The Iconic Levels in Games

[irrelevantnugget]

The last level of painkiller. Nearly every level of that game was a work of art but the last one was just so epic.

The one in which you kill Lucifer without actually knowing what happened? Hrm. I preferred the boss battle of the 4th chapter A LOT more.

Also, I concur with Cajt. Seeing that Silt Strider for the first time. Getting out of the census office and realising you can do ANYTHING you want from that point on... upon which you try to punch Fargoth in the face, then get brutally killed by him because you simply can't hit anything with your low stats.

And to go on in other series:
Metroid: Mother Brain's room.
Unreal: Rrajigar Mines. The Skaarj in the darkened tunnel.
Medal of Honor Allied Assault: Snipertown. Let anyone who started gaming in the past 5 years, play through that one level, and it'll show them why regenerating health is meh.
Guild Wars: Pre-Searing. Admit it, you went: "what the hell just happened to Ascalon? Gwen? NOOOOOOOOOO!"
Call of Duty 4: The aftermath of you-know-what.

Oh, can't believe I forgot this one... Thief III: The friggin Cradle.

 

[Danman1]

Shadow Temple in Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time. The amount of dark and creepy things in that level, and the stuff that you couldn't see without the lense of truth just creeped me out, as well as the amount of pit falls and undead enemys that level came with.

hell yeah

 

[Joshimodo]

Nearly every area in every Zelda game.

The snow areas in Bomberman 64.

Lara's mansion on Tomb Raider 2.

Yoshi's Island final boss.

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System zombie/wasteland level.

MGS' helipad.

Big Blue from F-Zero X.

Goldeneye's Facility level.

Half-Life's Ravenholm level.

Halo's Blood Gulch.

Halo 2's Midship and Lockout.

etc etc.

 

[Sable Gear]

Metroid Prime 2's Sanctuary Fortress.

Ditto'd, it's my favourite level. Also, the Chozo Ruins in MP1, and Skytown (or Bryyo Ice, I liked it there) in MP3.

This doesn't really count as a level but the fountain room in Sands of Time (health upgrade thing) really struck some artsy-chord in me. The Garden Tower in the second one is also lovely, with some of the sneakiest enemies (invisible ninjas!)

The first time you enter Termina Field in Majora's Mask; there's this open sense of danger and freedom (even though the field is kinda small)

 

[dontworryaboutit]

Pretty much Prince of Persia: Sands of Time.

And while it's not a level, the cinematic where Arthas returns home from Northrend is W3 is amazing.

And often parodied. Fuck you George Lucas.

 

[Fists]

Sonic Green Hill Zone.

This is the answer for me, as it was the first level of the first game I ever played. Good times...

likewise, I think, cant really remember. I was like 3 years old, not very good at it at that age.

 

[Pimppeter2]

The water temple

 

[hopeneverdies]

The Dream Den in Pikmin 2. The constant changing of scenery and the difficulty makes it stick out in my mind. And one asshole of a final boss. On my first playthrough I go in with 20 of each, I walk out with 201 treasures and 37 Pikmin in total.

 

[jebussaves88]

It's hard to say, but I suppose the level that most impressed me at the time was The Silent Cartographer from Halo. Really summed the game up pretty well; vehicular combat, corridors, and a base full of enemies who were waiting for you.

 

[Dr Pussymagnet]

The Little Bonus Room from Skullmonkeys.

 

[ToAsTy McBuTTeR]

am i the only person alive who had absolutely NO trouble with the water temple? sure it took awhile but i beat it in the same 24 hours that i started... course i DID play pretty much all day...

anyway i always will remember the casino level from sonic 2... just really funny using sonic as a token for more rings.

 

[A Playful Shark]

Personally i enjoyed the final section of Halo:CE.
It just felt epic.

Also, the beginning of morrowind.
The first time i saw that bosmer drop out of the sky i was speechless.

 

[CoverYourHead]

The stone temple in Majora's Mask: If you thought Water Temple was hard, you haven't played this game. The whole thing makes your head hurt.

 

[coldfrog]

The Little Bonus Room from Skullmonkeys.

Hey, what's that over there?

For me, I'd probably go with the first speed vehicle level of Battletoads. C'mon, who DOESN'T remember where the portal in the high speed part is?

Or maybe the first boss of Contra, or the stupid apple tree from Kirby, but those are more forced because they put them in every game.

OOooh, or the white toad house in Mario 3?

Wily's Metal Dragon from Mega Man 2, castle 1? (by the way, even if you think I Wanna Be The Guy is a terrible game (which it is) he did a great job of recreating that battle in a cool way. Find a way to play a game from that point, it's totally worth it if you have nostalgia of this)

Lastly, I guess this isn't a level, but Link holding up a piece of Triforce into the air is permanently etched into my head.

 

[VoltySquirrel]

Finding out I was Revan in KOTOR, fantasic plot twist.
And as for Pychonauts who could forget stomping around a city of lungfish being called Gargalor.

Yeah, being Goggalor was cool, too. Although, I still have yet to beat the game, so I might just find a better level. Right now I'm in the Bonaparte Reltives level. Once I finish that, my disguise will be finished.

 

[Pyre1million]

Because I practically have to reference this game in every "what do you think was an awesome X" thread, Silent Hill 2. But specifically, the Silent Hill 2 level that starts once you go into the historical center of the town. And then you just Keep. Going. Down.

And, since I feel like I should add in something else, most people probably don't remember this one, but the Central Park level of the original Parasite Eve. Around the time I was following the little flashback-ghost, just before the hospital, I realized "My god, I'm playing an incredible game". I love the ones that hit you like that.

 

[Insanum]

Piripyat (i think thats the typing) sniping level on CoD4 - I want to go there now

(wiki it - you'll see why)

 

[ben---neb]

Finding out I was Revan in KOTOR, fantasic plot twist.
And as for Pychonauts who could forget stomping around a city of lungfish being called Gargalor.

Yeah, being Goggalor was cool, too. Although, I still have yet to beat the game, so I might just find a better level. Right now I'm in the Bonaparte Reltives level. Once I finish that, my disguise will be finished.

Good luck, I got to the second to third last level then gave up because it suddenly got stupidly difficult and I hadn't bothered to collect anything so was woofully underpowered. I watched the end videos on youtube though, cause I'm cool.

I really enjoyed Bonaparte's level, it was something a little different to the usual.

 

[Aardvark Soup]

The water temple in Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I don't agree that with the many people saying it is the hardest dungeon in the game but I did really like the puzzles there and I think it certainly is iconic for the game and the whole Zelda franchise.