edit: So i just realized that fish could be the one from Mario 64 with its underwater level. Depends on how you look at it

Request: Top 10 video game steeds (ex Yoshi, Rambi, Epona)

Title says water levels and shows an eel on the thumbnail. Me: Why is brain screaming?

actually 20,000 lums under the sea might be a reference to the book 20,000 leagues under the sea

Rayman deserves way more attention from Ubisoft than the series gets. On the series' 25th anniversary, Ubisoft did jackshit to celebrate the Limbless Wonder while here in Finland one dude almost singlehandedly made a remake of the first game from the scratch and on technical standpoint it's superior to ANY version of the original Rayman game. And Ryemanni wasn't even an adult yet when he released his fangame.

Looking forward to the next one Oscar!

instead of "hell swim" i prupose the "abyssal swim" instead since the abyss is basicly the watery version of hell were theres no light, TONS of pressure and animals that can look FREAKY AF.

Bubble Man's Stage. Nuff said.

Sad Aquas from star fox 64 didn’t make it on the list such a fun water level but great top 10 GS!

Actually, I liked the Great Bay Temple more than the Water Temple mainly because it's far more compelling & unique and not as tedious as the Water Temple. Also Zora Link, Ice Arrow & changing water pipes for different rooms is far more clever than the Iron Boot and raising the water levels so much.

I'll be honest, but this is more top 10 UNDERWATER levels then WATER LEVELS. Then again you the boss!

4:04 instead of calling it "the hell swim", maybe we should call these kinds of levels "the struggle through the styx"

You should had included KH3 water levels in the Pirates of Caribbean world, they were awesome. I mean it.

You can't softlock the Water Temple. You have to lower the water level with the switch on the third floor to get the first key, you need a key to access the switch that raises the water to the midpoint, and there are two keys that you need the water to be at that point to get for different reasons, so you can't get stuck with the water at the midpoint. After that, you can cycle through the water levels as needed to get both of the other keys you need to reach Dark Link, and after that both of the other keys in the dungeon are accessible. The 'softlock' is players deciding the Longshot room is a dead end without even looking around, so they miss the time block and the path to the next-to-last key, so they 'get stuck' right outside the room with the Boss Key. The remake didn't fix a softlock, it just made the path forward obvious from the time you enter the room.