10 Weird Locations and Levels From Computer Games (Part 1)
This post listed 10 strange levels and locations used in computer games. The entries were a mix of unexpectedly strange levels and locations found in grounded games and extreme ideas used in bizarre games. The list only included levels from computer games I have personally played and thought were weird. The items in the list were not placed in any particular order.
10. Marble Garden from Sonic the Hedgehog 3
It was difficult to decide which level from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 belonged on this list, Marble Garden or Hydrocity. According to the story for the game, Sonic was exploring the Floating Island, which had fallen from the sky and into the sea, and had reached Hydrocity. Hydrocity was built with colourful stones and was filled with water. The background for the level was strange as it seemed to resemble a purple cathedral, although it was not clear what it was actually supposed to be. The level ended with Sonic being carried upwards on a large jet of water to reach the next zone, Marble Garden.
Marble Garden started with Sonic falling from the sky, presumably after the jet of water had dissipated. The level design consisted of stone ruins covered in grass, with broken pillars and destroyed rooms adding to the sense of destruction. The background consisted of a dense, green forest, with more stone structures visible, and distant purple mountains. Weird objects were present throughout the level. A large number of strange large, orange pots, that contained plants, were present, along with narrow, red pillars that led below ground. The player was able to spin small, blue wheels, which caused parts of the ground to move, and use blue platforms, which had rotating drills placed on the underside, to fly through the air. Sonic could also run around large, circular pillars to reach lower levels.
The weirdest aspect of Marble Garden concerned it’s theme. The levels that featured in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 presented with clear themes, one level was based around exploring a water-logged environment, another was filled with snow and ice, etc. Marble Garden, however, seemed to use an abstract theme of ground and sky. There appeared to be 2 distinct paths to follow through the level, one that led upwards and another that led along the ground. If the player followed the upward path, they navigated between floating platforms and spent a lot of time flying through the sky. If the player stayed on the ground, they encountered Dr. Robotnik, who used a drilling machine to cause the ground to shift and force the player to race through the level to avoid being crushed.
The level’s boss was strange, but innovative. At the end of the level, Dr. Robotnik fell from the sky in his drilling machine and hit the ground, which caused the ground to seemingly melt. Tails appeared, using his two tails as a propeller to fly through the air, with Sonic holding onto his hands. Dr. Robotnik then flew across the sky and the player had to jump from Tails and hit the villain. Each time Sonic struck his enemy, he fell downwards and Tails rushed to reach him, before the two heroes reappeared. It was not actually clear what happened after Sonic fell to an area not shown on screen, as the ground was clearly shown to have been destroyed. Weirdly, after the boss was defeated, time passed so rapidly that the day changed to night within seconds, so that the player started the next level (Carnival Night Zone) during darkness.
9. Eye Snake from Bomberman Hero
The Bomberman Hero game contained a large number of odd levels, such as a valley populated by vicious clowns and a dark wood that contained both benevolent and malicious tornadoes, however, the weirdest level in the game was Eye Snake.
The player reached Eye Snake after completing the Heaven Sky level, which was another strange level that consisted of the player flying between stone structures, that floated in the sky, and teleporting at random intervals. The Heaven Sky level ended with the player defeating a strange reptilian creature, which had 2 heads on extendable necks.
To complete the Eye Snake level, the player had to follow a narrow, winding path that led to the end of the level. The path was located high up in the sky, with a blue sky forming the background and clouds obscuring the ground. If the player left the path, they fell from a great height and died. The path itself was rainbow coloured and ripples seemed to form on it’s surface, as if it was made of liquid. The level itself was set on a comet’s tail above the snowy mountains of the Mazone planet.
Whilst navigating the level, the player was attacked by 2 huge, flying snake-like creatures. The creatures resembled the heads of the enemy at the end of the Heaven Sky level, although it was never explained if there was a link between them. It was not necessary to defeat the 2 enemies, although they made the level difficult to complete. The creatures also moved in a strange manner, they flew across the sky in a zig-zag movement, before focusing on Bomberman and then flying towards his position while rotating through the air.
The level ended when the player entered a doorway in a small tower, built from green stone, that did not seem to lead anywhere.
8. Wet/Dry World from Super Mario 64
The Wet/Dry World level from Super Mario 64 was different to the other levels that featured in the game. Many of the levels in Super Mario 64 were tangible, for example, some of the levels were set on mountains, another took place in a cave, another level was set within a gigantic clock, etc. Wet/Dry World, however, used a more abstract design.
Wet/ Dry World did not really resemble anything, although some parts closely resembled a construction site. The main area of the level was surrounded by huge walls that seemed to be made of light grey concrete, with the area within built by stone and different coloured bricks. A lot of the space was filled by a strange structure that consisted of 4 levels, with the bottom 2 levels built using a different material to the top 2. There wasn’t a route to climb up the levels that made up the structure, as the player seemed to have to use enemies to throw them onto the higher levels. Attached to the structure was a ramp that led from the top to a point halfway down the structure, which seemed like it was supposed to allow the user to climb the structure, but was not fully built. As well as it’s strange construction, the structure also presented with some weirdly decorative additions. One floor of the structure was surrounded by a fence, another floor contained a pointless, large pillar and a small flight of steps (which seemed to be intended to form part of an archway) and a small, raised area at the foot of the construction led to a lift that allowed access to a single room.
There were other unusual structures that featured in the level design. There was a tall, wooden catwalk. There were a number of tall, stone pillars that were decorated with yellow arrows that pointed upwards. There were also some stone platforms that appeared to float in the air and some wooden platforms that floated on the surface of the water. The background to the level featured a brightly lit town, consisting of houses made of clay, surrounded by a dark blue substance. An effect, similar to sunlight reflecting on the surface of water, was visible above the level. The town in the background of the level had a fuzzy appearance and seemed to be underwater. I believe that the background of Wet/ Dry World was based on an actual picture.
I, personally, did not consider Wet/ Dry World to be one of my favourite levels when I first played the game. While the other levels featured challenges that encouraged the player to explore their surroundings and develop skills, the tasks found in Wet/ Dry World resembled games that bored children would play in a construction site, such as finding imaginary secrets and racing a lift. I did enjoy climbing to the top of the level though. My opinion changed, however, when I visited the Sunken Town, as this area expanded the level and added a layer of mystery.
To enter the town, the player had to aim and launch Mario out of a cannon to enter an enclosure in the corner of the level. The player could swim downwards to enter a stone tunnel that led to the town, which caused the music to sound more moody. When I first played the game, I believed that the tunnel led to an area at the side of the level, however, I realised later that the town was actually situated underneath the starting location for the level, as if someone was attempting to build a structure on top of the town. The town itself resembled a coastal town from Central Europe, with large bricks houses that had tiny, narrow windows, and seemed to include a monument, surrounded by high, brick walls, in front of a building that resembled a church. Weirdly, the town was completely empty, there wasn’t anything to suggest the location was ever inhabited and there were no enemies either.
Another mystery of Wet/Dry World concerned the supply of water. The unique aspect of the level was that the player could use multi-coloured objects to control the level of water in the level. It was difficult to determine where the water flowed to, after the player lowered the water level, and where the water to increase the volume came from as the level seemed to be built with solid stone and concrete and the surrounding areas were dry.
7. Gorgeous Musical Castle from Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
All of the castles that featured in Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon were strange, the Festival Temple Castle was lit by bright sunlight, despite being located in a dark cave, and involved the player using giant, moving fish bodies to climb a pole, while the Ghost Toys Castle was a dark structure that contained ghosts, toys and items that resembled sweets, along with a giant pool game and a flower that sprouted money. One area, called Inaba, was a desert, unlike the other regions of the game, and contained floating sumo wrestlers that were as thin as paper. The Submarine Castle was used to produce food and contained vicious sushi. The most bizarre castle, however, was the Gorgeous Musical Castle.
During the story, the villains moved the Japanese island of Kyushu into space and the player had to follow it to stop the villains’ plan. The player collected all the Miracle Items and reached the Stone Circle. The Pemopemo God spoke to the heroes and told them that they will not be able to return to Earth after starting their journey. If the player acknowledged the god’s warning, the stone head launched into space.
The player then immediately appeared in the Gorgeous Musical Castle. The first part of the castle seemed to use traditional Japanese theatre as a theme, as the background consisted of painted backdrops (showing mountains under an evening sky) and the player had to cross moving floors that seemed to be painted blue and white to resemble water. There were also fake trees and doors leaning against the walls, which seemed to be props. Other parts of the castle seemed to built with stone and had wooden doors and floorboards. One area resembled a stage, with a raised platform at one end, a ramp that led to a door underneath it and stairs that led to a second floor.
Another strange aspect of the castle was that it was difficult to determine when the castle ended. After reaching a certain point, the player emerged in the open air, in a hedge maze, with some shops and restaurants nearby. Weirdly, all the residents of this area were fans of Dancin’ and Lily and wanted to watch their show, which made them the most popular villains of any game. I always assumed that this area was supposed to be a town in Kyushu and marked the completion of the Gorgeous Musical Castle, however, when the player entered the villain’s opera house later, there was no introduction to the castle, as if the player was still in the Gorgeous Musical Castle.
The second part of the Gorgeous Musical Castle was also extremely weird. The design for the castle resembled an ornate theatre, with a double staircase in the entrance hall, brightly coloured walls (that seemed to be decorated with gold) and luxurious-looking carpet. The building also included a lift that rotated upwards and a rotating hexagonal tunnel. There was a weird addition whereby the player could leap into a portrait of Dancin’ in the entrance hall to teleport into a room, located on the other side of the wall that the picture was hanging on, that contained a Gold Fortune Doll, which took a long time for me to find. The level ended when the player entered the Peach Mountain Main Hall, which consisted of 2 narrow, red platforms that led over an abyss to a large stage, whereby Dancin’, Lily and the rest of the Peach Mountain Shoguns performed a song. Following the performance, an alert informed the heroes that the building will self-destruct. Goemon, the leader of the heroes, then called Impact (a huge robot), who ran along a metal corridor (which was more futuristic than the rest of the castle) and destroyed strange vehicles to escape.
6. Creep Village from Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon 2
The heroes of Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon 2 visited a variety of strange locations, the levels in Ryushu were set on the back of a giant, swimming turtle, the villains were based in a castle that floated in the sky, etc. The strangest location in the game, however, was the Creep Village.
A weird aspect of the village was that it was difficult to even work out how to reach it. I believe the village could only be accessed after the player had concluded the game’s story, but I am not sure how much of the method I used to enter the settlement was necessary. I spoke to a woman, who lived in the nearby Tree Stump Village, and she revealed that a train took passengers to the village, before I traveled to the bus stop in Mokeke Forest, positioned my character underneath the bus stop sign and pressed down until dawn. Sometimes the bus would appear to transport the heroes to Creep Village, however, other times, morning would break without anything happening.
Creep Village was located in the Underworld. Unlike other interpretations of the Underworld (which resembled Mafu Island, another island in the game), the Underworld in this game was gloomy. Instead of rocks and lava, the Underworld was full of large trees, grassy hills, muddy ground, sunken stone constructions and pools of water. As a result, the levels seemed to be coloured dark brown and dark green, with the distant background seemingly obscured by a mist. Creep Village, however, seemed to be more colourful.
The bus that transported the player to Creep Village looked like a black wagon, with the front resembling a large skull. Two lights, placed in the eyes of the skull, shone up and down in different rhythms. The first thing the player saw, after entering the settlement, was a huge clock with a human arm poking out from the centre to point out the time. The ground consisted of orange rock, with a crystalline river visible in the background, and the sky was light blue, like a clear dawn. The buildings in the village consisted of light brown stone and had roofs (unlike the houses that appeared in the other villages in the game). Some of the buildings had open areas at the back and small steps that led to the front door. Most of the inhabitants of the village were Tengus, which were large, raven-like creatures that possessed human characteristics.
A number of eccentric additions were also added to the design of the village. 2 large heads, made of light blue stone and with red eyes, were placed in the village and the player could teleport between them by jumping into their mouths, which opened and closed. A large mountain was visible in the background, which had a strange thing on top that had a moving face and produced steam. A large bird structure, which was decorated with a lot of different colours and steam issued from the points of it’s head, stood in the middle of a pool of water. Strange plants and trees were placed throughout the village. Some of the buildings consisted of pieces of wood forming a triangle, while a large, purple house, that resembled an eccentric house from a cartoon, was found at one of the village. The food offered in a local restaurant were also weird, such as one called “something” that just resembled a group of pixellated squares.
Some of the challenges that the player completed in the village were weird. One challenge consisted of the player standing under a waterfall for a set amount of time, while another just required the player to confirm that they had killed a mischievous gang of Tengus in a previous task (as the other Tengus did not mind the severe punishment for harassing travelers). The other challenges were very expensive, such as buying multiple rice balls to feed to a hungry Tengu and purchasing an expensive plate to give to a ghost.
What levels should be included in the second half of the list? Should Red Line from Everything or Nothing be added? Or Blue Hell from the Grand Theft Auto series?
moresleepneeded 