There seems to be this stereotype that water levels are the worst in videogames and that nobody has done them right but i don't know about you i think we're overlooking the good ones, i can think of the top off my head a few good examples
The sonic series had it's share of bad ones but also good ones too like
Aquarium park(Sonic Colors)
hydrocity zone(Sonic 3&Knuckles)
water palace (Sonic Rush)
And i think nearly every water level in the donkey kong country series was well made, there was one stage in country 2 where it was dark and you had to swim at the same time that one sucked but the rest were good.
Rayman origins and legends also had good water levels, shovel knight had a good water level, the kirby series had good water levels
Heck i see many people giving the water temple from ocarina of time way too much shit when in reality it isn't that bad, yes the constant switching is annoying, yes it take too long on your the first attempt but the dungeon is presented in the second half of the game where things are expected to get difficult and the player should already be experienced with dungeons and puzzle solving.
I'd like to be proven wrong though, share your thoughts, are any of the ones i mentioned good or is it just me?
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I've always thought the water levels in Super Mario Bros 1, 3, and Super Mario World were very well done. The water level in Sonic 3 was pretty good to.