10 Super Mario Levels That Were Just Plain Unfair

Who knew Mario games took so few prisoners?!

By James Metcalfe /

Ever since his debut as Jumping Man back with the release of Donkey Kong back in 1981, Super Mario has established himself as the world's most popular video game mascot. Becoming known for his 2D platforming adventures, Mario has since expanded his collection of games to include everything from vast open world adventures, a whole host of sporting competitions and even the world of puzzling.

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Every console endorsed by Nintendo has received at least one standout Mario game since the Italian Plumber rose to superstardom, with most of them earning critical acclaim for their colourful collection of worlds and variety in level design.

However, sometimes these titles also like to just remind their fans who's in charge with an absolutely devilishly designed mission. Because Mario games are amongst the most addictive in the world, players can easily find themselves sat at their consoles for hours trying to get to grips with a title's mechanics being pushed to their limits or finding the best way to unlock a level's challenging win condition. We've taken a look back over Mario's history and dug out ten of the most unfair levels any gamer has had to battle with.

10. Dark Side - Breakdown Road: Final Challenge! - Super Mario Odyssey

Super Mario Odyssey, whilst one of the most heavily praised and widely played games ever released, has built up a little bit of a reputation for not being the most difficult of titles ever released by Nintendo.

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This moon is found in the Dark Side Kingdom, the second of three secret worlds unlocked once players complete the main story and find 250 Power Moons. It is home to a couple of particularly unfair challenges, but Breakdown Road: Final Challenge really takes the biscuit.

Players have to wave goodbye to Cappy first off, and are then asked to navigate a small maze that is quickly being destroyed by a small army of Bullet Bills. Reaching the end will reveal the Moon, however the task of getting back to retrieve it involves having to perform a whopping eight perfect long jumps in a row. A final huge Bullet Bill will follow closely behind players, and adds an extra layer of pressure to this already troublesome course.

The worst thing about this challenge however is the fact that, if players do not perform the eight long jumps perfectly, they will be forced to repeat the entire first part again and again until they do.

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