Super Mario 64: Every Level Ranked From Worst To Best

15. Wet-Dry World

It should be said that the water mechanic is neat. Depending on where you dive into the entrance of this world, the water level will accordingly be adjusted higher or lower. The ability to affect the level’s layout is as cool now as it was then.

Beyond that, though, Wet-Dry World doesn’t have an awful lot going for it. It’s the emptiest level in the game, just two large chambers mostly devoid of enemies or features to climb on or jump off. You’re forever tasked with shifting the water level further, which players of contemporaneous Zelda games will know is never a great time.

Then there are the stars, which are not among the game’s finest. Seeking out the red coins in the world’s second chamber, laid out like a little town, is fun, but then there are stars asking you simply to push five blocks, dispersed around the level, which eventually yield you your prize. It’s not especially intuitive, nor is it much fun.

It’s one of the only levels that visually feels undercooked, and that’s reflected in the stale tasks at hand.