10 Hardest Mario Levels Of All Time

4. Don't Touch Anything - Super Mario Bros. U

Mario Toad Head Thumb
Nintendo

The last world of Super Mario Bros. U has a tricky level called Lakitu! Lakitu! Lakitu! where the cloud-surfing baddie hurls Spinies at you while you try to reach the goal. This stage is reused for the Coin Collection Challenge, Don't Touch Anything., where Mario has to reach the flagpole without collecting more than five coins.

Look, we've all tried to collect coins in a Mario game, only to meet our demise by falling into a lava lake or a spiky pit. But if collecting coins can be dangerous, why do we keep doing it? Because it makes the player feel awesome! The jingle you hear when Mario collects a series of coins is so satisfying, it's worth the risk (usually).

Since gamers have been programmed for 30 years to pick up every bit of dough you can see in a Mario game, it feels torturous when you're not allowed. Even if you try to evade the coins, the platforms keep swinging around, causing the player to pick up a few by accident. It doesn't help that a horde of Lakitus keep chucking Spinies on your head while you do your best to stay poor.

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James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows